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Agriculture and Ranching
Prior to the Gold Rush, the economic life
of California was centered around the cattle industry. A few hundred head
of stock brought from Mexico by the early settlers, multiplied into
thousands by the 1800s and by 1825 grazing lands to support the herds grew
to the point where hundreds of square miles were required to support a
single mission’s herd. Life on the great ranches followed ancient
customs, laws, practices brought to Mexico by the early Spanish and
transferred to the Californio’s. Stock were grass fed year-round, and ran
basically wild on the open ranges. Cowboys were required in large numbers
because of the absence of fences. Grain was planted by hand labor and
reaped with sickles and bound in sheaves. Threshing was accomplished in a
flat, hard circular fenced area. Horses were used to trample out the
grain. Winnowing was accomplished by tossing the wheat against the wind.
Grinding was done by hand or water driven gristmills. The Gold Rush
changed many lives, but agriculture was in the background as a main stay
of economic security for many established families.
Apple Display in Watsonville - 1910
As early as 1849, produce gardens in
Tuolumne County were planted to meet the local demand for fresh fruits and
vegetables. Vineyards and orchards planted during the Gold Rush were
irrigated by water from placer mining ditches and flumes. Twenty years
later, fresh produce was shipped by wagon over the Sonora-Mono Road to the
new gold strikes in Bodie and Aurora on the east side of the Sierra
Nevada.
Fruit, apples in particular, became one of the
county’s oldest agricultural products. Many trees were planted
during the Gold Rush and irrigated by water from placer mining ditches.
When placer mining dropped off in the 1870s and hydraulic mining was
outlawed (1884), many of the water supply systems were abandoned making
irrigation of orchards very difficult. Yet by 1910, apple products
shipped by the Sierra Railway were a major export of Tuolumne County.
With the revival of gold mining in the 1890s, the apple industry boomed
again.
Early 20th century was a time
of change for most industries of Tuolumne County. Gold mining was
declining, replaced by lumber as a major employer in the county.
Agriculture, particularly in fruit (apples) showed significant growth.
Stock raising however, was still the dominant ongoing agricultural
activity.
From the late 1890s to 1920s, Tuolumne
County agriculture (livestock, hay and grain and fruit) was a major
activity, with livestock being the most important. There were a number of
large ranches in Tuolumne County. Cattle were driven into the mountains
in the spring to pasture, then returned to the foothills for winter.
Livestock became very important and profitable with the Sierra Railway as
a major source of exporting outside of the county. Livestock exports
increased during WW1, more competitive meat processing continued in larger
facilities located outside Tuolumne County, such as Central Valley and the
Bay Area. Hay and grain production in Tuolumne County remained here
because of local consumption demand.
Livestock Fences at Hayes Station
Today, California’s ranching enterprises are
as diverse as any in the world. Most California ranches are family
owned and operated, and many have been in the same family four or five
generations. For the past 150 years, many Italian families
have become one of the main sustaining groups in the ranching industry and
continues to the present day.
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