Established in the 1870s, Boston's Chinatown has been an Asian American cultural hub for over 150 years. It is the only remaining historic Chinatown in New England. Below are resources to explore this rich history, from early Chinese laundries to present-day affordable housing activism.
Getting Started
Not sure where to begin your research? Want to read an overview of Chinatown's history? Here are some resources to get you started. This section includes articles, interactive exhibits, and heritage trails.
Chinatown Atlas, opens a new window
The Boston Chinatown Atlas explores Chinatown’s changes over time. You can see overviews of Chinatown organized by historical timeframe. The site includes personal stories, photos, maps, and interactive features on the website.
An Early History of Boston's Chinatown, opens a new window
This article from the National Park Service (NPS) discusses Boston's first wave of Chinese immigration, anti-immigrant backlash, and the establishment of the Chinese community. Other useful NPS articles include:
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- An article on veteran advocate Alice Yick, opens a new window
- The National Register of Historic Places form for the Quincy Grammar School, opens a new window
- The National Register of Historic Places form for the Chinatown district, opens a new window
Timeline of the History of Chinatowns in the United States, opens a new window
This timeline summarizes events and legislation that have shaped Chinatowns across the country. It is part of the Welcome to America's Chinatowns project, opens a new window through Google Arts & Culture.
Boston Women's Heritage Trail: Chinatown, opens a new window
Founded in 1989, the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail celebrates the history of women in Boston. The sites recognize women through South Cove's/Chinatown's long immigrant history. Women highlighted include Ruby Foo, opens a new window, Mary Soo Hoo, opens a new window, and Chew Shee Chin., opens a new window
Restoring Chinese Heritage in Boston's History, opens a new window
This article by Dr. Wing-Kai To discusses the legacy of Chinese Americans in Boston. It covers the earliest sailors up to the urban renewal of the 1960s.
Immigrant History Trail, opens a new window
The Immigrant History Trail is a multimedia public art project. It uses community archives to share stories about Chinatown's working class immigrant histories. The website features a directory of different historic places in the neighborhood. Each page has a description and related resources. Descriptions are available in English and Chinese.
This article from the City of Boston explores Chinatown's immigrants, cultures, and community activism by examining two oral histories from the 1970s.
China Comes to MIT: A History of the First Chinese Students: 1877-1931, opens a new window
This online exhibit celebrates the history of Chinese students at MIT. This website was a companion resource for the 2017 exhibit, China Comes to Tech: 1877-1931.
Harry Hom Dow: A Chinese American Trailblazer, opens a new window
Harry Hom Dow was a community activist, veteran, and the first Chinese American to pass the Massachusetts Bar exam. This digital exhibit examines Dow's life and how it tells the larger story of Chinese immigration in the 1950s.
Archival Collections
Chinatown History Directory, opens a new window
The Chinatown History Directory is an index of different collections, organizations, and people related to the history of Boston's Chinatown. The Directory serves as a starting point for more in-depth research projects. The website lists collection descriptions, subjects, material types, location, and digitization level. Some of the links are broken, so you may have to use the information in the directory to search for that resource via Google. Some digitized collections include:
Sampan Newspaper, opens a new window
Sampan is the only Chinese-English newspaper in New England. The nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, opens a new window has published it since 1972. The paper chronicles topics that are often ignored by mainstream press about the Asian American community. Other newspapers at the BPL, opens a new window can have useful archival material, too.
Northeastern University's Sampan Newspaper Collection, opens a new window has paper records going back to 1970 and digitized issues from 2010. Many older issues of Sampan are also digitized on Internet Archive, opens a new window. Please note that while still a useful resource, many of these scans are poor quality. The Boston Public Library has Sampan available on microfilm, opens a new window. The BPL also has microfilm holdings of several other Chinese American newspapers, opens a new window from across the country.
My China Roots, opens a new window
My China Roots is a genealogy database dedicated to researching the Chinese diaspora across the world. This resource also includes genealogy clan books, immigration case file indexes, Chinese association membership records, Chinese business directories, overseas Chinese cemetery records, guides to get started, and more. Though not specifically for Boston, the database has thousands of records related to Chinese history in Massachusetts. Be sure to check out our YouTube tutorial, opens a new window for help getting started.
