An antique sign in Chinese characters, touts a new year in the Chew Kee Store. The Chew Kee Store was preserved in 1988 through a grant secured by the Fiddletown Preservation Society and now operates as a museum with FPS members as docents.

When one local town was at risk of losing elements from its past, a group of people joined together to make sure that wouldn't happen. With the rich history of Fiddletown, its residents created an organization that is making sure that the legacy isn't lost for future generations.

The Fiddletown Preservation Society is a nonprofit community based organization that works to create public awareness of the unique history of Fiddletown by preserving its historical structures, artifacts and memories, according to Elaine Zorbas, a member of FPS and resident of Fiddletown.

Fiddletown was a built up town consisting mostly of houses, hotels and saloons which also had a significant Chinese population that inhabited the western part of town, according to Lola Nunn, event planner for FPS. Fiddletown has a number of unique assets that FPS is dedicated to preserving.

"Even though Fiddletown is small, our town has a lot of community spirit and pride in its past," Zorbas said.

Founded in 1964, FPS was supposedly created to recover and restore the missing bell to the Fiddletown Schoolhouse, which was granted to FPS that same year, Zorbas said. The schoolhouse became one of the first projects for the group and one that it is still working on.

In 1978, Fiddletown was formally acknowledged by the National Park Service as an historic district with 18 historical sites dating to the Gold Rush period, according to Nunn. FPS was instrumental in making this happen, Nunn said.

During the 1970s, the FPS was involved in caring for the Chew Kee Store, realizing that this rammed earth Chinese herb store was unique and rare, Zorbas said. The Chew Kee Store was preserved in 1988 through a grant secured by FPS and now operates as a museum with FPS members as docents.

"The Chew Kee Store is unique not only because of its construction, but because it still retains the original interior including the Chinese herbal artifacts," Nunn said. "Our restoration for that won the governor's award in 1986."

There are three other original Chinese buildings made of adobe and stone dating to the 1850s which represents an older vestiges of a Chinatown than found anywhere else in California, according to Nunn. Currently, FPS is working to restore two of those, the Chinese General Store and the Chinese Gambling House.

The Fiddletown Restoration of Chinese Structures project began in 2001 with a grant to restore the endangered Chinese Gambling Hall and the Chinese General Store, which are owned by the county, Zorbas said.

"Fiddletown has more buildings from a Gold Rush Chinatown than any other community in California," she added. "These buildings are very fragile. We need to match the existing grant by raising at least $100,000. So far, we have raised $30,000 from donations, but we need community support to reach our goal."

Without renovation work by the FPS, these important Chinese buildings will eventually collapse and the legacy of the Chinese pioneers will be gone forever, Nunn said.

FPS holds a variety of activities and events, such as Fiddletown Heritage Day, in order to raise money for its projects. The money for the schoolhouse restoration has been raised through an annual Schoolhouse Breakfast, and money for Chew Kee Store restoration was raised through a state grant, according to Nunn. "We are raising money for the current projects through a combination of grants, awards from foundations and private donations," she said.

FPS is also active in working with the county to promote an awareness of Amador's historical significance and to ensure that county planning recognizes to preserve not only individual buildings but areas such as Fiddletown which represent a concentration of historic activity and the remains thereof, Nunn said.

Currently, FPS has about 85 members including some from other communities and cities. Membership in the society is open to anyone interested in preserving, maintaining and restoring the historical buildings, records and relics of Fiddletown.

To help raise funds for the ROCS project, the group is holding its third annual Fiddletown Heritage Day celebration Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Fiddletown. Some of the special features include guest speakers, gold panning workshops, a cowboy lunch, live entertainment, a guided tour of town and many other fun, family-friendly things to do, Nunn said.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for the ROCS project. All contributions are tax-deductible. Donations may also be mailed to FPS, PO. Box 53, Fiddletown, 95629. For more information, visit the FPS Web site at www.fiddletown.info or call 296-6476.