Guest blog: Your chance to view history

By George Rodericks, Belvedere City Manager

During the month of April, the Belvedere Tiburon Landmarks Society will be displaying an exhibit that tells the story of the first Japanese colony that sailed to America on the paddle steamer China in 1869.

Gold had been discovered only 20 years earlier, and California was now the new frontier of opportunity. The original colony of eight farmers, craftsmen and Samurai came from Japan’s Aizu-Wakamatsu colony. At that time, Japan’s greatest export was tea and silk, and the plan was to start an agricultural colony. They gathered thousands of tea and mulberry trees to feed the silk worms, escaped the ongoing Civil War in Japan, and sailed to San Francisco on the China.

When they arrived and moved up to the Gold Country, they developed the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony from 1869 to 1871, which also included a staple crop, rice. The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony is recognized by the State of California as the first Japanese settlement in the U.S. Despite the short history of the colony; it was an important milestone that helped bridge Japanese and American cultures and pave the way for large-scale emigration of Japanese settlers to the United States.


The exhibit is presented at the restored China Cabin, once the elegant social hall of the paddle steamer China that sailed between San Francisco and the Far East starting in the 1860s. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the restoration and opening of the China Cabin to the public. This year’s open season to the public starts with the recognition of the first Japanese immigrants.


Descriptive panels track the history of the Wakamatsu Colony, and the exhibit will include Japanese swords and other artifacts. A private event at the China Cabin opened the exhibit on March 31. The exhibit is now open to the general public every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1-4pm throughout April. The China Cabin is located at 52 Beach Road in Belvedere, California.

The Belvedere Tiburon Landmarks Society manages and maintains Old St. Hilary Landmarks and the surrounding wildflower preserve, Landmarks Art & Garden Center, the China Cabin, and the Railroad Ferry & Depot Museum. The Landmarks History Collection includes photographs, fine art, artifacts, maps, documents, and a reference library. The Landmarks sites are open to the general public from April through October each year.

For more information, visit Landmarks-Society.org.