Immersing himself in learning the civil engineering practicum, with application in mining operations, young Arthur Foote became an exemplar of the
motto "Go West, young man"; he aspired to making his career and fortune in the
'new' West, first in California. In 1873, he landed in San Francisco, seeking work. In quick succession he worked on the
Sutro Tunnel site in
Virginia City, Nevada—where he assisted with installing the first industrial air compressor in a tunnel or mine in the U.S. West; then on the Eldorado Canal of the
American River, which supplied water to new
hydraulic mines near
Placerville, California. Working for the
Southern Pacific Railroad in 1874, he assisted the chief engineer building the
Tehachapi Loop, the celebrated climbing
railway spiral—and now a popular
railfan site and
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 1876, while posted at the
New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in
Santa Clara County, California, young Foote returned East to marry and to bring his bride,
Mary Hallock Foote, back to California. Soon he moved his family to
Deadwood, South Dakota, where he helped supervise the
Homestake Mine; then to
Leadville, Colorado, during the
Colorado Silver Boom. There he served as a (litigation) mining expert for the Iron Silver Mining Company. Later he supervised the Adelaide Mine and other small mines near Leadville. Abandoning the high altitudes for health reasons, Foote journeyed to
Morelia in
Michoacán, Mexico, to prospect a retired silver mine; then to
Wood River Valley in south-central Idaho—locale of today's
Sun Valley ski resort—to open the Wolftone Mine prospect. Later, he formed a partnership venture and bought water rights on the
Boise River where he designed the Boise River irrigation project, then developed it for ten years before it eventually failed for lack of capital. The project became known as the
New York Canal. (Ultimately it was completed by the
federal government, i.e., the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, as the
Arrowrock Dam project (1915), then the largest arid-lands irrigation scheme in the United States.) Foote's Idaho home was built of
lava rock and used his own cement formula; the site () is near the outlet of the
Lucky Peak Dam After Boise, Foote served as a hydrologist for the newly created
U.S. Geological Survey, leading field surveys that documented the hydrology and hydraulics of reaches of the
Snake River and
Snake River Plain and valley. He returned briefly to Mexico to engineer roads in Baja California for an
onyx mine; then 'made home' again to California to manage the Fremont Mine in
Amador City, just east of
Sacramento.
Grass Valley, California In 1895, Foote settled his family in
Grass Valley, California—some west of
Lake Tahoe—where he was hired to design an electric-generating plant for the
North Star Mine, the second largest gold producing mine in California. After studying the site he judged that electric power was neither safe nor dependable for operating the underground works there; instead he conceived a master plan for using air compressors to operate the mine—and using hydro-impulse turbines to power the compressors. Now he envisioned a power plant housing an over-sized
Pelton water wheel—the recently invented hydro-powered impulse turbine. At in diameter, he designed and erected a drum wheel more than sixty per cent larger than the maximum recommended by the
Pelton Water Wheel Company in San Francisco. Upon completion, 'Foote's Pelton wheel' performed successfully as the world's largest operating impulse turbine wheel; it was in continuous use for over 30 years. In 1991, Foote's
North Star Mine Powerhouse was designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Foote advanced to superintendent and later to general manager of the North Star Mine. Then he and his wife commissioned the design of
North Star House by the architect
Julia Morgan. The grand residence was built in 1905 in Grass Valley. Also known as
Foote Mansion, the house is notable for its iconic
'western' elegance, and for its association with the careers of three singular 'westerners': the engineer-miner-entrepreneur Arthur Foote, his wife the author-illustrator
Mary Hallock Foote, and the master architect
Morgan. Later, the author
Wallace Stegner made Foote Mansion the setting for his
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
Angle of Repose (1972), which closely referenced the lives of the Footes. Members of the Foote family occupied the North Star House as home until 1968. The House is listed on national and state registers of historic places; and the landscape-site, including gardens and orchard, has been designated as a local historic landmark. While at North Star Mine in 1911, Foote and several partners purchased the Tightner Mine in
Alleghany, California. Now Foote designed and constructed a high bridge over the Middle Yuba River and a high grade mountain road connecting the two mines. Subsequently, the project — consisting of the
Foote's Crossing Road and the
Foote's Crossing Road high bridge — was memorialized as a
National Register of Historic Places landmark and as a
California Point of Historical Interest(No. P401). Arthur and Mary Foote served ambassadorial roles of representing the
'new' West and the lifestyles to be had there. They frequently received dignitaries and celebrities touring the West and hosted them for extended stays at North Star House; they hosted community and civic events there. He contributed technical papers to professional societies and published scholarly articles addressing public issues, especially re developing the West. He advocated high standards of literacy, both professional and personal, for engineers. ==Personal life and controversy==