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This exceedingly modest redwood building holds many stories.
The Shinn family hired Chinese workers from the 1870s on through the 1950s or 1960s. The original Shinn cottage was close to Alameda Creek. Also by the creek there was a "China Camp" for the nursery and ranch workers, as seen in Mrs. Gusman's hand-drawn map. There were two dwellings (bunkhouses for sleeping and business), a cookhouse, and an outhouse. HABS reports date the building to 1917.
The remaining bunkhouse is under a silver tarp, waiting for the Chinese Bunkhouse Preservation Project to preserve it. Would you be interested in help them?
In the 1950s, the cottage and the "China Camp" were brought up from the creek because the gravel was to be quarried. There were four buildings of the China Camp, two dwellings, a cookhouse, and an outhouse. A series of photos were taken of the Shinn barn, the China Camp, and the packing shed in the barnyard in the 1970s. The bunkhouse in the 1970s was next to the old Shinn barn, separated by a Napoleon's willow.
A quince was planted next to the bunkhouse. The quince is useful for protection, beauty, and food. A quince patch of a similar color quince is in the Japanese garden today. It is marked on the map.
The remaining bunkhouse is in the very back of the park.
The bunkhouse today ... waiting.
The Chinese Bunkhouse Preservation Project has been working toward the preservation of the bunkhouse to be used as a tangible piece of the history of the Chinese workers at the Shinn Ranch.
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