Eureka Breaks Ground on Chinatown Monument Honoring Historic Chinese Community

Groundbreaking for the Eureka Chinatown Monument took place this week at the corner of 1st and E Streets, a site chosen a few blocks from the city's historic Chinatown at 4th and E Streets. Organizers from the Eureka Chinatown Project, an initiative of Humboldt Asian and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, joined representatives from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and the City of Eureka to mark the project milestone.

The monument will honor the Chinese immigrants who helped build Eureka after arriving in Humboldt beginning in 1850 and will memorialize the losses suffered during the 1885 expulsions. By 1885 more than 300 Chinese men, women, and children lived in Eureka and nearby areas, contributing labor in construction, fishing, logging, laundry, housework, and farming and supplying a significant share of local fresh produce. A stray bullet on February 6, 1885, that killed a city council member spurred a wave of violence that culminated in the forced expulsion and a banishment that lasted more than 50 years.

Eureka Chinatown Project leaders have worked since 2021 to reclaim and preserve this history. The monument's design highlights both the suffering caused by exclusionary violence and the positive contributions of immigrant communities today, creating a public landmark intended to promote recognition and reconciliation. The project also expands local public history efforts that include two Chinatown interpretive signs on city kiosks, a mural in the historic Chinatown area, naming of Charlie Moon Way, a virtual walking tour, and guided walking tours for the public, students, and educators.

Public health and social equity implications extend beyond commemoration. The erasure and displacement of a community reverberate through generations via economic displacement, loss of social networks, and unacknowledged trauma. A visible memorial can serve as an entry point for community healing, educational curricula that contextualize historic discriminatory laws, and local policy discussions about addressing long-standing inequities in housing, economic opportunity, and access to culturally responsive health and social services.

Fundraising for construction remains ongoing. Donations are being accepted through the Ink People Center for the Arts- HAPI Eureka Chinatown Monument Fund. Humboldt Asian and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity says supporters can learn more at hapihumboldt.org or by contacting hapi.humboldt@gmail.com.

For residents, the new monument means one more step toward recognizing the full history of Eureka and making public space reflect the city’s diverse past and present. As fundraising and construction proceed, organizers plan to continue public programming and education tied to the site so the story of Chinatown and its descendants remains part of Humboldt County’s civic landscape.