PWS_Appendix_A__2002_MPL_1.pdf

NEWLANDS PROJECT

NEVADA

A MULTIPLE PROPERTY DOCUMENTATION FORM

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation

December 2002

NPS Form 10-900-b OMB No. 1024-0018 (March 1992)

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form

This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instmctions in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer to complete all items.

New Submission X Amended Submission (replaces Newlands Reclamation Thematic Resources listed 3/81)

A. Name of Multiple Property Listing

Newlands Project

B. Associated Historic Contexts

(Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.)

• Plaiming and Constmction of Major Features: 1902-1915

• Continued Constmction: Drainage Facilities and Project Repairs: 1916-1928

• Project Settlement and Economic Development: 1904-1929

• Civilian Conservation Corps Contributions: 1933-42

• Constmction of Additional Storage and Diversion Facilities: 1935-45

The geographical area for all contexts is the same: Placer County, Califomia and Churchill, Storey, Washoe, and Lyon Counties, Nevada

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C. Form Prepared by

Name/title: Christine Pfaff, Historian, Bureau of Reclamation

Sfreet & number: P.O. Box 25007 Telephone: 303-445-2712

City or tovra: Denver State:CO Zip code: 80225

D. Certification

As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation. ( See continuation sheet for additional comments.)

Bureau of Reelanration, Federal Preservation Officer Date Thomas Lincoln

I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register.

^ Signa * D^e

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Table of Contents for Written Narrative

Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers according to the instmctions for continuation sheets in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below.

Section Page Numbers

E. Statement of Historic Contexts: 4 (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.)

F. Associated Property Types: 50

(Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.)

G. Geographical Data: 76

H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 77 (Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.)

I. Major Bibliographical References: 79 (List major written works and primary location of additional documentation: State Historic Preservation Office, other State agency. Federal agency, local govemment, university, or other, specifying repository.)

J. Figures of the Newlands Project: 84

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NPS Form 10-900a (8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing

E. STATEMENT OF HISTORIC CONTEXTS: NEWLANDS PROJECT

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The Newlands Project first and foremost marks the beginning of direct Federal involvement in promoting settlement of the arid American West through the development of irrigated agriculture. With passage of the Reclamation Act of 1902, the Federal govemment assumed a major role in designing and constmcting large-scale irrigation projects throughout the West. As one of the first five projects authorized and built under the Reclamation Act, the Newlands Project (originally known as the Tmckee-Carson Project) has achieved national significance. A network of water storage, diversion, and conveyance stmctures provide water for irrigating about 73,000 acres of farmland in an area that receives less than 4.5 inches of annual precipitation;

additionally, the project generates hydroelectric power and controls flooding. Contributing to the project' s significance is its association with the primary sponsor of the Reclamation Act, Nevada Congressman, later Senator, Francis G. Newlands. The legislation popularly knovm as the Reclamation Act originally bore his name.

The significance of the Newlands Project was initially recognized in 1978 with the listing in the National Register of Derby Diversion Dam, the first feature to be constmcted on the project.

This was followed in 1981 with the listing of the Newlands Project as a thematic resources nomination. Two stmctures associated with the project were listed at that time: Carson River Diversion Dam, and Lahontan Dam and Power Station. Also proposed for listing but rejected due to additional information needs were: Boca Dam, Lake Tahoe Dam, "T" Line Canal, Tmckee Canal, " V " Line Canal, and the " V " Line Canal Powerplant.' Due to the ambiguity and lack of thorough documentation of the 1981 thematic resources nomination. Reclamation is submitting this multiple property documentation form to supersede the earlier one. The three properties already listed will maintain their status and be absorbed into the new nomination.

' There are several different spelling conventions for the lettered canals. Because quotation marks appear to be used most often in the historical record, they will be applied in this document.

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing

This new form will also serve as the basis for evaluating the National Register eligibility of other Newlands Project-related properties.

