In conjunction with Montana’s National History Day program, join Mark T. Johnson as he shares research and the historian’s method investigating a common myth about Montana’s Chinese community. Stories of mysterious “Chinese tunnels” beneath Montana towns have circulated for generations, often claiming that Chinese residents were forced underground by prejudice or used tunnels to conceal illegal activity. This presentation investigates where these stories came from, compares them with historical and archaeological evidence, and explores why they remain so compelling. In doing so, it shifts attention from imagined underground worlds to the vibrant, visible communities Chinese Montanans built above ground.