Daguerra Point - Yuba-Sutter

Daguerra Point is a point on the south bank of the Yuba River, slightly downstream from Browns Valley but upstream from Marigold and Hammonton, opposite Daguerra Point Drive. It is sometimes spelled Daguerre Point instead. It is named for Spottswood DeGuirre, an African-American farmer.

The Daguerra Point Diversion Dam is a submerged dam on the Yuba River at Daguerra Point. It is 24 feet high and is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is not intended to obstruct the flow of water, but rather to prevent debris from hydraulic mining from washing into the Feather River and Sacramento River. It currently holds back about 880,000 cubic yards of rock debris, which is about 12 to 15 feet deep and 600 feet wide.¹

The dam also provides hydraulic head for upstream diversions, making the area immediately upstream of it the primary diversion point for water to enter irrigation canals on both the north and south banks. The Cordua Canal and Stahl Ditch are among the canals that divert water just above Daguerra Point Diversion Dam.

The Daguerra Point Dam was first built in 1906 by Wendell P. Hammon, James O'Brien, Sr. of Smartsville, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The rock training walls above and below the dam were also built at this time.²

In 1937, the dam was equipped with two fish ladders, one on each side of the dam, to help fish swim past it. Under certain flow conditions, some of the weaker Chinook salmon and steelhead may have trouble navigating the fish ladders. However, the salmon more often spawn above the dam than below it.³

The dam was rebuilt in 1964 due to flood damage.