December 29, 2017
Sterling Mine Ditch Trail
A little backstory: “In 1877 miners built the Sterling Mine Ditch to redirect later from the upper reaches of the Little Applegate River to the Sterling Creek Mine. The ditch followed the contours of the rugged slopes of Anderson Butte and lost only 200 feet in elevation over its 26.5 mile length. Using hand tools, up to 400 workers, most of them probably Chinese, completed the ditch in just 6 months, at a cost of $70,000.”
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