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Jesse Sherman, at left, owner of the Sherman Brothers Ranch, standing next to Skeet Koger, doing the irrigating of the potato crop. The potatoe types were "Red McClure and Ohio." By Marie Louise Ryan Special to The Sopris Sun "In the late 1800s Thomas McClure left his family against their wishes. He did so with a single motivation: to strike out on his own in the New World. He sold a prize brood sow to buy passage from Little Kenny, Ireland, and...
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"Field of lettuce being irrigated on experimental farm at Avon. Note irrigation furrows halfway between rows." In: High Altitude Vegetable Growing: Lettuce--Cauliflower--Peas, by R. A. McGinty. Fort Collins, Colorado Experiment Station, Horticultural Division, Bulletin No. 309, May, 1926. p.13.
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In ink on the back left center of the image: Plenty of water for irrigating San Luis Valley Farms. Photographer unknown
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Irrigation water is the lifeblood of the Grand Valley. Without it, our area would have remained a desert, and we would never have seen the agricultural bounty we enjoy today. In this special presentation presenter Gary Hines shares vintage photographs and maps highlighting the hardships, failures, and ultimate successes early settlers encountered in developing irrigation systems that now deliver a consistent supply of vital irrigation water.
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In image at lower right: The Wilhelms/ ALAMOSA, COLORADO/ The San Luis Valley
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According to the website of the Palisade Irrigation District, it was established by a vote of the people of Palisade in 1904. The District takes water from the Colorado River via the Cameo Roller Dam and delivers it via the Price Ditch. According to William Lorenzen, editor of the Palisade Tribune newspaper from 1953 to 1979, the District ran afoul of local citizens after getting a rate hike approved by state officials without running it by Palisade...
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An irrigation district, founded in 1904, serving the Orchard Mesa area of Mesa County, Colorado. it administers the Orchard Mesa Irrigation District Canal, which provides water to East Orchard Mesa and the Vinelands area of Palisade. The canal takes water from the Grand Valley Diversion Dam in De Beque Canyon. According to oral history interviewee Virgil Hickman, the district began providing customers water on a pro-rated basis beginning around 1940....
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Voice Recording
Professor Don Mackendrick talks about the history of irrigation and the development of water resources in Mesa County, Colorado from the 1880's until the construction of the Highline Canal in 1915 (during a program of the Mesa County Historical Society in July 1980). This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Horse and carriage and large tree in front of a house.
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A failed interest that had set up near the head waters of Plateau Creek on the Grand Mesa, about where Vega Reservoir would later be formed. The intent was to take water from the source of Plateau Creek. However, the project collapsed for reasons unknown.
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Irrigation is in full summer swing west of Taylor Hall, circa early 1940s.
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Biology professor and Dean of Students Dr. John C. Johnson tending irrigation ditches on the west side of North Hall (Taylor Hall) 1922. Dr. Johnson was responsible for the early landscaping around what is now Taylor Hall.
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"Main irrigation ditch bringing water from Brush Creek. From this point water is pumped to the south edge of the subject and has gravity flow to the north and west." -- Appendix, Appraisal of the value of the Schmidt Properrty required by the Eagle County Airport Authority, by John Peeples, I.C.A., April 24, 1984 Photograph was taken in September 1983. "From the looks of the abstracts, we held the complete ranch for the longest continuing time--25...
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"Concrete box where water is piped to the east and west at the south edge of the property." -- Appendix, Appraisal of the value of the Schmidt Properrty required by the Eagle County Airport Authority, by John Peeples, I.C.A., April 24, 1984 Photograph was taken in September 1983. Irrigation of the hayfields was accomplished from Brush Creek and from Gypsum Creek. "From the looks of the abstracts, we held the complete ranch for the longest continuing...
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Early Mesa County resident Virgil Hickman discusses farm life in Palisade and East Orchard Mesa, including irrigation ditches and dams, water rights of farmers and ranchers, hunting deer during the Great Depression, the methods used in keeping peach orchards bug-free, weekly band concerts, making apple butter, and the Palisade Peach Festival. He also talks about building Skyway Road on the Grand Mesa with picks, blasting powder and horses. This recording...
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William Lorenzen, the owner and editor of the Palisade Tribune newspaper from 1953 to 1979, talks about the history of the newspaper, beginning with the publishers that came before him. He speaks about the difference between linotype or “hot printing,” offset printing, and handset printing. He describes the newspaper’s relationship with the townspeople of Palisade over time, and the paper’s role in preserving and contributing to Palisade’s...
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Voice Recording
Daily Sentinel writer William “Bill” Nelson talks about the history of the Grand Valley irrigation system during the early days of Mesa County. Nelson describes how water projects were developed, how water is doled out to people in the area, and specific water rights. He also discusses his family life, community activism, his father’s failing businesses during the Great Depression, and experiencing surgery on his retina. The interview was conducted...
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Edithe Pryor discusses her upbringing on a farm in Palisade, Colorado in the early Twentieth century as the daughter of a Welsh immigrant father, and the agricultural history of Palisade, Clifton and the east end of the Grand Valley. She also talks about irrigating land, her mother’s homemaking and recipes for apple deserts, using an old wood-fired cook stove, and getting drinking water from an irrigation ditch. The interview was conducted by the...
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"Brush Creek Valley, Township 5 South, Range 84 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, the area at hte mouth of Breek Creek between the Eagle River and the railroad tracks and west of Brush Creek. Ditch is Lower Rule, Priority #137, Spring in 1884 by H.E. Rule. The ditches are located by right bank or left bank and this is determined by facing downstream. This is supposed to be the original settlers of the Brush Creek Valley." Ditch digging and irrigation...