North End in Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

Journey to Gold Mountain

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, October 18, 2023

1. Journey to Gold Mountain Marker

Inscription. Life was hard in southeast China in the early 1800s — there was famine, disease and war. When word of the U.S. Gold Rush circled the globe, people from around the world, including tens of thousands of Chinese, came streaming into America's western port cities, hoping to stake a claim and strike it rich.

The Chinese emigrants worked tirelessly, borrowed money, or signed labor contracts to afford their sea passage to the land they called gam saan or "Gold Mountain."

Those who secured passage sailed into unknown futures aboard overcrowded ships, where shortages of food and water along with unsanitary conditions caused many to become ill.

"We spent three months in quarantine behind barred windows and under guard. Despite protests we stood naked in a line for examination by the white doctor onboard ship. We were fumigated with sulfur, and so were our belongings. Inside the packed and filthy 'pigpen,' our belief in Gold Mountain's fairy tales, spun from those who had come before, began to dissipate."
Chan Sam [From the Concubine's Children by Denise Chong]

Erected by Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation.

Topics.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Immigration.

Location. 47° 16.502′ N, 122° 27.648′ W. Marker is in Tacoma, Washington, in Pierce County. It is in North End. It is on North Schuster Parkway. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2123 N Schuster Pkwy, Tacoma WA 98402, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Puget Sound Region

and in Greater Seattle.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Cascade Range,

in the Inside Passage,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Climate of Exclusion (a few steps from this marker); Planning of the Expulsion (a few steps from this marker); Welcome to the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park (a few steps from this marker); Aftermath and Indictments (a few steps from this marker);

Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, October 18, 2023

2. Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park

This marker is the first stop on the walk through Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park.

Journey to Reconciliation (within shouting distance of this marker); Fannie C. Paddock (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Janet Elder Steele (approx. 0.2 miles away); First School House in Tacoma (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tacoma.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, October 18, 2023

3. Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park

Reliefs in the park represent the difficulty of the journey across the Pacific Ocean and commemorates the many who made the passage.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 6, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 139 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 6, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.