TRAIL: Volunteers look to establish more complete history

Liu, and Alan Wei represented the Davis APAPA Chapter, where former Mayor Ruth Asmundson is chair and Carla Datanagan is the chapter president.

Sloping toward the setting sun against the American River, the “feng shui” landscape of Gam Saan near Coloma and Lotus, was idyllic for those who perished there during the Gold Rush era. As it was believed that when they died, their spirits would not rest until they received a proper burial in China, bodies were buried in graves for future exhumation.

California State Parks have developed a “Through Our Reexamining Our Past” initiative to become more inclusive and accessible of some of the stories they've been telling, and the Chinese mining story was one that we felt needed a bit more understanding and interpretation, explained Steve Hilton, Supervisor of the Cultural Resources Program at California State Parks.

“We’re also looking at the Black experience, the Native American experience, and anybody else who isn't in mainstream literature, especially about things like the Gold Rush,” Hilton said.

“We feel like the world rushed in where we say that everybody came to Marshall for gold, and so we view this as an opportunity to expand on all those stories.” m a r e t i r ed D a v i s t e a c h e r I a m f r i e n d l y & d o n t c o m p l a i n o r c r i t i c i z e

The Gam Saan Trail meanders through heavy oak woodland, poison oak and blackberry bushes — natural deterrents that obscure the exact location of the exhumed graves and persuade people to stay on the trail.

Hilton said when the burial ground was first identified, even archaeologists back in the ’80s who looked at it didn't know exactly what it was. It wasn’t until around 20072008 that State Parks came across it. “We didn't know what we were seeing, exactly, but then we did a little bit more research,” he said. They were able to identify this area that has about 30 exhumed graves in there.

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Prior to establishing the trail, State Parks had three or four forensic canines sniff out the soft tissue remains that ended up in the soil.

According to a State Parks press release on the Gam Saan Trail, through research and a historical report completed in 1991 for a real estate sale in the area, it was revealed that a Chinese miner by the name of Toy Kee purchased a few acres near the project area in 1875 for a $55 gold coin.

A few years later, in 1881, the Lin Hing and Man Lee Companies purchased additional acreage and operated businesses, stores, a bank, and mining companies in the area from the 1870s through the early 1900s.

According to State Parks, the Man Lee building and the Wah Hop Store, once leased to a Chinese merchant of that name, are the only two remaining structures used by the Chinese that remain in Marshall Gold Park today, which houses exhibits of gold mining techniques and mercantile goods.

In April, Locke Foundation President Douglas Hsia said the Wah Hop Store “got its first taste of a Chinese docent telling its story.” As said docent, Hsia says his opening line is: “The real gold mine is to sell provisions to the gold miners. You are entering the gold mine of the gold mines.”

As Hsia notes from the park, there is the Monroe Ridge Trail that connects to the Gam Saan Trail on the other side of the hill. “We will construct a continuous story from Coloma to Lotus to the American River.”

“We really appreciate the time and the care provided by the Cultural Department at the California State Parks,” APAPA’s National President Mary Liu, of Davis, said. “And we thought it was really heartfelt and a moving ceremony because our community has really struggled with finding identity and acknowledgment of our contributions.”

Hsia said the Chinese

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As part of the Ching Ming ceremony, Liu said they marked the area with red lanterns. “And we brought our brooms and rakes and shovels to clean the area and sweep and just trimmed the brushes while still keeping it very natural looking.” She said the special gathering also recognized Marcus Marino and Adrienne Fortini from Design M Group, who constructed a train float for this year's Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco. The train was constructed as a scale replica of the Jupiter train from 1869, which many Chinese immigrants built.

Hilton said the trail was designed in a curvilinear direction to ensure the graves’ safety, as part of the belief system is that if the spirits don’t make it back home to China, then they could affect those living there at Gam Saan. “We cleaned up the trail and the general area and paid that respect but didn't do anything to reveal where those actual grave sites are.”

He said Chinese would come to California carrying

Want to understand your iPhone better? (323) 533-8224 their own eating utensils and bowls, some of which may have been in the graves before they were exhumed. “We were aware of that. However, we didn't find any of that stuff. There is some broken glass and broken ceramics over there. And I don't know whether those came from the graves, but they were close to the gravesite.”

Before the Ching Ming Festival, Hsia managed to correct Google Map's coordinates of the Gam Saan Trail so that those who rely on the website can now find the trail easier.

