Logan/Esterly Upper Ditch

The Logan/Esterly Upper Ditch is an abandoned, artificial watercourse in the Illinois River Valley of northern California and southern Oregon, United States. Built in 1854 to supply water from the river's East Fork in California to several hydraulic mines in Oregon, it quickly returned a large profit to its investors. The ditch supplied mines worked by its own owners, as well as providing water for sale to other nearby diggings and incidentally powering at least one sawmill. Mines it served include the Waldo, Fry Gulch, and Cameron mines. It continued in operation until 1942, when the last hydraulic mining operations in the upper Illinois Valley ceased. Several wooden structures associated with the ditch, such as trestles and flumes, disappeared by the end of the 20th century, but the earthen components remained mostly intact.[1]

Upper Ditch
Locator map
Locator map
Location of the Upper Ditch on the Oregon–California border
Locator map
Locator map
Logan/Esterly Upper Ditch (the United States)
LocationSouth of Cave Junction, Oregon, in Josephine County, Oregon, and Del Norte County, California
Nearest cityCave Junction, Oregon
Coordinates42°01′10″N 123°38′06″W
Area104.305 acres (42.211 ha)[1]
Built1854
MPSUpper Illinois Valley, Oregon Mining Resources MPS
NRHP reference No.01001149
Added to NRHPOctober 4, 2001

The ditch was a total of 7.6 miles (12.2 km) long; 4.1 miles (6.6 km) of the ditch's remnants were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1][2]

See also

References
  1. Atwood, Katherine C.; Tonsfeldt, Ward (August 17, 2000), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Upper Ditch (PDF), retrieved April 21, 2014.
  2. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Historic Sites Database, retrieved April 22, 2014.
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