Chinatown was a historic ethnic enclave in Deadwood, located in Lawrence County in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It became the largest Chinatown of any city east of San Francisco at the time. Notable figures of Deadwood's Chinatown include Fee Lee Wong, who made his way to the Black Hills during the 1870s for the Gold Rush. There are many cultural and economic differences that made the Chinese community distinct such as success with laundry establishments and the structure of Chinese families. The Chinese community is no longer there like it was at the end of the 19th century. Archeological excavations have tried to document and identify Deadwood's Chinatown artifacts and structures, in order to gain a better idea of what had occurred in these areas. These efforts will help better understand what the lives of Chinese members in South Dakota was like.

Background

Location Deadwood is located at 44°22′36″N 103°43′45″W. The city was named after dead trees that were present in the gulch that it is located in. Deadwood is located in a mountain range called the Black Hills, which are named because of how dark they look from a distance, as they are heavily covered in evergreen trees.Black Hills National Forest - About the Forest. www.fs.usda.gov/main/blackhills/about-forest#:~:text=The%20name%20

%22Black%20Hills%22%20comes,the%

20surrounding%20prairie%2C%20appear%20black. The Lakota name for the hills is "Pahá Sápa" which means "hills that are black." The mountains within the Black Hills are made of shale, sandstone, limestone, and granite.

History of Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood (Lakota: Owáyasuta; "To approve or confirm things") is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota of the United States. The city of Deadwood is located within the Black Hills, an isolated mountain range that extends from western South Dakota into Wyoming. After arriving in the Hills during the 18th century, the Lakota Sioux claimed the land and it became central to their culture. In the year 1868, the United States government signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), which promised that the Black Hills would remain free from white settlement forever. However, beginning in the 1870s, white squatters arrived and began illegal settlement on the Lakota's land.

In 1874, General Armstrong Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills where he announced there was indeed gold present on the land. As a result, prospectors began arriving in large quantities in search of the economic prospects that this discovery promised. This gold rush along the Whitewood Creek made Deadwood City a thriving community within the Black Hills. Previous to the rush, Deadwood had been a small mining camp, but with masses arriving, Deadwood was transformed into an integral part of frontier society. By 1877, around 12,000 people had officially settled in Deadwood with estimates of the population reaching 25,000 in 1876.Deadshot in Deadwood: Pettigrew Visits the Black Hills. Reprint of: The Sunshine State Magazine. Sioux Falls, SD: Siouxland Heritage Museums. 2002 [March, 1926]. p. 7. Deadwood obtained a reputation for "lawlessness" as it became known for prostitution, gambling, and violence among its residents.Berrettini, Mark L. (2007). "No Law: "Deadwood" And The State". Great Plains Quarterly. 27 (4): 253–265. . Notable "outlaws" and gunmen such as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried within the city's cemetery on Mount Moriah.Bidwell, Laural A. (10 December 2013). Moon Mount Rushmore & the Black Hills: Including the Badlands. Avalon Travel Publishing. pp. 147–148.

Establishment of the Chinatown

In addition to Deadwood's frontier culture, it was also home to the largest Chinatown of any city east of San Francisco. Although Chinese immigrants also resided multiple areas of the West, many moved to Deadwood following the Gold Rush of this time. As early as 1875, the Black Hills Daily Times began to report that "rice and the 'other necessities of life' " were being transported by train for the "so-called 'Celestial chuckleheads from the Flowery Kingdom.' " The same paper also reported Chinese immigrants who were moving towards Deadwood from Denver, Colorado.8. Black Hills Daily Times, 14 Apr. 1877. The article further stated that "they are coming fully equipped for the mining business." The U.S. Census of 1880 lists 116 individuals,U.S. Bureau of the Census 1880 Census of Population and Housing: 1880 Census. Washington D.C. but local historians suggest that as many as 400 Chinese individuals, including 14 women, resided in this Chinatown.David A. Walker, Deadwood: The Golden Years. By Watson Parker. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1981. xiv + 302 pp. Maps, illustrations, notes, selected bibliography, and index.), Journal of American History, Vol. 69, Iss. 2, September 1982, pp. 468–469, These individuals established themselves in a quarter of land between Deadwood and Elizabethtown and created what would become "a cultural, social, and economic nucleus for many Chinese living and working in the surrounding smaller mining camps and towns."

