Historical Clippings Book (HC-11) (314 pages)

Wh Chat. Grvanifen Bl French Had Part ln Mining Boom Of Ridge Area ~ or one thing, the tales out of California “and the elaborations of tem sparked the ‘Hirth of worldwide communications. The rumors passed along the trapper lines gave way to niail lines across continent and ocean and the clicking of the telegraph key And the voice-carrying telephone sped the news to the multiplying press, Of course, the California €pie was not the cause but it provided a, timely and magic calalyst for the chain reaction that resulted in the radio and_ television. i For another thing, the golden . tales from California touched off . one of the greatest folk move. ments, with {thousands and hun. dred of thousands setting out by avhatever means to the promised Jand behind the Golden Gate and . the®’mountain passes of the Sierra . Nevada, spreading south to the Mother Lode country, and swarming over the Northern Mines, everywhere making their imprint in the wilderness Names Imprinted ‘One of the imnrints of this motley crowd was the names they left behind them in their restless questing. French Corral, Dutch Wat, Timbucto, Kanaka Gulch, Chinese Camp, Scotts Flat, Germantown— all bespeak the origin of the pioneers. And as the eamps settled into towns, nationality groups consolidated and put their character on institutions and streets and the whole fabric of community life. : The Northern Mines in a region rich: in examples of this group influence, none nerhaps more pronounced than the: Cornish of the Grass Valley—Nevada City area. But the French have and still do influence community life in this part, as do the Italians and the Chinese. The ruins of a Jewish cemetery in Grass Valley reminds of another group that had a pass~ ing rele in our community building, and Nigger Will recalls a period when both Grass Valley and Nevada City had Negro schools and churches, The traditionally canny Scots did not get a foothold in the Northern Mines, but history Professor ‘Durrentine Jackson of the Davis Campus has just published in ‘Jong distances. a treause showihe this group influence on Culifornia’s developmeat in agriculture, mining and timber, They iuvested largely in the late 1800s but were uncannily unlucky although they introduced a vast amount of machinery and new techniques, About the French in Nevada ecounty’s early history, W. W. Kallenterger of North Bloomfield has a very. interesting discourse the March issue of Nevada County Historical Society’s membership pamphlet, from which The Trail quotes the following: Search for Higher Ground When the placers of the river pars, river beds, and ravines began’ to peter out and the miners began to suspect that something in the way of “hill gravel” or quartz stringers might have played their part in enriching these “placers,” the more enterprising began a search for these “higher grounds,” farther up in the mountains, and, along with the prospect of “higher diggings” that might be found, the need for the transporting of water to these areas in order to work the ground was ever before them in their thinking. . Seven of these seekers happened to be men of more than average intelligence apparently, and, although tradition may state the accidental finding in 1852 of the high lakes, it was in 1853 that these seven—six Fenchman and one Belgian—appropriated the waters of French Lake or Eureka Lake, thigh in the Sierras, and found thirty more lakes within the vicinity of Big Canyon Creek and iits headwaters. However, capital was. needed to dig ditches for the transportation of water over The Frenchmen could not swing it. Formed Water Company They sought and found aid in a few men who had been instrumental in furthering other water projects, and these men, under the name of the “French Lake Water Company,” began the construction of a ditch from Caryon Creek to Eureka South, a distance of thirteen miles. This ditch was started in 1857 and within three months .time seven miles of ditch and flume, extremely difficult to build, had been completed, and was to be finished before winter storms set in, From Pureka South it was to connect with a Captain Irving's ditch (The Irwin Diich), it being consolidated with that company. Thus. was created the Eureka Take and Water Company. This company, after a seige of growing pains ‘and internal wrangling and Utigation, finally was consolidated-«with the Middle Yuba Canal and Water Company York Corporation now controlled this , system), the longest ditch system in the state and one of the costliest to construct, Another Frenchman, under the (a New) name of Petitjean and Company, had dug a ditch Creek to North Blgomfield by way of Relief Will. That portion duyv from Canyon Creek to Relief Hill was utilized when the North Bloomfiekl Company's ditch was constructed. But it was a Frenchman who ‘had located the waters of Canyon Creek at Bowman in 1860 and dug the ditch, thus paving the way for the North Bloomfield Company. Dates Way Back The knowledve of the necessity ‘or water and hydraulics learned by the Gauls unquestionably dates buck to ancient history, pack to the Sumerians and their priestkings who developed irrigation, and the skillful hydraule engineers in the Mesopotamian areas, and then the succession of destructions ‘by Mongolian ‘hordes, the development of the western civilizations, again