# Anthony Chabot > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Anthony_Chabot > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Anthony_Chabot.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Chabot > Source revision: 1356372241 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Anthony Chabot** (/sh@bou/; August 13, 1813 – January 6, 1888) was a nineteenth-century businessman and entrepreneur, notable for his contribution to developing [hydraulic mining](/source/Hydraulic_mining) and for building [water systems](/source/Water_supply_network), especially in the [Bay Area](/source/Bay_Area), so much that he became known as the "Water King".[1] ## Biography Chabot was raised on a farm in La Presentation, near [Saint-Hyacinthe](/source/Saint-Hyacinthe,_Quebec), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), Canada. He was one of sixteen children and the son of a farmer. When he was sixteen years old, he left home, eventually settling in California in 1849. He began working in the [mining industry](/source/Mining) in [Nevada City](/source/Nevada_City,_California), building [ditches](/source/Ditch) to supply the mines with water. In 1852 and 1853 he and Edward Matteson devised the first [hydraulic mining](/source/Hydraulic_mining) technology while working at Buckeye Hill and American Hill respectively. It consisted of a wooden contraption held together by iron clamps that allowed miners to direct a fifty-foot column of water at a [gravel bank](/source/Gravel_bank) using a canvas hose, which broke up the [gravel](/source/Gravel) and washed it into a series of [sluices](/source/Sluice_box) where the heavy [gold](/source/Gold) flakes settled out of the lighter earth. Though it revolutionized [gold mining](/source/Gold_mining), the technique also caused severe [environmental damage](/source/Environmental_degradation). The vast quantities of [sediments](/source/Sediment) that were released in the [hydraulic mining](/source/Hydraulic_mining) process washed downstream, burying homes and farmland. Angry farmers eventually brought an end to hydraulic mining when they scored a victory in [federal court](/source/Federal_Court_of_Justice) in 1884.[2] In 1854 Chabot also established two [sawmills](/source/Sawmill) in [Sierra County](/source/Sierra_County,_California). Two years later he abandoned the mining business and went to San Francisco, where he built the city's first public [water system](/source/Water_supply_network), bringing the waters of [Lobos Creek](/source/Lobos_Creek) into San Francisco. This led to projects supplying other cities with water, including [Portland, Maine](/source/Portland,_Maine), and [Milwaukee, Wisconsin](/source/Milwaukee,_Wisconsin). Chabot founded the [Contra Costa Water Company](/source/Contra_Costa_Water_District) in 1866, which developed a monopoly on supplying water to [Oakland](/source/Oakland,_California) and neighboring areas. First he built a dam at [Temescal Creek](/source/Temescal_Creek_(Northern_California)), creating [Lake Temescal](/source/Lake_Temescal). He began work on an even larger dam at [San Leandro Creek](/source/San_Leandro_Creek) before the Temescal dam was even completed. In 1870, his company completed the dam of San Leandro Creek, creating a reservoir that would later be named [Lake Chabot](/source/Lake_Chabot), in present-day [Castro Valley](/source/Castro_Valley,_California). In or about 1869, Chabot built waterworks for the city of [San Jose](/source/San_Jose,_California), and about the same time constructed those for the supply of [Vallejo](/source/Vallejo,_California). He was involved in several other businesses during this time, including a [paper mill](/source/Paper_mill) in [Stockton](/source/Stockton,_California), the Judson Manufacturing Company in Oakland, the Pioneer [Pulp Mill](/source/Pulp_Mill) Company near [Alta](/source/Alta,_California) ([Placer County](/source/Placer_County,_California)), the [Puget Sound](/source/Puget_Sound) Iron Company, and a large tract of land in [Washington state](/source/Washington_(U.S._state)) for the cultivation of [cranberries](/source/Cranberry). In 1883, Chabot donated a [telescope](/source/Telescope) and the fund to build an observatory to the city of Oakland.[3] The observatory was to be named *Oakland Observatory* but quickly became known as the *[Chabot Observatory](/source/Chabot_Observatory)*. The original observatory was built in Lafayette Square, near [downtown Oakland](/source/Downtown_Oakland), and was moved in 1915 to the hills above [Oakland](/source/Oakland,_California). In 2000 it moved 2 miles north to a higher elevation on [Skyline Boulevard](/source/Skyline_Boulevard). At that time it underwent significant expansion and became known as the [Chabot Space & Science Center](/source/Chabot_Space_%26_Science_Center). Other charitable activities included building housing for veterans in [Yountville](/source/Yountville,_California) and a shelter in Oakland for unemployed women and daycare for the children of working women.[4] He died on January 6, 1888, and is buried in [Mountain View Cemetery](/source/Mountain_View_Cemetery_(Oakland,_California)) in Oakland. ## Legacy There are several [San Francisco Bay Area](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Area) locations that are named for Anthony Chabot: - [Chabot Space & Science Center](/source/Chabot_Space_%26_Science_Center), a public [science center](/source/Science_museum#Science_center) and [planetarium](/source/Planetarium) in [Oakland](/source/Oakland,_California) - [Chabot College](/source/Chabot_College), a public [community college](/source/Community_college) in [Hayward](/source/Hayward,_California) - [Chabot-Las Positas Community College District](/source/Chabot-Las_Positas_Community_College_District), of which [Chabot College](/source/Chabot_College) is part - [Anthony Chabot Regional Park](/source/Anthony_Chabot_Regional_Park), a [regional park](/source/Regional_park) in Oakland - Anthony Chabot Elementary School in Oakland - [Lake Chabot](/source/Lake_Chabot), a manmade lake located in northern [Castro Valley](/source/Castro_Valley,_California). - [Lake Chabot (Vallejo)](/source/Lake_Chabot_(Vallejo)), a manmade lake located in northern [Vallejo](/source/Vallejo,_California) - Lake Chabot Road, a road between [San Leandro](/source/San_Leandro,_California) and Castro Valley - Chabot Road and Chabot Crest, streets in Oakland - Chabot Drive, a street in [Pleasanton](/source/Pleasanton,_California) - Chabot Cinema, a movie theater in Castro Valley - Chabot Elementary School in Castro Valley - Chabot Veterinary Clinic in Hayward - Chabot Fault that runs through the Oakland Hills. ## References 1. Burgess, Sherwood D. (1992). *The Water King: Anthony Chabot, His Life and Times*. Agaccess. ISBN 0-932857-04-3. 1. Learn California. [Hydraulic Mining and Controversy](http://www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=526) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20101030024957/http://www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=526) October 30, 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 17 Sept 2006. Project Underground. [”Legacy of Poison”](http://www.1849.org/ggg/legacy.html). [Gold, Greed, and Genocide](http://www.1849.org/index2.html). Retrieved on 17 Sept 2006. 1. ["Observatories"](https://chabotspace.org/visit/observatories/). *Chabot Space & Science Center | East Bay Area - Oakland CA*. Retrieved 2024-01-02. 1. Anthony Chabot School. [Life and Times of Anthony Chabot](http://www.chabotelementary.org/content1/aboutus/history.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070430154555/http://www.chabotelementary.org/content1/aboutus/history.html) April 30, 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 17 Sept 2006. ## Further reading - [*History of Alameda County, California…, Oakland*](https://web.archive.org/web/20071009085940/http://www.calarchives4u.com/Biographies/alameda/alam-chen.htm). M.W. Wood Publ. 1883. pp. 861–862. Archived from [the original](http://www.calarchives4u.com/Biographies/alameda/alam-chen.htm) on October 9, 2007. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anthony Chabot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Chabot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Chabot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.