City of Rock Springs, Wyoming

Help Support the Requiem Sculpture

Help the Rock Springs Historical Museum Advisory Board honor the lives and memories of the men killed in the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre of 1885.

On September 2, 1885 racial and financial tensions among the workers in the #6 mine in Rock Springs boiled over into a murderous riot that would forever mark our community. A group of local coal miners, business men, and their wives formed an armed mob and marching on Chinatown brutally murdered, looted and finally set fire to the Chinese miners homes. The local sheriff, the Wyoming territorial Governor, and eventually the United States Army were called in to keep the peace and restore order. The Chinese miners who had initially fled Rock Springs returned only to find their homes and possessions destroyed, and 28 of their fellow countrymen murdered. After a short hearing a grand jury declined to bring indictments for any of the crimes committed, but in order to avoid an international incident the United States Government agreed to compensate the families of the victims. The tragic events of what came to be known as the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre forever changed the story of our town and have continued to cast a long shadow on our history.

In an effort to protect the site of the Chinese Massacre, preserve our shared history, and promote both understanding and healing, the Rock Springs Historical Museum Advisory Board has been working to memorialize the history of the Chinese Massacre of 1885 ahead of its 140th anniversary. Working in conjunction with the City of Rock Springs, School District #1, national, state and local historical entities and individuals, along with Wyoming artist David Allen Clark, the Museum Board has secured a spot on the site of the tragedy for a large scale memorial. Cast in bronze and standing more than seven feet tall "Requiem" will depict a Chinese miner standing among the ruins of the destroyed Chinatown holding the remnants of a ceremonial dragon flag. Striking a balance between solemn grief and the determination to forge ahead, the man cradles a ruined piece of the past while looking out towards the future.

The Museum Board has worked hard to make this project a reality and now we need YOUR help! Help us memorialize the men who lost their lives, celebrate the spirit of those who moved forward, and make "Requiem" a reality. Your generous purchase of an engraved brick…or two...shows your lifetime support of our local history. Students, locals, and visitors alike will be able to read the names of contributors as they walk a path around the sculpture at its newly dedicated park off Bridger Avenue.

Rock Springs Historical Museum Online Donations

The RSHM Advisory Board is happy to be collaborating with Wyoming artist David Alan Clark for the Chinese Massacre Memorial Project.

Clark grew up in Green River and now makes his home in Lander, Wyoming. During his more than 20-year career, Clark has been commissioned to sculpt dozens of public monuments all over the United States. Locally Clarks work “Lambing Season” can be seen near the corner of North Center and Elk Streets, “John Wesley Powell” graces the front of the Sweetwater County Museum in Green River, and Fort Bridger's State Historic Site and Museum features Clark's rendition of “Jim Bridger”.   

Clark, with the help of his wife and research partner MJ, has visited the Rock Springs Historical Museum, Community Fine Arts Center, the Sweetwater County Museum, and Western Wyoming Community College to view the artifacts held in their collections. He also visited the site of the former Rock Springs Chinatown during a recent archeological dig and was able to interview archaeologist Dr. Dudley Gardner and Martin Lammers about the artifacts uncovered there. Clark's research into the everyday objects used by the Chinese miners in Rock Springs, as well as photographs and news articles from the time all serve as inspiration for the final sculpture.