Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company
- Abstract:
- This collection consists primarily of letters from the secretary to the president of the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company of Nevada County, California, in 1890-1891 related to the company and hydraulic mining.
- Extent:
- 1.2 Linear Feet (1 box )
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Co. Records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists primarily of letters from Henry Pichoir, North Bloomfield's secretary, and Lester L. Robinson, its president, to William H. Radford and J. G. Mather, superintendents of company operations in the field, between January 3, 1890, and January 7, 1891. The letters deal mainly with the state of accounts kept by the superintendents, the physical condition of the company's ditches and flumes after storms, and the company's efforts to control the run-off from its operations. There are also occasional discussions of the company's relationship with other mining firms, including water leases and operating facilities.
Persons represented by 5 letters or more: Joseph H. Mooser (14 letters); Henry Pichoir (68 letters); and Lester Ludyah Robinson (5 letters).
Notable items include two letters from Lester Robinson to Superintendent Mather, April 9, 1890 (HM 51127) and June 23, 1890 (HM 51128), which discuss plans for water sampling and the construction of tunnels for water diversion to guard against run-off.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company was a company that pioneered in the development of hydraulic mining for gold in Nevada County, California, during the 1870s. Subsequent restrictions on hydraulic mining operations forced the company to adopt new procedures to protect downstream agriculturalists from the effects of water-borne mining debris.
The North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company was incorporated for a capital stock value of $800,000 in 1869 by a group of San Francisco capitalists including Lester L. Robinson and S. F. Butterworth on the San Juan Ridge in Nevada County, California, to engage in hydraulic gold mining. At the height of hydraulic mining in Nevada County during the 1870s, the company, along the Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Company of North San Juan and the Milton Mining and Water Company of French Corral, led in the development of hydraulic engineering. Hamilton Smith, a leading innovator in the field, served as superintendent of company operations from 1871 until 1881. The decision rendered by Judge Lorenzo Sawyer in Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Co. (January 7, 1884) radically restricted the scope of hydraulic mining in an effort to preserve agriculture in the Sacramento Valley from the destructive effects of river-borne debris.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from Talisman Press, October 1978.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Co. Records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191