Hurricane Canal Replica

Hurricane Canal Replica. . , The construction of the Hurricane Canal is one of early Utah’s proudest stories of pioneer determination. Built completely by hand, the 7.5 mile canal clings to the sheer walls of the Virgin River Canyon before leaving to follow the Hurricane Fault and then encircle the flat farmlands of the Hurricane Bench. The canal took eleven years and $60,000 to build, most of the capital being represented by the labor of men who paid for their shares in the canal company by working on the canal during the winter months. The completed canal brought water to 2000 acres of parched bench land and created the now successful village of Hurricane., The little towns of Virgin, Mountain Dell, Duncan’s Retreat, Rockville, Grafton, Springdale, and Toquerville, prodded by their need for new land, wished for some way of getting water to the bench despite the seeming impossibility of the task., Finally, two men from the area, James Jepson and John Steele, decided in 1893 that a dam and canal could be built and began to interest others in the project. By the end of June a committee of six had been formed and, after investigating the canyon, returned a favorable report. The Hurricane Canal Company was soon created and the first meeting held in Toquerville Hall on July 11, 1893., August 25 brought another stockholders meeting, this time to hear the preliminary report of County Surveyor Isaac MacFarland. He reported that the canal could be constructed, that it would have to be about 7.5 miles in length, would require a dam fifteen feet high, and would irrigate about 2000 acres. Although MacFarland did not estimate costs, his report was accepted. The meeting then moved that the company incorporate and begin construction. J. T. Willis was appointed superintendent of construction on November 15, 1893. , Most of the work was done between November and May when farm chores were less demanding. Workers camped at the construction site and transients were often put to work for their board. Construction tools were quite simple. Except for a short distance near the dam, it was not possible to use horse teams with plows and scrapers, so most of the work had to be done by hand. Wheelbarrows, picks, shovels, crowbars, and hand-driven drills were the basic tools used in the construction of the 12-foot grade or bed for the canal which was 8 feet wide and 4 feet deep carrying 35 cubic ft. per second of precious water. The pioneers blasted a total of twelve tunnels and constructed six wooden flumes, (see pic) most of which were later replaced by metal flumes., Frequent floods and landslides have washed out portions of the canal, but it was kept in good repair. A ditch rider made regular trips along the canal to inspect for breaks and carry out maintenance work as long as the canal remained operational until it was replaced by the Quail Creek pipeline in 1985. On August 6, 1904, eleven years after the canal was begun, water flowed over the dam spillway, through the canal and onto the Hurricane Bench. A network of ditches crisscrossed the valley, many lined with sandstone slabs like the one depicted on the left side of this canal replica which was constructed from those same recovered ditch linings.