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The Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company was established in 1891 as a logging and water transportation company in California. A 45-mile cedar flume was built to transport lumber from
The flume, designed by John Eastwood, the first city engineer of Fresno, was made of cedar planks and was long, 16 inches wide, and thick. It was assembled in units called boxes, with 320 boxes equaling . The flume dropped feet, or per mile, from an elevation of feet above sea level at Shaver Lake to Clovis. The total project cost was $270,000. Logging started in 1894 using ox-drawn wagons and steam engines, with an estimated of rough lumber arriving in Clovis daily at peak production.
Initially, the flume was intended to transport both lumber and water, but legal disputes over the use of water from the
Shaver Lake
Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...
to the finishing mill in Clovis. The company changed its name to the Fresno Flume and Lumber Company in 1908, and over the course of its 21-year lifespan, cut an average of 25 million board feet of lumber each year. However, in 1912, the company was sold and ceased all operations after a storm destroyed of the flume. In 1919, Southern California Edison Company
Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of app ...
bought most of the Shaver property for the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project
The Big Creek Hydroelectric Project is an extensive hydroelectric power scheme on the upper San Joaquin River system, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. The project is owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The use and reu ...
.
History
The Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company was established in 1891 by a group of local business owners and Michigan lumbermen, C.B. Shaver and Lewis Swift. The company built a dam across Stevenson Creek to form Shaver Lake, which served as both a storage pond for logs and the source of water for the flume. A steam-powered sawmill was also erected near the lake and a long V-shaped cedar flume was built to transport lumber from Shaver to the finishing mill in Clovis.
The flume, designed by John Eastwood, the first city engineer of Fresno, was made of cedar planks and was long, 16 inches wide, and thick. It was assembled in units called boxes, with 320 boxes equaling . The flume dropped feet, or per mile, from an elevation of feet above sea level at Shaver Lake to Clovis. The total project cost was $270,000. Logging started in 1894 using ox-drawn wagons and steam engines, with an estimated of rough lumber arriving in Clovis daily at peak production.
Initially, the flume was intended to transport both lumber and water, but legal disputes over the use of water from the San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
led to a temporary injunction that only allowed the company to float lumber in the v-flume.
A standard gauge logging railroad known as the Shaver Lake Railroad was built in 1901 to haul timber from the woods.
Over the course of its 21-year lifespan, the company cut an average of of lumber each year, employing up to 400 men in Clovis during its most productive years.
Legacy
In 1908, the company changed its name to the Fresno Flume and Lumber Company to reflect its focus on lumber production. However, in 1912, the remaining stockholders sold the company to Ira Bennett, who soon found himself in financial trouble after a storm destroyed of the flume. Bennett ceased all logging operations soon after. The success of the Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company, along with the neighboringMadera Sugar Pine Company
The Madera Sugar Pine Company was a lumber company that operated in the Sierra Nevada region of California during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was known for its use of innovative technologies, such as the first log flume and logg ...
, demonstrated the effectiveness of v-flumes for lumber transportation.
In 1919, Southern California Edison Company
Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of app ...
purchased most of the Shaver property for its Big Creek hydroelectric project and, in 1927, built a new dam that greatly expanded Shaver Lake
Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company Logging in the United States History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Narrow gauge railroads in California Sierra National Forest Sierra Nevada (United States) Defunct California railroads Railway companies established in 1891 American companies established in 1891 Closed railway lines in the United States