Industry
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The first hydraulic mining began here at American Hill Diggins when Edward Matteson introduced it in 1853, originally using canvas hose and later replacing it with crinoline hose in 1860. Miners' giants, also called water cannons, monitors, and dictators, used high-pressure water to wash away hillsides and uncover gold-bearing beds. This technique flourished profitably until 1884, but rivers filled with mud and debris, causing flooding on rich valley farmlands. A lawsuit brought by farmers against hydraulic mining was heard in Marysville, California, and the resulting Sawyer Decision stopped all mining. Under a special use permit granted by the Department of Fish and Game, hydraulic monitors were last used at the Pacific Slab Mine near Foresthill, California, in 1970, as documented by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.
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