“The idea is to get more publicity so people will go to the Gam Saan Trail organically. So, we’re going to keep doing the (Ching Ming Festival) for 3, 4, or 5 more years, not indefinitely. For me, for the Chinese, it's nice to have a place to call home, so that's the story.”

The Gam Saan Trail is at 950 Lotus Road in Lotus.

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James Albert Eaton

Jim Eaton, 74, died on March 22, 2023, at home, with his wife, life partner and soulmate Wendy Cohen by his side. He was content and peaceful.

Interrupting his parents' best fishing trip of the year, Jim was born at Mare Island Naval Shipyard on Sept. 15, 1948. His love of the outdoors was first instilled by his parents, Claud and Lillian Eaton. He learned his love of rocks from his mother, who would take him and his brother Bud Eaton on frequent trips searching for elusive gemstones.

Jim’s involvement in conservation began in 1966 at UC Davis where his Aggie Villa roommate Bob Schneider suggested Jim work to protect wilderness so Bob could go climbing.

As Jim said “Working on wilderness issues was eminently more pleasurable than reading, studying, writing and taking tests.”

Despite all odds, Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from UC Davis in 1970.

In 1976, Jim co-founded the California Wilderness Coalition, a grassroots organization dedicated to permanently protecting wilderness areas in California. He travelled the State organizing wilderness groups, teaching grassroots organizing, and leading trips to wild areas. His zeal for wilderness, humor, genuine warmth, and willingness to teach others inspired a generation of passionate conservationists. A love of storytelling, intimate understanding of the land, remarkable memory, unparalleled ability to connect with others, and jovial nature made him an indispensable figure in every major California wilderness protection battle from the late 1970s through the 1990s.

Jim met Wendy at a Sierra Club meeting in Oakland in December 1977.

Jim invited Wendy on a group backpack trip in the desert, but the others dropped out so it was just the two of them and Jim’s dog Stickeen. So began a lifetime of meaningful work, companionship, and travel, plus three more great dogs (Inyo, Coso and Yuki) and a cat (Whitney).

They backpacked in many wilderness and roadless areas in California during their first 25 years. In 2003, they got a popup camper and drove it to Alaska on a 4-week, 7,800mile trip and saw many wild places. Over the next 20 years, they explored and camped throughout the West. They also travelled farther afield to Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Galapagos Islands, and Hawaii.

Jim was especially connected to a few special areas. He discovered the magnificent Point Reyes

National Seashore in college and spent more time there than any other wild place. He worked with other activists in the late 1960s to get the funding to finish buying the seashore, fight schemes to develop the land, and preserve half the park as wilderness. Jim helped stop Forest Highway 100 from Fresno to Mammoth, now blocked by the Ansel Adams Wilderness. He was instrumental in passage of the California Wilderness Act of 1984 that included the Snow Mountain Wilderness, another place he loved. He was a key leader and organizer for the 1994 Desert Protection Act, the largest land conservation bill ever in the continental US, protecting more than 9.6 millions acres of desert wild lands and establishing Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the Mojave Natural Preserve.

Jim “retired” in 1997 at age 48 and then continued his conservation work as a volunteer. He helped found Tuleyome, which works to conserve and restore lands and waters in northwestern California. He was involved in the Rewilding Institute, whose mission is to explore and share tactics and strategies to advance continental-scale conservation and restoration in North America and beyond. He served on the Board of the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, where he provided expertise and advice in spending a $150 million grant over 5 years to protect California wild lands and waters. Jim was close to and spent quality time with his sister-in-law Lenore Cohen and his 5 nieces (both born and chosen) Melanie Eaton, Rachel and Miriam Cohen, and Allie and Emmie Gunther. Uncle Jim was supportive, eager to teach, genuinely interested in their lives, and always there for special occasions. The nieces also shared his love of rocks! His Village Homes neighbors appreciated his friendship and cooking at countless potlucks and yappy hours. With his passion for wilderness, music, gardening, cooking, and so many other wide-ranging interests, Jim was a true Renaissance man. To honor Jim, we ask that you plant a tree, shrub, flower, or other vegetation to benefit wild creatures of all kinds. To share your memories of Jim, visit his memorial page at memorialsource/memorial/jimeaton. Jim’s spirit will be with us always!