Near Apache Junction in Maricopa County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The People Who Made It Happen

The Building of a Dam

— Tonto National Forest —

The People Who Made It Happen Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, August 3, 2010

1. The People Who Made It Happen Marker

Inscription. The construction of Roosevelt Dam involved several thousand people over the course of the project. Hiring was straightforward; a foreman would simply size up a man and decide if he could do the work. Jobs requiring diverse skills were plentiful. Stone and timber cutters, canal builders, and horse and mule tenders were but a few of the employment opportunities. For their efforts, common laborers earned $2.50 per day while powdermen, blacksmiths and masons made $4 to $ 5. Under harsh and hazardous conditions, workers blasted rock from sheer walls. They also swung picks, shoveled and hauled tons of rock.

The original town of Roosevelt (now under Roosevelt Lake) housed hundreds of people. By 1907, Roosevelt had a baseball team, bowling alley, ice-cream parlor, theatre and a school. Workers gathered in labor camps, living in tents, tent houses or small adobe buildings, sometimes with their wives and children.

Erected by Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 33° 40.138′ N, 111° 9.828′ W. Marker is near Apache Junction, Arizona, in Maricopa

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

County. It can be reached from The Apache Trail (Arizona Route 88 at milepost 241). Marker is at an overlook, about 300 feet down a sidewalk from the parking lot at milepost 241. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Apache Junction AZ 85119, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert,

in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area,

and in the Tohono O’odham Nation.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Gadsden Purchase,

and Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Roosevelt Dam (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Roosevelt Dam (here, next to this marker); Alchesay (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Welcome to the Apache Trail Historic Road (about 500 feet away); The Bridge (approx. 0.3 miles away); Tonto Basin (approx. 0.3 miles away); Salt River Before the Dam (approx. 0.3 miles away); Al Sieber (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Apache Junction.

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, August 3, 2010

2. The People Who Made It Happen Marker

Roosevelt Dam image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, August 3, 2010

3. Roosevelt Dam

<i>Town of Roosevelt, Arizona</i> image. Click for full size.

Photo courtesy of the California Historical Society and the University of Southern California, circa 1906

4. Town of Roosevelt, Arizona

Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 6, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 1,583 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 6, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. 4. submitted on April 19, 2018. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.