National Significance of Newlands Project

As stated above, the Newlands Project has achieved national significance as one of the first five projects authorized and built under the Reclamation Act. Contributing to its significance, and unique to the project, is its association with the primary sponsor ofthe Reclamation Act, Francis

G. Newlands. An additional factor establishing national significance for the project is that the first design specification for a Reclamation feature was assigned to Derby Dam. Undoubtedly, this designation along with a desire to recognize and maintain Newlands' support for the new agency, led Reclamation officials to commonly refer to the Newlands Project as the "first"

Reclamation Project, setting it apart from the other four.

The Newlands Project, along with the other four initial Reclamation projects, signaled the enfrance of the Federal govemment into the constmction of irrigation projects throughout the

West. Private and state efforts to build extensive water storage and delivery systems had largely failed due to lack of sufficient financial resources and technical expertise. With the passage of the Reclamation Act of 1902 and the selection ofthe first five Reclamation projects, the Federal govemment initiated a direct and massive investment in the development of Westem agriculture.

The scale and complexity of irrigation systems took on new dimensions as did the application of engineering technology. The first five projects represented an experimental phase for

Reclamation in the design, planning, and constmction of irrigation features. With the limitation of project farms to no more than 160 acres, the Reclamation program also introduced an underlying philosophy of "homemaking" in support of the agrarian Jeffersonian ideal.

Reclamation projects were intended to allow small family farms to be self-sufficient.

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The Newlands Project shared the distinction of being among the first five Reclamation projects with the Milk River Project in Montana, the North Platte (Sweetwater) Project in Wyoming, the

Uncompahgre (Gunnison) Project in Colorado, and the Salt River Project in Arizona. Al l were authorized on March 14, 1903. Beyond that, each project had its own unique attributes determined by local conditions such as topography, availability of materials, and soil types.

Each of the projects also posed unique design challenges to the first generation of Reclamation engineers, and much was leamed through trial and error.

Although not as extensive as other Reclamation undertakings, the Newlands Project was large for its day, and changed the economic and settlement pattems of the area it served, and altered the physical landscape with its miles of canals and laterals, and fracts of irrigated lands. Also similar to other early Reclamation projects, the successfiil completion of dams and canals did not insure success for its settlers. Other factors such as the high cost to develop lands for irrigation, poor understanding of soils and drainage, and inexperience with irrigation, created hardships that slowed development of project lands. As occurred elsewhere. Reclamation had to scale back its original estimates for potentially irrigable lands as it became apparent that the water was not available and the plans were overly ambitious. Finally, as with other irrigation systems, the

Newlands Project has been dynamic and evolving to meet changing needs. Although various project components have been altered to ensure the safe and effective operation of the irrigation system, the major features still retain sufficient integrity to convey their significance, as does the system as a whole.

The Milk River Project is located in north cenfral Montana and utilizes two river systems, the St.

Mary and the Milk, to irrigate lands in the lower Milk River Valley. The project supplements the supply of water in the Milk River with water diverted from the St. Mary river system.

Because both rivers cross into Canada, an intemational freaty governing the disposition of water was required before constmction of major project features could proceed. It took eight years to

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing negotiate the agreement. Due to the complexity of the project, an elaborate system of dams and canals was necessary to store and deliver water. In all, the St. Mary Diversion and Milk River

Project involved the constmction of seven major storage and diversion dams, and approximately

419 miles of canals and laterals, enabling the reclamation of approximately 125,000 acres of agricultural land.

The North Platte Project extends 111 miles along the North Platte River from near Guemsey, Wyoming to below Bridgeport, Nebraska. The project provides water for irrigation of approximately 390,000 acres, making it the most extensive of the original five. Supplemental water is supplied to an additional 109,000 acres. Main features of the project include Pathfinder

Dam and its million-acre feet capacity reservoir southwest of Casper, Wyoming; Guemsey Dam and Reservoir; Whalen Diversion Dam; three regulating reservoirs; 1,602 miles of canals and laterals; and 352 miles of open drains. At the time of constmction, the masonry arch Pathfinder

Dam was one of the largest stmctures of its kind in the world. The engineering feat is listed in the National Register. For project irrigators in Wyoming and Nebraska, access to water ended the cattleman's monopoly of the land and raised agriculture to equal status in the region's economy. From the first deliveries of water in June 1909 to the early 1990s, project lands produced nearly $2 billion in crops. While conditions were at first difficult for builders and settlers, the North Platte Project continues to play a decisive role in the region it serves.