the destruction by Teutonic hordes and once more the civilization in the land of the Gauls. Small wonder indeed that the French were quick to grasp the / opportunities in a foreign land, far more lush in scope in climate, . area and wealth than that of their . native land, . these early French or Yet, what became of their progeny? Their start in our County exemplified in’ the North San Juan ridge area betokened a land of fruit, vineyards and farms. It . did not materalize for the French, however. In perusing the early day mining records in the Nevada County Court House, one becomes rather amazed at the number of French names to be found inscribed on the mining locations of the late 50's. A careful count was made of one section in particular, This was of the Virgin Valley Mining District at Humnug City, known by most people as North Bloomfield. Of the nearly 600 names found on the locations made from 1856 to 1860 it was surprising to note the names of more than one hundred thirty Frenchmen. Going farther down the ridge, to the time when the transfer of property at Montezuma Hill was made to the Montezuma Mining Company, of more than thirty names on the list of owners of claims, at least two-thirds of them were of French origin. Decrease Over Years However, of all the ridge localities, the French predominated, as a unit, at North Bloomfield. . Another singular fact was this: whereas the French appeared to have reached their peak in numbers on mining locations in 1858, a marked decrease was noticeable as years went on, This was no more than natural since the three large ditch and mining companies—the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company, with its large holdings surrounding the Malakoff; from Canyon the Eureka Lake and;.

Wh Chat. Grvanifen Bl French Had Part ln Mining Boom Of Ridge Area ~ or one thing, the tales out of California “and the elaborations of tem sparked the ‘Hirth of worldwide communications. The rumors passed along the trapper lines gave way to niail lines across continent and ocean and the clicking of the telegraph key And the voice-carrying telephone sped the news to the multiplying press, Of course, the California €pie was not the cause but it provided a, timely and magic calalyst for the chain reaction that resulted in the radio and_ television. i For another thing, the golden . tales from California touched off . one of the greatest folk move. ments, with {thousands and hun. dred of thousands setting out by avhatever means to the promised Jand behind the Golden Gate and . the®’mountain passes of the Sierra . Nevada, spreading south to the Mother Lode country, and swarming over the Northern Mines, everywhere making their imprint in the wilderness Names Imprinted ‘One of the imnrints of this motley crowd was the names they left behind them in their restless questing. French Corral, Dutch Wat, Timbucto, Kanaka Gulch, Chinese Camp, Scotts Flat, Germantown— all bespeak the origin of the pioneers. And as the eamps settled into towns, nationality groups consolidated and put their character on institutions and streets and the whole fabric of community life. : The Northern Mines in a region rich: in examples of this group influence, none nerhaps more pronounced than the: Cornish of the Grass Valley—Nevada City area. But the French have and still do influence community life in this part, as do the Italians and the Chinese. The ruins of a Jewish cemetery in Grass Valley reminds of another group that had a pass~ ing rele in our community building, and Nigger Will recalls a period when both Grass Valley and Nevada City had Negro schools and churches, The traditionally canny Scots did not get a foothold in the Northern Mines, but history Professor ‘Durrentine Jackson of the Davis Campus has just published in ‘Jong distances. a treause showihe this group influence on Culifornia’s developmeat in agriculture, mining and timber, They iuvested largely in the late 1800s but were uncannily unlucky although they introduced a vast amount of machinery and new techniques, About the French in Nevada ecounty’s early history, W. W. Kallenterger of North Bloomfield has a very. interesting discourse the March issue of Nevada County Historical Society’s membership pamphlet, from which The Trail quotes the following: Search for Higher Ground When the placers of the river pars, river beds, and ravines began’ to peter out and the miners began to suspect that something in the way of “hill gravel” or quartz stringers might have played their part in enriching these “placers,” the more enterprising began a search for these “higher grounds,” farther up in the mountains, and, along with the prospect of “higher diggings” that might be found, the need for the transporting of water to these areas in order to work the ground was ever before them in their thinking. . Seven of these seekers happened to be men of more than average intelligence apparently, and, although tradition may state the accidental finding in 1852 of the high lakes, it was in 1853 that these seven—six Fenchman and one Belgian—appropriated the waters of French Lake or Eureka Lake, thigh in the Sierras, and found thirty more lakes within the vicinity of Big Canyon Creek and iits headwaters. However, capital was. needed to dig ditches for the transportation of water over The Frenchmen could not swing it.