Economy

Prospecting The majority of Chinese immigrants came to the Hills to participate in other business ventures, but a few became involved in the Gold Rush. Historical estimates have suggested that white prospectors only extracted about 65% of the available gold within a specific area before moving on to another claim. Chinese immigrants were known for their resilient approaches within these industries and would rework old claims after white settlers had moved through.Harold E. Briggs, Frontiers of the Northwest: A History of the Upper Missouri Valley (New York: D. Appleton Century Co., 1940), p. 73 Their ability to make a profit was often criticized by white miners who claimed: "the Chinese were increasing their income by claim and sluice box thievery."Parker, Gold in the Black Hills; Charles H. Shinn, Mining Camps: A Study in American Frontier Government (New York: Harper & Row, 1965). Some miners and Deadwood citizens, in contrast, praised the

Chinese and exhorted white miners to learn from them in order to become more successful.Black Hills Daily Times; 24 August 2. Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

Laundry establishments

While some had arrived in the Dakota territory for prospects of Gold, others had arrived with the intention of beginning other establishments. A major economic force within the historic Chinatown was the laundry or "washee houses."Agnes W. Spring, The Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage and Express Routes (Qendale, California: Arthur H. Garke Co., 1949), p. 77.Black Hills Daily Times; August 1, 1878. Descriptions of the Chinatown often refer to the numerous laundry establishments that lined the main square.Bennett, Old Deadwood Days, p. 30 who references: Black Hills Daily Times, 1 April 1878. The demand for washing houses was high due to the large amounts of mining that took place in the area. Miners from both Chinatown and Deadwood used these laundry houses to have their garments cleaned.Suey, Mountain of Gold. p. 190; and Black Hills Daily Pioneer: February 18, 1888. In the year 1880, the occupation of laundryman was the highest listed job of the entire county at 110 individuals, the second highest being mining at 39.U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, 1880. The attraction of self-employment, consistency of clientele, and profit all lead the majority of Chinese immigrants within the county to pursue this career. Most Chinese establishments charged 25 cents for a shirt and profits could sometimes come out to as much as 10 dollars daily.

White members of Deadwood expressed feeling discontent with the Chinese dominance of this industry and advised women to try opening their own laundries to break the monopoly. In 1880, two white women opened the Minneapolis Laundry. They were quickly outsold as all of the Chinese laundries simultaneously lowered prices, placing them out of business, only to raise prices again once they were closed.Black Hills Daily Times: 14 July 1877; 21 Sept. 1878; 23 July 1888. In response to Chinese success, a territorial law was passed in 1887 to try and limit the ownership of laundries to "American Citizens or those intent on becoming one."Black Hills Daily Times; 26 March 1881. In response, many Chinese announced their intention to become citizens and stopped paying licensing fees in protest of the discrimination. These legislative acts did little to curb Chinese dominance within the industry and in 1892, 8 out of 9 of listed laundry outlets were still owned by Chinese individuals.Lawrence County Census; roll 113, sheets 247.

Additional business ventures In addition to these two dominant occupations, Chinese immigrants engaged in other capital ventures. Business owners like Wong Fee Lee, who owned the Wing Tsue Emporium, as well as Hi Kee, who owned the Hi Kee Company, provided articles in order to continue maintaining traditional ways of Chinese life, customs, and ceremonies while in the United States. Some goods included imported silk, tea-making supplies, sandals, and egg-shell chings.Bennett, Estelline. Old Deadwood Days, p. 28. 1982. A large number of Chinese individuals operated restaurants that aimed to cater to the miners' appetites. Bang Wong, or Benny, owned and operated the OK Cafe, while another cafe called the Philadelphia Cafe was incredibly popular. For dessert, Benny was known to often serve apple pie and other classical American dishes. These diners also offered more traditional Chinese dishes, such as chicken rice soup and home-brewed rice whisky. In 1898, two Chinese men opened a hotel called the "Dublin Hotel." They were evaluated in the Black Hills Daily Times, which said they were "a first-class hotel in every respect."Deadwood Daily Pioneer Times; as mentioned on July 3, 1898. The hotel charged twenty-five dollars a month, which included room and board. These numerous individuals and industries participated and contributed extensively to the Chinatown and Deadwood communities.

Notable figures

Fee Lee Wong (Wing Tsue) Fee Lee Wong, also known as Wing Tsue, made his way to the Black Hills during the 1870s for the Gold Rush. He had a shop in the Chinatown located at 566 Main Street. His business was called Wing Tsue Emporium. His products included silk, porcelain, herbs, tea, etc. A census taken in 1880 listed 212 Chinese individuals, including Wong. Tsue stayed in the area and became a notable businessman for over four decades. His children attended public schools and Sunday schools in Deadwood. Eventually, Tsue returned to China in 1902 and had trouble coming back to Deadwood as a result of immigration restrictions of the time. A U.S. government official arranged for him to return to Deadwood. His building loan defaulted in 1915 and was bought by the bank in Deadwood. In 1919, his family returned to China again following a stroke Tsue had. He eventually died in China in 1921.

Culture

Segregation

The Chinatown was developed in Deadwood in 1877. Collective living was practiced among the Chinese community and helped to unify the entire Deadwood community. Culture and customs were important for Chinese individuals to confront an unfamiliar environment in a different, foreign country. De facto segregation occurred in these areas as a mechanism to deal with this unfamiliar environment. Despite this De facto segregation, Chinese individuals still participated within the larger Deadwood community economically and culturally. They organized fire fighting "Hose Teams" and participated in races and rallies during July 4 festivities in order to show which Chinese team was better. These interactions helped overcome aspects of separation that may have been present.

Family units and cultural practices