Born: Guangdong Province, China; October 5, 1845
Died: Boise 1927
Proprietor of Ah Fong Herb Sanitarium
Occupation: Herbal Physician
C.K. Ah Fong, or Ah Fong Chuck, (the abbreviation, "C.K." comes from a mistake made by US officials) immigrated to the US in the 1870's. The Ah Fong family had an established practice in traditional Chinese medicine in San Francisco, California. Initially, Dr. Ah Fong, who had graduated from a Chinese medical school in 1867, worked with his father in San Francisco before setting out for Rocky Bar, Idaho in 1875.
Once in Rocky Bar, he set up his own clinic and treated miners and other residents of the growing settlement, white and Chinese alike. In 1891, an influenza epidemic swept the nation. Many physicians experienced little to no success in treating the epidemic. However, there was one apothecary in a little mining town in Idaho whose success in battling the influenza became national news, Dr. C.K. Ah Fong! His clinic became widely popular, but disaster struck the town when a fire demolished many of the buildings including Dr. Ah Fong's home and business.
Dr. Ah Fong again set out to start anew, this time in our very own Boise, Idaho, and in 1892 he set up his new clinic on Idaho Street. His business would become so successful that he soon opened up a second venue, which would serve as a wholesale apothecary supply shop on 7th Street. His customers came from all over North America, and he and his family became very public and popular figures in Boise society. For instance, his first wife (he would marry three times throughout his life, and some stories tell of rather colorful turns of events between the doctor and his wives) was considered to be one of the most beloved members of Boise and, upon her death, her funeral was attended by hundreds of Boise's residents. Dr. Ah Fong himself was known as a charming, intelligent, and civic minded citizen of Boise who provided valuable care and comfort to his fellow Boiseans.
Dr. Ah Fong operated his clinic and supply store for over thirty years in Boise, but while business was booming, things were not always easy for a Chinese doctor practicing in an era of racial tension and biomedical discovery. Each year, Dr. Ah Fong was required to purchase a license to continue practicing medicine in Boise. Idaho's relicensure laws were constantly changing, but it was not until 1899 that Dr. Ah Fong would come into conflict with the Idaho licensing panel. Although Dr. Ah Fong's claim to a license was legal under the new law, he was denied by the biomedical doctors on the panel. Dr. Ah Fong fought against the denial and after his case was seen by the Idaho Supreme Court he regained his license in 1901. In 1903, Dr. Ah Fong was granted a medical degree. He may be the only Chinese physician to have been vindicated as a doctor by such a distinction.
Dr. Ah Fong died in 1927, at the age of 82, and was survived by his two biological and two adopted children, his third wife had died previously. Upon his death, Dr. Ah Fong's body was transported back to his family home in China and buried there. His eldest son, Herbert would continue the family medical practice, which he in turn would pass on to his son, Gerald. The Ah Fong apothecary shop was a fixture of Boise's Chinatown and downtown area until the 1960's when the shop was closed and the area demolished as part of an urban renewal movement.
Want to know more about Chinese medicine in Boise, or Dr. Ah Fong's family and practice?
Here are some resources to check out that were used in creating this article:
http://www.history.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/reference-series/1130.pdf
http://www.hensenherbs.com/article3.htm
http://finearts.boisestate.edu/c-k-ah-fong/
Book: Chinatown: Boise, Idaho, 1870-1970 by Arthur A. Hart
