Story of Polly Bemis shows Chinese Americans are woven into the fabric of Idaho history
Polly Bemis is probably not a name that many Idahoans have heard before, but her larger-than-life legacy and her reputation as an early Idaho pioneer have earned her a place in the state’s history.
Aug. 10 was officially declared Polly Bemis Day in Idaho in a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, where a life-size bronze statue was unveiled in her honor Tuesday.
“This tiny Chinese woman came all the way to the U.S. as a slave and eventually blended into American culture,” said Yong Gao, head of the Idaho Chinese Organization, which put on Tuesday’s ceremony. “Her story shows that Chinese Americans are not outsiders. They were the builders and the founding pioneers of Idaho. We are part of Idaho history.”
About 100 people gathered for the ceremony, including prominent local Asian American dignitaries Idaho Rep. Sue Chew, D-Boise, and Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee.
“We really need more events like this to celebrate our common history and our shared heritage,” Lee said after the ceremony.
Former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy served as the emcee, and Ada County Prosecuting Attorney Jan Bennetts read a proclamation from Idaho Gov. Brad Little declaring Tuesday to be Polly Bemis Day in Idaho.
“Polly was well known for her wit, hospitality and pioneering spirit, having overcome many struggles as a Chinese woman working and living in the wilderness of Idaho,” Bennetts read from the declaration. “Hardy pioneers like Polly, from all nations, helped to build the modern day 43rd state.”
Bemis’ story is also now part of the congressional record. U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, read her story into it.
Polly Bemis was born in China in 1853. Her parents, who became poor and without food, sold Bemis to people who took her to America, according to historian and author Priscilla Wegars, who spoke at Tuesday’s ceremony.
In Portland, Oregon, Bemis was sold for $2,500 to a Chinese man who took her to Warren, Idaho, near the Salmon River, in a pack train, arriving in 1872.
She eventually came to live with Charlie Bemis, a miner and saloon owner. The two were married in 1894, despite laws at the time forbidding marriage between a white person and a Chinese person, according to Leroy.
Leroy noted that the mid-1800s through the early 1900s was a period of great racial tension and anti-Chinese sentiment. In 1870, as many as 4,000 Idaho residents were of Chinese descent. By 1910, after decades of federal anti-Chinese laws, $5 per month taxes on Chinese residents, even mob murders and forced expulsions, only 859 people of Chinese descent lived in Idaho, Leroy said.
Polly Bemis stayed. She never gained citizenship, and Bemis had to apply for a certificate of residence to prove her residency in Idaho. Her certificate was dated Aug. 10, 1896, exactly 125 years ago, giving significance to the declaration of Polly Bemis Day.
Bemis was known for her generosity, her work ethic, her gardening and her fishing skills.
Bemis died in 1933. She was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame in 1996, and her cabin in Warren is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The bronze statue, sculpted by Idaho artist Irene Deely, will be placed at the Polly Bemis Ranch, which today is a not-for-profit corporation run by its owner-members.
“People often ask me, what makes Polly Bemis so famous?” Wegars said. “I think it is because she represents all the forgotten Chinese women who came to the U.S. during the late 19th century. We remember Polly because her strength of character enabled her to rise above adversity, winning respect and admiration from everyone who knew her.”
It’s that education piece that Gao said is most important.
“Today, the Polly Bemis story, from an educational perspective, is to help students understand better about Idaho history,” Gao told me. “This isn’t just Chinese American history. This is Idaho history.”
That was something that Wency Suo, of the Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Alliance, said was a big takeaway for her after the ceremony.
“I didn’t know about Chinese pioneers in our state,” said Suo, a high school junior from Boise. “I’m here to support the recognition and understanding of historical aspects of Idaho’s history. To know and learn about this part of our history is really important.”
Particularly in the past couple of years, with the rise of China and the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans, it’s important that this part of Idaho’s history is recognized, said Alex Guo, 15, a sophomore at Timberline High School.
“I’m happy to see more people are starting to pay attention to the history of the Chinese in the U.S.,” he told me after the ceremony. “We are not outsiders. We are part of the U.S.”
The unveiling of the statue was accompanied by an essay contest among Idaho 4th- and 5th-graders. In all, 116 students wrote essays. Two winners, Callum McLeod, a 5th-grader from Idaho Falls, and Pengjia Zha-Fang, a rising 5th-grader at Amity Elementary School in Boise, read from the essays at Tuesday’s ceremony.
“In that era, many Chinese chose to go back to China or move to places with a bigger Chinese population,” Zha-Fang read. “Polly chose to stay because she fell in love with this place. It gave her courage, hope, and happiness even though she was not born here. More than a century later, more Chinese women came here to get education, take on all kinds of jobs, and contribute their talents to America!”
“She may have been no taller than a broom, but the legacy she left behind is larger than Idaho’s towering peaks,” McLeod wrote in his essay. “Polly’s pioneering spirit stimulates Idahoans today to exercise self-reliance and ingenuity, to display courage and seek adventure, and to demonstrate kindness and friendship.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 5:00 PM.
