China Camp

China Camp is a former Chinese shrimp-fishing village on San Pablo Bay near San Rafael, now part of a California state park. The district takes in two coves, a ridge between them and nearby tide land. Chinese fishermen began taking shrimp in California around the mid-1860s, and China Camp was well established by the late 1860s. The 1870 census counted 77 male fishermen, and by 1880 the population was 469, supported by general stores, a marine supply store and a barber shop. Surviving remains include a shrimp-drying shed, a pier, a grinding shed inside the camp store, former houseboats, sampan hulls on the seabed, drying platforms, kettles and machinery. Though weathered and altered, the buildings keep their historical integrity. A prehistoric shellmound used by Coast Miwok people lies on the ridge, damaged but still of scientific interest. The place is described as the last operating remnant of the state's Chinese shrimp fishery.