Archives West Finding Aid

The Grass Valley French Ditch Company was organized on November 22, 1901, in Frenchtown, Montana. The first meeting was held at the schoolhouse in Grass Valley. The original organizers included: John E. Cyr, Alex Jette, Joseph Dussault, Joseph Bouchard, and Gaspard Deschamps. Dussault was elected treasurer, Cyr was elected secretary, and Bouchard, vice president. The purpose of their organization was to create a dam, headgate, and ditch to the junction of the upper and lower Frenchtown Ditch.

Over the years, the Grass Valley French Ditch Company made a number of improvements to the ditch, including new equipment and improved methods for moss control. In 1976, the Grass Valley French Ditch Company was still owned and operated by its members.

Joseph Dussault was a member of the Grass Valley French Ditch Company for 20 years. He was born in Canada in October 1854. He came to the United States in 1873. He was interested in mining and owned property in Butte, Montana. He became a naturalized citizen in 1880 while living in Butte. Around 1894, Dussault moved to Grass Valley, Montana, where he obtained land from his father-in-law, Frank Premont.

Dussault married Mary Premont in Butte, Montana, on October 7, 1887. The couple had eight children: Henry, Arthur, George, Adelard, Edward, Mrs. Clara LaCasse and Mrs. Berthe Pinsonneault, and Mrs. Louise Lavioe. Dussault died on September 22, 1925 after a long bout with cancer. He is buried at the Frenchtown Cemetery.