Murder charge spurs hatred for Chinese

Editor's Note: This is the second in a three-part series focusing on the expulsion of Chinese residents from Rocklin in 1876.In 1876 Rocklin's Chinatown consisted of 25 shanties located northwest of Rocklin's railroad roundhouse at the corner of Granite Street (now Rocklin Road) and Front Street.The U.S. was in the midst of an economic depression that year, which meant hard times for Rocklin's quarries. Animosity against Rocklin's Chinese was rife, mainly because they competed with Euro-Americans for jobs and were willing to work hard for low wages. On Sept. 15, 1876, Placer County's sheriff investigated a homicide near Loomis. He accused Ah Sam, a Chinese cook, of murdering three Euro-Americans while trying to recover $120 that he had paid for a mining claim. The accusation was enough to incite Rocklin's citizens to action. They met on the following Monday morning and voted to notify all Chinese to leave town by 6 that evening.By 4 p.m., every Chinese resident had fled, including the Chinese roundhouse employees. Shortly after 6 p.m. several Rocklin men marched into the deserted Chinatown and destroyed all 25 dwellings.Citizens in Roseville, Loomis and Penryn joined in by evicting Chinese residents from their communities. About 100 armed men from Rocklin and about 20 from Roseville scoured the countryside, driving out the occupants of various Chinese encampments. As his pursuers closed in, Ah Sam killed himself.The events of 1876 severely disrupted the Chinese culture in South Placer County. Newspaper stories gleefully recounted the Chinese expulsions for several years afterwards. For example, the July 26, 1879 issue of the Placer Herald reported that "…six widows in Rocklin support themselves and their children by doing washing for townspeople formerly done by Chinese. No Chinaman can rent a house or obtain employment in Rocklin." Rocklin's census records for 1880 through 1910 show not one Chinese resident in Rocklin or at the Whitney Ranch. Next week's column will focus on what happened to the Chinese after they were expelled.If you're interested in preserving Rocklin's history, consider joining the Rocklin Area Historical Society. For more information, call 624-2355.