Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park

State park in Weaverville, California

40°43′52″N 122°56′27″W / 40.7311°N 122.9408°W / 40.7311; -122.9408Governing bodyState of California

California Historical Landmark

Reference no.709^[1]

Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park is a state park located in the center of the town of Weaverville, California. The site is a Taoist temple which is still in use, and is the oldest Chinese temple in California.

History

The original temple was built by Chinese goldminers during California's 1849 gold rush.^[2]

The current building, called The Temple among the Trees Beneath the Clouds (雲林廟), was built in 1874 to replace earlier structures which had been destroyed by fires. In 1934, much of the material in the building was taken during a robbery. The state decided that, in order to protect the historic nature of the material, a local resident, Moon Lim Lee, would be named trustee for the site. In 1956, the site officially became a state historic site.

In 1989, a box was left at the visitor's center. It contained one of the Chinese Guardian Lions which had been stolen in the 1934 theft. The state of California commissioned a new pair of dogs to place on display in the temple. The new dogs were created by traditional craftsmen in China.

Much of the material on display inside the temple includes temple equipment, objects of Chinese art, mining tools, and weapons used in the 1854 Tong War. The temple's patron saints are Xuantian Shangdi and Guan Di.

Current temple

Each year, to celebrate the Chinese New Year, a lion dance is performed. The dance is also performed on every Fourth of July weekend.

The interior of the temple remains the same as it looked when it was built, although safety railings and electric lights have been added. On the grounds, there is a recently added parking lot, visitor's center, and reflecting pool. Worship is still practiced at the temple but to preserve the exterior of the temple grounds, no incense burning is permitted.

The temple is located at the southwest corner of Main Street (California State Route 299) and Oregon Street in Weaverville.

References

^ "Weaverville Joss House". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
^ Bartell, John (October 7, 2019). "California's oldest Chinese temple still thriving". Bartell's Backroads. ABC10. Retrieved 2021-12-31.

External links

Weaverville Joss House Association (state of California official website)
State of California official website
Trinity County official website
City of Weaverville official website
Photo gallery
Video of the 2010 Lion Dance (official city of Weaverville video)

Chinese American museums in the United States

Forbidden Gardens
Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum
Mai Wah Museum
Museum of Chinese in America
Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
Wing Luke Museum
Wo Hing Society Hall

Protected areas of California

National Park System

Parks	Channel Islands Death Valley Joshua Tree Kings Canyon Lassen Volcanic Pinnacles Redwood Sequoia Yosemite
Preserves	Mojave
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Seashores	Point Reyes
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Historic Sites	Eugene O'Neill Fort Point John Muir Manzanar
Memorials	Port Chicago Naval Magazine
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Calfiornia State Parks

Parks	Ahjumawi Lava Springs Andrew Molera Angel Island Año Nuevo Anza-Borrego Desert Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland Bidwell–Sacramento River Big Basin Redwoods Border Field Bothe-Napa Valley Burton Creek Butano Calaveras Big Trees Castle Crags Castle Rock Caswell Memorial China Camp Chino Hills Clear Lake Coast Dairies Crystal Cove Cuyamaca Rancho D. L. Bliss Del Norte Coast Redwoods Donner Memorial Dos Rios Ranch Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point Emerald Bay The Forest of Nisene Marks Fort Ord Dunes Fremont Peak Garrapata Gaviota Great Valley Grasslands Grizzly Creek Redwoods Grover Hot Springs Hearst San Simeon Hendy Woods Henry Cowell Redwoods Henry W. Coe Humboldt Lagoons Humboldt Redwoods Jedediah Smith Redwoods Julia Pfeiffer Burns Leo Carrillo Limekiln MacKerricher Malibu Creek Manchester McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial McLaughlin Eastshore Mendocino Headlands Mendocino Woodlands Montaña de Oro Morro Bay Mount Diablo Mount San Jacinto Mount Tamalpais Navarro River Redwoods Pacheco Palomar Mountain Pfeiffer Big Sur Placerita Canyon Plumas-Eureka Point Mugu Portola Redwoods Prairie Creek Redwoods Red Rock Canyon Richardson Grove Rio de Los Angeles Robert Louis Stevenson Russian Gulch Saddleback Butte Salt Point Samuel P. Taylor San Bruno Mountain Sinkyone Wilderness South Yuba River Sue-meg Sugarloaf Ridge Sutter Buttes Tolowa Dunes Tomales Bay Topanga Trione-Annadel Van Damme Washoe Meadows Wilder Ranch
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State Forests
Boggs Mountain Demonstration Ellen Pickett Jackson Demonstration Las Posadas LaTour Demonstration Mount Zion Demonstration Mountain Home Demonstration Soquel Demonstration

National Wildlife Refuges

State Wildlife Areas

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Ecological Reserves	Albany Mudflats Alkali Sink Allensworth Atascadero Creek Marsh Bair Island Baldwin Lake Batiquitos Lagoon Blue Sky Boden Canyon Boggs Lake Bolsa Chica Bonny Doon Buena Vista Lagoon Butler Slough Butte Creek Canyon Butte Creek House Buttonwillow By Day Creek Calhoun Cut Canebrake Carlsbad Highlands Carmel Bay Carrizo Canyon Carrizo Plains China Point Clover Creek Coachella Valley Coal Canyon Corte Madera Marsh Crestridge Dairy Mart Ponds Dales Lake Del Mar Landing Eden Landing Elkhorn Slough Estelle Mountain Fall River Mills Fish Slough Fremont Valley Goleta Slough Indian Joe Spring Kaweah Kerman King Clone Laguna Laurel Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Lokern Magnesia Spring Marin Islands Mattole River McGinty Mountain Morro Dunes Morro Rock Napa River North Table Mountain Oasis Spring Panoche Hills Peytonia Slough Phoenix Vernal Pools Pine Hill Piute Creek Pleasant Valley Rancho Jamul Redwood Shores River Springs Lakes Saline Valley San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon San Felipe Creek San Joaquin River Santa Rosa Plateau Springville Stone Corral Sycamore Canyon Sycuan Peak Thomes Creek Tomales Bay Upper Newport Bay Watsonville Slough West Mojave Desert Woodbridge Yaudanchi
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Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands

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