Chinese History in Red Bluff California

Jessica Chew will take us on a fascinating journey through the history of the last steamboat stop during the gold rush called the Head of Navigation in Red Bluff, California and the Chew family, one of five original families to settle there. Discover their lineage dating back to 827 and their historic landmarked home in Fow Shek, also known as Floating Stone Village, in Guangdong Province, China.
During the 19th century, Fow Shek encouraged overseas travel, and Jessica will be sharing with us the murals that emphasized the importance of "Reform for a New World" in their home village. She will also explore the Chew family's journey to America in 1865, when Bo Do Hong established his headquarters in Red Bluff, California.
Discover how one family member, Dr. Kenneth Kendall Chew, revolutionized Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, becoming the "Oyster King" in Seattle, leaving a lasting impact for future generations.
Jessica Chew is the founder of the Helen and Joe Chew Foundation and the only grandchild of Joe You Chew who is a Chinese American born in 1921. The Chew family immigrated to America in 1865 as herbalists’ physicians and established their headquarters in Red Bluff, California serving not only the Chinese community working on the Gold Mountain, but all ethnicities, including whites. Jessica’s great grandfather, Chew You, journeyed from 台山縣 浮石村 Fow Shek, aka Floating Stone Village, Guangdong Province, China to Los Angeles, California in 1881, before the Chinese Exclusion Act, and by 1900 invested concurrently in several different herbal family operated businesses first in Los Angeles, followed by San Francisco, Boston, Hong Kong, and Canton, China. The Helen and Joe Chew Foundation was created in honor of Jessica’s promise to her grandfather. Her goal for the Foundation is to share her family’s loving memories of Red Bluff’s Historic Chinatown while encouraging preservation of Asian American history and encouraging the pursuit of higher education.