The latest historical landmark to be designated in Nevada County won’t actually have a plaque dedication until almost a year later. That’s two Chinatowns that once existed in Truckee. The applicant was the Truckee-Donner Historical Society. Society President, Greg Zirbel, says the long overdue acknowledgement identifies and honors those many Chinese people who contributed to the town’s viability and sustainability in the late 1800’s. That includes laboring to build the Transcontinental Railroad…

click to listen to Greg Zirbel

Then, seven years later, the second Chinatown was established, across the tracks, in 1875. But besides that important work, the Chinese, who made up about a-quarter of the 16-hundred residents there at the time, were also merchants, cooks teamsters, domestic servants, gardeners, doctors, and launderers. The ceremony has been scheduled for May 10th of next year…

click to listen to Greg Zirbel

The plaque will be mounted on the site of the Old Truckee Jail Museum, located within the boundaries of the historical Chinatowns. The Historical Landmarks Commission says without the Chinese population, Truckee may not have survived and thrived.