Historic Resource Evaluation Project - Tuolumne Utilities District

nature of its early ditches (Figure 12). According to the State Register (Langley and
Morison 1859) the company had the most valuable water system in the county, and only
three in the state were more valuable.
SOULSBYVILLE, EUREKA, AND ROACH’S CAMP DITCHES
During the late 1880s and early 1900s, the TCWC also purchased the old Soulsby,
Eureka, and Roach’s Camp ditches, connecting them to their Main Ditch at Middle
Camp. While these ditches had separate histories and identities in the early years, they
were thereafter associated with the TCWC and its successors.
Soulsbyville Ditch
The Soulsbyville Ditch, as did most of the ditches in Tuolumne County, was built to
supply water for mining, this time in present Soulsbyville. Gold was first discovered in
Soulsbyville in the summer of 1857 by Benjamin Platt; a quartz outcropping was
discovered by 17-year-old Ben Soulsby that fall, and Ben’s father Thomas posted a
claim. The Soulsby mine came into official existence on October 9, 1857. A 20-stamp
quartz mill was erected on the bank of Curtis Creek and operated under the title of the
Soulsby Quartz Company (De Ferrari in Marvin and De Ferrari 1992:19-20).
Soon after the Soulsby Mine was opened, the ditch was constructed from the head of
Curtis Creek along the western slope of the Soulsbyville Ridge about two miles to the
mine site. In addition to the creek, water was also probably obtained from the Tuolumne
Hydraulic Ditch which passed near the Duffield Ridge to the west of the creek. In 1872 it
was decided to convert the mill and shaft hoist to water power with steam providing an
alternate means of operation, with the nearest source of water at the TCWC Main Ditch at
Middle Camp. A ditch was constructed from Middle Camp to the northern end of today’s
Twain Harte meadow. From there the water flowed down through the meadow by way of
a natural creek bed to a point about a quarter of a mile above Bald Rock, where it was
diverted into a second ditch that carried it around the intervening ridge to Duffield
Canyon and then along the old ditch to the Soulsby mill. Due to flooding issues in the
meadow, in mid-1878 the ditch was reconstructed by the Soulsby Mine so that it ran
north of the meadow, along a higher level than its predecessor, and then down the east
side of Duffield Canyon. Calvin J. Williams and his son-in-law Ben Soulsby filed a
claim to the superseded line of ditch (Claims Book 8:64).
In May of 1888, several landowners and the Sonora Gold Mining Company, which had
purchased the Soulsby Quartz Mine, deeded rights of way and land ownership to the
TCWC, evidently for the purpose of giving the TCWC an absolute title to the ditch so
that it could be extended to serve the Arastraville area and beyond, as a right-of-way for a
ditch capable of carrying 500 inches of water was also acquired for $100 from Ezekiel
Westinghouse, through whose ranch such a ditch would have to pass (Deed Book
23:676). Soon thereafter, the Soulsby mine was sold by the Sonora Gold Mining Co.,
Ltd. to William Sharwood, and he promptly conveyed to the water company the
Foothill Resources, Ltd. 3.24 TUD Ditch Sustainability Project
Francis Heritage, LLC
Historic Resource Evaluation Report