The Uncompaghre Project is located on the westem slope of the Rocky Mountains in west-cenfral Colorado. Project lands surround the town of Monfrose and extend 34 miles along both sides of the Uncompahgre River to Delta, Colorado. Project features include Taylor Park Dam and Reservoir, Gunnison Tunnel, 7 diversion dams, 128 miles of main canals, 438 miles of laterals, and 216 miles of drains. The system uses water from both the Uncompahgre and

Gunnison Rivers to serve over 76,000 acres of project land.

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Prior to project constmction, farmers in the Uncompahgre Valley stmggled due to lack of sufficient water to irrigate. Through constmction of the Gunnison Tunnel, water from the

Gunnison River was transported to the Uncompahgre River for delivery to farm fields. The 6-mile-long tunnel was a major engineering feat. Constmction difficulties encountered were enormous, and at the tum of the century a tunnel of that length was virtually unprecedented. In

1979, the Gunnison Tunnel was listed in the National Register. Upon completion of the tunnel in 1909, constmction of other project works continued. In fact, it was not until 1923 that the diversion dam, the main canals, and all laterals were completed and in use. The project continues to provide an important agricultural base in westem Colorado.

The Salt River Project, located near Phoenix, Arizona, includes an area of about 250,000 acres.

Project water is fumished by the Salt and Verde Rivers. The rivers are confrolled with six storage dams, two of which were constmcted by Reclamation. A diversion dam constmcted by

Reclamation serves 1,259 miles of canal, laterals, and ditches. The power system includes five hydroelectric plants. The first dam completed on the project was the first major stmcture to be constmcted by the Bureau of Reclamation. From the outset, Roosevelt Dam was intended to be a symbol of success and a showpiece for the newly created water development agency. Built between 1906 and 1911, the dam was an outstanding engineering achievement. The 280-foot-high stmcture holding back the Salt River was distinguished as the highest stone masonry dam in the world. The lake created behind the dam, known as Lake Roosevelt, contained more than a million acre-feet of water and was the world's largest artificial lake. The dam contributed more than any other dam in Arizona to the settlement of Central Arizona and to the development of large scale agriculture there. It also provided Central Arizona's first hydroelectric power source.

Listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1963, Roosevelt Dam underwent major modifications in the 1990s that resulted in revocation of the designation in 1998. On March 16, 1998, the

Theodore Roosevelt Dam National Register District, including the non-contributing Roosevelt

Dam, was listed for statewide significance.

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The Salt River Project's ultimate consequence was the grov^h of one ofthe most urbanized areas in the country. The water and power provided by the project propelled Phoenix's grovyth from a population of 5,000 in 1902 to 35,000 in 1922. By 1940, the census listed 65,414 people in the booming mefropolis. Tourism and recreation activities also were a direct result of the project.

Project Acres Irrigated # of Storage

Dams

#of

Diversion

Dams

Miles of

Canal/

Laterals

Initial

Const.

Period

First

Water

Delivery

N E W L A N D S 73,000 2 2 69 canal

312 lat

1903-

Feb, N O R T H P L A T T E 390,000 & 108,000 supplemental irrig.

4 4 337 canal

1,261 lat

1905-

S A L T RIVER 238,220 & 24,715

supplemental irrig.

6 1 131 canal

876 lat.

1903-

M I L K RIVER 120,816 3 5 200 canal

219 lat.

1906- 1911

U N C O M P A H G R E 76,297 1 7 128 canal

438 lat

1904-

P R O J E C T L O C A T I O N

The Newlands Project is located on the Nevada-Califomia border in the Reno-Fallon-Femley area. Water for the project comes from Lake Tahoe; the Tmckee River which flows from Lake

Tahoe east for 105 miles to Pyramid Lake; and the Carson River, which flows east of the Carson

Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and empties into the Carson Sink.

