Fiddletown Preservation Society: To preserve and maintain and restore, whenever possible, the historical buildings, records and relics of Fiddletown, including the Chew Kee Museum, Chinese Gambling Hall, Chinese General Store and the Fiddletown School House.
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The Fiddletown Preservation Society promotes the history of Fiddletown and manages four historic properties: The Chew Kee Store Museum, the 1862 one-room Schoolhouse, the Chinese Gambling Hall and the Chinese General Store.
We have a track record of obtaining grants and garnering support to preserve our historical buildings.
The Fiddletown Preservation Society (FPS) formed in 1964 to save the 1862 Fiddletown Schoolhouse, in danger of demolition. The FPS became incorporated as a non-profit 501(c) (3) in 1965. It is sole owner of the Fiddletown Schoolhouse and works to preserve and maintain it for community and private use.
In 1967, the FPS partnered with Amador County to acquire the Chew Kee Store and the Chinese Gambling House. The FPS operates the Chew Kee Store as a museum, cares for the premises and artifacts, raises funds for restoration, and provides docents to staff the museum.
Between 2002-2008, the FPS embarked on the ROCS (Restoration of Chinese Structures), obtaining $460,000 from two state grants to save and preserve the Chinese Gambling Hall and the Chinese General Store. These buildings are now under the care of the FPS.
The FPS and the Yee Family Foundation received the Governor’s award in 1989 for historical preservation of the Chew Kee Store during the 1987 restoration.
The ROCS project received the California Preservation Foundation’s 2009 Preservation Design Award and the 2010 Governor’s Preservation Award. Fiddletown’s Gold Rush Chinatown was recognized as vitally important to the preservation of the culture and history of California.
Our Video Tour of Chew Kee Store Museum
Photographs of the Chew Kee Interior
Open to visitors: April-October, on Saturdays only from noon to 4:00 pm and by appointment for tours.
Come experience this authentic view of Chinese life transplanted to California.
A commercial enterprise and a home: more than 100 years of continuous Chinese residency.
The building is only open during special events.
Constructed by Chinese workers in the late 1850s to early 1860s.
Owned by Yee Fung:
With funds from two California grants, the Gambling House underwent exterior restoration in 2008 to stabilize and weatherproof the structure. The brick facing was reattached to stone walls.
The building is only open during special events.
Constructed in the mid-1850s or early 1860s by Americans who owned property in the heart of Chinatown. Expensive fire-resistant brick replaced wooden structures as the town developed permanency.
The merchant Foo Kee obtained a deed to the property in 1871.
The Chinese General Store, along with the Gambling House, received two state grants which saved the building from collapsing. Exterior reconstruction and weatherproofing were completed in 2008.
Fiddletown’s one-room schoolhouse was constructed in 1862, replacing the first schoolhouse built in 1855. Similar to other schoolhouses in the county, the Fiddletown Schoolhouse consists of wood frame construction with clapboard siding, a porch and a belfry on top.
If you would like to become a member &/or make a donation, please complete the attached form and mail the completed form to the address at the bottom.
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and improve conditions. If you would like to just make a donation, please use the form above or the donate button below.
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