The Story
Wong Fee Lee arrived in America in 1870 and became Deadwood's leading Chinese merchant, building the Wing Tsue Bazaar ("Assembly of Glories") into a thriving import business selling silk, tea, porcelain, and herbal medicine to Chinese and non-Chinese customers alike. The complex — brick buildings of 1885 and 1896 — sat at the heart of one of the largest Chinatowns between Chicago and San Francisco. The Wong family lived and worked there for nearly 45 years. The historic building survived every 19th-century fire, only to be demolished by choice on Christmas Eve, 2005.
Surprising Facts
→ Deadwood's Chinatown was, at its peak, one of the largest Chinese communities between Chicago and San Francisco.
→ The building survived every one of Deadwood's famous fires — then was demolished on Christmas Eve, 2005.
→ A reconstructed Chinese ceremonial altar tied to this community is now displayed at Mount Moriah Cemetery.