Deadwood's Chinese Ceremonial Burner

Deadwood's Chinese Ceremonial Burner. A Trail to Deadwood's Past. , Chinese immigrants upon arriving in North America in the 1850s, continued to practice their traditional mortuary rituals. Evidence of these rituals can be found in numerous cemeteries throughout the America West in the form of ceremonial burners and altars. Deadwood's Mt. Moriah Cemetery, platted in 1878, became one of sixty-nine cemeteries to contain a Chinese ceremonial burner and altar used in burial and ancestor worship., The first recorded Chinese burial in Mt. Moriah Cemetery occurred on September 1, 1878. Over the next fifty years, approximately 33 Chinese would be buried in the cemetery. Though interred throughout the cemetery, Section Six contained the highest number of Chinese burials. In 1908, representatives from Deadwood's Chinese community received permission to construct a burner and altar in this section. Upon its completion, the altar and burner were used by the Chinese community as a place to leave food offerings and incinerate paper offerings., By the 1920s Deadwood's Chinese community was in decline and the ceremonial burner and altar fell into disrepair. Over time, the altar and burner were destroyed by vandals with exception of the concrete pad., In 2003, archaeologists hired by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission tested and mapped the concrete pad associated with the burner and altar. Using the archaeological data coupled with historic photographs, design professionals developed plans for the reconstruction of the burner and altar. The exact size and height of the burner and altar were determined based on the excavated brick dimensions and number of courses of brick in the photographs. Bricks salvaged from the demolition of the Chinese Wing Tsue building once located on lower Main Street were used in the construction of the new burner and altar., On July 23, 2013, the new burner and altar were officially dedicated. The Wong Family, descendants from the Deadwood's early Chinese community, helped officiate with the dedication., Today, the Chinese burner and altar symbolizes the Chinese community that once thrived in Deadwood for over fifty years., Captions , Upper Right: Chinese funeral service, circa 1891. Library of Congress , Lower Right: Photographic postcard of Deadwood's Chinese ceremonial burner and altar in Section 6 of Mt. Moriah Cemetery, circa 1920. Deadwood History, Adams Museum Colection