A Little Bit Of History ~

SUN SUN WO CO.
EST. 1851
CHINATOWN GROCERY - COULTERVILLE, CA.

One of the earlier gold rush buildings, and one of the last adobe structures left. This general store was established and operated by the Chinese from 1851 until 1926. Named after it's original owners Mow DA Sun and his son, Sun Row. This store was a major business in the area eventually branching out to Red Cloud about ten miles north - east of this building.
The original shelves and counters are still in the store, and there is evidence that part of the office was used as an opium den.
A dirt ceiling and the fireproof walls spared the building from the fires that razed Coulterville.

At the bottom of this post there is a video clip with one of the current owners. It will show you what it looks like inside of the building.















The town of Coulterville is also known to be a ghost town. I have to tell you, when we first drove into this particular town (without knowing about it being a "ghost town"), we stopped at the cemetery. I saw a huge statue of an angel towards the back of the cemetery I wanted to check out. I know, I know... some people think it is morbid to wander around a cemetery. I am obviously not one of those people. No one will accompany me except Wanda Mom (well... come to think about it more, maybe my mom and step dad on occasion.) on these little excursions; she would tell me stories about her and her best friend playing when they were little for hours in a cemetery they both lived close to. The day before she moved, we walked through the cemetery she played in when she was little and she pointed out where every story she told me took place.

Anyways, I am getting off of the subject. When I walked through this particular cemetery, I felt the heebie jeebies. The dogs were barking and there was a creepy man walking by that also gave me the wheelies (Sorry - nothing against men, there are creepy women too. I am being honest! Maybe I should have written creepy person...). Just a bad vibe all around! The older I get, the better I am at listening to my gut instinct! I couldn't get out of that cemetery fast enough and then I would not get out of the truck until we got into the next town.

I googled Sun Sun Wo grocery store because I wanted to know more about it. This is when I found out more about the history of the town Coulterville. I am glad I didn't see the "hang tree." Or then... maybe I did and just didn't know it was the infamous "Hang Tree." I love trees and take pictures of them all of the time! Trees are for children to climb, birds to build their nests and hang out in to sing a song. I just shudder thinking about it. I took the picture of the grocery store before we went to the cemetery. I found the history about Coulterville interesting and the looks of it charming... but I won't be going back any time soon.