Asians in the Inland Empire

Kathy Stephens
B. A. Anthropology, CSUSB, June 2000



Chinese worker in Riverside CA, orange packing plant


My Asian-American Class Project

Sociology 590-03, Spring 2002, Dr. James Fenelon

red bar


DEMOGRAPHICS STUDY

U. S. Federal Census-Asians in the Inland Empire: 1860-1870; 1880; 1900

Statistics Based on the Federal Census in the Inland Empire

Early Asian Businesses in the Inland Empire

Photographs by Kathy Stephens: Chinese & Japanese graves at Olivewood Cemetery, Riverside, CA; Chinese Landmarks in Riverside, CA

red bar


Report of My Demographic Study

The liturature on the early Chinese in the United States tells us that the Chinese immigrants were predominately male and unmarried or married without their wives. This project was an exploration into that premise in the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties of California). I wanted to discover if the Inland Empire followed the rule or was the exception. I also wanted to learn their occupations to determine WHY they came to the Inland Empire. When I looked at the original census, the Chinese picture became much more clear than by just reading someone else's findings and taking their word for it, regardless of thier respected status as a researcher and a writer.

Glenn and Yap (2000: 279) write that "from 1850 to 1882 . . . 300,000 Chinese left Guangdong Province to work in California and the West. The vast majority were male laborers, about half of whom left wives behind." In my survey of the 1880 Federal Census for San Bernardino County, which included the city of Riverside, I found 102 total male population. Of these 102 men, two were married, living with a wife and 25 were married without a resident wife; therefore, of the 100 other males, 75% were single and 25% were married but alone.

Glenn and Yap (2000: 280-281) also write that the Chinese were "employed as laborers or engaged in small business [and] they resided in rented rooms or shared quarters with other men. Lacking actual kin ties, they constructed fictive 'families.'" In the 1880 Federal Census of San Bernardino County, of the two Chinese couples, I found one household had additional male boarders. All other households were either a solitary male resident per household or multiple men per household. Only one residence held real kin--an uncle and a few male cousins. Of the 102 males, 5 were between the ages of 14 and 17; all other males were aged from 18 to 62, but most were under the age of 50.

The occupations as listed in the 1880 and 1900 Federal Census only reflex the occupational niches they found after their original jobs were terminated by completion of a large job or by being forced to leave a job because of white prejudice. The 1880 San Bernardino Federal Census showed occupations for the 102 males as: unspecified laborer (8); farm labor or gardner (26); laundry (25); cook (16); domestic servant (9); railroad (15); merchant or agent (2); barber (1).

In Needles, the Chinese arrived to help build local railroads. After the job was finished, some stayed to start laundries and restaurants. (McShane, 1988). In the desert, Chinese males worked as both cooks and miners at the Ivanpah mines. ". . . The hard-working immigrants probably speeded up the development of the desert with their work in mines, mills, and on railway construction gangs. . . and when the ore ran out, many of the Chinese stated in the desert and 'turned to restraunt and laundry work, anything where the Americans wouldn't bother them.'"(Tierney, 1979). The Chinese dug tunnels in the San Gabriel mountains and picked grapes in Cucamonga. (Allen, 1998). In Redlands after 1880, the Chinese worked for the East Redlands Water Company to construct pipe line; helped to build Smiley Heights; and worked in a San Timeteo Canyon winery. (Moore, 1974)

The Chinese and Japanese were discriminated against as to where they could live and conduct their own businesses. However, in the matter of obtaining business licences to practice those businesses, there was no discrimination. In both the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino, the Chinese and Japanese were charged the same fees for licences as the white business owners. In those that ran pool/billard halls, the fees depended only on how many tables were in the establishment.

