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Volume 076-4 - October 2022 (6 pages)
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Page: of 6
Charles Marsh
By Dana T. Parker
Charles Marsh. Photo courtesy of the Searls Historical Library.
harles Marsh was an influential figure in the
( building of the first transcontinental railroad,
as well as in building water systems for hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during the
California Gold Rush. He was one of the founding
directors of the Central Pacific Railroad. He was a surveyor and worked with Theodore D. Judah to survey
and evaluate various possible routes for the first transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada. He
built a number of ditches and water pipelines to serve
mines and towns there, and became known as the “Father of Ditches.” He was also one of the founders of the
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. én" 1°)
‘Nevada County Historical society
Bulletin
eee 76 NUMBER 4 OCTOBER 7,
Builder of Ditches/Canals
and Entrepreneur
Marsh was born December 6, 1825 in Hatley, Quebec,
Canada. It seems he spent his early years in Vermont,
then moved with his family to the Milwaukee area
of Wisconsin, where he studied civil engineering. In
1849, at age 23, he came to California and tried his
hand at prospecting near what later became Nevada
City, California. The next year, he conceived a plan to
bring water to Coyote Diggings there. In conjunction
with three others, he built a nine-mile ditch at a cost
of $10,000. When completed, the investment paid for
itself in six weeks, @ndnetss7-)
This eventually evolved into the South Yuba Canal
Company, the largest network of ditches in California
with 250 miles of ditches and 20 reservoirs. Over the
years, the industrious Marsh was the founder, director
and/or investor in a multitude of water companies,
railroads, mines, etc., including the Henness Pass
Turnpike Company, Excelsior Canal Company, Union
Hotel, Banner Mine, and the Bank of Nevada County.
(Endnotes 9-14)
In 1850, at age 24, he was elected county surveyor, and
laid out the western boundary of the county. That year,
in partnership with two others, he built the 45-mile
Grizzly Ditch, which was completed in 1851 at a cost
of $50,000, Endnotes 15-16)
In 1852, he surveyed the townsite of Walloupa, and built
the Walloupa Ditch. That year he became a director of the
Sacramento, Auburn and Nevada Railroad and surveyed
its proposed route from Sacramento to Nevada City. He
estimated that it would cost two million dollars to build
the railroad. Unable to raise the required funds, the project was dropped. A decade later, when the Central Pacific
Railroad was built, it began at Sacramento and went
through Auburn on its way to Nevada. 47% 17-18)
Marsh became chairman of the county board of supervisors in 1855, at the age of 30, and continued building and