Lorna Young and Anna Moy Wong on the History of Milwaukee’s Chinese Americans

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Photo by Tom Jenz

Anna Wong and Lorna Young

Anna Wong and Lorna Young

I am a writer and a street photographer, which makes me curious. When I walk past old storefronts in Milwaukee, I sometimes wonder who manned the counters before the signs changed, before the buildings were renovated or torn down. In the late 1800s, some of those doors were opened each morning by men like Wing Wau, believed to be Milwaukee’s first Chinese resident. Wau arrived in 1874 and opened a small laundry near Mason Street. He was not chasing prosperity. He was chasing survival.

Chinese Americans came to Milwaukee quietly, often alone, at a time when the country had already decided they did not belong. The Chinese Exclusion Act made their presence suspect, temporary by law, unwelcome by custom. Still, they stayed. They worked. They built lives in spaces others ignored. By the late 19th century, dozens of Chinese laundries dotted the city. They were operated by men whose names rarely appeared in civic records, yet their labor kept households and businesses moving.

As time passed, the number of Chinese-run laundries had grown significantly, around 30 laundries by 1887, and up to nearly 80 by 1940. The community endured discrimination, mirrored nationally by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which restricted immigration until its repeal in 1943.

One of those names was Fred Moy, whose laundry stood for decades on Old World Third Street. Another was Charlie Toy, whose Shanghai Chinese Restaurant and Toy Building rose six stories high, a declaration that Chinese Americans were proudly visible.

These were not just businesses. They were footholds. Over time, families arrived, children were born, and community followed. Today, Chinese American organizations, schools, and festivals are part of Milwaukee’s cultural fabric.

To learn more, I met with two leaders of Wisconsin Chinese Americans, Lorna Young and Anna Moy Wong, at the Chinese American Baptist Church on North 73rd Street. Smooth spoken and gentle, both women seemed pleased to share Chinese American history.

Tell me about each of your backgrounds, where you grew up, your parents and schooling.

Wong:  I was born in 1967 as the oldest child in the family. We always lived in Milwaukee, and I raised my own family here as well. My parents ran a laundry on 3rd Street, now ML King Drive. That laundry had been my grandfather’s for 36 years. He passed away before I was born. After the laundry closed, my parents operated a restaurant in Wauwatosa, which ran for 27 years. I went to high school at Milwaukee Pius and to college at Marquette. I married and had three kids, and I helped operate our family restaurant for my career, but I also ran a meals program for the seniors. I’ve been doing this meals program for 20 years. I am now retired. We were the children of what we call “the Chinese laundry era.”

Young:  I am third generation Chinese American. I grew up in Ithaca, New York. My father was born in Philadelphia's Chinatown where his father ran a grocery store. He was the first child from Chinatown to go to college and medical school. I was a history major at the University of Rochester in New York and focused on Chinese and Asian history. I moved to Milwaukee in 1979 to take a job at GE Healthcare. I entered that job at the very beginning of the cat scan industry. After 45 years in the diagnostic imaging industry, I retired. Anna and I are now working to make sure people are aware of Chinese American history in the Milwaukee area. 

What is the OCA, the Organization of Chinese Americans Wisconsin?

Young: OCA is a national organization in Washington DC with 35 active chapters throughout the country. We are OCA Wisconsin. We advocate for the social, political, and economic wellbeing of Chinese and other Asian Americans. We focus on Asians who have settled here and consider themselves as part of the American culture.

What are issues of importance for the OCA?

Young: Scholarships for children of Asian American parents is one. Also, the teaching of Asian, African American, and Native American history in schools, a state law that was passed in 2024. I was involved in the backroom organizing. Also important, we advocate for birthright citizenship. In 1898, an Asian man made this happen in America. His name was Wong Kim Ark. He was born in the U.S., but after he visited China and then came back, authorities denied him reentry. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor, and that has been precedent ever since.

Before that, in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act had barred most Chinese from entering the United States. And before that, was the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Ratified in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment opens with the Citizenship Clause: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”  

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Photo via the William G. Pomeroy Foundation

Milwaukee Chinese Laundry Era plaque (front)

A Wisconsin Historical Society plaque commemorating the Milwaukee Chinese Laundry Era

Describe Milwaukee’s Chinese Laundry Era. I understand it ran from 1874 to 1984.

Wong: We believe the first Chinese laundry happened in 1874, and the last closed in 1984. We were able to contact a number of the families whose relatives were part of that historic laundry era. The Wisconsin Historical Society provided a grant for a large recognition marker located on ML King Drive near the YWCA.

Take me through the history of Chinese in America.

