Historic Resource Evaluation Project - Tuolumne Utilities District

2. RESEARCH METHODS
Research methods included visits to local archives, county offices, museums, and the
historical society; interviews with knowledgeable local informants and checking the
earlier site records at the Central California Information Center (CCIC) of the California
Historical Resources Information System (CCIC File #8033/O).
DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH
Archival and oral-history research for the project overview and specific site history was
conducted by Judith Marvin, historian and architectural historian, assisted by Terry
Brejla.
As part of the research phase of the project, research was conducted at a number of
repositories to identify known historic land uses and the locations of research materials
pertinent to the project area. Research focused on examining historical maps, written
histories, mining publications, federal census records, and the official records of
Tuolumne County in an attempt to determine ownership and dates of construction for the
project area ditches, as well as histories of identified features. These included the
published and unpublished documents housed at the Carlo M. De Ferrari Archive,
Tuolumne County Surveyor’s Office, Tuolumne County Recorder’s Office, Tuolumne
Utilities District, and the Tuolumne County Historical Society and Tuolumne County
Museum, Sonora; Columbia State Historic Park Archives, Columbia; the files of Foothill
Resources, Ltd., Murphys and Sonora; the files of Francis Heritage, LLC, Sonora; and the
mining publications archived at the Calaveras County Historical Society. Other major
sources of information consulted included:
1. Review of listings in the National Register of Historic Places and current
updates [Archaeological Determinations of Eligibility, California Office of
Historic Preservation, 8-15-2011; and Directory of Properties in the Historic
Property Data File (Office of Historic Preservation 8-09-2011)];
2. Miscellaneous local inventories and histories of historic resources (see
References Cited and Consulted).
In addition, persons with information regarding the history of the ditch systems were
contacted (several of them many years previously):
Carlo M. De Ferrari, Tuolumne County Historian
Patricia Rhodes, local historian
Tom Scesa, TUD District Engineer
Greg Day, Ditchtender
Ty Day, Ditchtender
Russell Burns, Ditchtender
Jerry Whitehead, Jr., retired TUD Watermaster
Foothill Resources, Ltd. 2.1 TUD Ditch Sustainability Project
Francis Heritage, LLC
Historic Resource Evaluation Report