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Archiver > NORCAL > 2000-09 > 0969494904
From:
Subject: Re: Interesting article
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 20:08:24 EDT
Hi Walt,
The San Lorenzo river keeps changing in its various locations as to size,
depth, accessibility. I know where the Powder Mill site is because I've been
there; the Masons have owned/leased? this property for years, and has a lot
of "summer cabins" there that are leased by the year to members. The river
at that point was fairly large and deep. I am assuming that because of the
narrowing of the river further downstream, the powder may have been loaded
onto wagons at the narrowed site, and hauled to the wharf. As to the
"smokeless gunpowder" this was a quote from the book that I mentioned. It
was a direct quote from pg. 42 in "Santa Cruz County: Parade of the Past" by
Margaret Koch, and comes under the paragraph heading of "Smokeless Powder at
Powdermill Flat". "Mining operations demanded a powder for blasting. So did
the proposed construction of the transcontinental railroad. Up until the
Civil War, blasting powder came to California like so many other supplies --
by sailing ship from East coast ports or from Europe. When military orders
created a shortage, prices went up to $13.00 per keg. Eventually the United
States government prohibited shipping powder by sea to prevent its falling
into Confederate hands. So a powder plant was badly needed on the West
coast." The California Powder Mill was incorporated Dec 28, 1861, with John
Baird as its president. A site was selected about one-half mile above John
Sime's paper mill, and Sime was given the job of constructing the powder
milll. In May of 1864 the first powder was manufactured and by 1865 it was
recorded that 150,000 25-pound kegs had been produced." On pg. 43 in the
same book: "The California Powder Works was the first company to produce
smokeless powder on the West Coast. Two large canons were used to test the
powder which was in great demand during the Spanish-American War. The local
company was one of two in the United States that made smokeless powder for
the US government at that time." And thus, your observation for the
"smokeless powder" was correct. Thanks so much for your input!
Roberta
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