Chinese digging the El Dorado Ditch and working in the gold mines.

The discovery of gold in Eastern Oregon drew increasing numbers of Chinese immigrants to the area. Chinese laborers first appeared here in the 1860's. The Chinese were adept at building dams, siphons and hydraulic engineering devices essential to the mining industry from knowledge gained through controlling water in China's rice fields. They performed virtually every type of labor from the skilled to the unskilled, while only receiving one-half to three-fourths the wages of other laborers. By the late 1870's, Chinese immigrants, working in the mining industry, outnumbered white miners by three to one.

The El Dorado Ditch was primarily constructed by Chinese laborers for mining purposes. Work first began in 1863 on the Burnt River Ditch, later known as the El Dorado Canal or Ditch, and it gradually increased in length to one hundred thirty miles. At the time it was finished in 1874, it was primarily used for irrigation purposes, but by 1925 even the few hay ranches on the Burnt River has ceased use of the ditch.

Address: A Street and Court Street (Dr. Hamilton Dental Office)

Artist: Colleen Mitchell-Veyna (painted in 2005)