Miles City Irrigating and Ditch Company
From birchyHistory
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As the [[Miles City, Montana]] area was settled, people found that crops and gardens wouldn't survive the dry August heat. At first, they assumed that they were having a run of unusually dry summers, but when year after year found their plants gasping in thirst, it became apparent that irrigation was mandatory. Some visionaries did the math and figured that about 137 160-acre farms could benefit from a 28 mile irrigation system on the two-mile wide east side of the [[Tongue River]] valley. An estimated $300,000 per year was being spent for hay, grain and other crops from sources outside the valley and this money would benefit the local economy if it was circulated locally. Calculations were that one could get between 1 and 1.5 tons of hay per acre, priced at $10-15 per ton. (Multiply these figures by 27 to get an approximate current value.) | As the [[Miles City, Montana]] area was settled, people found that crops and gardens wouldn't survive the dry August heat. At first, they assumed that they were having a run of unusually dry summers, but when year after year found their plants gasping in thirst, it became apparent that irrigation was mandatory. Some visionaries did the math and figured that about 137 160-acre farms could benefit from a 28 mile irrigation system on the two-mile wide east side of the [[Tongue River]] valley. An estimated $300,000 per year was being spent for hay, grain and other crops from sources outside the valley and this money would benefit the local economy if it was circulated locally. Calculations were that one could get between 1 and 1.5 tons of hay per acre, priced at $10-15 per ton. (Multiply these figures by 27 to get an approximate current value.) | ||
| − | In addition to irrigation, it was speculated that, with a drop of 80 feet along the ditch, a suitable head of pressure could be tapped for firefighting in the future. | + | In addition to irrigation, it was speculated that, with a drop of 80 feet along the ditch, a suitable head of pressure could be tapped for firefighting in the future. In the 13 Sep 1887 issue of the Yellowstone Journal, the publisher devoted quite a bit of ink to a lengthy argument of the benefits of a municipal water supply. In addition to domestic and commercial uses, he points out that fire fighting is more successful and insurance rates are lower. |
The irrigation ditch was first imagined in 1881 by [[Joseph Leighton]] and [[W. B. Jordan]] and was formed by them with assistance from some officers at [[Fort Keogh]] and a few other locals. In 1882, Capt. [[R. L. Edwards]], a civil engineer, determined the route and contracts were let and completed to dig the first version of the ditch. In 1883, preparations for a dam were made at the head of the ditch. At a cost of $9000, [[W. B. Gaw]], an engineer, put in the dam during the winter of '83-'84 using cottonwood timber and piles on so faulty a basis that when the ice broke in the spring of '84, it took the new construction downstream. It was also discovered that the ditch had been dug too narrow and deep to be of service. Having spent about $40,000 for a failed project, it languished until it was sold by the sheriff in the summer of 1885. [[W. B. Jordan]] purchased it and formed a new company under the name of "Miles City Irrigating and Ditch Company". Needless to say, some were reluctant to pour good money after bad, but optimism carried forward and the new stockholders included: Leighton and Jordan; Maj. [[Simeon Snyder]], Lt. [[C. B. Thompson]], Lt. [[W. H. Sage]], the wife of Capt. [[Mason Carter]], Capt. [[T. F. Forbes]], all of the fort; Dr. [[Ira L. Sanderson]], Gen. [[W. A. Rucker]], Dr. [[P. F. Harvey]] all of "U.S.A."; [[T. J. Bryan]], [[William Macqueen]], [[William Courtenay]], [[Konrad Schmid]], [[Louis Payette]] and [[J. McGurk]] all of Miles City; [[Maurice Auerbach]], [[R. E. Stower]], both of St. Paul; and Dr. [[G. W. Ellis]] of Philadelphia. It was determined that it was cost as much to dig a new ditch as it would to fix the old one. A 12 foot wide bottom was planned, sides at 45 degrees. | The irrigation ditch was first imagined in 1881 by [[Joseph Leighton]] and [[W. B. Jordan]] and was formed by them with assistance from some officers at [[Fort Keogh]] and a few other locals. In 1882, Capt. [[R. L. Edwards]], a civil engineer, determined the route and contracts were let and completed to dig the first version of the ditch. In 1883, preparations for a dam were made at the head of the ditch. At a cost of $9000, [[W. B. Gaw]], an engineer, put in the dam during the winter of '83-'84 using cottonwood timber and piles on so faulty a basis that when the ice broke in the spring of '84, it took the new construction downstream. It was also discovered that the ditch had been dug too narrow and deep to be of service. Having spent about $40,000 for a failed project, it languished until it was sold by the sheriff in the summer of 1885. [[W. B. Jordan]] purchased it and formed a new company under the name of "Miles City Irrigating and Ditch Company". Needless to say, some were reluctant to pour good money after bad, but optimism carried forward and the new stockholders included: Leighton and Jordan; Maj. [[Simeon Snyder]], Lt. [[C. B. Thompson]], Lt. [[W. H. Sage]], the wife of Capt. [[Mason Carter]], Capt. [[T. F. Forbes]], all of the fort; Dr. [[Ira L. Sanderson]], Gen. [[W. A. Rucker]], Dr. [[P. F. Harvey]] all of "U.S.A."; [[T. J. Bryan]], [[William Macqueen]], [[William Courtenay]], [[Konrad Schmid]], [[Louis Payette]] and [[J. McGurk]] all of Miles City; [[Maurice Auerbach]], [[R. E. Stower]], both of St. Paul; and Dr. [[G. W. Ellis]] of Philadelphia. It was determined that it was cost as much to dig a new ditch as it would to fix the old one. A 12 foot wide bottom was planned, sides at 45 degrees. | ||
