In 1870 crowds of curious Houstonians gathered to see the arrival of 250 Chinese laborers who were traveling through the city on their way to work on the railroads. Not until a decade later, however, did the census report seven actual residents in the young city. All of these first citizens were in the laundry business, an activity monopolized here by the Chinese in the late nineteenth century. Most of these early residents were male. The 1880 census lists a family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. (Anna, Caucasian) Wah Yuan and son Lincoln (four months), Chinese. Lincoln Yuan was the first Chinese-American born in Houston. Please visit www.chinatownconnection.com to learn more about Houston Chinatown History.