It has been a while since I posted or chatted. I've appreciated the mining explanations I received in the past and hope someone can help me with my latest request.

On Saturday, I am giving a presentation at the Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium. The theme is Rush To The Rockies: The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush. For more information on the symposium you can visit this link http://ppld.org/SpecialCollections/2009Symposium/default.asp

I am talking about the Cash Creek Miners. This morning as I'm fine-tuning my PowerPoint Presentation, I thought it would be great to have a photograph of the Cache Creek Ditch built in 1861-1862 that brought water from Lake Creek to Cache Creek. I wondered if any of you who have prospected in the Cache Creek area might have taken a picture? Or if you might know of anyone who has a picture?

I've been to Cache Creek a couple of times, but never went past the mining camp.

Thank you for your help. If you have a photo, you can e-mail it to me at gcgresham@msn.com I will give credit to the photographer on the PowerPoint slide.

Gayle Gresham
http://ColoradoReflections.blogspot.com

Hi Gayle:

I checked all the photos from my adventures in that area but didn't have anything that showed the present day ditch.

There is an old photo that shows part of the ditch running along the hillside above the cabins at Cache (Cash) Creek. The ditch crosses the wagon road and you can see a couple of places where it had washed out and ran down the hill. The photo is on the digitized photo site of the Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, under the name William G. Chamberlain, Call Number X-19192.

Here's a URL link

http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?10019192+X-19192

Take care,

ASTROBLEME

Thank you! I have the picture in my PowerPoint, but didn't think about that being the ditch. I've been trying to figure out what direction the picture was taken from. I haven't been able to line up the mountains with the pictures I have. Do you have any ideas?

I have a photo of Cache Creek on my blog http://coloradoreflections.blogspot.com/20...ache-creek.html You can click on it to make it bigger. The picture is taken from the Granite Cemetery looking west. Is that the ditch at about the center of the photo going northwest? It looks like there are some trees along it.

I've been to Cache Creek twice, but I've not had anyone with me who could tell me where things were exactly.

Hi Gayle:

I was in the vicinity of Cache Creek today so I shot some photos that I'll send you.

The main Cache Creek Ditch is far off in the distance in that view from your photo and the ditch is running through the trees and cannot be seen. One of the numerous lateral ditches that were run off the main line is in your photo. That lateral brought water into the pit for mining use.

There was lots of work getting water into that area to use in washing the gravels. The miners even built an elevated flume that was used to run water into a pipe that fed a monitor that blasted a water jet cutting down large amounts of gravels from the pit walls east of the cemetary. In all, there are 16 mile of ditches including the main Cache Creek Ditch that were used in placer mining the area. Those miners that frequent the area now have probably seen this BLM sign that depicts the numerous lateral ditches that occur in the same vicinity as your picture looking west of the Granite Cemetary.

Click to view attachment

ASTROBLEME

Gayle:

I'm having trouble sending you the photos via e-mail, so I thought I'd put them up here for you to copy and maybe someone else will enjoy seeing them as well.

Here's a far off pic of the flume...

Click to view attachment

Here's the close up flume view...

Click to view attachment

Here's an old pipe that was built using rivets...

Click to view attachment

The Cache Creek Ditch looking north to the Lake Creek drainage where it diverted water to bring to Cache Creek Placer...

Click to view attachment

The Cache Creek Ditch looking south into the trees...

Click to view attachment

The full sign with the BLM map of the Lateral Ditch locations...

Click to view attachment

and one of the many lateral ditches that were used to wash the placer gravels...

Click to view attachment

Please feel free to use these photos in your presentation as needed.

Sincerely,

Johnny F. Tonko
President Tonko Mining Company, Inc.
http://www.meteoritecrater.com/

Johnny,

I am in total shock. Thank you so much for your kindness! The pictures show what I've been reading about. I'll share some of the newspaper articles about it with you. Henry C. Justice surveyed, engineered and supervised the work for the ten-mile ditch. The excitement the ditch generated in 1862 was incredible.

Thank you again.

Gayle Gresham
http://ColoradoReflections.blogspot.com

Gayle good luck in your presentation.

Thanks, Russau! I went to a workshop and reception for the presenters today. I'm less nervous now, but maybe I'm just too exhausted to be nervous!

It was fun to talk to others with the same interest in Colorado mining history. And more people who know where Cache Creek is!

Gayle
http://ColoradoReflections.blogspot.com

Good luck with the presentation Gayle, sounds like it will be alot of fun.
Sorry I don't have any pics to help out but Johnny sure posted some great ones. Thanks Johnny, cool pics and info about that history.

Thanks, CP. I sure appreciate this forum. Thanks for all you do!

I added a link on my blog to ColoradoProspector.com

The Pikes Peak Library District puts out a book of the papers from the symposium a year or so later. When it comes out, I'll let everyone know.

Gayle
http://ColoradoReflections.blogspot.com