Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 023-5 - October 1969 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 4 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2013-12-08 13:04:36 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:05:33 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:05:33

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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Donner Lake be included, an indication of his lack of knowledge as to the topography of the region. However, Rich’s explorations convinced him of the futility of his plan. After the death of Charles Marsh in 1876, Dan Rich served as the company’s engineer and then superintendent. His home stood on Piety Hill, Nevada City, (next to the Foremost Dairy) and encompassed lots number 338 and 414 Jordan Street. Here he lived with his four motherless children, and where the family took an active interest in the social life of Nevada City. In the early 1880’s, in partnership with his son, Jake, the home which stands today near the bridge, at 220 Pine St, was built. One of the most remembered sayings of Dan. Rich was ‘‘Take care of yourself, keep busy, be square, and you will get along alright.”’? He died Feb, 13, 1907 at ninety-nine years of age. JOHN AND TOM DUNN, brothers, came to California from Buffalo, New York, in 1850 and settled on Selby Flat. John’s home, a vertiable mansion (pictured in Thompson & West, 1880) was known as the S. P. Ranch, burning in later years. John had dark hair, straggly beard, sallow skin, and was quite stopped, Tom, larger than his brother, was best known for the ease with which he interlaced an uncouth but colorful vocabulary into his speech. Both engaged in mining, and although they didn’t take an active interest in the building of the South Yuba Canal, they furnished funds, and made an occasional inspection tour. During his lifetimeTom made nine trips to the Eastern States. An invalid for many years, he died at Selby Falt, May 9, 1907, Resioencr or J.S.O0UNN, 2% MILES Fruta NEVADs CITY, NEVADA C8 CAL Stuer Fuav, *Ebenezer, age ll, the youngest son, came to California with his father, arriving in Nevada City, June 9, 1850. He was the town’s first newsboy, getting as much as $1.00 a paper. Credits to: Howard Swearingen, Districit Manager, PG&E Company; A. W. Schurr, Nevada Irrigation District, Mr. and Mrs, U.S.N. Johnson, Mrs. Grace Himes, Nevada City Library, Nevada County Historcial Museum, Nevada County Recorder’s Office, and the Bancroft Library. Loulse Watts, REFERENCES: References: Nevada County Deeds, Charles Coleman’s hook on theP, G. & E. of California, and the following newspapers: The Nevada Journal, Nevada City Transcript, The Union and the Nugget. Although the end of the South Yuba Canal Company came with its sale in 1880, the storage and dis‘pensing of water continued under various company names, the South Yuba Water and Mining Company, the So::th Yuba Water Company, the California Gas and Electric Company, and finally the mammoth Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Although hydraulic mining declined after 1884, the need for irrigation to agricultural areas, and hydroelectric power took its place. The P, G. & E, Co., a vast consolidation of numerous small-companies, began with the successful operation of that little ditch running from Mosquito Creek to the Coyote Diggings in early 1850. The story of the South Yuba Canal Company is a history of water development in Northern California, Many ofthe old aqueducts have been adapted to today’s needs and are still in use, If the ghosts of Whartenby, Kidd, Rich and Marsh still patrol the main canal, they must indeed be proud of the heritage they left to Califarnia’s economic development.