It is estimated that in the first five years of Alder Gulch’s heydays, some 30-40 million dollars in gold were taken from the district. Although small mining operations continued to work the original claims for several years, no large operations occurred again until 1896, when the Conrey Placer Mining Company was organized to dredge the gulch. Dredges went to work in 1899, and continued for the next 24 years, processing more than 37 million cubic yards of ground along seven miles of Alder Gulch. By the times the dredges ceased to operate in 1923, some ten million dollars in gold had been recovered and in their path, many of Nevada City's buildings were destroyed. Photo by Kathy Alexander.