Years of fundraising to rescue two imperiled gold rush Chinatown buildings in Fiddletown have paid off with an announcement by the California Culture and Historical Endowment, or CCHE, last week. CCHE awarded a grant of $208,000 to the Fiddletown Preservation Society, or FPS. The small foothill village of Fiddletown is unique for having four gold rush era structures remaining from its 19th century Chinatown. Most early Chinatowns in California were destroyed by arson or demolition. Fiddletown’s Chinese gambling hall and general store, both constructed around 1860, are in danger of crumbling due to deterioration from time and weather. Since 2001, the FPS has been seeking public and private funds to save these remainders of a once-vibrant Chinese community.

The buildings are across the street from the rammed-earth Chew Kee Museum, a historic Chinese herb store that was restored in the 1980s. This first phase of the Fiddletown Restoration of Chinese Structures project will stabilize and weatherproof the two endangered Chinese buildings. Additional money was raised from local grants, Chinese organizations and private donations. CCHE is a grant program designed to preserve stories of the many people who together make up an historic and modern California. CCHE has awarded a total of $122 million dollars from the California Neighborhood Parks and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 — more commonly known as Proposition 40.