「The Bangrak Museum, collocated with the Folk Museum in Soi Charoen Krung 43, records the history of early Bangkok in the Bangrak district. The district got its name from the huge Rak tree trunk sunken in one of the canals in the area.
Several interesting aspects of Bangkok's history (1800s – 1900s) are covered in the Bangrak Museum:
The early foreign communities and their influence in the area,The growth of trade and financial activities,The roads and canals in the area and the people who contributed to the construction.
Over two centuries, Bangkok grew from a fortified city to a commercial port and onto an urban industrialized metropolis.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Thailand in the Ayutthaya days. Their embassy is the oldest in Bangkok, located in Charoen Krung, the oldest road. Bangkok grew quickly as a trading port with traders from Portugal, Holland, Britain, India and China.
Most of the foreign communities were in Bangrak. As Bangkok grew out of the walled city, it became a cultural melting pot for Thais, Chinese, Mon, Lao, Indians, Europeans and Americans.
When the Bowring Treaty was signed in 1855 in the reign of King Rama IV, trade in Bangkok opened up. Foreigners were granted the right to trade directly, hitherto a royal monopoly. Trading companies were setup together banks, warehouses and factories.
With the foreign traders came the missionaries. In the prevailing religious tolerance, churches, temples, mosques, schools, convents and hospitals were built with land grants. Retail shops grew to support the trading activities. The first printing press in Thai started in Bangrak.
As trade grew, so did the need for transportation. Roads and canals expanded rapidly, with trams and the first railway, the Bangkok - Paknam line. Canals played a vital role in bringing rice and other produce from the provinces to Bangkok.
The Bangrak Museum has an interesting record of the origins of the early roads and canals.」