On the Tmckee River, Lake Tahoe Dam impounds and regulates upstream water flow. Further dovrastream near Femley, Nevada, Derby Dam diverts water from the Tmckee River into the

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Tmckee Canal, which carries it 32 miles to Lahontan Reservoir on the Carson River and also irrigates farmland in the vicinity of Femley. Lahontan Dam impounds direct flow of the Carson

River as well as water diverted from the Tmckee River. Releases from Lahontan Reservoir are diverted at the Carson River Diversion Dam into the south disfributing " V " Line Canal and into the north distributing "T" Line Canal. Both canals transport water to the largest area of project lands in the Lahontan Valley around Fallon, Nevada. In addition to storage reservoirs, about 69 miles of main canals ( Tmckee, " V " Line and "T" Line), 312 miles of laterals, and a network of about 345 miles of drains, comprise the system of works (Water and Power Resources Service, Project Data. 1981, p. 687).

BACKGROUND̂

The Newlands Project is indelibly associated with the expansion of the United States into the arid lands of the American West. Archaeological evidence indicates that Native Americans lived in the area of the Carson River and Tmckee River drainages for at least 11,000 years (Elston, Handbook of North American Indians. Volume 11: Great Basin. 1986). Small bands of Northem

Paiute Indians were the primary inhabitants of the area when Europeans first conducted forays there in the 1820s. Up until the late 1840's, the only non-Native Americans familiar with the

Tmckee and Carson River basins were a small number of explorers and fiirtrappers. In 1827, Jedediah Smith passed through the region some 75 miles south of Tmckee Meadows while leading a party of trappers for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. The following year, Peter

Skene Ogden of the Hudson Bay Company, discovered the Humboldt River near Winnemucca.

He retumed the next spring and traced the river to its end in the Humboldt Sink. In 1841,the

^ Portions of this multiple property documentation form are excerpted from two sources:

Hardesty, Donald. "The Newlands Project, Nevada: Evaluating National Register Eligibility" July 2001, and Simonds, Joe. "The Newlands Project (Third Draft). 1996. Both documents were prepared for the Bureau of Reclamation.

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Bidwell-Bartleson Party opened the Califomia Trail through the region. Lieutenant John C.

Fremont, leading a party for the U.S. Bureau of Topographical Engineers, became the first white man to view Pyramid Lake in 1844. Fremont named the body of water for a large rock formation on its eastem shore. He continued his explorations by following the Tmckee River to where it tums west near present day Wadsworth. From there he headed south across the Carson

River, then the Walker River, before heading up into the Sierra Nevada range.

In the spring of 1844, the Stevens-Murphy-Townsend emigrant party departed Council Bluffs, Iowa, headed for Califomia. They would become the first party to use the direct route to

Califomia along the Humboldt and Tmckee Rivers, and over Donner Pass. When the party reached the headwaters ofthe Humboldt River, they met an Indian guide named Tmckee. He directed them west to the river which the party afterwards named Tmckee in appreciation for his guide services. The group continued on to Donner Pass and into Califomia.

The discovery of gold near Sacramento, Califomia, in 1848 ignited a stampede of Euro-

Americans into the region. Many who traveled to Califomia in search of riches chose either the

Tmckee River/Donner Pass route or the more southerly route along the Carson River and through Sonora Pass. Although most fortune seekers perceived Nevada simply as a forbidding obstacle on their way West, some opted to stay in the Tmckee-Carson Basin and try their hand at farming, ranching, frading, or prospecting. In 1852, the first permanent settlement along the

Tmckee River was established near the site of Reno.

In 1859, the discovery of the Comstock Lode changed Nevada history ovemight. The news of precious ores incited a rapid influx of prospectors to the region and brought about Nevada's earliest urban settlement at Virginia City. Completion of the Central Pacific Railroad through the region in 1868 encouraged even more growth. The surging population soon placed heavy demands on the region' s natural resources, including water and timber. Water to supply the

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing increasing needs of the Comstock mines was diverted from the Tmckee River and Lake Tahoe

Basins, marking the beginning of interbasin water diversions. The demands for lumber to supply the mines and railroads led to the rapid growth of logging and milling operations throughout the

Sierra Nevada. Before long, the rivers and streams in the area became clogged with sawdust and logging debris, preventing fish migration and seriously degrading the quality of the water in the

Tmckee River.

