ISLETON, Calif. — The Isleton Museum opened for the first time after a 31-year-long renovation project was completed Thursday.
Dozens showed up for a reopening ceremony at the Bing Kong Tong building in the Sacramento County town of Isleton. The building, rebuilt by Chinese laborers after a fire in 1926, is located along a stretch of Main Street in Isleton known as the Asian American Historic District.
It was once used as a community center and Chinese language school before federal immigration laws in the 1940s excluded Chinese from entering the United States, dwindling the Chinese population in the town.
Kathryn Chan remembers visiting Isleton as a child and learning about its history second-hand from research passed down to her from family members.
"When I read the history that my aunt gave me, the immigration papers that she got from the National Archives, and look at the old pictures and think about the struggle that the immigrants had in the 1880s with the Chinese Exclusion Act and all the other travails that they had to go through. A little bit of that is captured in that building," said Chan. "It makes me really proud."
That's why it was important for Chan and her father, who once lived in Isleton, to join the crowd of dozens who attended a ceremony for the museum's opening day.
"It made me happy," said Chan. "My dad is 95 years old and for him to see this, it's coming full circle in a way."
Like Chan, Lynne Hasz has also been waiting for the doors to finally open.
As a leading member of the foundation that helped renovate the building, Hasz says Thursday's grand opening was historic.
"It started basically in 1991 and the building at that time was owned by the San Francisco Tong," said Hasz. "The San Francisco Tong saw it was falling apart and so they told the city of Isleton if a historic society were formed that they would give them the building so that's actually what took place."
The museum is open Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. While admission is free, the museum does accept donations.
"I think people are happy, the ones that did work on it are relieved that it's done and the other people look forward to better times," said Hasz.
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