China Ditch

The China Ditch in Douglas County, in the U.S. state of Oregon, was a 30mi canal built in part by Chinese laborers to supply water for the hydraulic mining of gold. The Myrtle Creek Consolidated Hydraulic Gold Mining and Manufacturing Company began purchasing land for the ditch in 1890 and was bankrupt by 1894. Portions of the ditch, which carried water from Little River to North Myrtle Creek, remain visible, and an 11mi section is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.The Bureau of Land Management maintains a driving loop and hiking trail for touring the ditch and its works.HistoryMany of the homesteaders in the area had been drawn west in the California gold rush and later moved north to begin farming. When gold was discovered in Douglas County, Oregon, in the 1860s, a number of residents returned to mining. In 1889, miners in the area began planning for of new placers around North Myrtle Creek and became convinced that the surrounding hillsides also held significant deposits. By 1890, two large hydraulic mining machines, or "giants", were operating in the area. These machines used high pressure jets of water to dislodge sediments, but were only functional for about three months each winter, when sufficient water was available.