SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE MINERS' "DEFENSE FUND." THE UNDERSIGNED, REALIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MINING INTEREST TO THIS COUNTY, AND THE IMMENSE INFLUENCES BEING BROUGHT TO BEAR, LOOKING TO A TOTAL SUPPRESSION OF THE INDUSTRY, WHICH WOULD INEVITABLY DESTROY THE IMPORTANCE AND PROSPERITY OF ALL THE MINING COUNTIES IN THE STATE, AND THE UNCOMPROMISING CHARACTER OF THE FIGHT WAGED AGAINST OUR INTERESTS, DO HEREBY CONTRIBUTE AND AGREE TO PAY TO THE SPECIAL OR LOCAL AGENT OF THE MINERS' ASSOCIATION THE SUM SET OPPOSITE OUR RESPECTIVE NAMES, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING, THAT THE SUM SO REALIZED, SHALL BE USED IN THE DEFENCE OF SUITS BROUGHT AGAINST THE MINERS OF THE STATE BY PERSONS OR ASSOCIATIONS INIMICAL TO THEIR INTERESTS.
[North Bloomfield California? c. 1882-1883]. Printed broadside on lined paper, 8"x 12-1/2." With spaces for names and signatures. 32 names are written in two columns; some are original signatures, others have been written down by a single person. Amount of contribution appears to the right of each name; "Pd." written to the left of each name. At upper margin, above the title, in pencil: "North Bloomfield." Light wear, Very Good.
The subscribers to this fund were primarily North Bloomfield miners and local businessmen whose livelihoods were contingent upon the mining industry. Hydraulic mining was brought to Humbug, later renamed North Bloomfield, in 1852. The town began to flourish, and claim owners were able to convince San Francisco financiers to invest in larger scale hydraulic mining, leading to the formation of the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company. The town grew through the 1870s, with over 1200 citizens, several hotels, livery stables, eight saloons, merchants, blacksmiths, churches, and a school. [Elliott, Scott, "From Humbug to Bloomfield: The Story of a Hydraulic Mining Town", outerrealmz website, accessed July 10, 2026.]
In 1882, Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company sought to recover damages caused to farmland in the Central Valley by its hydraulic mining practices. Woodruff and his supporters were farmers and landholders opposed to hydraulic mining, which used extraordinary amounts of water to dump dirt, rocks, and debris into local rivers, causing flooding in the valley below which resulted in destruction of farms, pasturelands, and livelihoods, even death. Woodruff was assisted in his case by the Anti-Debris Association, an organization formed around 1878 to hold mining companies accountable for the mining debris generated.
The Miners' Defense Fund, formed in response to the Anti-Debris Association, sought to assist miners and their interests in such suits. Judge Lorenzo Sawyer, a prominent jurist on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled in favor of Woodruff, recognizing the damage caused to agriculture. His decision noted that the Miners' Association had paid the expenses of the defense, and the Anti-Debris Association had paid the expenses of the plaintiff. Such lawsuits against hydraulic mining companies in 19th-century California are among the earliest milestones in environmental and conservation law. A mention of the Miners' Defense Fund appeared in a June 1883 issue of the Sierra County Tribune, noting that miners should "respond liberally to this appeal for aid, for upon their actions in this matter depends to a great extent the success of the miners in the suits now pending against them."
Examples of the subscribers listed include:
T[homas] P. Crandel [Crandall], a postmaster and the first storekeeper in North Bloomfield, supplied local miners and the North Bloomfield Mining Company [hereafter "NBMC"] with wholesale mining provisions, tools and clothing.
J[ohn] H. Helwig [1849-1909], a miner in North Bloomfield for several years and later opened a butcher and provision business which supplied the miners and NBMC.
G[ilbert] P? Ostram [born c. 1853], clerk in general merchandise store.
Joseph Keller [born c. 1844], a blacksmith.
Daniel Stokes, Joseph Glasson, William Radford, James Cunard, all miners. Item #42126
Price: $2,000.00