Mapping Missoula's Chinese History

After the New Year, the non-fun mail typically fades as holiday cards dwindle away. Then, earlier this month, I received a delightful surprise—an unexpected New Year’s card from a dear colleague who has become a great friend. It was a beautiful card celebrating the Year of the Snake and the Chinese New Year.

The timing of this card felt like divine inspiration. At that moment, I was deep in rewrites for a chapter in Reaching for Reveries, where my characters are celebrating the Chinese New Year in Missoula, Montana, in the early 1900s. I realized I had overlooked which zodiac animal was associated with that particular year. This small but significant detail prompted further research, which in turn fueled my creativity and enriched the historical and cultural depth of the narrative.

Lacking photographs of the interiors of some of the buildings featured in the scene, I turned to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. These invaluable resources provided a geographical footprint and floorplans of buildings from that era. Excitement overwhelmed me, when I saw that Missoula’s Chinese district was meticulously sketched out! Their businesses were nearby where the majority of my novel takes place. I recalled at that moment that I had jotted down in my research notes that Chinese business owners were delivering candy and nuts to their customers by bicycle during the celebration I was writing about—seeing their business district mapped out offered a new perspective on the overall community and the interactions in their daily lives.

200 block of Main Street, Missoula, Montana, c1902. Library of Congress, Sanborn Maps.

This was one of those serendipitous moments where all the frequencies in my world aligned. My next questions needed answers, ones like – Who are the people who owned these businesses? I need to put a name, an identity to these people. I then consulted city directories to learn more about the individuals who owned Chinese businesses in Missoula. I found that Wah John Quong owned a mercantile store at 229 W. Main Street, while Quet Lung operated a restaurant at 120 W. Front Street. There were many more leading me to want to dig deeper into the contributions of Missoula’s Chinese community.

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According to the Montana History Portal:

Unidentified Chinese man, Chung Own's store, Virginia City, Montana. Between 1896-1905. Montana History Portal

While Chinese miners did work in the gold fields of southwestern Montana, by the 1880s and 1890s most worked [and/or owned] laundries, restaurants, gardens, and other service industries. Reaching a peak of more than 2,500 Chinese Montanans in 1890, their work was key to helping the development of Montana, though their presence was not always appreciated. Chinese Montanans faced frequent discrimination and attempts to expel them from the region.

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In uncovering this history, I also came across the work of Paul Kim, who has been bringing much-needed attention to Missoula’s Chinese community, bridging its past with the present. His research has sparked important community conversations. You can explore his fascinating insights here: Paul Kim Reveals the Hidden History.

Watch the video trailer for related film—I’ve posted it at the bottom of this blog.

If this piques your interest, you’ll definitely want to check out Reaching for Reveries, my second book in the Sagacity Stories series, where I seamlessly incorporate these rich historical details into a fictional narrative help bringing the past to life. I'll be detailing more information about the research for the book leading up to my trip to Montana this summer.