Chinese Walls
by Rochelle Frank
Rock
walls, dating back to the early 1860's flow across the landscapes of Mariposa County in lines that define the contours of
the land. Remnants of these historic stone barricades can often be seen from roads. In some places there are sections that
seem almost complete. They are especially noticeable in ranch-land areas of Catheys Valley, Hornitos, Mt. Gaines Road and along the road
between Mariposa and Raymond.
These
stone fences, built with field stone or river rock, are sometimes called "Chinese Walls" because they are believed to have
been constructed by Chinese laborers. Though the origins of every wall can not always be authenticated, there are historic
records that document the 1863 project on Morgan Quick's Ben Hur Ranch.
Quick
came to California from New York as a 21 year old, and did well enough in gold mining to earn an average of $10,000 a
year. He bought some land south of Mariposa and built a house for himself and his new bride in 1854. In another five years
he bought additional land and turned his attention to establishing a ranch.
Morgan
Quick agreed to pay a Chinese contractor $1.75 for each rod (sixteen and a half linear feet) of stone wall. He also
provided pork and rice for the workers. The contractor, who sat under an umbrella tracking construction progress with an
abacus, paid his workers 25 cents per day IF they completed a rod and a half (twenty four feet and nine inches). The
daily wage was lost if workers failed to meet the quota.
The
whole project, about four miles of stone wall, took almost a year to complete and cost the rancher $6,000.
The
workers cleared fields of stones and used them to build four foot high barriers that marked property boundaries and formed
cattle enclosures. No mortar was used to hold the wall together. Skillfully stacked, the uncut stones were carefully
placed to slope inward on each side. Being about two feet wide at he bottom, they tapered up to one foot wide at the top.
Some of the walls still serve their original purposes today, where an addition of stakes and barbed wire have been
incorporated into the original stone foundations.
A special display in the Mariposa History Museum, shows some items from the Ben Hur Ranch and
gives additional information about the Quick family and the building of the Chinese Walls.
Link to the center, with directions:
Mariposa County Museum And History Center
