Historic Resource Evaluation Project - Tuolumne Utilities District

16), taking water from Phoenix Reservoir to Curtis Creek and labeled as the Curtis Creek
Ditch. An undated map of the Phoenix Reservoir (ca. 1890s) depicts the ditch taking
water from the east side of Phoenix Reservoir; this was entitled “Shawmut Ditch,” as it
evidently connected to the Algerine Ditch and the Eagle Shawmut Mine at that time, and
may have been built or reconstructed for that reason (Figure 27; Senger n.d.).
In 1916 this ditch received its supply directly from Phoenix Reservoir by means of
discharge pipes through the levee and terminated at the log pond of the Standard Lumber
Company in Standard City. Its general condition was noted as good, and after passing
through the log pond, the overflow was directed to Curtis Creek. Some two miles below
it was turned into the Kincaid Ditch (Rhodin 1916).
The Phoenix Pipeline and Upper Phoenix Ditch from the TCWC Main Ditch was
constructed in the late 1890s and was depicted on a map of the Reservoir and Main Ditch
System as “Proposed Pipeline Drop Towards Phoenix Reservoir” (Grunsky 1896, Figure
28). In 1898 the Tuolumne Water and Electric Power Company (TW&EPC) purchased
the TCWC system in order to expand its activities to include the business of generating
electricity by water power. The Phoenix Powerhouse was put into operation in 1898 and
modified a year later. From the Power Station, the ditch or tailrace flowed down the
natural watercourse of Willow Creek (now called Powerhouse Creek) to Phoenix
Reservoir, from where it was disbursed into the Shaw’s Flat Ditch on the west and the
Algerine (Shawmut) Ditch on the east (Figure 29).
Figure 27. The Eagle-Shawmut Mine and Mill site in 1914. Two miles of 10-inch
pipeline brought water to the mine.
Foothill Resources, Ltd. 4.33 TUD Ditch Sustainability Project
Francis Heritage, LLC
Historic Resource Evaluation Report