Chinese Farm Labor Bunk House: Historic Restoration, 2009
Location: Shinn Historic Park, Fremont, California
The History of Southern Alameda County unfolds itself with this project. Knowledge of this building and its use came from the historic research of Page Turnbull Architectural Historians. As the the transcontinental railroad work was completed in Niles Canyon in 1969, the Chinese labor force found employment in the bountiful nursery and farming business in Niles, California. This structure was part of Shinn Farms and was originally on the banks of the untamed Alameda Creek. It was one of four structures on the banks edge forming a residential encampment for the chinese agricultural workers employed at Shinn Farms. Unharmed after the Niles flood of the 1950’s, these structures were relocated onto the high grounds at the Shinn Estate in a continued use as Chinese Farm Labor Housing. This structure is the last remaining, of the four, and is considered to be the last structure of its type in Southern Alameda County. These preservation and reconstruction efforts are lead by the Mission Peak Heritage Foundation and their public fund raising efforts.
