Chinese Joss House Museum, Evanston埃文斯顿华人庙（复原馆）

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

United States · Wyoming · Evanston · Tenth Street and Front Street, Depot Square

First built

1874 · The original temple was built in 1874 and burned down in 1922; the current building is a replica built in 1990 as part of Wyoming's statehood centennial "Lasting Legacy" project

Heritage status

Wyoming Centennial "Legacy Project" (1990)

Overview

The Evanston Chinese Joss House was originally built in 1874 to serve the Chinese community that had settled in Uinta County on account of the Union Pacific Railroad and the coal mines. As with Chinese temples throughout the American West, this temple was built through community subscription, with each Chinese resident contributing to its construction, decoration or ritual furnishings according to his means. The original temple burned down in 1922. The building standing today is a faithful reconstruction built as part of Wyoming's 1990 statehood centennial "Lasting Legacy" project, and is open as a museum; its holdings include a pair of carved wooden plaques from 1896 — decorative elements from the original temple. The exhibits narrate the life of Uinta County's Chinese community from the 1870s to the 1930s. It must be clearly noted that what is recorded here is a reconstructed building, not the fabric of the original temple. The English word joss derives, through sound change, from the Portuguese word deus (god).

Highlights

• Original temple built in 1874, burned down in 1922
• Faithfully rebuilt in 1990 for Wyoming's statehood centennial
• Holds a pair of carved wooden plaques from 1896, from the original temple
• An example of the Western pattern of Chinese temples built by community subscription