What Couldn't Be Erased: Deadwood's Chinatown
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In 1876, Chinese immigrants arrived in Deadwood, South Dakota, building restaurants, laundries, medical practices, and a temple that smelled of incense from a block away. By 1880, there were over 200 - possibly 400. But then the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 changed everything.
In this episode, we explore how a thriving community faced systematic legal persecution - yet refused to disappear. We'll meet Wong Fee Lee, who became the first Chinese property owner in Deadwood in 1877, and Judge Granville Bennett, who made sure Chinese clients got fair trials even as the Supreme…
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