Historic Eldorado Ditch
1863-925
A remarkable construction enterprise of its time, the “Eldorado
Ditch” carried water for placer gold mining from the Burnt River
above Unity, over Eldorado Pass to Malheur City and the Willow
Creek Drainage. Conceived and designed by Willam H. Packwood
and constructed by Chinese labor, the ditch was started in 1863 and
by 1878 was carrying water more than 100 miles. The main ditch
was five feet wide at the bottom and seven feet wide at the top with
a grade of 4.8 feet per mile. The ditch never recovered its $250,000
to $500,000 construction cost because of the decline of mining
after the 1870’s. The ditch was the source of considerable
controversy between miners and ranchers. The concrete diversion
facilities 10 miles to the east at Eldorado Pass, were constructed
in 1918 as a last attempt by Malheur County ranchers to use the
ditch water. This renewed long-standing conflicts with Baker
County ranchers protesting the loss of water. After a lengthy
court battle, the use of the water was divided between the two
counties. This made further use of the ditch impractical and it
was abandoned in 1925.
