Many Marys
At least one Chinese woman ran a business in Fairplay, although the details among scholars are inconsistent. One author asserts that there were three Chinese women who worked in Fairplay, all of them named "Mary": "Big Mary" ran a laundry above the McLaughlin Livery & Feed Stable, "Little Mary" sold produce from her garden, and "China Mary" had a store "specializing in accoutrements particular to Chinese customs involving the use of opium."[1] A significant obstacle to documenting the stories of Chinese women in America during this time period arises from the white-American practice of referring to all Chinese women by the derogatory appellation of "China Mary" or "Mary" (just as Chinese men were referred to as "John" or "John Chinaman").[2] This practice frustrates attempts to accurately identify historical figures and reinforces the historical erasure of Chinese women. Not only were there potentially multiple "Marys” in Fairplay, there were "China Marys" all over the western United States. There was a "China Mary" in Evanston, Wyoming (also known as Ah Yuen),[3] and a well-known "China Mary" in Tombstone, Arizona who was highly respected by her community.[4]
The woman who sold vegetables in Fairplay, known as "Little Mary," has the best documentation and the least inconsistencies among scholars.[5] She did not live in Fairplay proper, but had her own garden next to her home "in the Chinese settlement." The white residents of Fairplay looked forward to buying her "crisp, delicious vegetables" when she visited town.[6] Three times a week the woman crossed the river to sell "leaf lettuce, green onions, and radishes" to her white neighbors.[7]
As to the other "Marys," there is not enough concensus to pinpoint which one worked where at what time, or if any of them were the same person. "China Mary'' is named as both the owner of the "accoutrement" store and the owner of a laundry on Front Street.[9] "Big Mary" and her laundry above the McLaughlin Livery and Feed Stable is sometimes said to be the same person as "China Mary" and sometimes said to be a different person.[12] While we will never know for sure, it is probably safe to assume there were at least two Chinese women, one who ran a laundry in Fairplay and one who visited the town to sell vegetables, both of whom the townspeople called "Mary."
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[1] Linda Bjorklund, A Brief History of Fairplay (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013), 71.
[2] Peter Ward, White Canada Forever : Popular Attitudes and Public Policy Toward Orientals in British Columbia.(Montreal [Que.]: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002), 3.
[3] The American Heritage Center, "Wyoming's China Mary," Discover History, February 8, 2021, https://ahcwyo.org/2021/02/08/wyomings-china-mary/
[4] Jane Eppinga, "Tombstone's Chinese Pioneers," Arizona Capitol Times, February 25, 2013, https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2013/02/25/tombstones-chinese-pioneers/.
[5] Virginia McConnell Simmons, Bayou Salado: the Story of South Park (Colorado Springs, CO: Century One Press, 1982), 159.
[6] Alice E. Wonder, “Chinatown, at Fairplay, as It Was in Early Days,” Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume, 1956, Summer Tourist Edition.
[7] Gerald E. Rudolph, “The Chinese in Colorado, 1869-1911” (dissertation, 1964), 57.
[8] Simmons, 159.
[9] Wonder, “Chinatown, at Fairplay”; Rudolph, 57.