Excavations in the Rock Springs Chinatown, Wyoming1868-1932

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Diverse and Enduring: Archaeology from Across the Asian Diaspora" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Over 30 years have passed since extensive excavations occurred in the Chinatown destroyed by the Rock Springs Massacre of 1885. Thanks to reanalysis of the materials recovered and excavations undertaken in 2021, we have a fresh view of what actually happened in 1885 and how the Chinatown was rebuilt. This presentation will look at how Immigrants who lived in both the old and subsequently rebuilt Chinatown responded to their community being demolished twice. First in 1885 in one day, then after 1913 via a slow dismantling process, the Chinatown in Rock Springs vanished, but the archaeological record remained. The archaeological record continues to provide fresh insights about what happened to the Chinatown in Rock Springs; this presentation is intended as an update on what we have recently learned.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Diverse and Enduring: Archaeology from Across the Asian Diaspora   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology