Ledger-Dispatch

By Scott Thomas Anderson (sanderson@ledger-dispatch.c= om)=20

Carl McDanel stands front and center = with the RKT=20 Construction crew and members of the Fiddletown Preservation = Society at a=20 ground breaking ceremony for restoring Fiddletown Chinese General=20 Store.

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson
Sitting white and sun-faded on a = sleepy=20 lane in the Gold Country, there's little to hint that the Chinese = General Store=20 in Fiddletown was once the cornerstone of a thriving immigrant culture = seeking=20 escape from a land decimated by warfare and famine.

On June 4, a = quick=20 thrust of a shovel by the city's preservation society ensured that it, = along=20 with the Chinese Gambling Hall, would be restored as a permanent tribute = to the=20 legacy of work and sacrifice by Chinese Americans during the Gold=20 Rush.

In 1849, there was only a small Chinese population = scattered across=20 California. When the glittering promise of gold was discovered that = year, among=20 the countless masses of prospectors to rush in were large groups of = Chinese=20 families from across the Pacific. Between 1850 and 1874, the number of = Chinese=20 in the state went from a few hundred to 151,000. Throughout the influx,=20 Fiddletown became a virtual haven for the newly-arrived community. At = one point=20 Fiddletown had the second highest Chinese population in all of = California, after=20 San Francisco - boasting somewhere between two and five thousand Chinese = residents.

According to Carl McDanel, the Fiddletown = Preservation=20 Society's project manager for restoring the Chinese General Store and = Chinese=20 Gambling Hall, the strength of the Chinese population in Fiddletown can = be seen=20 in the fact that the city has the only three remaining structures = standing=20 together that were built and used exclusively by Chinese in the Gold = Rush.=20 "These two buildings, and the Chew Kee Store, are extremely unique," = explained=20 McDanel. "They were all commercial buildings from the original Chinese = mining=20 community that have never been altered since. In the case of the Chinese = General=20 Store, it's not some made-up museum or historical recreation - = everything in it=20 is from its original state."

McDanel said the preservation = society got=20 the ball rolling to restore the buildings after Dick Stanley donated = ownership=20 of the Chinese General Store to them in 2001. Three years later the = group=20 received their first major grant from the State Office of Historic = Preservation,=20 amounting to $203,000. At that point they hired historical architect = Mike=20 Garavalgia to formulate a game plan for restoring it and the Chinese = Gambling=20 Hall. Garavalgia has had his hands full of late with bringing Amador = County's=20 most prominent historic sites back to life, including drawing up plans = for the=20 restored Preston Castle and Knight Foundry.

"After Garavalgia = came up=20 with a design, we realized we'd need more money," explained McDanel.=20 "Fortunately, we received a second grant this year for $208,000, which = enabled=20 us to hire RKT as a general contractor for the project."

Like=20 Garavalgia, RKT has a long history of working on historically sensitive = sights -=20 especially unreinforced masonry, which is what's holding up the Chinese = General=20 Store. The Santa Rosa company has also hired local contractor Leland = Peterson to=20 be the stone mason on the project. "We're looking forward to making sure = these=20 buildings are preserved for the future," McDanel said. "They have a=20 one-of-a-kind place in California history and we want to make sure = they're=20 always here."

Scott Thomas = Anderson