Pescadero Fishing Village at Stillwater Cove

The Pescadero fishing village consisted of a group of Chinese fishermen and their families. According to historian and author Sandy Lydon's book Chinese Gold, there were Chinese settlers in the village by 1868, as Chinese immigrants had started to come to California to seek work and better lives. In 1879, there were 40 Chinese people living in eight houses in Pescadero. The Jung family, led by Jung San Choy, was a prominent group in this village and made their living as fishermen and sellers of abalone shells to tourists. At one point, the Jung family operated three tourist stands along what is now 17-Mile-Drive, perhaps the first souvenir stands in the area.

Like all Asian Americans at this time, the Chinese fishermen faced anti-Asian sentiment and discrimination from whites and other European immigrants, and were singled out in legislative efforts to prevent Chinese immigration and naturalization. Chinese people, like Jung San Choy, could not own land, despite paying rent, working hard, raising their families, and helping the local tourism economy. The residents of the Pescadero fishing village persevered with their labors, despite numerous challenges, until changing times forced them to move out of the area and pursue their lives elsewhere in California.