Wong: The Chinese first arrived here for the gold rush of 1849, and then many more arrived for building the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. After that, the Chinese took jobs they could. The reason the Chinese started their own laundry businesses was because no one else would do that work, which was “hot hand” labor. There were no washing machines, no dry cleaning. Also, because you could do that work without having to learn English. All the way up to the mid 1900s, there might be ten laundries within a three square mile radius. 

Why did the Chinese get into the restaurant business later on?

Wong: As the laundry era faded out, many Chinese families turned to running restaurants. That started in around the 1950s. These families sent their kids to public schools because they wanted better lives for their children. My parents ran a local restaurant for 27 years. It was quite popular. In fact, after Mayor Frank Zeidler retired, he often ate there. He was popular.

Young: When Asians came to America, the best thing to do was to form their own businesses because finding regular employment was difficult. To this day, first generation immigrants still often chose to run restaurants and grocery stores.

Anna, you are the granddaughter of Fred Moy, who originally owned his own laundry on Third Street from 1940 to 1976. 

Wong: When I was growing up, there were a lot of pockets of Chinese living in Milwaukee. There was no Chinatown. Being Chinese, I was always the odd kid out, but I was never discriminated against. Milwaukee was pretty friendly. I made sure my children were acclimated and embraced the American culture. When I was in school, we Asians were not taught about Asian history, so we had to acclimate. My friends were mostly white or Black. And my parents were determined to acclimate. 

Young: With the closing of mainland China in the late 1940s, the conversion to Red China, there was a big exodus of Chinese from the mainland. Some went to countries all around the world. Many who came to America were well educated. We term that period as the Brain Drain from China, which ran until about 1965. That year the Immigration and Naturalization Act was passed, which raised the quota for foreign immigrants. Many went to universities, and more people who were professionals came to the United States. There were three phases of Chinese immigration. First was pre-World War II, second up to 1965, and third from 1965 to the present.

Where do the Chinese Americans live in Milwaukee? Have they settled in a general area like the Hmong?

Wong: No, we are located all over the Milwaukee area. 

Lorna, you are President of the Organization of Chinese Americans Wisconsin. The OCA-Wisconsin is focused on civil rights, cultural heritage, and advocacy for Asian Pacific Americans. How is the OCA focus carried out?

Young: The Chinese in Milwaukee needed to get to know each other. We’ve done a lot of social and educational activities for every age group. On the advocacy side, OCA is a member of the AAPI (Asia American and Pacific Islanders) Coalition, a broader umbrella of organizations. For example, we work closely with the Hmong to pass Act 266. And with the help of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, we’ve been interviewing our Chinese American colleagues who tell stories of family histories.

Wong: These include stories by grandparents who are closer to the past history. 

Lorna, you have been an advocate of the AAPI community.

Young: AAPI includes organizations around the state. Not individuals but organizations. Beside Milwaukee, these include Madison, Wausau, Eau Claire and Green Bay. Currently, their goal is to focus on education. 

When is the Chinese New Year Gala and what is the Dragon Boat Festival?

Wong: The Dragon Boat event is for one day, the boats racing on Lake Michigan. There are 20 paddlers and one drummer in each long boat, a dragon head at the bow. Colorful costumes and colorful boats. The Dragon Boat event is a race. Local area companies will sponsor a boat, for instance, Rockwell and Johnson Controls. It is held in July or August. This is our 11th year. We have 50 boats recruited this year.

When is the Chinese New Year?

Wong: The Chinese New Year is a big deal for Chinese Americans. This year, it will be February 17. Families get together, have a nice meal, and celebrate. It is based on the Zodiac. In 2026, it’s the year of the horse. The Chinese New Year animals change every year on a 12-year cycle. 2024 was the year of the Wood Dragon, and 2025 was the year of the Wood Snake.

Young: If you live in China or Taiwan, the Chinese New Year is a two-week celebration. 

Do you have suggestions on how area residents can get to know Asian American residents in Milwaukee?

Wong: One suggestion is the China Lights event sponsored by Milwaukee County. Lanterns shaped like animal heads. This takes place from September through October at the Botanical Gardens in Whitnall Park. People from all over the Midwest region visit, all generations. Of course, the other is the Dragon Boat Festival.

Young:  Another way to get to know our culture is exposure to Asian artists and authors. And then there is the Chinese Laundry era marker where we celebrated with the YWCA, which is primarily African Americans who lived in that area, and also the Germans. 

The Milwaukee Chinese Laundry Era historical marker is located outside the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin building at 1915 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, near the corner of Reservoir Avenue. It commemorates the site of the former Fred Moy Laundry. This marker honors the vital role Chinese laundries played for immigrant families in Milwaukee, operating from the late 1800s until home appliances became common. 

Young: The Wisconsin Historical Society has since approved a second marker. That will be in Section 48 marker off Cleveland to be installed in the Forest Home Cemetery this April 2. Chinese American bachelors were buried there, and so are other Chinese Americans.