North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company
Encyclopedia
The North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company of North Bloomfield, California
, was established in 1866 and operated a hydraulic gold-mining operation at the Malakoff Mine subsequent to the California Gold Rush
. In its day, no other company's operations matched North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company in size or expense.
The mine is located within Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
, 16 miles (25.7 km) east of Highway 49
on Tyler Foote's Crossing Road
, and 28 miles (45.1 km) north of Nevada City, California
. The company office is still standing.
The company had numerous operations in Nevada County
, including Union Diggings at Columbia Hill, but those at Malakoff Mine were the most notable. Completed in 1874-11-15, the North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company carved a 7800 feet (2,377.4 m) long drainage tunnel through solid bedrock
at Malakoff Mine. After tunnel completion, the company reached its peak processing of 50,0000 tons of gravel each day by operating seven giant monitors twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In the company's 1879 year-end report, the company's president hailed a major improvement:
, dumped into the Yuba River
, destroyed farm land as far west as Sacramento
, creating California’s first major environmental controversy. in September 1882, Edwards Woodruff, a disgruntled New Yorker who owned farmland in Marysville
, brought suit in Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company, an anti-debris lawsuit. By June 1883, the case was at trial. On 1884-01-07, Judge Lorenzo Sawyer
handed down what became known as the Sawyer Decision, among the first environmental decisions in the United States. While North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company was notable for operating the world’s largest hydraulic gold mine in 1884, the Sawyer Decision abruptly ended hydraulic mining in Gold Country
soon after. The tailings can still be found on the river as the Yuba Goldfields
.
No. 852 in 1972-01-20. The plaque is situated at the park diggins overlook, affixed to a rock wall, and states:
North Bloomfield, California
North Bloomfield is a small unincorporated community located in Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Nevada City, California....
, was established in 1866 and operated a hydraulic gold-mining operation at the Malakoff Mine subsequent to the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. In its day, no other company's operations matched North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company in size or expense.
The mine is located within Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park belongs to the California State Historic Park system, a part of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Malakoff Diggins is the site of California's largest hydraulic mines...
, 16 miles (25.7 km) east of Highway 49
California State Route 49
State Route 49 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it...
on Tyler Foote's Crossing Road
Foote's Crossing Road
Foote's Crossing Road originates in North Columbia, California and winds through the Tahoe National Forest to connect with the community of Alleghany, California. It is a Registered Historic Place....
, and 28 miles (45.1 km) north of Nevada City, California
Nevada City, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Nevada City had a population of 3,068. The population density was 1,399.7 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Nevada City was 2,837 White, 26 African American, 28 Native American, 46 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 40 from other races,...
. The company office is still standing.
History
The North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company was owned by 30 capitalists from San Francisco, led by railroad baron Lester I. Robinson, and William Ralston, a silver miner from Sun Mountain in Nevada. The company's water rights were the same watershed as Summit Water and Irrigation Company's but lower down on Canyon Creek. The principal reservoir was at Bowman Lake, while others included Crooked, Island, Middle, Round, English/Rudyard, Sawmill, and Shotgun Reservoirs. The company's main canal was the Bloomfield Ditch, but, according to Superintendent L.L. Meyers, only a small fraction of the ditch's water was used for irrigation and most was used for mine operations.The company had numerous operations in Nevada County
Nevada County, California
Nevada County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of California, in the Mother Lode country. As of 2010 its population was 98,764. The county seat is Nevada City.-History:Nevada County was created in 1851 from parts of Yuba County....
, including Union Diggings at Columbia Hill, but those at Malakoff Mine were the most notable. Completed in 1874-11-15, the North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company carved a 7800 feet (2,377.4 m) long drainage tunnel through solid bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
at Malakoff Mine. After tunnel completion, the company reached its peak processing of 50,0000 tons of gravel each day by operating seven giant monitors twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In the company's 1879 year-end report, the company's president hailed a major improvement:
"... electric light of 12,000 candle intensity ... to facilitate mining operations at night better than the pitch bonfires heretofore used.
Sawyer Decision
The tailingsTailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
, dumped into the Yuba River
Yuba River
The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sacramento Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is one of the Feather's most important branches, providing about a third of its flow. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into North, Middle and South...
