Saturday Drives

[4.3LXJ]

I took a little drive literally up the creek in the Subaru (hey, it is 4WD):D

I live on Butte Creek, which just happens to be in Butte County, go figure, which just happens to be full of buttes. Anyway, the creek comes down between some buttes and like most of the area around here, has a rich history due to the gold mining. In fact, the creek just a quarter mile from me was home to five dredges that looked like this.

[4.3LXJ]

The creek isn't that big, but these things just dredged large holes to float themselves and piled the stuff out the back after running the dredgings through a large sluice box on board. Which means in effect, that since my land sits on the flood plane, I am sitting on five acres of gold bearing rock, about 20' down :D

But, I digress. Up the creek we went to Centerville, where there is nothing much left but a school house and museum. The locals get together there and hold shindigs, some of the old families are still buried in the cemetery, including some friends of mine. Within eyesight of the school house is something somewhat unique. This house.

[4.3LXJ]

The first thing one would notice is that this house is fenced off and there is no yard. The next thing is the water supply, even though it sits on the creek

[4.3LXJ]

The insides look more like this, not your average living room

[4.3LXJ]

This innocent looking fenced off house is the oldest hydroelectric generating facility in the U.S. It is still powered by the original Pelton Water Wheels that it was built with in the 1890s. When hydraulic mining was outlawed, power companies were formed that bought the water systems that fed the mines and a few pipes were laid and these generators began being build. The first pipe up above was laid in 1899 and was hand formed and riveted, just like all the rest of the plumbing for the hydraulic mines. Later, the second pipe was built using machinery. There was a steam donkey midway up the hill that ran an air compressor so they could use larger rivets. And so the modern age in the West was born. It still took awhile for electricity to come to my area, even though I am so close and down stream. it went to San Francisco and nearby Oroville, wealthy towns compared to Chico, a farming town.

[blazer2]

Thanks for the picks

[bruggz351]

Cool history. Thanks man.

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