Featuring the Largest Exhibit of Hydraulic Monitors in Sierra County

Sierra County was at the center of the California Gold Rush of 1849-1856. When people heard of the discovery of Gold in he Sierra and of the easy pickings, a majority of men wanted to go at once and find the gold. There were reports of boat owners in San Francisco setting fire to their ships to keep them out of the hands of others in their haste to come to Sierra County. However, once they got here they found the pickings were not so easy. 

Erosion at Joubert Diggings was caused by Hydraulic Monitors.

At first the Gold was easily found in the Rivers and creeks. Hydraulic Mining washed tons of material through Sluice Boxes and into the rivers, which silted much farm land into the Central Valley of California. Because of this, Hydraulic Mining was outlawed unless all discharge was captured in a Tailing Dam.

Soon the gold was followed underground where it was found in quartz veins and buried ancient riverbeds. Early miners had only candles for light, and a soft cap similar to a baseball cap was their only protection. Later came the carbide lamp and then the electric rechargeable lamps.