Rock Springs: The Only Surviving Home in Chinatown

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From an eyewitness account: "Between 4 o'clock and a little past 9 o'clock all of the camp houses belonging to the coal company and the Chinese huts had been burned down completely, only one of the company's camp houses remaining...All of the Chinese houses burned numbered seventy-nine.

Some of the Chinese were killed at the bank of Bitter Creek, some near the railroad bridge and some in 'Chinatown.' After having been killed. the dead bodies of some were carried to the burning buildings and thrown into the flames. Some of the Chinese who had hid themselves in the houses were killed and their bodies burned; some, who on account of sickness could not run, were burned alive in their houses."1

In all, 79 Chinese owned or occupied homes, valued for official purposes at $147,000, were destroyed.

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About this site: Bob Nelson, the Director of the Rock Springs History Museum, believes that this is the only Chinese miner's home that was not destroyed in the fire. The exterior had been modernized over the years, but the general size and shape are similar to many of the homes that were known to be in the area. GPS: 41° 35' 31.31" N, 109° 13' 08.81" W