CHEW KEE STORE MUSEUM

Fiddletown’s Chew Kee Store is unique in California, a time capsule that reflects 100 years of continuous habitation by Chinese immigrants and residents. Everything in the store is authentic, reflecting the daily life and work of its various inhabitants: herb doctor Yee Fung Cheung, who founded the store in the mid-1850s; merchant-gambler Chew Kee and wife Sigh Choy; and their adopted son “Jimmie” Chow (Fong Chow Yow) who was born and died in Fiddletown – much loved by the community and the only Chinese person buried in its public cemetery. Each resident left behind objects that tell the story of Chinese culture transplanted in emergent California. 

The building was constructed by Chinese workers using the traditional Chinese technique of rammed earth, resulting in thick mud-packed walls that cool the structure during hot summer days. The store served as a business and home for its residents. Besides the spacious commercial room at the front, private living space includes bedrooms, an office, and two add-on kitchens – much of the interior is built with hand-hewn wood. All furnishings and artifacts in the rooms are original. 

The Chew Kee Store is open to the public as a museum operated by the Fiddletown Preservation Society, April-October, on Saturdays only from noon - 4:00 pm and by appointment.

Virtual Tour of Chew Kee Store Museum

Map for Chinese buildings

Chew Kee Store Facebook Page

CHINESE GAMBLING HOUSE

The building was used as a gambling house in the 19th century and owned for many years by Yee Fung, probably the same man who established the Chinese herb store across the street. There was much activity between the two buildings, especially when the merchant Chew Kee took over the herb store. He was one of the shareholders in 1884, when the gambling house was established as Fook Tai Chong or the Fortune Peaceful Gambling House. Chew Kee Store resident “Jimmie” Chow recalled “sing-song” girls occupying the loft. Their music could be heard throughout Chinatown.

This structure was most likely built by Chinese workers in the 1850s to early 1860s. The rear wall consists of the bare earth and rock of the steeply sloping hillside to the south. Its brick facing abuts the stone walls on the sides. The lack of windows, except for a small window in front, made it suitable for use as a gambling house. As with many gold rush buildings, iron doors and the window shutter protected the interior from fire. 

The Gambling House underwent exterior restoration in 2008 to stabilize and weatherproof the structure. The interior is currently bare awaiting funding to make this into a museum. The building is open only at special events.