They were all men who likely came because of opportunities associated with the Gold Rush, and the city apparently tried to force them to live in designated Chinatowns several times.

At one point, between 1867 and 1872, they settled in an Uptown block between 19th and 20th streets on San Pablo Avenue. That site now is part of the proposed Forest City redevelopment project.

Today, local historians and archaeologists are searching for family memories and photographs of this early Chinatown in an effort to piece together its fragile history and to pressure the city to ensure the developer treads lightly.

Very little is known about the area. Still, initial archaeological research in the environmental impact report for the Forest City project notes the community has been documented and a "high potential" exists to encounter archaeological deposits during development.

"These deposits, if intact, may contain information about the economic, social and religious lifeways of a Chinese-American community in an area in which the Chinese in California were subjected to de facto and institutional displacement, discrimination and oppression," the EIR states.

That piqued the interest of scholars and preservationists, who have investigated further.

"We are starting to find more than we thought we would. At the beginning it looked like there was no documentation," said Anna Naruta, a University of California, Berkeley historical archaeological researcher who has taken the project under her wing.

Records are scant because there weren't families, just single male workers. "But there's a hope that someone out there might have some memories," Naruta said.

Naruta has set up a Web site, www.uptownchinatown.org, that includes a list of Chinese names from the 1880 census of Upper Chinatown residents. Because the census enumerator did not speak Chinese, the names are not complete -- apparently they are just first names.

Naruta also found the names of 10 men who worked at a laundry at the corner of 19th and San Pablo. The Web site also includes a list of non-Chinese property owners in the area, as well as maps, photographs, newspaper articles and other information.

In a 1952 Oakland Tribune article, writer Edward W. Chew writes that those Chinese who settled in the East Bay were known as the "Men from Oakand" because they chose to break with the large Chinese settlement in San Francisco. Chew contends these Chinese chose to leave the insular community and blaze new trails.

That is what makes information about the site interesting, said Sue Lee, director of the Chinese Historical Society of America, which has also gotten involved.

"People focus on San Francisco so much, you don't hear much about Oakland's history," Lee said. "We'd like to find out what brought them there, why they chose to leave the larger community and try to make a livelihood there."

The early settlers listed a variety of occupations, including fishermen, woodcutters, tinkers, farmhands, laundry workers, cooks, waiters, barbers, nurses and storekeepers. Many caught fish or shrimp on San Francisco Bay.

The first Chinatown was apparently on or near the site of City Hall, but it burned to the ground. The Chinese were relocated to 19th and San Pablo, then moved further up San Pablo to 22nd Street, before a "city father" offered land between First and Second streets and Castro and Brush, according to Chew's article.

A tiny 1872 article in the Oakland Daily Transcript speaks of "Chinamen" marching down Broadway as they were "consigned" to new homes on Second Street. It is unclear what that means, Naruta said.

The city has adopted the final EIR for the Forest City project, which will cover several blocks between 18th and 21st streets and Telegraph and San Pablo avenues. It will feature more than 200 residential units and some retail, plus the potential for a future condominium high rise.

The project is the centerpiece of Mayor Jerry Brown's plan to bring 10,000 new residents downtown, and he has been working intensely on it for several years.

Just north of Forest City, developer Alan Dones is planning a new county welfare office, plus a mix of office space, housing, retail and parking. That area also may contain artifacts, and Dones is working with archaeologists and community groups.

The city is ironing out details of the development agreement with Forest City, expected to come before the City Council in July. Naruta and Lee said they will continue working with the city on the final plan, to ensure Forest City employs an experienced archaeologist and the right equipment so any Chinatown artifacts are not damaged.

They are especially concerned about the use of backhoes and augers, because Naruta said any artifacts would likely be very shallow in depth.

Forest City will be required to do initial testing with an archaeologist approved by the city before actual construction begins.

However, the city can't require the developer to do more than required by state laws, she said.

"The subsurface testing methods must be appropriate," she said. "But if they don't find anything, there is no point in limiting the type of equipment they use after that. They can't go out with a little toothbrush over the whole site."

If anything is found, however, the area would be roped off and treated as a sensitive site, she said. Construction is unlikely to start for quite some time, because the developer still must get all building and planning permits, even if the council approves an agreement in July.

In the meantime, Naruta will continue her research. Anyone with memories or documentation of the early Chinatown is asked to call the Oakland Heritage Alliance at (510) 763-9218, or contact Naruta by e-mail at naruta@sscl.berkeley.edu.

E-mail Laura Counts at lcounts@angnewspapers.com.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
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