Custer City in Custer County, Idaho — The American West (Mountains)
Chinese Businesses
Local market
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 25, 2017
1. Chinese Businesses Marker
Captions: (upper left) Wing, cook at Lucky Boy Mine; (top center) Sam Hops, a Chinese businessman. (bottom right) Town of Custer with Chinatown area circled in red.
Businesses in Chinatown included laundry services, a harness and shoe shop and a Chinese place of worship known as a joss house. A few residents made a living by growing vegetable gardens or raising pigs and chickens and then selling them to miners, businesses and town residents. Kitchen scraps, collected from resident of both towns using yokes and buckets, fed the pigs and chickens. The townspeople of Custer proper excluded the Chinese as neighbors but were not opposed to using and supporting the businesses and services they provided. Chinese New Year was celebrated and looked forward to by both towns.
Erected by U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Industry & Commerce.
Location. 44° 23.142′ N, 114° 42.114′ W. Marker is in Custer City, Idaho, in Custer County. It is on Yankee Fork Road, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Stanley ID 83278, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Idaho Sawtooth Range. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Custer City (a few steps from this marker); Nevada House Hotel (site) (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Miners' Union (site)
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Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 25, 2017
2. Chinese Businesses Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 3, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 322 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 12, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
