Historic Resource Evaluation Project - Tuolumne Utilities District

emaining portion of the Soulsby Ditch, extending from the head of Curtis Creek to the
mine, for $250.
This era coincided with the sale of the Soulsby group of quartz mines to a group of East
Coast investors in July of 1896 for $50,000 and capitalized as the Soulsby Consolidated
Gold Mining Company at $875,000. New hoisting works were erected, the quartz mill
renovated and increased to 20 stamps, and more shafts were sunk and drifts run
(De Ferrari in Marvin and De Ferrari 1992:33). Other hard-rock mines in the
Soulsbyville area were also improved and developed, increasing the demand for water for
milling purposes.
Eureka Ditch
The first Eureka Ditch was constructed ca. 1860, bringing water from the THA North
Fork Tuolumne River ditch southerly to the Eureka Quartz Mine and the areas around
Summersville, Carter’s, and Tuolumne. The plat of the Eureka Quartz Mine Claim,
patented in 1877, depicted both the Eureka Ditch and the Cox Ditch on the northeast side
of the claim. The 1875 GLO Plat of T2N, R16E depicted Street’s Ditch in approximately
the same location in Section 33, while it was depicted as the Hydraulic Ditch in Sections
4, 9, and 16. The history of the ditch follows that of the THA, which was purchased by
the TRWC in 1854, sold to satisfy debts in 1856 to Jonas G. Clark, then to Brunton et al.
in 1857, and to the Phoenix Water Company in 1860. In 1872 the Phoenix Water
Company conveyed the system to James T. MacLean and George Clark, who transferred
it to the Tuolumne Hydraulic Mining Company. The THMC sold the system to the
TCWC in 1876 (Deed Book 16:638), and its history follows that of the TCWC thereafter.
While the mines were associated with the town of Summersville, the biggest economic
boom in the area occurred in the late 1890s and early 1900s with the development of the
headquarters of the West Side Flume and Lumber Company, incorporated in 1899, at
present Tuolumne, adjacent to the south. The company built a massive sawmill, with
associated drying sheds, sawdust burner, railroad lines, locomotive shops, storage yards,
a box factory, and other facilities, and dammed Turnback Creek for a log storage pond.
The townsite of Carter was platted for their employees, and the company built a large two
story office building, a railroad depot, the Turnback Inn, a business district, schools, and
churches (Thornton et al. 2001:22-26). The name of the town was changed to Tuolumne
when the Sierra Railway was extended into Carter and the station was named
“Tuolumne,” with the two towns now known collectively as Tuolumne.
When laying out the town, the company constructed a reservoir on the west slope of the
ridge running on the east side of Carter, with water supplied from the Eureka Ditch
(Thornton et al. 2001:36). At this time water for the Eureka Ditch and the community of
Tuolumne was provided through the Section 4 Ditch, to the Carter’s and Tuolumne
Reservoirs (rebuilt in 1931), for distribution to the Roach’s Camp Ditch and the
community of Tuolumne.
Foothill Resources, Ltd. 3.27 TUD Ditch Sustainability Project
Francis Heritage, LLC
Historic Resource Evaluation Report