Miles City Irrigating and Ditch Company

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[[29 Apr 1888]] [[Mr. Weirick]] is busily engaged in contracting for teams and men to work on the ditch.
 
[[29 Apr 1888]] [[Mr. Weirick]] is busily engaged in contracting for teams and men to work on the ditch.
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[[25 May 1888]] From headgates, across Pumpkin Creek, down to Squaw Creek, about 3 miles. 10 feet wide at the bottom, 15 feet at the top, 4 feet deep. A flume is built across Squaw Creek. Past Mill Creek to King's bluff with extensive riprapping using 1500 logs averaging 16' in length and tons of rock to for a crib and riprap protection, above which the flume will divert the water around the bluff. Mr. Estabrook is supervising. Then on to the reservoir at the Leighton farm. Should be filled with water in 20 days, to Mill Creek in 7 to 10 days. This should server 5000 acres.
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[[7 Jun 1888]] 10am the town is invited to witness the opening of the headgates.
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[[28 Jul 1888]] Mr. Estatbrook, the ditch's engineer discharged the "cleaning gang" of 14 men, together with teams and cooks. The regular ditch crew remains, but the cleaning and grading of the ditch is completed.
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[[29 May 1888]] [[Col. Malone]] and a party visited the ditch.
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[[28 May 1889]] The ditch is carrying a full head of water down to the Leighton farm and ranchers all along the line are making connections to use the water this season.
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[[24 Jul 1889]] Dr. G. W. Ellis of Philadelphia was in the area visiting the "National Park" and being an investor for 3 years stopped by to see how his investment was doing. Similar projects have done well and it is a little disappointing that this one isn't finished to full length yet. He will inspect the full length and carry his report back to other eastern investors. After the inspection, he met with several people and it was discussed that while the part completed so far is satisfactory, it primarily transports water through a narrow valley to the reservoir at the south end of the wider Miles City bottom where the real benefit would be realized. While it would only take an additional 10% of what has already been spent to extend the ditch and gain a 500 fold increase in usefulness. To extend the ditch would cost an estimated $10,000 and the investors have offered to put up half of this sum if the enough other Miles City residents would invest the other half, but as has been so often the case for the entirety of Miles City's history, they balk. While it is true that the residents are not as wealthy as the eastern investors and the current local economy is bad*, the increase in property values would be worth it. The eastern investors have become discouraged over time and are more of mind to let the enterprise be sold to recoup what they can of their investments, rather than throw more money into the project.
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* This is due to the cattle losses from the recent severe winters.
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[[19 Oct 1889]] [[Sam Thurman]] is working with teams and scrapers under a contract to extend the ditch 1000 feet through a very heavy cut leading east from the reservoir, part of a four mile extension into the Miles City bottom. Continuing eastward to Carbon Hill, and around the side of the hill above the coal mine entries, staying on the highest ground into the Haynes farm and then on to Kirchers's farm. Faulty engineering of the dam in the past has resulted in two separate disasters which has cost time and money. Jordan and a few others added more funds to get the flume around King's bluff. The work on this last four miles is mainly on a co-operative plan by landowners who will benefit by the extension, adding 10,000 acres to the affected area next season.
  
 
[[9 Sep 1891]]: report of condition...
 
[[9 Sep 1891]]: report of condition...

Revision as of 08:39, 3 January 2014

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