The heart of Chinese immigration began in 1860 and ran until 1885, when thousands would immigrate to the United States, many looking for economic opportunities outside of mining, like logging, agriculture, construction, small-business ownership and domestic labor.
By the end of the 19th century, Portland had the second-largest Chinese community on the West Coast. These immigrants shaped Oregon into the land we know today. As the number of Chinese in Oregon grew, so did white violence and discrimination against them. Politicians leveraged anti-Chinese sentiment to gain favor with white voters, enacting laws to block Chinese immigration.
In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from entering the country and prevented Chinese immigrants from ever becoming naturalized citizens — the first nationality to be outright banned from citizenship by the U.S. More than twice as many burials of Chinese and Chinese Americans took place in Lone Fir than were previously thought, and some of those bodies may never have been removed from Block 14 but the full story of how many people of Chinese descent were buried in Block 14 — and how many still remain — may never be known.
Memorial Garden in the Works
