This document is an ‘Abstract of Title’ which shows the chain of title to the property my grandparents purchased in 1928. Within this document, is the history of lumber companies owning portions of the property, and liens granted for unpaid wages. The unpaid wages were owed to Japanese workers, as pictured in the series of photos. These workers won in court, in Pierce County, in the State of Washington, the right to collect their unpaid wages from the Myers Lumber Company.
The oral tradition on the farm while I was growing up was that the former chicken coop was at one time a bunkhouse for Japanese workers. This document led me to contact the Japanese Shin Buddhist Temple in Tacoma, Washington, which was founded in 1913. Some of the names on the lien recorded match names of members of the Temple. The next step in my research from this document is to interview people at the Temple, and excavate the site of the now collapsing building to see if material culture exists to tell the tale of the building and who may have resided there.
