Farming in Gold Country
By Kirk Taylor
The Apple Hill Farms and Wineries are located in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. The SM
“Mediterranean Climate� of the area is characterized by a wet season during the winter and a dry season during the summer growing season. Producing crops during the growing season requires supplemental irrigation water. One of the first water delivery systems to the area was the ditch that provided the water to power the Sutter Lumber Mill in Coloma on the South Fork of the American River. James Marshall, examining the tail races of this ditch in December of 1848, discovered gold. This discovery started the 1849 Gold Rush. The discovery forced the ‘49ers to develop an elaborate system of weirs, dams, ditches and flumes to move water from the rivers to the mining sites. The water was used to wash the lighter materials from the gold. Some entrepreneurs began to realize that supplying the miners with food and resources was more profitable than mining, so they started growing crops. They did this by utilizing some of the ditch water headed to the mining sites. Since the mid1850s, these water delivery systems have changed hands many times causing strife between the various water users. In 1929, the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) was formed out of a coalition of farmers who feared losing water rights to other users. They purchased the ditches in the area known as the Placerville Divide to ensure an irrigation water supply. EID has made many improvements, expanded the system and purchased additional water resources to protect this water supply currently used by the Apple Hill Growers. Thanks to the effort and ingenuity of many individuals, the irrigation water used on and around the Apple Hill Farms and Wineries comes from Echo Lake (on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains), the South Fork of the American River and/or Cosumnes River drainage.
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