As America turns 250 years old this year and many are reflecting on our country’s past, we wanted to take a closer look at Idaho’s history, which reflects the breadth of the American experience. Discovering more about the places we see and touch in our daily lives can create deeper connections with our home and our community. So we’re taking a deep dive into the history of Boise, one small piece at a time with our America 250: Short Histories of Boise Project. Each Monday on Idaho Matters, we’ll bring you a snapshot of a small corner of our Capital City and its unique past.
Today we’ll explore Chinden Boulevard.
Driving down Chinden Boulevard in Garden City, it can be hard not to notice the big changes that have come over the past decade as it’s become a corridor of chic breweries, wineries and coffee shops. But what might not be so obvious to the everyday happy hour attendee is how this area looked before Garden City was founded. And where did the name Chinden Boulevard come from?
It may surprise you to learn that at the turn of the twentieth century, this area functioned as Boise’s vegetable patch. Many of the gardeners were members of Idaho’s Chinese community, which was significantly larger at that time than it is today. The name Chinden emerged in the early 1950s; the result of a contest to rename Garden City’s main street. The winning suggestion, Chinden Boulevard, merged the words Chinese and Garden, paying homage to a history that stretches back to Idaho’s territorial beginnings.
Chinese immigrants began arriving in Idaho in large numbers in the 1860s, following the discovery of gold in the Boise Basin. The gold rush drew prospectors from around the world. Chinese men made up a significant portion of the mining workforce and also found employment in supporting industries like farming. By 1870, Chinese immigrants made up almost 30% of Idaho’s total population. Their labor and cultural contributions shaped communities across the region, even as they faced systemic discrimination and racial violence.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first federal law to ban immigration based on race and ethnicity and denied Chinese immigrants the ability to become U.S. citizens. Hostility toward Chinese immigrants was public and deadly. In 1885, an anti-Chinese convention was held in Boise, and just one year later, more than 30 Chinese miners were massacred in Hells Canyon, just across the border in Oregon.
With all of these challenges, it’s difficult to imagine what life would have been like for Chinese immigrants, but they created thriving communities for themselves in the Boise area and beyond. By 1890, Thomas Davis, one of Boise’s original white settlers and Julia Davis’s husband, owned much of the land along the river in what is now Garden City. For years, he leased large tracts of his land to Chinese farmers. The area became known for its neat rows of fruit trees and vegetable beds.
Chinese gardeners not only marketed produce locally, but also regionally. In Boise and in the surrounding area, they delivered fruits and vegetables door to door daily to residential and retail customers, first by horse drawn wagon and later by truck, giving rise to the term “truck gardens.”
The Chinese gardens declined after World War I, but gardens along the Boise River remained into the mid-twentieth century. Throughout much of this period, the Louie family operated the Louie Gee Garden and maintained a strong presence in the Boise area. Their hard work exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that has shaped many American communities.
Facing significant barriers, the success and perseverance of the Louie family and other Chinese gardeners of the Treasure Valley form a truly American story, though it is one that is often overlooked.
For more information on the history of Boise’s Chinese community, check out the Boise City Department of Arts & History’s excellent City Steps tour, “Remembering Chinatown.”
The America 250: Short Histories of Boise Project is brought to you in collaboration with the City of Boise’s Department of Arts & History; with support from Boise State University’s History 502 class; and music provided by the City of Boise’s Cultural Ambassador, the Boise Philharmonic. The music, John Williams' "Liberty Fanfare," was recorded by the Boise Phil in 2025.
For a full schedule of city-sponsored America 250 events, visit City of Boise America 250 and for events and programs across the state, visit America 250 in Idaho.
References:
“Action Post.” Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), March 16, 1978: 28. NewsBank.
Boise City Department of Arts & History. “Chinese History and Culture.” Boise City Department of Arts & History. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://www.boiseartsandhistory.org/history-and-archives/history/people/chinese-history-and-culture/.
Boise City Department of Arts & History. “Remembering Chinatown: Boise’s Vanished Neighborhood.” City Steps Walking Tour Program, City of Boise, 2025.
City of Boise. “The Chinese Gardens.” City of Boise. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://www.cityofboise.org/departments/parks-and-recreation/julia-davis-park-rotary-grand-plaza/decorative-bollards/the-chinese-gardens/.
Garden City. “A History of Garden City.” Garden City, Idaho. Accessed January 7, 2026. https://gardencityidaho.org/about.
Hart, Arthur. “Chinese produced distinctive gardens.” Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), July 25, 1988: 31. NewsBank.
Hart, Arthur A. Chinatown: Boise, Idaho, 1870-1970. Boise, Idaho: Historic Idaho Inc.
Idaho State Historical Society. “The Effect Of Mining In The Economy Of The Boise Region, Number 172.” Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series. Accessed December 14, 2025. https://history.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/0172.pdf.
Johnson, Jacob, Brigham Young University. “Chinden Boulevard.” Intermountain Histories. Accessed December 14, 2025, https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/739.
[New Name for Garden City’s Main Street]. Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), October 9, 1952: 21. NewsBank.
“Obituaries: Neta Danzer.” Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), January 26, 1982: 21. NewsBank.
Rodine, Kristin. “What’s in a name? From Black Cat to Frozen Dog, area roads’ monikers provide history, mystery.” Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), September 11, 2018. NewsBank.
“Rural Postal Changes Told By Postmaster.” Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), February 10, 1953: 16. NewsBank.
Stacy, Susan M. Tom & Julia Davis: ‘Some Good Place.’ Boise, Idaho: T&J Publishing, 2007.
“Streets to Get New Names In Garden City: Council Sponsors Contest to Bring Out Suggestions.” Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), September 25, 1952: 10. NewsBank.
Zhu, Liping. A Chinaman's Chance: The Chinese on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 1997.
