Two early settlers, Henry D. Wright and Charles H. Fletcher, mined successfully in Oro Fino in Siskiyou County, Calif.
Wright left the family’s Illinois farm and crossed the plains in 1853 with his two older brothers who had already traveled to California. The three arrived at Placerville in August 1853. After mining in different locations, Wright arrived in Siskiyou County in 1855, and settled in Oro Fino around 1857. He mined via a series of drain-tunnels that moved water from nearby Kidder Creek to supply water for his mine.
Charles Fletcher did not arrive in Siskiyou County until 1870. He left the family’s Wisconsin farm to log for several years before coming to California. He mined first on the East Fork of Scott River, then moved to a claim on Patterson Creek. Later he bought claims on the Klamath River. Finally he invested in the quartz mine at Oro Fino.
Fletcher and Wright established the Wright & Fletcher Hydraulic Gold Mine, one of the most successful mines in Siskiyou County. Even today, locals identify one of Kidder Creek’s main ditches as the Wright & Fletcher ditch.
Source: Wells, Harry L. "Henry D. Wright; Charles H. Fletcher." History of Siskiyou County. Oakland, CA: D. J. Steward & Co., 1881. 108B. Print.
