Collection: Newspapers > Nevada County Nugget

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Title: March 8, 1972 Collection Type: Newspapers Collection Name: Nevada County Nugget Published: March 8, 1972 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Physical Format: Newspaper # of Pages: 12 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

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Original Held At: Doris Foley Library Location: 211 North Pine Street, Nevada City, CA 95959

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6 The Nevada County Nugget Wednesday, March 8, 1972 Nes History of Nev Published ir W.B. Lardner EARLY DITCHES OF THE COUNTY "One of the most important agents in developing the resources of the county has been the water introduced from natural streams by means of ditches. During a large part of the year the business of the region must utterly fail were it not for these artificial streams, that compensate in a great measure for the drought of the summer season, and enable the miner to pursue > his calling. The ditching operations have been generally so profitable to the projectors, and so indispensable to the mining as interests, that they now net nearly the whole county. Wherever HES good diggings are opened, some enterprising men cast about for i a supply of water, and spare no labor to conquer the many ob‘ stacles which are presented by a rough, thinly settled country. NAT, 2 "In March, 1850, the first enterprise of this kind was uni “/ si ae dertaken, but upon a small scale. It brought water from Mosquito ; ; =a Creek, a distance of a mile and a half, to Old Cayote Hill. Di Bs to Ditch was constructed in 1851 by Messrs, Ce ‘ Another ditch, in May, 1850, took water from Little Deer Creek ckenson, Newton ‘and others, who took the water from Deer ~ of to Phelps' Hill, a short distance. Creek and conveyed it five miles to Newtown. : : . ‘The first enterprise of this kind upon a large scale was Ses grapes formerly called the ‘Rifle-Box' -Ditch, m ; unsuccessful, It was started in August, 1850, by a man named ee sade in April, 1851, by Messrs. Montgomery, Mason an . Moore, and was designed to take water from Deer Creek, just ee ne to Sucker Flat, in Yuba County, a bove N R R .M i 2 . in above Nevada, to Rough and Ready. Moore dug but one mile of "The Shady Creek Ditch was commenced by Eddy & Comto his ditch, and was generally accounted craxy for his pains. But the enterprise was taken up in the following January by Messrs. pany, in July, 1851, and runs from Shady Creek to Sweetland's A. -L. and B, O, Williams, who succeeded in getting the water and French Corral, tweleve miles. ; We through in the following April, a distance of thirteen miles, and The Grizzly Ditch was commenced in November, 1851, dil made a great deal of money in working diggings in Randolph by Messrs. Pettiborn, Marsh and Stuart, and runs from Bloody ~. Flat with the water. Run and Grizzly Canon to Cherokee and San Juan; and in all its a. 7 "In September, 1850, Messrs. John and Thomas Dunn, C. extensions it is forty-five miles in length, wh a Carrol and C. Marsh projected the Rock Creek Ditch, taking The Little York Ditch was started in February, 1852, by 3 water from Rock Creek to Nevada, a distance of nine miles, and Gen. A. M. Winn, Captain Chapman and others, and runs from He 5 got the water onto the Cayote Hills in December of the same year. . Bear River, at Bear Valley, to Little York, a distance of eighteen Gr This was the first large ditch in successful operation in the miles. : of county, and produced great results. Before that time the pay The Walloupa Ditch was commenced in July, 1852, by en Messrs. Churchman, Coryell, Marsh, Dunn, McIntyre and Mcit == dirt taken from the Cayote lead had all to be hauled in carts to zs Deer Creek, at the foot of the town, at great expense; and piles a of dirt had been left near the shafts on the hills, as useless, = because it would not pay to be hauled for washing. These iles ; of dirt now became valuable, as the water flowed by thein, and thousands of dollars were washed out of them. Many persons made their 'piles' by 'jumping' the piles of dirt that had been= left laden with the first produce of the lead. Cayote claims that before could not be worked to advantage, also became valuable; sluice-washing gradually came into use, and the water flowing from the hills where it was first used, down into the ravines, gave opportunity for work where before it could only be done in winter, "In November, 1850, two rival companies began to construct ditches to convey the water of Deer Creek to Nevada. The Deer Creek Water Company began their ditch at the upper end, at the 2 creek; the Cayote Water Company began at the end next to the : town. After the completion of the ditches, the companies were involved in continual lawsuits as to the priority of rights, to avoid which they consolidated in the fall of 1851. "In March, 1851, Messrs. Thomas & Company started the Deer Creek Mining Company's ditch, leading from Deer Creek to Gold Flat, fifteen miles in length, and completed it in one year.