Frank Quan, last resident of San Francisco Bay’s historic Chinese shrimping village, dies at 90

The last remaining resident of a shrimping village established by Chinese immigrants on the northern shore of San Francisco Bay has died.

The Marin Independent Journal reports Frank Quan died of natural causes on August 15. He would have been 91 this week.

Quan was born in and lived most of his life in China Camp Village, which once thrived near San Rafael in Marin County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

He played a key role in transforming China Camp into a state park in the 1970s after a developer donated the 15-hectare village to be preserved as a living memorial to the Bay Area’s Chinese-American history.

Until his death, he fished in the waters, maintained historic buildings and equipment and ran a small diner his family had operated for generations. Most of his catch was sold as bait, but on weekends he would cook and serve clam chowder to park visitors.

“Frank was such a rare character, really the true living history of China Camp,” said John Muir, a longtime friend and board member of Friends of China Camp. “When you visit the village, it feels like you have stepped back in time, and a lot of that feeling is there thanks to Frank.”