China Joe

China Joe (c. 1834 - May 17/18, 1917, also nicknamed Joe the Baker ) was a Chinese-American merchant who worked in Alaska during its gold-mining boom days in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

His Chinese name is not known exactly, and varies from source to source: As Hie in Juneau in 1881 in Juneau newspapers of 1892 and 1894, and upon joining the '87 Pioneers Association Ting Tu Wee or Chung Thui upon registering under a Chinese Registration Act of 1893

He moved to Wrangell about 1878. He purchased an abandoned steam wheeler named the Hope, built a restaurant and bakery in the hull, and rented out the staterooms. The business worked well for about a year until Wrangell began to decline. Joe then moved to Sitka, Alaska and operated a bakery there. where he lived for 36 years. Supporters worked to keep Joe in Juneau when Chinese workers in the Treadwell gold mine were forced out of the city in 1886. Joe was proud to be an active member of the early Juneau community.