here's a crazy fact from 1850 to 1941 portland was considered to be one of the most dangerous
ports globally even earning the moniker the forbidden city of the west you see below ground
was a network of tunnels commonly called the shanghai tunnels a series of bar and
hotel basements linked to each other and the willamette river docks by an intricate system
under the city's streets these tunnels were used for legitimate practices such as keeping
ships supplies from the rain and away from the heavy traffic above but far more illicit deeds
were also carried out in the tunnels as well for example shanghaiing refers to the capture
and sale of able-bodied men to ship captains needing extra crew victims were drugged kidnapped
while intoxicated or simply knocked unconscious they were then dropped or dragged into the
tunnels through trap doors called dead falls which could be found in many bars and saloons
once in the tunnels captives were locked in any number of cramped underground cells until they
could be sold off to a life of slavery at sea today we discuss the city of portland
and its deadly underground tunnels i'm your host ryan socash and you're watching it's history
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people to use the link will get a one month free trial of skillshare portland was planted on the
west bank of the willamette river in 1845 on lands utilized by the natives to understand the
history of portland it's critical to look back at the original inhabitants of this region you
see oregon's population was predominantly native american until relatively recently it's important
to note that the metro area rests on traditional village sites of many tribes these groups created
communities and summer encampments along the columbia and willamette rivers to harvest and
use the plentiful natural resources of the area for thousands of years unfortunately the indian
removal act of 1830 and the oregon donation land act of 1850 forcibly removed these tribes they
offered free land to european settlers who quickly claimed 2.5 million acres of tribal land including
all of what is now portland the area received its first few dozen english-speaking settlers in 1846
one year prior in 1845 the city was laid out and after two of its early citizens flipped a penny
was named portland early growth was stimulated by several gold rushes and the flow of immigrants
along the oregon trail portland attracted a large population of chinese immigrants
during the 1850s portland would pass oregon city to become the largest city in the state
a position it has held ever since during its first three decades portland depended on trade by water
with the first substantial growth coming when the california gold rush created a massive market for
oregon wheat and lumber much of it shipped from portland by river and ocean to san francisco in
1905 the city was nicknamed the city of roses due to its ideal climate for growing roses gold was
another predominant source of the town's inviting reputation the search for gold in oregon refers to
the first immigrants coming into the state in the 1840s these searches were small scale panning at
places where gold prospecting looked promising to people traveling throughout the country gold
was discovered during those years but not in large enough quantity to yield an economic return none
of these gold discoveries sparked a large scale and rapid movement of prospectors into the state
this would change with the discovery of gold on jackson creek in 1851 prospectors began a quick
rush into southern oregon and discoveries of gold were made the jackson creek discovery has been
identified in recent literature as the place where the oregon gold rush began and lots of immigrants
joined the area in 1885 portland's chinatown was home to the largest population of cantonese
chinese outside of san francisco and vancouver old town was also home to a japanese town in portland
where japanese immigrants worked as farmers loggers and business owners establishing over
100 businesses these businesses within chinatown and japan town included hotels tailors dentists
doctors and general stores they offered services to other japanese and chinese residents retirees
and pensioners seeking affordable living in old town these groups faced some harsh challenges such
as the chinese exclusion act of 1882 which made chinese immigrants to the united states illegal or
quite famously in 1942 when americans of japanese ancestry were sent to internment camps following
the attack on pearl harbor the u.s government imprisoned 3676 japanese-americans from oregon and
southwest washington at the pacific international livestock exposition center now known as portland
expo center when world war ii ended many japanese and chinese portlanders returned to portland
but found it difficult to re-establish their businesses amid the aforementioned prejudice for
example the term shanghaiing oriented on the docks in the 19th century where civilians were often
tricked into forced labor aboard american merchant ships usually heading to shanghai china needless
to say life in portland wasn't all roses and gold portland had a much darker past which brings us
up to the mysterious passageways and tunnels under the city originally the shanghai tunnels were used
from the mid 19th century to the early 1940s the tunnels allowed for easy transportation of
goods from the river to businesses in downtown portland allowing the avoidance of streetcars
traffic and mud but beneath old town chinatown portland's original downtown the truth mingles
with myth within the tunnels local lore has it that a labyrinth of interconnected basements
makeshift rooms and low ceilinged tunnels ran from the waterfront making it easy to sneak illegal
goods including shanghaied victims between the city and the shore some say that the tunnels were
also used as secret passageways to underground brothels opium dens and gambling houses or as
temporary prisons for the kidnapped and men certainly weren't the only people who ran the
risk of being shanghaied portland's daughters were also told to avoid certain areas of the town where