Precious metals mining dominated the booming economy of both the region and Nevada in the

1860s and 1870s. With continued growth came conflict and controversy. The 1860 Pyramid

Lake Indian War resulted in the deaths of over 150 Indians and 75 whites. The City of San

Francisco began to eye the waters of Lake Tahoe to supply the needs of the burgeoning city.

Logging and mining continued to pollute the rivers and sfreams. In 1861, Congress granted

Nevada territorial status. Among the first acts of the Territorial assembly was to pass a requirement that all dams constmcted in Nevada allow for the natural fransit of fish.

Unfortunately, this mandate was frequently overlooked.

To support the ever-increasing number of settlers, ranching and agriculture both grew more prominent in the Tmckee and Carson River basins. In 1851, a small contingent of Mormons from Salt Lake City planted crops in the Carson Valley to peddle to California-bound goldseekers (MacDonnell, From Reclamation to Sustainabilitv: Water, Agriculture, and the

Environment in the American West. 1999, p. 144) Farmers constmcted small irrigation ditches in the early 1860s. The Pioneer and Cochran ditches diverted water from the Tmckee River to irrigate lands in Tmckee Meadows. Numerous dams were built on the Tmckee River to divert water for irrigation or to power mills. In 1870, the Califomia Legislature authorized the Donner

Lumber and Boom Company to improve the channel of the Tmckee River from the outlet of

Lake Tahoe to the California/Nevada state line. The company constmcted a rockfilled timber crib dam at the outlet of the lake, controlling the outflow of the lake for the first time. More

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing dams were constmcted along the Tmckee River in the late 19* century, increasing diversions from the river and fiirther limiting migration of fish.

Nevada's flourishing mining economy took a sharp downtum in the 1880s as a result of falling silver prices. Cattle ranching helped for a while, but unpredictable market prices, high railroad fransportation costs, and several severe winters forced many ranchers into bankmptcy. In search of ways to alleviate Nevada's economic depression, William M. "Big Bi l l " Stewart and other

Nevada politicians took up the causes of remonetization of silver and irrigation (Rowley, "Farewell to the Rotten Borough: Francis G. Newlands in Nevada." 1995, p. 113). Although

Silver Party politics didn' t go very far, the cause of irrigation as a way to enhance agricultural production in Nevada was vigorously pursued.

In 1889, the total area irrigated in Nevada was 224,403 acres. This closely paralleled the amount of irrigated lands in neighboring Idaho (218,249 acres) and Utah (263,473 acres). By the end of the century the number of irrigated acres in Nevada had climbed to 504,168. Most of these lands were meadows alongside the Humboldt River. During spring flooding, primitive irrigation systems directed the waters to cultivated fields. Lands along the Tmckee and Carson Rivers were also subject to considerable cultivation and the summer flows of these rivers were largely utilized (Reclamation Service. First Annual Report of the Reclamation Service. 1903, p. 224.).

ORIGINS OF THE FEDERAL R E C L A M A T I O N PROGRAM

By the end of the 19* century it was apparent throughout the West that private irrigation interests simply lacked the financial resources and engineering capability to constmct large-scale water storage and delivery systems. The limits of successful smaller cooperative efforts had been reached, and time and again, ill-financed grandiose projects boosted by speculators had ended in failure. Al l of the easily-irrigable lands had been developed and the vast arid expanse of

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing remaining lands required complex and expensive irrigation systems. Even those who were opposed to govemment intervention were beginning to recognize that state or Federal support of irrigation was needed. Among those most actively involved in developing national reclamation policy were a number of Nevada politicians.

