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History of Chinese Americans in St. Louis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Greater St. Louis has a Chinese community.

The first Chinese immigrant to St. Louis was Alla Lee, a 24-year-old from Ningbo who arrived in 1857.[1] He socialized with the Irish American community and married an Irish woman. He sold coffee and tea in a shop on North Tenth Street.[2]

Around 1867, several hundred Chinese looking for work in factories and mines in and around St. Louis moved there from New York and San Francisco. The community they settled, Hop Alley, became St. Louis' Chinatown.[2]

This community disappeared in 1966 when it was demolished to make room for a parking lot for Busch Stadium.[2] Many Chinese Americans moved to St. Louis's Missouri suburbs,[3] where they founded Chinese-language schools and Chinese churches and community organizations.[4]

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Demographics

In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, the ethnic Chinese population was less than 0.1% of the city's population.[2] There were 300 Chinese in St. Louis by the end of the 19th century.[5] In 1960, 102 Chinese lived in the St. Louis suburbs, making up 30% of the Greater St. Louis Chinese. In 1970, 461 lived in the suburbs, making up 80% of the area population. In 1980 the number increased to 3,873, making up 78% of the area population. In 1990, the number increased to 3,873, making up 83% of the area total.[6]

The 2000 U.S. Census said that there were 9,120 people of Chinese descent in Greater St. Louis. Huping Ling, author of Chinese St. Louis: From Enclave to Cultural Community, said that unofficial estimates as of 2004 ranged from 15,000 to 20,000.[6] She said that 1% of the population of suburban St. Louis was ethnic Chinese and that the "great majority" of the ethnic Chinese in the area lived in the suburbs, particularly those west and south of St. Louis.[6]

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Economy

As of 2004, the St. Louis area had more than 300 Chinese restaurants.[6]

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, St. Louis' Chinese population provided 60% of the city's laundry services.[2]

Institutions

As of 2004, there were more than 40 Chinese community organizations in the area.[6] Organization of Chinese Americans has an area chapter, OCA St. Louis, founded in 1973.[7] Other organizations include the St. Louis Overseas Chinese Educational Activity Center aka the Chinese Cultural Center [note 1], the St. Louis Taiwanese Association, the Chinese Liberty Assembly, and the St. Louis Chinese Jaycees.[4]

Cuisine

Chop suey, from the mid-20th century, especially declined in the West Coast and the East Coast with new Chinese immigration and with more diverse types of food available, while it retained more prominence in the American Midwest, where there was less Chinese immigration. St. Louis, Missouri, as of 2012, continued to have a number of chop suey restaurants in low income neighborhoods.[8] That year, the majority of them were in the northern part of the city, in African-American communities.[9] The restaurants were spread around since the previous Chinatown, Hop Alley, was razed.[8] In 2012, 22 restaurants directly used the words "chop suey" in their names.[9]

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Education

Thumb
St. Louis Modern Chinese School students perform Chinese Kung Fu at the University of Missouri–St. Louis in December 2005.

As of 2016, there were four Chinese-language schools in the St. Louis area:[6]

As well, St. Louis University High School has Chinese-language programs and is home to a Confucius classroom that is part of Webster University's Confucius Institute.

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Media

As of 2004, there were two weekly Chinese language newspapers:[6]

Religion

As of 2004 there are around 12 Chinese religious institutions.[6]

Christian churches include the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of Greater St. Louis (TPCSTL, [note 6] in Ballwin,[4][18] the St. Louis Chinese Christian Church (SLCCC;[note 7] in Chesterfield,[4][19] the St. Louis Chinese Gospel Church [note 8] in Manchester,[4][20] the Light of Christ Lutheran Chinese Mission [note 9] in Olivette,[4][21][22] The St. Louis Chinese Baptist Church (STLCBC; [note 10] in St. Peters,[4][23] the Lutheran Asian Ministry in St. Louis, and the St. Louis Tabernacle of Joy.[4]

The other religious institutions are the St. Louis Amitabha Buddhist Learning Center,[4] the St. Louis Tzu-Chi Foundation,[4][24] the St. Louis International Buddhist Association,[4] the Mid-America Buddhist Association (MABA) in Augusta,[4][25] and the St. Louis Falun Dafa.[4] The Fo Guang Shan St. Louis Buddhist Center (FGS) [note 11] is in Bridgeton.[26]

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Recreation

The Chinese Culture Days are annually held at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The Chinese community organizations sponsor this event, cultural gatherings, and other Chinese-American events.[6]

Notable residents

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    traditional Chinese: 聖路易斯中華文化中心; simplified Chinese: 圣路易斯中华文化中心; pinyin: Shènglùyìsī Zhōnghuá Wénhuà Zhōngxīn
  2. [N 2]
    聖路易中文學校; 圣路易中文学校; Shènglùyì Zhōngwén Xuéxiào
  3. [N 3]
    聖路易中華語文學校; 圣路易中华语文学校; Shènglùyì Zhōnghuá Yǔwén Xuéxiào
  4. [N 4]
    聖路易時報; 圣路易时报; Shènglùyì Shíbào
  5. [N 5]
    聖路易新聞; 圣路易新闻; Shènglùyì Xīnwén
  6. [N 6]
    聖路易臺灣基督長老教會; 圣路易台湾基督长老教会; Shèng Lùyì Táiwān Jīdū Zhǎnglǎo Jiàohuì
  7. [N 7]
    聖路易華人基督教會; 圣路易华人基督教会; Shèng Lùyì Huárén Jīdūjiàohuì
  8. [N 8]
    聖路易中華福音教會; 圣路易中华福音教会; Shèng Lùyì Zhōnghuá Fúyīn Jiàohuì
  9. [N 9]
    基督之光路德會華人教會; 基督之光路德会华人教会; Jīdū zhī Guāng Lùdéhuì Huárén Jiàohuì
  10. [N 10]
    聖路易華人浸信會; 圣路易华人浸信会; Shèng Lùyì Huárén Jìnxìnhuì
  11. [N 11]
    佛光山聖路易禪淨中心; 佛光山圣路易禅净中心; Fó Guāngshān Shèng Lùyì Chánjìng Zhōngxīn
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References

Further reading

External links

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