12/29/2025
Polly Bemis – 1894
Pictured here, one of Idaho’s most iconic historical figures, Polly Bemis, posing in her wedding dress in 1894.
Born in Northern China, Polly Bemis came to the United States as a young woman. The details surrounding her arrival are unclear, but it appears as if Polly’s impoverished family sold her to bandits. These bandits shipped her to the United States, where she was eventually sold to Hong King, an older man running a salon in mining town of Warrens (Diggings), Idaho.
Polly worked for Hong King for several years and many friends while there. Often described as young and beautiful with many charms, Polly was well liked by both the locals and people passing through the town. Polly’s neighbor, saloon owner Charlie Bemis, became one of her closest friends—and then lover—and he would often protect her from unwanted advances in Hong King’s saloon. Although it was rumored that Charlie Bemis “won” Polly in a poker game with Hong King, it would be many years after this legendary game that Charlie and Polly married.
📷: Skip Myers/Idaho History 1800 to Present
