Sight #2 Chinese Truck Gardens

Chinese Truck Garden

Typed final page of the articles of incorporation showing the signatures of the three men.

County Clerk's records, County Clerk's recorded documents, 1864-1970, 1924-1931, Multnomah County Archives, Portland, Oregon.

Truck Gardens are gardens where vegetables are raised for market. Truck in this case does not refer to the vehicle, but rather to the older meaning or "to exchange for profit." They are also called market gardens.

On December 27, 1924, three partners (Louie Sing Chung, Charley Lee & Curt Dittmar) incorporated the Louie Chung Gardens in order to cultivate, plant and produce fruits and vegetables and "kindred goods of every class and description, and to buy sell, import, export, and generally deal in the same." During the 1920s, Chinese people were still subject to federal and Oregon state exclusion laws which restricted or prohibited immigration, voting, and ownership of real estate. This excerpt from the Articles of Incorporation shows the purpose of the incorporation and the signatures of the three men involved.

If you want to know more, Oregon Historical Quarterly from Winter 2021 contains a great article about Louie Chung, written by his grandson, Myron Louie Lee.