The pit was located next to the river so water seeped in constantly, and did so at a much higher rate during winter months. With this crude equipment, Fong was able to excavate a 40 foot-deep pit and separate gold from the gravel hauled out of the pit.įong faced some challenges to make his mining operation work. The machinery used in Fong’s mining operations was almost entirely made of wood and was constructed by the Chinese who operated the mine (9). Both sites are on private land and are not accessible to the public. Another small pond can be seen between the L and C in Sailor Gulch and may have been the small reservoir built by Fong to store water to run his water wheels. Generally, Chinese were not allowed to own claims but the many years of disinterest in this area made it possible for Fong to own the mining rights (7).Īn arrow shows the location of the pond at the base of Sailor Gulch, part of which may have been excavated by Fong. However, the work of moving river rock in an area that constantly flooded proved too labor intensive and the area was left untouched as miners moved on to easier diggings.Īround 1890, a Chinese miner by the name of Wong Back Fong, was awarded a 99 year lease to mine the Sailor Gulch flats. The upper part of the gulch was mined extensively in the 1850s and it was suspected that the flats at the base of the canyon contained substantial gold. The story of the first gold dredge in southern Oregon begins in the mid 1890s at a place called the Chinese Derrick Ground, a mining operation located on the flats at the bottom of Sailor Gulch, the place where a group of sailors discovered gold in 1852 and sparked a gold rush that resulted in the establishment of the town of Waldo. All of the locations mentioned in this story are on private land and not accessible to the public. The following story tells why this site was chosen, how the 100 foot-long dredge was shipped from Portland to this site, and why, despite the rich prospects of gold, the dredge was unable to succeed. The first gold dredge in southern Oregon and one of the first in Oregon history began operation in the spring of 1900 along the banks of the East Fork of the Illinois River near the community of Takilma.
A photo of a dredge in operation may be the Josephine and was probably taken in the spring of 1900.
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