It also made the ceiling fire resistant which accounts for the structure being one of the few buildings in Coulterville to survive the 1899 fire intact. The store is named after its original owners, Mow Da Sun and his son Sun Kow. It was the largest store in Coulterville under Chinese ownership, filling extensive orders from the surrounding mines and ranches, not just the local Chinatown. The store remained in continuous operation from 1851 to 1926 and the original shelves and counters are still inside. At the rear of the building are storerooms, a blacksmith shop and the store s office.
Strong evidence points to part of the office being used as an opium den.
It is located on the corner of Kow and Main, across from the goats. From 1870 - 1905 Mr. Sing Kee and his wife sold Chinese herbs, opium and general merchandise here. The store is not open at this time. Chew Kee Store, Fiddletown, California Store Exterior Store Interior Store Office Bedroom Shrine Built in 1850, the Chew Kee Store is a Chinese rammed earth structure established as an herb shop during the Gold Rush. Dr. Yee Fong Cheung, an herb doctor who was operating the store in the early years, came to America to administer to the medical needs of the Chinese miners, later also tending to the Chinese railroad workers.