[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 156 (Thursday, September 20, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           CHINA CAMP VILLAGE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2018

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of the 150th 
anniversary of China Camp Village. Welcoming more than 260,000 visitors 
each year to its 1,500 acres of parkland, natural resources, and 
recreation areas, China Camp is an important part of the Bay Area's 
past, present, and future.
  One of a few fishing villages in the San Pablo Bay in the mid-1800s, 
China Camp was home to thousands of Chinese American immigrants who 
came to work at newly built dairy ranches and brick manufacturing 
plants in the area, while continuing to fish for income and for their 
families. China Camp Village still maintains a 300-foot wooden pier and 
several wooden homes where the former Chinese fishing camp once stood, 
preserving the area's rich and diverse history.
  As fresh water was diverted from rivers that entered San Pablo Bay, 
it became too salty for shrimping. China Camp transitioned to a state 
park in 1977 when a developer donated the 36-acre village as a living 
memorial to the important Chinese American history it represents. Years 
later, the Friends of China Camp helped save the park when it was 
threatened for closure during a state funding crisis. In 2011, I 
authored legislation, Assembly Bill 42, to allow California state parks 
to be managed by non-profit operators. The bill was approved and signed 
into law, and the Friends of China Camp entered an agreement with 
California State Parks to manage China Camp.
  Today, China Camp is still operated by the Friends of China Camp, a 
non-profit organization comprised of dedicated staff and volunteers, 
who are hard at work to increase campgrounds and picnic sites and 
expand interpretive programs for visitors while also attracting the 
community to engage in protecting its important natural and cultural 
resources.
  In keeping with its past, China Camp continues to evolve and grow 
with changing times and the environment. Mr. Speaker, it is therefore 
appropriate that we stand together today, in celebration of 150 years 
of China Camp Village, as a living tribute to the Bay Area's history 
and future.

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