Chinese Historical Society of New England is an organization dedicated to the preservation of the intricate history of the Chinese in Boston and New England. It was founded in 1992, coming out of an effort to raise money to restore the decaying Chinese burial grounds section of Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan. The desire to honor the ancestors – both literal and figurative – of the Chinese community in Boston, as well as their stories, is at the core of CHSNE’s mission.

The need to clean up Mount Hope Cemetery came from a wish to show proper respect to the past and acknowledge the long and difficult path that has brought our community to where it is today. The Chinatown Heritage Project was born from the same values; the current historically educational efforts CHP has undertaken strengthen CHSNE’s work by presenting Chinatown history to our society today, to remind us all that our community is always moving forward and we have pulled through adversity many times before.

Along with the support and far-reaching historical knowledge CHSNE brings to this project, one of the most important resources for getting the Chinatown Heritage Project started was access to CHSNE’s archive of photographs, articles, maps, and personal stories dating back as far as the early 1900s. Together, CHSNE and the Chinatown Heritage Project are working to educate the Chinatown community that knowing our history is essential to understanding our neighborhood today.