EARLY FARMERS OF UNION CITY

The Cheng family occupied and farmed the site where the Crowne Plaza is presently situated.  Wah Sing Cheng and his father immigrated from Canton, China to the United States in 1919.  Wah Sing's wife, Gum Hoo, arrived four years later as his picture-bride.

They started farming in the Washington Township-Centerville and Niles (Fremont) before moving to Newark in 1937.  Wah Sing and Gum Hoo had nine children.  In Newark, they lived in a two-story house on Jarvis Road.  Wah Sing sharecropped on farmland owned by Henry and William Patterson.

Wah Sing's children attended local public schools.  The Union City Historical Museum has a display of the picture of the whole Wah Sing's family and their home.  Some of the children are now members of the Union City Historical Museum.