See opening of new museum in historic Isleton building showcasing city’s Chinese history

After a major renovation that began in 2012, a new museum opened Thursday in Isleton that showcases the city’s Chinese history.

The Bing Kong Tong building dates from 1926, when it was rebuilt after a fire, and represents Chinese American architecture of the time. The “tong,” or meeting hall, was a central gathering point of the community that included a language school and offered social services.

The building, which had been vacant since the 1940s, now displays a number of cultural artifacts and displays about the families that once inhabited the community.

“My family’s history is up on the walls of this Isleton museum,” said Karen Chan, visiting on opening day. “My father came up here after the San Francisco earthquake. He and a lot of the Asians in town joined the Navy in World War II.”

Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli spoke about the effort preserve the building during its opening celebration.

“I remember walking through when the floors were half torn up and the ceiling looked like it was going to fall in,” he said. “You saw the resurrection of this building and what it means to the history of this community.”