Folsom in Sacramento County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Chinese Immigrants

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer

1. Chinese Immigrants Marker

Captions: (upper left) Chinese miners pose for a photo at Auburn Ravine, 1852.; (upper right) Chinese miner on the American River.; (lower center) Folsom Chinese Joss House.

Inscription. Seeking a better life away from the wars and instability in their homeland, thousands of Chinese left for California when news of the gold discovery arrived in Guangzhou in 1848. By the end of 1851, as many as 25,000 Chinese people, mostly men, made the journey to California, known as Gam Saan or "Gold Mountain.:
These early immigrants came to California with hopes of striking it rich in the gold fields; however, racially exclusionary laws, culminating with the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, often limited opportunities and drove people of Chinese descent to cluster in ethnic enclaves known as "Chinatowns."
By about 1880, Folsom posted one of the largest Chinatowns in the state. Folsom's Chinatown suffered a series of devastating fires in the 1870s and 1880s, rebuilding each time. Folsom's Chinese population began to decline. While little remains of Folsom's Chinatown, the community once extended between the Folsom Powerhouse to the edge of the historic town of Negro Bar. Today, the Chan House at 917 Sutter Street stands as one of the few remnants of Folsom's once thriving Chinese community.

Erected by California State Parks.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Settlements & Settlers.

Location.

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38° 40.641′ N, 121° 11.43′ W. Marker is in Folsom, California, in Sacramento County. It can be reached from Black Miners Bar Road (aka Park Road) near Greenback Lane. The marker is located near the parking lot at the west end of Black Mineres Bar Park, within the Folsom Lake Recreation Area. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Folsom CA 95630, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Sacramento Metro,

in Sacramento Valley,

and specifically in the Central Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Rancho Rio de los Americanos (here, next to this marker); The First Peoples (here, next to this marker); Black Miners (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Rancho Rio de los Americanos (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Young Wo Memorial Site (approx. half a mile away); Folsom Terminal (approx. 0.6 miles away); Leidesdorff Plaza (approx. 0.6 miles away); W.L. Perkins Warehouse (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Folsom.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer

2. Chinese Immigrants Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 1, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 305 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 23, 2024, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.