The Chinese Massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory, September 2, 1885

The events of one terrible day in a Union Pacific Coal Company camp called Rock Springs continue to fascinate and appall. What came to be known as the Chinese Massacre haunts southwest Wyoming to this day. When threats against unarmed Chinese led to an outbreak of violent lawlessness, the houses of Chinatown were burned to ashes and its residents gunned down or chased at gunpoint into the desert. Following the riot, company officials, the local sheriff, Wyoming's territorial governor, and President Grover Cleveland along with the United States Army all ultimately proved unable to punish even one person for the murders, thefts, and property destruction of September 2, 1885. What mainly disappeared from the record were the everyday lives of the Chinese miners, mostly single men who hoped to return to China one day while toiling to bring the carbon out of the ground. In this reprint of an 1886 account of the official inquiries, eyewitness statements, and contemporary newspaper accounts of informative or inflammatory nature, the Sweetwater County Historical Museum adds both familiar and never-before-published photos and documents to augment an already riveting historical record.