John Day, OR

The Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum was once the social and material hub of its area but after being closed for more than 20 years, it was reopened to reveal a time capsule of a late 1800s general store and Chinese medicine emporium.

Originally built in 1865, this site of the Kam Wah Chung Co. Medicine Shop was bought in 1887 by two immigrants from China, Ing “Doc” Hay and Lung On. As his nickname suggests, Doc Hay was known for treating both Chinese and non-Chinese patients with traditional Chinese medicine, which he sold from his Oregon shop. As its fame and status grew, the shop began to service local miners as well selling food stuffs, tobacco, and even homebrewed whiskey.

In addition to the mercantile and apothecary, Kam Wah Chung also served as a boarding house for migratory workers and a religious and community center for the greater region. The shop served as a central hub for the area’s Chinese-American community up until the late 1940s, when Doc Hay moved into a nursing home after breaking his hip. The shop itself was simply locked up and left, unadulterated and abandoned until it was once again explored in 1969. Thanks to the sturdy construction of the building, the interior had been perfectly preserved with thousands of dried up Chinese herbs and period foods simply collecting dust on the shelves.

The site has since been restored and preserved to look as it would have in 1940, and it is filled with artifacts documenting Hay and Lung’s life as Chinese immigrants in the wild west. The shelves are filled with thousands of period artifacts and relics such as herbs and instruments from his practice, complimented by the lavish Chinese ornamentation of the shop. There are also a number of pieces of vintage furniture outfitting the space just as it did in the 19th century.