Formed Water Company They sought and found aid in a few men who had been instrumental in furthering other water projects, and these men, under the name of the “French Lake Water Company,” began the construction of a ditch from Caryon Creek to Eureka South, a distance of thirteen miles. This ditch was started in 1857 and within three months .time seven miles of ditch and flume, extremely difficult to build, had been completed, and was to be finished before winter storms set in, From Pureka South it was to connect with a Captain Irving's ditch (The Irwin Diich), it being consolidated with that company. Thus. was created the Eureka Take and Water Company. This company, after a seige of growing pains ‘and internal wrangling and Utigation, finally was consolidated-«with the Middle Yuba Canal and Water Company York Corporation now controlled this , system), the longest ditch system in the state and one of the costliest to construct, Another Frenchman, under the (a New) name of Petitjean and Company, had dug a ditch Creek to North Blgomfield by way of Relief Will. That portion duyv from Canyon Creek to Relief Hill was utilized when the North Bloomfiekl Company's ditch was constructed. But it was a Frenchman who ‘had located the waters of Canyon Creek at Bowman in 1860 and dug the ditch, thus paving the way for the North Bloomfield Company. Dates Way Back The knowledve of the necessity ‘or water and hydraulics learned by the Gauls unquestionably dates buck to ancient history, pack to the Sumerians and their priestkings who developed irrigation, and the skillful hydraule engineers in the Mesopotamian areas, and then the succession of destructions ‘by Mongolian ‘hordes, the development of the western civilizations, again the destruction by Teutonic hordes and once more the civilization in the land of the Gauls. Small wonder indeed that the French were quick to grasp the / opportunities in a foreign land, far more lush in scope in climate, . area and wealth than that of their . native land, . these early French or Yet, what became of their progeny? Their start in our County exemplified in’ the North San Juan ridge area betokened a land of fruit, vineyards and farms. It . did not materalize for the French, however. In perusing the early day mining records in the Nevada County Court House, one becomes rather amazed at the number of French names to be found inscribed on the mining locations of the late 50's. A careful count was made of one section in particular, This was of the Virgin Valley Mining District at Humnug City, known by most people as North Bloomfield. Of the nearly 600 names found on the locations made from 1856 to 1860 it was surprising to note the names of more than one hundred thirty Frenchmen. Going farther down the ridge, to the time when the transfer of property at Montezuma Hill was made to the Montezuma Mining Company, of more than thirty names on the list of owners of claims, at least two-thirds of them were of French origin. Decrease Over Years However, of all the ridge localities, the French predominated, as a unit, at North Bloomfield. . Another singular fact was this: whereas the French appeared to have reached their peak in numbers on mining locations in 1858, a marked decrease was noticeable as years went on, This was no more than natural since the three large ditch and mining companies—the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company, with its large holdings surrounding the Malakoff; from Canyon the Eureka Lake and;.