, destroyed farm land as far west as Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, creating California’s first major environmental controversy. in September 1882, Edwards Woodruff, a disgruntled New Yorker who owned farmland in Marysville
Marysville, California
Marysville is the county seat of Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 12,072 at the 2010 census, down from 12,268 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, often referred to as the Yuba-Sutter Area after the two counties, Yuba and...
, brought suit in Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company, an anti-debris lawsuit. By June 1883, the case was at trial. On 1884-01-07, Judge Lorenzo Sawyer
Lorenzo Sawyer
Lorenzo Sawyer was an American lawyer and judge who was appointed the Supreme Court of California in 1860 and served as Chief Justice of California from 1868–70. He served as a circuit judge for the U.S...
handed down what became known as the Sawyer Decision, among the first environmental decisions in the United States. While North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company was notable for operating the world’s largest hydraulic gold mine in 1884, the Sawyer Decision abruptly ended hydraulic mining in Gold Country
Gold Country
Gold Country is a region in the central and northeastern part of California, United States. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.-Geography:State Route 49 was built through the Gold Country,...
soon after. The tailings can still be found on the river as the Yuba Goldfields
Yuba Goldfields
The Yuba Goldfields is a valley of 10,000 acres on both sides of the Yuba River in Yuba County, California, located northeast of Yuba City. The goldfields are noted for their otherworldly appearance, filled with oddly shaped gravel mountains, ravines, streams and turquoise-colored pools of water...
.
Competitors
- Birdseye Creek Mining Company, between You BetYou Bet, CaliforniaYou Bet is a small unincorporated community mining town in Nevada County, California, United States. You Bet is located northeast of Chicago Park. The town was founded in 1858, on the Sierra Nevada Range, and is bordered by the Yuba and Bear Rivers....
and Red DogRed Dog, CaliforniaRed Dog was a California gold rush mining town located in the Gold Country in south-central Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Chicago Park. Red Dog Hill, a mine and campsite, was founded by three men all under the age of 22, and was named by their youngest, a 15-year-old...
, north of the Bear River - Excelsior Water and Mining Company, around Smartville
- Gold Run Ditch and Mining Company, at Dutch FlatDutch Flat, CaliforniaDutch Flat is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place in Placer County, California, United States, about northeast of Auburn along Interstate 80. It was founded by German immigrants in 1851 and was once one of the richest gold mining locations of California...
- Milton Mining and Water Company, between North San JuanNorth San Juan, CaliforniaNorth San Juan is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States, along State Route 49 on the San Juan Ridge in Gold Country. The zip code is 95960...
and French Corral - Polar Star and Southern Cross Company, around Bear River
- Spring Valley Mining Company, above OrovilleOroville, CaliforniaOroville is the county seat of Butte County, California. The population was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 at the 2000 census...
on the north fork of Feather River - Summit Water and Irrigation Company, North Bloomfield
- Union Gravel Mining Company
California Historical Landmark
North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company was registered as California Historical LandmarkCalifornia Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
No. 852 in 1972-01-20. The plaque is situated at the park diggins overlook, affixed to a rock wall, and states:
NORTH BLOOMFIELD MINING AND GRAVEL COMPANY
"This was a major hydraulic gold-mining operation in California. It boasted a vast system of canals and flumes, its 7,800-foot drainage tunnel was termed a feat of engineering skill. It was the principal defendant in an anti-debris lawsuit settled in 1884 by Judge Lorenzo SawyerLorenzo SawyerLorenzo Sawyer was an American lawyer and judge who was appointed the Supreme Court of California in 1860 and served as Chief Justice of California from 1868–70. He served as a circuit judge for the U.S...
's famous decision, which created control that virtually ended hydraulic miningHydraulic miningHydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold.-Precursor - ground...
in California."
CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 852
Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Malakoff Citizens' Advisory Committee and E Clampus VitusE Clampus VitusThe Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus is a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of Western heritage, especially the history of the Mother Lode and gold mining regions of the area...
No. 10, June 11, 1972.
External links
- Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Mining Gravel Co., et als, Circuit Court, District of California
- Photos of the company's mining operations
- Photo of California Historical Landmark plaque