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An Economic History and Analysis of the Great Feeder Canal of Southeastern Idaho

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An Economic History and Analysis of the Great Feeder Canal of Southeastern Idaho Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-1972 An Economic History and Analysis of the Great Feeder Canal of Southeastern Idaho Gary Wayne Gneiting Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Economics Commons Recommended Citation Gneiting, Gary Wayne, "An Economic History and Analysis of the Great Feeder Canal of Southeastern Idaho" (1972). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 3476. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/3476 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN ECONOMIC HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF THE GREAT FEEDER CANAL OF SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO by Gary Wayne Gneiting A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Economics UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 1972 PREFAC E AND AC KNOWLEDGMENTS By 1870 the land west of the lOOth meridian was slowly being se ttl ed . Once it was inhabited by Indians and trappers, but now it offered new opportunities and adventure for the hardy pioneers. Nevertheless, no ga rden spot awaited them in their treck. Thi s land, consisting of 740 million acres, rece ived an average of t wen t y inches of rainfall annually. Of this 150 million ac res re­ ceived less tha n ten inches a year. The ea rl y explorer, John Wesley Powe 11, desc ribed this reg ion as the "great Arne r ican desert." Since i ts ear ly history the United States Go ve rnment has ne ver intended to hold land but wanted to sell it to the public and crea te a nation of freeholders. This pol icy \Vas pursued th roughout the years in the Easte rn and Mid -western United States whe re the climate provided ample rai nfa ll for most stap le crops, but as the people move d wes t ward the land became dryer and wou ld not support t hese c rops. Therefore , irri ga t ion had t~ be em pl oyed . This offered a new cha ll enge to '""ste rn growth and development. Irri gat ion projec t s soon sprang up t hroughout the West. Streams and rive rs we re tapped and the life - g iv ing wate r brought new dimens ions to the a rid land . Irr igat ion brought with it new challenges in farming tha t we re v irtually unknown in othe r sect ions of the Un ited States . Neverthe less, many pionee rs s t ayed and faced the cha ll e nge s and deve loped a thriving agricultural industry in t he West. ii In the heart of the Uppe r Snake Ri ve r Valley of Southeastern idaho is one s uch irri ga tion project known as the Gre at Feede r Canal sys tem. At the ti me of construct ion , it was the largest i rr igation p roject in the United States. Built before t he era of federa l reclamation, it depended e ntirely on pri vate funds. The project presently irrigates near l y 80 , 000 acres and is of prime importance t o the ag ri culture sector of the area. Twe nty-one smaller cana ls draw irri ga tion wa ter from it. No history of the Great Feeder system has been written . An investigation of t he avai !a ble material indicates there is enough informa tion to write an economic history and ana l ysis of the project. The o ri gin , purpose, and subsequent operations of the canal are here i n discussed. These are portrayed ch rono l og ica ll y and offer insight into the problems tha t fa ced ea rl y irrigation along the Sna ke Ri ve r and the rustic manner in wh ich such problems we re solved. Fol l ow ing this is an anlysis of the social and economic Impact of the Great Feeder and the problems i t now faces. My interest in this project was deve loped yea rs ago when , as a boy , I fished i n i ts waters an d irrigated the fami l y farm. Since then have become invo l ved in other things, ye t as I re turn to this area I am amazed at the network of cana ls and the amou nt of work it obvious l y took to bui ld them. fee l that it is a worth- wh ile task to de l ve i nto the ir history. In this undertaking I am deep l y indebted to many people for the he lp they have given me. Especia ll y I am grateful t o four iii people; Dr. Leona rd J . Arr ington , Mr . A. A. Larsen, Mr. Eldred Lee , and my love ly wife Prudy. Dr. Arri ngton has bee n ve r y he lpful in providing me with re fe rence mate rial and in giving helpful comments in constructing a meaningful and correct paper. Mr. A. A. Larsen heads the Office of Geological Survey in idaho Falls, Idaho, and has l iteral l y ope ned up the facilities of hi s office for my use. Mr. Eldred Lee, who is Sec reta ry of the Great Feede r Canal Compa ny, has been extreme l y helpfu l in letting me read and investigate the various records of the company and has given me much insight through his personal know ledge. La s t, but not least, is my faithful typist and wife, Prudy . She has typed the entire manusc ript as we ll as fulfilling her othe r obi igat ions as a wife, mo t her, and part-time . student. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES ix ABSTRAC T x i FRONTISPIECE Photograph of the Great Feeder headgate x i i Chapter I. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION The Utah and Northe rn Railroad 2 The Utah Migration 6 Impact 7 I I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CANAL SYSTEM 9 Legal Imp! ications 11 Canal Construction 13 Irrigation 15 Ill. THE GREAT FEEDER CANAL 18 Construction 23 Kelly Rock 27 The Di ve rsion Da m 29 IV. SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS, HAPPENINGS, AND COSTS 31 Half a Century of Irrigation 32 The Palisade s Era 37 Operation and Maintenance Costs 38 V. PROBLEMS IN THE GRE AT FEEDER SYS TEM 43 Active theories 45 Analysis 48 Eco nom ic Impact 51 VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 64 Conclusion 65 v TAB LE OF CONTENTS (Continued) BIBLIOGRAPHY 73 Books 73 Unpub li shed Material 74 Newspapers 74 Bulletins 75 Re ports 75 Public Documents 76 Other Sources 76 APPEND IX A - Average diversions from the Great Feeder Canal 77 APPEND IX B- Water rights on t he Great Feeder Canal 87 VITA 90 vi Ll ST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Annu a l assessmen t s made on shares of outsta nding stock in t he Gre at Feede r Cana l Company. Presentl y t he re are s l igh tl y ove r 31 ,000 s hares outstanding 39 2. Total e xpe nses f or t he Great Feeder Cana l Company , 1951- 1970 40 3. Wa te r usage th roughout 1 rrigation District #36 , 1945- 1970 55 4. Wate r usa ge along t he Great Feeder Canal system, 1945- 1970 56 5. Adjusted water di sbursements for Irrigation District #36, 1945-1970 57 6. Trend ana l ysis for District #36, 1945-1957 58 7. Trend ana l ysis for District #36, 1958-1970 59 8. Trend anal ysis f or the Great Feeder Canal, 1945-1957 60 9. Trend analysis for t he Great Feeder Cana l , 1958-1970 61 10. Trend ana 1y s is for t he adjusted fi ~u re of District #36, 1945-1957 11. Trend analysis for t he adjusted figures of District #36, 1958- 1970 63 12. Divers ions made along t he Great Feeder Canal during the 1930 irri ga ti on season. Canals are or gani zed i n downstream order as t hey come out of the Great Feeder 77 13. Diversions made along the Great Feeder Canal during the 1935 irr igation season. Canals are organized in downstream order as they come out of the Great Feede r 78 v ii LIST OF TA BLES (Continued) Table Pa ge 14 . Di ve rsi ons made along the Great Feeder Cana l du r ing the 1940 irri gation season. Cana l s a re organized i n downstream order as they come out of the Great Feeder 79 15 . Di vers i ons made a l ong the Great Feede r Canal du ri ng the 1945 irri gation season. Canals are o r gan ized i n down - strea m orde r as they come out of the Great Feede r 80 16 . Di ve rsi ons made a l ong the Great Feede r Canal during the 1950 irri gat i on season. Cana l s a re organ i zed i n downstream order as they come out of the Great Feede r 81 17 . Di ve r sions made a l ong the Great Feeder Cana l during the 1955 irrigat i on season . Cana ls are organized in downstream order as they come out of the Gre at Feede r 82 18 .
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