Hydraulic Monitor Exhibit Rebuild

In an effort to help Gold Country Museum visitors to better understand the mechanics behind hydraulic mining we have recently redesigned our exhibit on it.

The exhibit is comprised of a relatively small scale hydraulic monitor, a large scale mural and several photo illustrations of the different aspects of hydraulic mining.

You can click on the photos below to blow them up to full size. The text from each panel is listed below the photos

Water from rivers or streams was stored in reservoirs high in the mountains and released into flumes. The water flowed down the flumes, sometimes over 50 miles, to provide water for the monitors.

Water was forced by gravity into a wide monitor base that tapered into a smaller nozzle which created pressure capable of washing down hillsides and moving large boulders. 

The earth displaced by the high velocity spray of the monitors fed into a sluice box where the gold settled against the riffles and the debris washed out of the sluice.

The debris ran into the nearby streams and riverbeds. The accumulation of mining debris eventually caused silting in the major rivers and flooding in the valley.

The genius of engineering that made hydraulic mining possible contrasted sharply with the ignorance of its effects. Over a billion cubic yards of mud and debris were dumped into rivers and creeks which led to widespread flooding downstream. The muddy waters destroyed homes and businesses and damaged property.

On January 7, 1884 in the case of Edward Woodruff V. North Bloomfield Mining Company, Judge Lorenzo Sawyer ruled that mine owners could not dump their tailings into navigable waterways. This ruling effectively ended large scale hydraulic mining.

If you’d like to see this exhibit, along with many others, stop by the Gold Country Museum. It’s located in the Gold Country Fairgrounds and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Also, admission is free.

A Leap of Imagination

The following is an online archive of our newest exhibit in the Placer County Museum Treasury.

Click on photos to see larger versions

The emotional and romantic appeal of the carousel 

rests in the saddles of its fanciful 

and exquisitely carved beasts.

 Jumping horse c. 1912 

Charles Carmel 

(Jewels added by M.D. Borelli) 

American (Coney Island Style) 

Painted wood (restored)

The whirl of the carousel, vibrant colors and lights, band organ music, and incredibly beautiful horses are irresistible for children of all ages. Once mounted in the saddle, you can become a veiled princess astride a pet tiger, a bronco riding cowboy, or a dueling knight atop a thundering charger. It is this leap of imagination that made carousels the most popular American amusement ride during the Golden Age of carousels that stretched from 1900 to World War II.

Prancing horse c. 1880 

Charles I.D. Looff 

American (Coney Island Style) 

Park paint on wood

 Standing horse c. 1910 

Charles Carmel 

American (Coney Island Style) 

Painted wood (Restored)

 

 Jumping horse c. 1911 

Marcus Illions 

American (Coney Island Style) 

Stripped wood

These elaborately carved animals continue to captivate audiences today primarily as works of art rather than as amusement park rides. To define their enduring appeal we need only look for the twinkle in an adult’s eye as they return to their childhood memories or watch a young child enter a fantasy world of horses, bears, swans and lions.

CAROUSELS CIRCLE THE WORLD

Many companies carved both large park carousels and small portable carousels in Europe and England.

The French produced many barnyard animals such as rabbits, pigs, cows, horses, and delightful dogs and cats.

Jumping rabbit c. 1900 

Gustave Bayol 

French (Portable carousel) 

Park paint on wood

The German carvers, along with carving elegant horses, carved many lions, tigers and bears.

Small jumping horse c. 1910 

Freidrich Heyn 

German (Portable carousel) 

Painted wood

Standing bear c. 1890 

Freidrich Heyn 

German 

Stripped/stained wood

 The animals produced in Mexico were animated, well-muscled, brightly painted and often small for whirling aboard portable fiesta carousels.

Standing bear c. 1940s 

Carver Unknown 

Mexican (Portable carousel) 

Restored stain/paint on wood

The English round-a-bouts all rotate in a clockwise direction whereas American, European and Mexican carousels turn counter-clockwise. The fancy or romance side faces outward.

 

Jumping horse c. 1890 

G. &  J. Lines 

English galloper (Mark) 

Park paint on wood

MENAGERIE ANIMALS

Most carousels only have horses and often two chariots. The addition of menagerie animals brings both whimsical and bold choices.

Swan with interior seat c. 1904 

Gustave Bayol 

French (Portable carousel) 

Park paint on wood

It is the brave rider who selects a roaring tiger or lion.

Standing tiger c. 1895

Gottfried Bungarz

American (Coney Island Style)

Park paint on wood

Another might happily choose a flirting rabbit, friendly dog, cat, camel, ostrich, zebra, pig or bear.

Standing camel c. 1905 

Daniel Muller 

American (Philadelphia Style) 

Original paint on wood

Regardless of what animal is chosen, the rider's imagination transforms wood and paint into a magical adventure. Spinning them into a flight of fantasy before it deposits them safely into the real world, forever changed by the journey.