Thursday, 1st May 2008 (747 views)

A Chinese cultural museum that commemorates the community of workers who flocked to the western United States during the gold rush is set to re-open in Oregon, it has been reported.

According to the Seattle Times, the Kam Wah Chung museum in the town of John Day will open its doors once again on May 3rd following a $1.5 million (£755,000) renovation.

The building formerly acted as a gathering place for eastern Oregon's Chinese community, which has its roots in the gold rush of 1849 when thousands of prospectors - or '49ers - headed west lured by tales of inexhaustible gold supplies and mountains made of the precious metal.

It was turned into a museum in the 1970s and now houses an intact gold rush-era apothecary store once owned by a doctor, Ing Hay, along with his business partner Lung On.

The newspaper says "Doc Hay" was known for using traditional Chinese remedies to treat Chinese gold miners and prospectors.

Oregon State Parks manager Dennis Bradley said: "What makes the museum such an attraction is that virtually everything inside is just as it was, allowing visitors to step back in time as they walk through the museum."

Both Doc Hay and Lung On stayed in eastern Oregon long after the gold rush, becoming community leaders until their deaths in the mid-20th century.

 

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