Newcastle
General Area of the Chinese Quarters
On September 11, 1885, a group of at least 15 white miners at the Coal Creek Mine near Newcastle, Washington, attacked a group of about 50 Chinese miners. They fired guns into the air and forced their way into the company building where the Chinese lived. They ordered the Chinese outside at gunpoint, then set fire to the building. It was completely destroyed by the blaze.
The miners lost all of their clothing and personal belongings, but no one was known to be seriously injured. Most of the Chinese miners fled into the woods nearby and did not return. Almost all of them had worked at the mine without incident for three years prior to this.
Sources: Chin, Hildebrand, Kinnear, Schwantes, local newspapers
About this site: All of the reports of the location of the Chinese quarters are very vague. Witnesses stated they saw the Chinese quarters burning when they came out of the mine, so it was within visual distance of the mine entrance. Some of the mine headquarters buildings were located nearby and are still standing today, but given the general racism that was prevalent at the time it is not likely that the Chinese were housed near those buildings. The location shown here is where several older outbuildings were known to have stood, and this general area is the most probable site of the Chinese quarters.