The Sugar Land Heritage Foundation is pleased to host the Chinese Railroad Workers Exhibit at the Sugar Land Heritage Museum from May 12 to June 9. This is a historical photography exhibit is brought to the Sugar Land Heritage Museum by the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs Association (APAPA), consists of approximately 57 panels. This Exhibition pays tribute and gives a voice to the approximately 12,000 Chinese workers, who with extraordinary determination and resolve, completed the massive west coast segment of the world’s first Transcontinental Railroad. This exhibition shows the history of the Chinese Railroad Worker from 1865 to 1896, and this marks the 153rd Anniversary of the Chinese Building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
There will be a reception on May 19th at the Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Sugar Land resident, Dr. Raymond Chong, a descendant of a Transcontinental Railroad Worker, will provide brief remarks about his experiences and background of the Exhibit.
A Research Project at Stanford, Chinese Railroad Workers, “Between 1865 and 1869, thousands of Chinese migrants toiled at a grueling pace and in perilous working conditions to help construct America’s first Transcontinental Railroad. The Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project seeks to give a voice to the Chinese migrants whose labor on the Transcontinental Railroad helped to shape the physical and social landscape of the American West. The Project coordinates research in North America and Asia in order to create an on-line digital archive available to all, along with books, digital visualizations, conferences and public events.” For more information, please see their website. https://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/wordpress/
The contribution of the Chinese Railroad Workers has been documented and these workers are a U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Honor Inductee for their efforts on the western section of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Chinese Workers are also in the National Railroad Hall of Fame.