The Forgotten Railroad Workers Memorial Monument

The Forgotten Railroad Workers Memorial Monument
Xueqin Yang
2009

Chinese artist Professor Xueqin Yang created this monument in March 2009. It commemorates the Chinese workers who played a heroic and important role in building the nation’s first Transcontinental Railroad.

Between 1865 and 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad employed more than 12,000 Chinese workers to build the western portion of the railroad. They made up ninety percent of the workforce. They cleared land, cut down roadbed, shoveled snow, and blasted tunnels through granite, and laid tracks. In the last lives lost to avalanches, explosions, and other deadly accidents. Much of the names and the workers is lost to history due to poor or destroyed records of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Dedicated to the Colfax Heritage Museum by the China Railroad Friendship Association on September 13, 2025. 

The Colfax Area Heritage Society is deeply honored by this generous gift and the meaningful opportunity it provides to share the powerful story of the Chinese workers whose unwavering dedication and profound sacrifice were instrumental in building the transcontinental railroad.

Accession:  2025-25
Date: September 13, 2025
Donor: China Railroad Friendship Association