The University of Virginia Library Census Data Browser shows that the Chinese population of San Bernardino County in 1880 numbered 126 (as opposed to the 102 I found); in 1890 there were 682 Chinese; and in 1900 there were 1,183 Chinese. In subsequent years there were no data for Chinese persons. However, by 1960 the Chinese population for Riverside and San Bernardino Counties was at the 1890 level--677 persons of Chinese birth and/or descent (1.25:1 m/f ratio). This data shows that after 1900, Chinese population in the Inland Empire was dramatically reduced. The Chinese either grew old and died off without reproducing or moved on to other areas with a larger Chinese population. By the 2000 census, Asians, Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders had grown to a total of 9% of the population of the Inland Empire. (Quick Facts for California)

The 1900 Federal Census data I found for Riverside County shows a new Japanese population. All of the Japanese I have found so far arrived in the United States between the 1870s and the 1890s. There were no Japanese in the Inland Empire in the 1880 Federal Census, therefore most Japanese arrived here in the 1890s and they mostly procured work in the citrus industry--picking fruit, packing, planting, etc. Althrough a few started their own businesses. The University of Virginia Library Census Data Browser shows that the Japanese population of Inland Empire in 1960 numbered 2,139. In Riverside County there were more males than females (1.36:1 m/f) and San Bernardino County had more female than males (1:1.57 m/f). The Japanese (or American soldiers) appeared to be taking advantage of bringing Japanese women to the United States due to the relaxed immigration law. In 1960 the Filipino males outnumbered female 3.5:1.

Due to time restraints for this project I was unable to complete my own review of the federal census data for 1900 Riverside and San Bernardino counties but hope to continue with that in the future, time permitting!

Bibliography

Allen, David. "Ancient Chinese Secret." Daily Bulletin, San Bernardino, CA. Aug 9, 1998. A19

Glenn, Evelyn Nakano and Yap, Stacey G. H. 2000. "Chinese American Families" in Asian Americans: Experiences and Perspectives. Edited by Timothy P. Fong and Larry H. Shinagawa. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

McShane, Maggie. 1988. "The Railroad Brought Chinese to the Thriving River Community." Needles Desert Star. July 6, 1988. A7.

Moore, Frank. 1974. With A Grain of Salt. Redlands Daily Facts. July 3, 1974, p 16

Tierney, Jean. 1979. "Chinese--Lost Page in Desert History. The Sun. San Bernardino, CA. July 1, 1979. C1.

red bar

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ASIANS IN THE INLAND EMPIRE
  1. Horton, Loren Marvin. 1957. A study of attitudes and actions of the citizens of Redlands, California, toward the local Chinese immigrant labor force from 1885 to 1895; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Redlands, 1957. Pfau Library (3rd Floor), CSUSB, F869.R3 H67

  2. Journal of the Riverside Historical Society. Number 5, Feb 2001. [NOTE: entire journal is about the Chinese and Japanese of Riverside, CA] Riverside Public Library (Mission Inn Ave), Local History.

  3. Leun, Wong Ho. An American Chinatown. 1987. Volumes 1 & 2. San Diego, CA: Edited and published by The Great Basin Foundation. Pfau Library, Reference Desk, CSUSB. F869.R6W66 1987. [focuses on Riverside but includes info for San Bernardino, and Redlands].

  4. Patterson, Tom. 1971. A Colony for California: Riverside's First Hundred Years, 2nd Edition; Riverside, CA: The Museum Press of the Riverside Museum Associates, reprinted 1996; Pfau Library (3rd Floor), CSUSB F869.R6 P28 1996

  5. Riverside Municipal Museum. 1991. Life in little Gom-benn: Chinese Immigrant Society in Riverside, 1885-1930. PFAU Library (3rd Floor), CSUSB, F869 .R6 L544 1991

  6. Wong, Morrison Gideon. 1977The Japanese in Riverside, 1890-1945: a special case in race relations; Pfau Library (3rd Floor), CSUSB, F869.R59 J38 1977

red bar


LINKS TO ASIANS IN THE INLAND EMPIRE

A History of Chinese Americans in California: Historic Sites, "Riverside Chinese American Community Site"

Chinatown in Riverside, it's the 10th item down

Chinatown in Redlands; item D1 Archaeology

Chinatowns in the Inland Empire, Chaffey College report


red bar


LINKS TO ASIANS IN CALIFORNIA

red bar

Visit Gypsy Stuff!

Visit Anthropology Stuff!

Return to Kathy's Home Page.

Let me know what you think about my page. Email Me!

Last revised on October 19, 2004