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 —
Photographed By Bill Kirchner, August 3, 2010
1. The People Who Made It Happen Marker
Inscription.
The People Who Made It Happen. The Building of a Dam. 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.
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.
Location. 33° 40.138′ N, 111° 9.828′ W. Marker is near Apache Junction, Arizona, in Maricopa
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County. Marker 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.
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 1,063 times since then and 38 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.