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On June 1, 1893, the glory days of the company began to come to an end when the county
Circuit Court issued a writ of attachment against it. In the following days, other parties were granted writs totaling $ 4,420 in unpaid wages and $ 6,000 in other debts. An injunction was issued against the
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Sheriff
Dillard decided that it was better to clean out the gravel in the sluices rather than guard the property around the clock. He found just over 9 ounces (260 g) of gold, instead of the 75 ounces (2.1 kg) expected, based on the number of days that the giants had been operating. The
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To expand the machines' usefulness, the Myrtle Creek
Consolidated Hydraulic Gold Mining and Manufacturing Company proposed digging a ditch—5 feet (1.5 m) deep, and 3 feet (0.91 m) wide at the bottom, and five feet wide at the top—to carry water 33 miles (53 km) from the
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In June 1891, the company hired 100 Chinese laborers to extend the ditch and tap four additional creeks, giving the construction its name. As part of this work, a 400-foot (120 m) tunnel was constructed through the mountain to connect the new supplies to the existing ditch. This additional
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around North Myrtle Creek and became convinced that the surrounding hillsides also held significant deposits. By 1890, two large hydraulic mining machines, or "giants", were operating in the area. These machines used high-pressure jets of water to dislodge sediments, but were only functional for
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By the time of late spring of 1892, there were still 3 miles (5 km) of the ditch to construct. To aid in the process, timber was produced temporarily and water was directed around the rocky hillsides. A fourth giant later made its appearance in April 1893.
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the placers and of hiring more men than necessary for appearances. On July 4, 1893, the court ruled for the miners, causing the company to shut down. On
October 19, 1894, the company's property, mining claims, and the ditch were sold for $ 7,691.
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to North Myrtle Creek. After surveyors employed by the company determined that the project was feasible, 80 men began construction, and by early winter they had completed 7 miles (11 km) of the ditch. The company's president, L. W. Brown, a
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241:. The Myrtle Creek Consolidated Hydraulic Gold Mining and Manufacturing Company began purchasing land for the ditch in 1890 and was bankrupt by 1894. Portions of the ditch, which carried water from
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sale of the property or company stock by the ownership, and the county sheriff was ordered to guard the property until the cases could be resolved.
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The China Ditch was officially entered into the
National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1991.
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construction allowed three giants to operate around the clock by the end of that year.
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maintains a driving loop and hiking trail for touring the ditch and its works.
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Myrtle Creek
Consolidated Hydraulic Gold Mining and Manufacturing Company
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National
Register of Historic Places listings in Douglas County, Oregon
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physician, said the ditch would eventually provide irrigation water to
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380:"National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: China Ditch"
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about three months each winter, when sufficient water was available.
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and later moved north to begin farming. When gold was discovered in
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orchards in the region and would transport timber to a sawmill in
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Many of the homesteaders in the area had been drawn west in the
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National
Register of Historic Places in Douglas County, Oregon
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Canals on the
National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
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52:A section of the China Ditch trail in 2013
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407:Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
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79:Location of the China Ditch in Oregon
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378:Beckham, Stephen Dow (August 1989).
251:National Register of Historic Places
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233:laborers to supply water for the
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411:"Oregon Historic Sites Database"
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107:China Ditch (the United States)
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110:Show map of the United States
16:United States historic place
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432:"China Ditch Driving Loop"
437:Bureau of Land Management
258:Bureau of Land Management
191:NRHP reference
170:38.1 acres (15.4 ha)
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531:Chinese-American history
151:43.145733°N 123.131989°W
328:company was accused of
285:Survey and construction
274:Douglas County, Oregon
156:43.145733; -123.131989
464:"China Ditch History"
319:Debts and dissolution
497:at Wikimedia Commons
270:California gold rush
124:Myrtle Creek, Oregon
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247:North Myrtle Creek
82:Show map of Oregon
493:Media related to
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305:Myrtle Creek
292:Little River
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243:Little River
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207:May 22, 1991
120:Nearest city
495:China Ditch
215:China Ditch
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142:123°07′55″W
130:Coordinates
27:China Ditch
505:Categories
352:References
223:U.S. state
139:43°08′45″N
470:August 1,
221:, in the
178:1890–1894
340:See also
198:91000616
183:Built by
443:July 2,
330:salting
278:placers
264:History
231:Chinese
416:May 7,
388:May 7,
297:Eugene
227:Oregon
383:(PDF)
301:prune
175:Built
472:2013
445:2014
418:2013
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239:gold
213:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