Boston's Asian American Community History, opens a new window
The Boston Asian American Community History Portal includes over 7,700 digitized items. The portal also has interactive timelines about Parcel C, opens a new window and the Chinese Progressive Association, opens a new window. Four core collections make up the majority of the website:
Digital Commonwealth, opens a new window
This site provides access to digitized historic materials from institutions across Massachusetts. Useful subject headings include (in alphabetical order):
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- Andy's Garment Workers Food Service (Boston, Mass.)
- Asian Americans--Massachusetts--Boston
- August Moon Festival
- Chinatown (Boston, Mass.)
- Chinatown Coalition (Boston, Mass.)
- Chinese American children
- Chinese American Experiences Mass. Memories Roadshow
- Chinese Americans--Massachusetts--Boston
- Chinese Americans--Massachusetts—Boston + Ethnic festivals--Massachusetts--Boston
- Chinese Americans--Massachusetts—Boston + King, Mel, 1928-2023
- Chinese American teenagers
- Chinese New Year
- Chinese Progressive Association (Boston, Mass.)
- Chinese Resident Association (Boston, Mass.)
- Chinese restaurants--Massachusetts--Boston
- Clothing workers
- Garment Workers Center (Boston, Mass.)
- Huang, Long Guang
- Josiah Quincy School (Boston, Mass.)
- Lee, Suzanne
- Wong, Henry
- Yee, You King
Atlascope is a tool for exploring historic urban maps in metropolitan Boston. It overlays historic atlases from different time periods or the present day. It currently includes 106 atlases of the Boston metropolitan area. It is a great way to see how Chinatown has evolved over time.
Boston Redevelopment Authority Collection, opens a new window
Established in 1957, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) oversees development in the city. Many people use this collection to research gentrification and eminent domain in the city. In 2016, the BRA was renamed the Boston Planning and Development Agency, opens a new window. On their website, you can find research publications and a list of current development projects.
Academic Articles
There is a wealth of academic articles about Boston Chinatown. These can help supplement your research and find new avenues of exploration.
This is the best database for academic articles on Chinatown. With your library card, you can access JSTOR's more than 12 million journal articles, opens a new window, books, opens a new window, images, opens a new window, and primary sources, opens a new window. For help using this database, be sure to check out the BPL blog post, "Research 101: JSTOR, opens a new window."
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- "Chinese Women Entering New England: Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files, Boston, 1911-1925" by Shauna Lo
- "The Making of a Chinese Boycott: The Origins of the 1905 Anti-American Movement" by Sin-Kiong Wong
- "Changing Neighborhood: Ethnic Enclaves and the Struggle for Social Justice" by Michael Liu and Kim Geron
Google Scholar, opens a new window
Some articles listed are full-text, and others are citations or abstracts. To integrate articles that you have access to with your BPL card, you can follow these steps:
- Go to https://scholar.google.com
- Look at the left corner menu icon and click Settings from the menu.
- Click on Library Links from the navbar along the side of the page.
- Enter Boston Public Library in the text field next to Library Links then click on the Search button.
- Check the box in front of Boston Public Library and then click Save in the lower right corner.
Some of the articles you can find include:
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- "Chinatown Is Not For Sale: Immigrant and Youth Mobilization Against Gentrification in New York, San Francisco, and Boston" by Diane Wong
- "Overdue, returned, and missing: the changing stories of Boston's Chinatown Branch Library" by Aditi Mehti
- "The struggle over Parcel C: how Boston's Chinatown won a victory in the fight against institutional expansion and environmental racism" by Andrew Leong
Some articles listed are full-text, and others are citations or abstracts. For articles on Chinatown, this is more useful as an index. If you find an article that you would like that we don't have access to, you can request to borrow it from another library. Some of the articles you can find include:
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- "The Lion Dance in Boston's Chinatown" by Casey Avaunt
- "Who owns Chinatown: Neighbourhood preservation and change in Boston and Philadelphia" by Arthur Acolin and Domenic Vitiello
Books
Last but not least, you can borrow related books from the library.
A People's Guide to Greater Boston
The Snake Dance of Asian American Activism
Need more help with your research?
Contact our Research Services in person at the Washington Desk in the Central Library or online at ask@bpl.org. We are happy to help!
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