Major Irrigation Canals Constructed in Cache Valley

Major Irrigation Canals Constructed in Cache Valley. . , In awe and with continuing gratitude, we honor the canal builders whose foresight and hard work continue to provide life giving water to our valley. , , (map caption) Logan River Canals as of 1956 7. Logan Hyde Park and Smithfield, 9 miles long, begun 1881, 3,060 acres irrigated 8. Logan Northern, 16 miles long, begun 1864, 3,700 acres irrigated 9. Logan and Hyde Park, 7 miles long, begun 1860, 4,250 acres irrigated 10. Logan North Field, 2 miles long, begun 1864, 1,200 acres irrigated 11. Logan Northwest Field, 8 miles long, begun 1864, 3,000 acres irrigated 12. Logan-Providence, 2 miles long, begun 1864, 420 acres irrigated , , Before canals existed in Cache County, the agriculture was limited to dry farms and grazing. To pioneer settlements, water was not only the source of wealth, but of human existence. Construction of the Logan and Hyde Park canal (9) was started in 1860. Work on four more Logan River canals (8, 10, 11, and 12) began in 1864. The highest canal (7, see picture below) was begun in 1881. , , Tools for canal construction included shovels, picks, spades, wooden plows and go-devils. Go-devil ditchers were constructed of the large logs fastened together in the shape of an A, like a snow plow. Loaded with men and pulled with several yokes of oxen or teams of horses, this machine pushed the loose dirt to the sides to make the bank for the canal. It was estimated that up to 32 teams of horses were simultaneously working in the valley at one time. Blasting was used in the last Logan River canal (7) to provide channeling in rocky areas along the canyon walls. Concrete reinforcement was also required. , , For the early canals, proper grade for water flow was established with a homemade device consisting of a horizontal 16 to 20 foot board with a vertical plumb bob hanging from a vertical frame in the middle and vertical stake at each end. , , One stake was longer than the other so as to determine the amount of fall required to assure the water could flow downhill. On one canal the plumb bob level was accidentaly reversed so the water was expected to run uphill and the project had to be resurveyed. , , When cash was unavaliable, canal workers were paid with deeds for acreages to be irrigated. Food and tents were provided as workers lived on the job. Bank loans could not always be repaid and one project went bankrupt and remained idle for seven years. Completed canals were often breached and maintenance was a continuing activity. Despite numerous difficulties, using homemade devices and working in close cooperation, the pioneers brought some 50,000irrigated acres into production by 1880 and more than 90,000 acres by 1900. This represented 1,255 farms in 1880 and 2,506 in 1900. By 1900 there were 118 separate cooperative canal systems in the valley. Most of these early cooperatives never incorporated and in 1956 remained mutual companies managed by and belonging to the farmers they served. , , Abstracted from The History of a Valley, 1956, Joel E. Ricks, Ed., Deseret News Publishing Co. This canal map by Herbert M Fenmal was included in a pocket of this book