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Description

Hydraulic Gold Mining in Trinity County

This map provides a detailed cartographic representation of a gold mining property in Trinity County, California at the end of the 19th Century.

The map delineates the boundaries, topographical features, and mining infrastructure of the area, including the East Fork of the Stuart Fork of the Trinity River and its tributaries. Compiled by A. Beaudry, the map showcases the layout of numerous claims, ditches, and gulches integral to the operation. 

The property is divided into multiple claims, each labeled with its name and area in acres. The claims include prominent names such as Greenhorn Flat, Taylor Gulch, and Mosquito Gulch, illustrating the organized division of mining zones. The map also includes an inset detailing the capacity of various ditches, essential for hydraulic mining operations. The largest, the East Fork Ditch, supplied up to 6,000 inches of water, sourced from tributaries such as Strope Creek. Other ditches, such as the Diener Ditch and Greenhorn Ditch, played vital roles in channeling water for mining.  

During the late 19th century, Trinity County, part of California's northern goldfields, was a hub of hydraulic gold mining. Hydraulic mining had emerged as one of the most efficient means of extracting gold from placer deposits, using high-pressure water jets to erode gravel banks and separate gold. This technique required an extensive infrastructure of ditches and reservoirs, as seen in this map.

The East Fork Hydraulic Gold Mining Property exemplifies the industrial scale and environmental impact of gold mining during this period. By the late 1800s, however, the practice of hydraulic mining had faced growing opposition due to its devastating environmental consequences, including widespread sedimentation that clogged rivers and destroyed farmland downstream. This opposition culminated in the 1884 Sawyer Decision, which limited hydraulic mining in California, though operations in remote areas like Trinity County persisted into the early 20th century. 

Condition Description
Trimmed at left lower edge, as shown.