Ah Fong was the last of the Chinese miners around Pierce, according to the book, And Five Were Hanged by Layne Gellner Spencer. He had a cabin on Shanghai Summit, among the tumbledown ruins of what had been the homes of a group of Chinese miners.

He bought candy for the children and gave each one, one piece. He was well liked, but was found murdered by a blow to the head when friends to went to check on him Oct. 28, 1932. The neither his murderer nor the weapon were ever found. There was speculation that the murder was racially motivated.

While investigating the murder, the sheriff found $1,000 rolled up in clothing at the end of his bed. The money was turned over to the county because he had been a ward of the county for many years and supplemented his pension by doing odd jobs around town and selling huckleberries to this many friends.

He was 70 years old when he died, Spencer recounted.

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