What Have we Learned About Chinese Railroad Workers?

Chinese immigrants composed over 75 percent of the Transcontinental Railroad workforce between 1865 and 1869, numbering more than 11,000 by its completion. These Chinese laborers, mostly young men ages 15-25, left their families and homes in China to seek new economic opportunities. The contributions of these Chinese railroad workers to Utah and the United States are slowly becoming better known.

During construction of the 1,776-mile railroad, about 500 people lived in Terrace, Utah. Today, a sign marking the spot where the town once stood and scattered bricks and debris are almost all that’s left of it aboveground. The project at Terrace, Utah began in the Fall of 2020 and discovered, according to Merritt, “the first fully excavated Chinese home on the transcontinental railroad regardless of state. A pretty exciting data point. It really helps us understand the technology they were using to build it with, the materials and also the style.”

Time & Location

Tuesday, May 11, 2027

Cost: Free

Doors open: 6 p.m.

Presentation starts: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Rick Allen Room in the Herrett Center, Twin Falls, ID

Presenter

Chris Merritt received his Ph.D. from the University of Montana in Anthropology in 2010, focusing on the archaeological and historical investigations of the Overseas Chinese. Before that, he received a Master’s of Science in Industrial Archaeology from Michigan Technological University where he studied the trade and consumption of Mormon-produced pottery in Utah. Since 2004, Merritt has worked in a variety of professional archaeological settings including the United States Forest Service in Utah and Nevada, private archaeological contracting in Salt Lake City and finally as the State Historic Preservation Officer for the State of Utah’s Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. In addition to full time employment with the State of Utah, he is Adjunct Faculty at Salt Lake Community College and Weber State University where he teaches courses on Historical Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management.