Collection: Books and Periodicals

About This Item:

Title: A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Publisher: Lewis Publishing Company Published: 1891 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Source(s): Google Books # of Pages: 713 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-22 00:25:09 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:11:29 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 06:30:36

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

Page: of 713  

HISTORY every portion of the county, the section that has attracted the most attention is comparatively small in area. The historical “ Mother Lode” belts the county entirely across, extending north into El Dorado and eouth into Calaveras, and in Amador are found the most important and most numerous leads uponit. From Plymouth south to the Mokelumne River, there is a succession of paying quartz mines, the equal of which is found in no vther mining district in the world. Along this line are most of the leading towns and the bulk of the population of the county. More than one-sixth of the gold put into circulation in the State from its mines comes from “« Little Amador,” and the leading mines which produce this vast sum yearly are not on the market, and never have been, which should serve as an indication that legitimate mining is here carried on, and the mine owners have the utmost confidence in their property. In good truth, mining in Amador County is carried on tor legitimate profit and not for speculation, and the results fully justify the confidence of those who invest their capital. The prevailing idea of the uninitiated as to a mining region is that it is a barren, rocky soil, where vegetation does not exist and where civilization is at a low ebb. No greater fallacy could exist than such a view regarding the mining region of Amador. Green fields and trees stretch in every direction; the soil is most tertile, and itis by no means an unusual sight that of a bearing orchard on top of ground where underneath thousands of dollars in gold are taken out monthly. In 1887 there were 1,132 men employed in the mines, operating 582 stamps. Besides, there were probably 250 more men engaged in prospecting and operating smaller mines. The Q ranch was taken up in 1850, by James Alvord, Dick Tarrier and others. Henry Gibbons, who was a member of Company Q of the Ohio volunteers, gave the ranch its name. A D ranch was named after a brand used on the cattle there. The 2 L was similarly named. Perhaps the largest orchard is that of the OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. . 105 Q RANCH, in Ione Valley, containing 120 acres of orchard and vineyard, and famous from the early days of this county for its great fertility, and as being the home station of the Forest line of stages, that were such an important factor to the traveling public in the ante railroad period. Many an old resident of the county remembers when on a summer’s day, after a hot, dusty ride over the plains from Sacramento, with what delight the long, shady road of this beautiful ranch would break on the vision. Then it was devoted to raising corn; now the greater portion is in : bearing fruit trees, and the beauty of former years is enhanced by the long avenues of different varieties of trees, all pruned in beautiful syinmetry over a ground clean as a garden. There is mach more rain in Amador County, than in the valley, and during the winter the ternperature sometimes falls ten to fifteen degrees below freezing point. The desiccating and destructive north wind is not so bad as in the plains below. While much irrigation is not needed for fruit culture in the foot-hills, there is very little land in this county which cannot he irrigated. The water problem, which is a cause of so much trouble and expense in the suuthern part of the State, is no bugbear here, as thousands of inches of water that could be utilized are running to waste. On the south the county is bounded by the Mokelumne River, and, on the north by the Cosumnes River. Jackson, Sutter, Rancheria, Amador and Dry Creeks flow through it, having numerous branches. Numerous canals and ditches take out the water, which primarily is used for mining purposes, but which can again be taken u and used for agriculture. The McLaughlin ditch property of Volcano in its various branches carries 3,000 inches of water, nearly all of which could be applied to irrigating the twelve miles width of country between Volcano and Jackson. The Amador Canal carries 4,000 inches trom the Mokelumne River to the mines, and could all be utilized below the mineral belt, after it has done service in running the