Terrace Farming
Almost no physical evidence remains of the town of Hamilton and the Chinese miners who lived there. Outside of references in newspaper articles, oral histories, and scholarly research, the Chinese immigrants at Hamilton have been all but erased. One last trace that is present to this day is a series of stone walls that hug the side of a hill, the remnants of terrace gardens built by Chinese residents to grow fresh produce. Terrace farming has been a long-practiced agricultural technique for at least the past 5,000 years, predominating in China and Southeast Asia.[1] The technique consists of "steplike terraces" built from the sides of hills or mountains, enabling farmers to grow crops in diverse climates that would otherwise be inhospitable.[2] While in most of Asia terrace farms were used to grow rice, they have been utilized around the world for a variety of produce.[3]
There are a few advantages of terrace farming that proved key to the success of Chinese farmers in Park County. Terrace farming helps to prevent soil erosion, trapping the soil's nutrients and ensuring the survival of crops and other native plants. In a dry climate parched for water, terrace gardens collect rainwater and efficiently distribute it to other terraces.[4] Crops that may not have been able to survive in Colorado's climate became viable through terrace farming. Land that would otherwise have gone unused was co-opted to produce bountiful harvests.[5] This type of farming was a game changer for small communities in remote areas of Colorado.
Chinese immigrants all over the United States grew produce and made a living by selling it. This was particularly profitable in mining towns as fresh produce was scarce. Green vegetables were almost non-existent and many miners developed scurvy as a result. Produce had to be transported long distances, sometimes over difficult terrain, to reach the mining towns. The scarcity drove the prices up.[6] Chinese farmers quickly looked to fill this need and began growing fresh produce right within (or next to), the mining camps. Unlike the "vegetable depots," which sold their goods only one or two days a week, Chinese residents would go out every day, walking door to door and selling fesh vegetables.[7]
Interestingly, farming often proved more lucrative than mining. Successful Chinese farmers were able to bring over family members from China to join them.[9] While the most significant remains of terrace gardens are in Hamilton, there are a few remants in Fairplay as well. There is evidence to suggest that miners also participated in terrace farming. When Virginia Simmons' book, Bayou Salado, was published in 1982 there were existing remnants of terrace gardens just upstream from Hamilton, near the Peabody Placer.[10]
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[1] Wei Wei, et al., “Global Synthesis of the Classifications, Distributions, Benefits and Issues of Terracing,” Earth-Science Reviews 159, (2016): 390, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.06.010.
[2] Marcel Mazoyer and Laurence Roudart, A History of World Agriculture: From the Neolithic Age to the Current Crisis, (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2006), 135; Sharon Omondi, “What is Terrace Farming?” WorldAtlas, September 17, 2020, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-terrace-farming.html; Tianyu Guo, María García-Martín, and Tobias Plieninger, “Recognizing Indigenous Farming Practices For Sustainability: A Narrative Analysis of Key Elements and Drivers in a CHINESE Dryland Terrace System.” Ecosystems and People 17, no. 1 (2021): 279, https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2021.1930169.
[3] Wei, et al., 391.
[4] Omondi, "What is Terrace Farming?"
[5] Omondi, "What is Terrace Farming?"; Wei, et al., 397.
[6] Liping Zhu, A Chinaman’s Chance, (Niwot, CO: University Press Of Colorado, 1997), 112-114.
[7] Zhu, 112-114.
[8] Zhu, 113-114.
[9] Zhu, 114.
[10] Virginia McConnell Simmons, Bayou Salado: the Story of South Park (Colorado Springs, CO: Century One Press, 1982), 162.