Mr. Lee Wing

Mr. Lee Wing, via Traces of Texas

This is via Traces of Texas which, as far as I am aware, is only on Facebook. For those not on Facebook, here's the story that goes with this wonderful photo.

Circa 1900, Mr. Lee Wing, owner of a Chinese laundry in El Paso. The story of the Chinese in El Paso is not generally known: I will relate it in further detail in a subsequent post. Suffice to say that quite a few Chinese laborers were brought in to build the railroads, particularly in south Texas. When the job was completed, many of them remained in El Paso which, to this day, has a vibrant Chinese community. In fact, if you go to the Concordia cemetery in El Paso, there is a large, walled off, separate section for folks of Chinese descent ----- the only such section that I am aware of in any cemetery in Texas.