Jone Quock Mui
Historic Cannery Row
Quock Mui was born at Point Lobos in 1859 (lower left). Her parents were Cantonese fishermen who sailed to California by seagoing junk in 1851. Point Lobos was a thriving multicultural community in the later 19th century. Quock Mui had an aptitude for language, and by the time she married fisherman Jone Yow Hoy in 1876, she was able to speak five languages.
The Jones moved to the Chinese fishing village at Pescadero Point at Pebble Beach in 1876 (lower right). The family later relocated to Point Almejas, the current Hopkins Marine Station. When fire destroyed that village in 1906, they resettled with other Chinese immigrants at McAbee Beach on Cannery Row. In 1924 the Jone family purchased this home at 774 Wave Street.
Quock Mui’s language skills earned her the name “Spanish Mary” for her ability to facilitate communication among the various groups who worked along the Monterey coastline. This proud and independent woman made a significant contribution within the diverse communities she represented. According to her granddaughter Mary Chin Lee, “Her hands never stopped working” until she passed away in 1936.
Marker can be reached from Monterey Recreational Trail.
Courtesy hmdb.org
