Wong K. Gew Mansion

The grand house at the northeast corner of W. Clay and S. Van Buren Streets was built in 1921 for Wong K. Gew (also known as "Jew Wong"), a Chinese immigrant who became a successful operator of gambling houses and a retail merchant. The Wong K. Gew Mansion was built in a mixture of styles including Federal Revival. The two-and-a-half-story, shiplap house featured a veranda across the front, topped by a second-floor balcony formed by the porch roof. The interior originally included twelve rooms including two rooms for servants. The house was lavishly finished and was the largest residence in the neighborhood. The Wong K. Gew Mansion became a National Register of Historic Places listing in 1978 and a Stockton City Landmark in 1973.

Wong K. Gew emigrated from China to the U.S. in the 1880s. He first settled in San Francisco and then moved to the San Joaquin Valley area. Gew (also known as "Jew Wong") established several large gambling houses in Stockton, including the Tong King Company. The successful businessman was one of the developers of the Lincoln Hotel. The area of the city south of Main Street was open to non-White residents in the early twentieth century. Gew built a grand mansion on the northeast corner of W. Clay and S. Van Buren Streets as his residence in the early 1920s.

The Wong K. Gew mansion was built in a mixture of styles including Federal Revival. The two-and-a-half-story, shiplap house featured a veranda across the front, topped by a second-floor balcony formed by the porch roof. The side gable roof over the main portion of the house included three dormer windows and there was a chimney on the west end of the house. The rear of the house included a two-story porch. The interior originally included twelve rooms including two rooms for servants and a kitchen with modern electric appliances. The interior was lavishly finished with Honduras mahogany wainscoting and a living room fireplace mantle of Yum Nan marble that cost over $2,000. The lot of 100 by 150 feet included a detached two-car garage, a private well, and a wrought iron fence. The finely crafted house was the largest residence in the neighborhood.

Six Wong brothers - five living in Stockton and one in Seattle - had a school built that taught Chinese culture, funded by themselves. The Wong Edmon Private School was built on the northwest corner of Monroe and Clay Streets, one block east of the mansion. The Wong brothers - Kee Quen, Jew, You Chong, Shun Chong, Foo Chong, and Hei - had a total of twenty-eight children in 1923, ranging in age from six to twelve; they named the school in honor of their father. A Chinese teacher named Wong Ngai Won was provided an apartment within a wing of the school building, where he was to teach the Chinese Cantonese language and other typical school subjects. After opening ceremonies one evening in October 1923, a banquet for nearly 200 people was served in the school's basement playroom. Jew Wong invited participants to his fine home nearby afterwards, in the same block as the school (the Wong K. Gew Mansion), where they were entertained for several hours. Wong Kee Quen, the proprietor of the Lincoln Hotel, was the driving force behind the school and served as its manager. Wong Kee Quen lived elsewhere; his residence in June 1921 was at 216 E. Church St., according to a newspaper article on local Chinese tong disputes.

By 1930, the mansion was the home of 62-year-old Mow Wong, a retail merchant of dry goods who had been born in California to Chinese-born parents. The house, worth $25,000, was owned by Mow. Mow was married to Mis Wong (60 years old), a Chinese immigrant who emigrated to the U.S. in 1890. Their son, Sam Wong (18), was a student. A 62-year-old lodger named Jew Wong also lived in the mansion; Jew emigrated from China in 1881 and also worked as a retail dry goods merchant. Mis Wong did not speak English but the others in the house did. A "Joe" Wong resided at 345 W. Clay, according to a 1928 Stockton city directory; perhaps that referred to Jew. Mow was described in a 1923 newspaper article as a business partner with Wong Kee Quen in the Lincoln Hotel.

The Wong K. Gew Mansion was owned by Bo Lee by the mid-1970s when the house was documented for listing in the National Register. Mr. Lee was not residing in the house at the time, but it was occupied. By the 1970s, the upper story front balcony had become a screened-in porch; the porch has since been removed, restoring the balcony. The mansion continues to be a private residence.

Anonymous. "Chinese Gunmen Arrested, Lincoln Hotel Owner Appeals to Police for Protection." Stockton Independent (Stockton) June 14th, 1921. 10-10.

Anonymous. "Wong Quen Builds School." Stockton Independent (Stockton) October 7th, 1923. Section II, 1-1.

Anonymous. "Wong Edmon Chinese School is Dedicated." Stockton Daily Intelligencer (Stockton) October 18th, 1923. 9-9.

Fitzgerald, Michael. Buildings serve as reminders to Chinese cultural past in Stockton, Recordnet: News. January 27th, 2014. Accessed June 12th, 2024. https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2014/01/27/buildings-serve-as-reminders-to/40024879007/.

Hurtado, Albert. NRHP nomination of Wong K. Gew Mansion, 345 W. Clay St., Stockton, California. National Register of Historic Places. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1977.

Minnick, Sylvia Sun. The Chinese Community of Stockton. Images of America. Charleston, SC. Arcadia Publishing, 2002.

R. L. Polk & Co. Polk's Stockton City and San Joaquin County Directory 1928. San Francisco, CA. R. L. Polk & Co. of California, 1928.

U.S. Census Bureau. Household of Mow Wong at 345 Clay St., Stockton district 28, San Joaquin County, California, residence 203. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1930.