Fiddletown Looking For Ways To Continue restoration Efforts

Tuesday, 06 February 2007 03:49

Fiddletown Looking For Ways To Continue restoration Efforts

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One hundred and fifty years ago, Fiddletown merchant Chew Kee sold firecrackers, lanterns and little red envelopes to help Chinatown celebrate Chinese New Year. Sadly, as we enter the Year of the Pig on Feb. 18 in 2007, there are no Chinese residents in Fiddletown to celebrate the festive occasion. Chew Kee's store is still standing, though. It is now a museum operated under the auspices of the Fiddletown Preservation Society. It was occupied by Chinese residents until 1965 when the last owner -- Fong Chow Yow, known to the townsfolk as Jimmy Chow -- passed away. The building stayed vacant until 1987 when the Fiddletown Preservation Society began restoring it for use as a museum. The Chew Kee is open Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. during the months of April through October.

The Chew Kee Store is one of the few museums in Northern California that is filled with authentic artifacts and furnishings of Chinese life during the Gold Rush and afterwards. The Chinese were instrumental in building California, yet so little remains of their first settlements in the Sierra foothills. The tiny Amador County hamlet of Fiddletown is proud to have several 19th Century buildings remaining that once served the Chinese community.

The Chew Kee Herb Shop is one of four structures that represent the largest and most intact group of Chinese buildings remaining from a California Gold Rush mining town. Fiddletown's Chinese General Store, Gambling Hall, and Chinese Roasting Oven were constructed in the late 1850s. They were significant parts of Fiddletown or Chinatown, which was vibrant until the early 20th Century. The FPS formed the Restoration of Chinese Structures (ROCS) project to raise funds and garner support for the refurbishing of the Chinese General Store and Gambling Hall. In 2001 the FPS successfully applied for a California Office of Historic Preservation grant of $203,000 -- which must be matched -- to stabilize, weatherproof, and restore the exterior of the two structures. As a small community of only 600 residents, Fiddletown needs help from the outside community to raise the matching funds by the September 2007 deadline.

The money will go toward the necessary architectural, engineering, and construction work to be accomplished. Without renovation work, the buildings will imminently collapse and the legacy of the Chinese pioneers will be gone.To help raise funds for the ROCS project, the group is holding its Third Annual Fiddletown Heritage Celebration on April 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Downtown Fiddletown. Some of the special features include guest speakers, gold-panning workshops, a cowboy lunch, live entertainment, a guided tour of town and many other fun, family-friendly things to do. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for the ROCS project. All contributions are tax-deductible. Donations may also be mailed to FPS, PO Box 53, Fiddletown, CA 95629. For more information, visit the FPS Web site at www.fiddletown.info or call (209) 296-6476.