women were regularly kidnapped and sent to faraway cities to be sold into prostitution and the oral
history here becomes even more gruesome as stories can be found about enslaved people being eaten
by starving crews humans trafficked under the streets of portland and men who returned from
the sea only to be captured again by clever and brutal captors supposedly the portland
underground shanghaied about 3 000 people a year which makes for fantastic legend
and might even have shreds of truth but historians agree that these stories are highly questionable
well the tunnels were undoubtedly used as housing for immigrant workers and more illicit purposes
such as opium dens and drinking during prohibition people speculate if shanghaiing truly existed the
city's tunnels reportedly ran from old town into downtown portland still most of these
subterranean spaces have since been filled in during various public works projects but
in the past because of these tunnels portland was considered to be the most dangerous port globally
because of the shanghaine trade apparently an innocent activity such as stopping for a drink
in a notorious establishment was a roll of the dice most victims were primarily sailors loggers
cowboys shepherds or those who worked on the river then there were others who lived a wonderlust
life and played just as hard as they were when shanghaied for the sea victims were placed
aboard ships and didn't wake for many hours after crossing the bar into the pacific ocean in some
cases it was said to take as many as six years for the kidnapped to return to portland for those
lucky enough to return home although many of these tunnels are currently inaccessible or collapsed
and little archaeological evidence exists to support the stories they certainly played
a role in the 1920s and 30s and i imagine you could easily guess where we're headed with this
you see during the prohibition era the speakeasy crowd moved underground to bar basements and
tunnels this way they could get their drinking done in spite of the law these underground bars
offered black market liquor gambling and sensual comfort opportunities but they also served as a
kind of warehouse you see as law and order had come somewhat to portland and police raids made
it hard to smuggle barrels of booze were stored in the tunnels and then brought to the underground
speakeasies throughout the town during prohibition many mobsters involved with the black market booze
sometimes got into battle with rival gangs over territorial markets leading to the death of their
enemies and anyone who was in the crossfire as the story goes during the prohibition years the
gangsters ran a speakeasy out of one of the basements of the businesses connected to the
tunnels that runs between ringlers on stark avenue and the crystal ballroom located on
burnside street terror reigned when a rival gang wearing stolen portland police officers uniforms
armed with tommy guns and axes appeared people at this party and the gangsters who ran it escaped
down the tunnel with the killers close behind them all was lost though when the frightened
people came to a narrowing of the tunnel where they were massacred along with the gangsters gangs
also used the tunnel for their hideouts and would often drag their victims down into the tunnels
to keep them from talking to the police evidence suggests that gangs even punished disobedient
members within the tunnels often leaving them to a type of solitary confinement with no light
sometimes the gangs would retrieve their man after a certain period and in other cases they wouldn't
it's also said that parts of the tunnels go on for miles so it would be easy to get lost in the dark
naturally the labyrinth of underground tunnels is still explored by urban explorers today
who claim to be able to travel underground and see the holding cells once used by criminal rings
throughout history as well as the trap doors the shanghaiers dropped people through which are still
functional in some bars so i bet you're wondering how you might legally visit these tunnels well
fortunately there's a way it will be no surprise to learn that the shanghai tunnels are reportedly
one of the most haunted places on the planet luckily they offer ghost tours
deep within the tunnels travelers report feeling goosebumps as if someone is watching them from
the shadows many people report seeing an asian man walking past them in the abandoned chambers
explorers named the man sam and say he is responsible for turning off the lights in bar
basements others report seeing quick movements of shadows and feeling ghostly fingers on their
shoulders when no one else is around other tunnel spirits are tricksters who love having a good time
believers claim that they will often pull at your shirt or gently tug at the end of your hair and
word to the wise here ghost hunters suggest that while most ghosts in the tunnel are reportedly
friendly it is better to remain cautious some people recall feeling unwelcome like someone or
something is watching them so if you choose to go on a shanghai tunnel tour you better be prepared
to experience complete darkness for better or for worse overall by 1941 human trafficking of men and
women became unprofitable and these practices stopped in the portland underground entirely
the shanghai tunnels were finally padlocked keeping illicit industries out once and for all
the tunnels stayed off limits for years and were all but forgotten until the cascade historical
society rediscovered them then renovated some small parts in order to offer tours
surprisingly no historic tunnels leading directly to the waterfront are known to exist today
yet new tunnels are under construction and a new site should be opening for tours
in the next two years oral tradition has kept the history of portland's underground alive today
150 years after shanghaiing began you can still view the secrets of the past venture through the
tunnels and cast your sights on a history that has been nearly forgotten and is plagued by legends so
with that don't forget to subscribe to catch our new videos every thursday and saturday and check
out our video about seattle's underground city until next time this is ryan socash signing off