The first Federal law to address the unique water supply conditions in the arid West was the Act of July 26, 1866. Passed largely due to the efforts of Senator William Stewart of Nevada, the legislation was aimed primarily at the mining industry, where conflicts over water use in hydraulic mining operations had escalated. Under the law, which was written broad enough to include agriculture and other uses, local confrol over the use of water was acknowledged.

The 1873 Timber Culture Act required settlers to plant 40 out of 160 acres with trees, under the belief that frees encouraged rainfall. In 1877, the Desert Lands Act was passed which gave settlers 640 acres of arid land on the condition that proof of irrigation be demonstrated within three years. Neither of these Federal laws that relied on individual initiative were successful in establishing widespread irrigation.

At the forefront of a national irrigation movement was John Wesley Powell, noted explorer of the Colorado River. He passionately expounded that private enterprise lacked the financial resources or public interest to constmct the reservoirs and delivery systems needed to expand irrigation in the West. Powell's advocacy for a greater Federal presence was highly disputed by those in favor of unchecked westem expansion or states' rights.

In 1881, Powell became head of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and, under his direction, the agency began its survey and mapping ofthe United States. Congress passed a joint resolution in March 1888 that not only authorized a survey of arid westem lands, but also allowed for the withdrawal of all lands found irrigable. The resolution fiirther provided that the

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing lands could be reopened to settlement under the Homestead Act by proclamation ofthe

President. In October 1888, at the onset of a drought in the West, Powell secured an initial modest amount of $100,000 from Congress to begin the irrigation survey of arid westem lands.

In March 1889, an additional $250,000 was appropriated to continue the work. Surveys were conducted of canal routes and reservoir sites in seven westem states including Nevada. A total of 150 canal routes were identified and 30 million arid acres were deemed irrigable (Robinson, Water for the West: The Bureau of Reclamation. 1902-77. 1979, p. 12). In the summer of 1889, Powell was invited to accompany the United States Senate Committee on the Irrigation and

Reclamation of Arid Lands, headed by Senator William Stewart, on a tour to view first hand the irrigation needs of the West. Among the numerous stops made to conduct public hearings was

Carson City, Nevada.

Much criticism was directed at Powell, including from most members of the Arid Lands

Committee, for his policy of withdrawing from settlement all lands susceptible to irtigation until fiirther directed by Congress. Fierce negative reaction engendered largely by speculative and grazing interests resulted in the repeal in 1890 of the portion of the 1888 Joint Resolution allowing for the land withdrawals, except for the reservoir sites themselves. Funding for the surveys was also cut which precluded the completion of work in Nevada. Despite the setbacks, the Geological Survey continued to study water resources in the arid West in the 1890's.

Up until 1890, broad public support for an organized irrigation movement did not exist. As

William Smythe, one of the West's strongest reclamation advocates, wrote, "Irrigation was an unpleasant word, repellent and depressing. The word "arid" was synonymous with worthlessness." Attitudes towards irrigation were changing however. The worsening drought plaguing the West and devastating farmers was the catalyst for a series of National Irrigation

Congresses, the first of which was held in Salt Lake City in 1891. The congresses did much to draw attention to the need for a greater government role in the reclamation of arid lands in the

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United States.

In 1894, the U.S. Congress passed the last major irrigation legislation prior to the Reclamation

Act of 1902. The Carey Act asserted responsibility of the States rather than the National

Govemment to oversee irrigation development. The law granted each Westem State up to one million acres of public domain on condition that the lands be irrigated and occupied. Following approval by the Secretary ofthe Interior of a State's request for participation, settlers on the segregated arid lands were given 10 years to cultivate at least 20 out of each 160-acre tract.

Once proof of irrigation and settlement was submitted to the Secretary of the Interior, the lands would be tumed over to the States, and in tum, patented to the settlers.

In Nevada, as in most other Westem States, the Carey Act was largely unsuccessful. Although

Nevada applied for 185,445 acres under the legislation, only about 1,500 acres were eventually patented to settlers (Golze, Reclamation in the United States. 1952, p. 19). The States simply did not have the financial resources or technical expertise to implement large-scale irrigation projects.

F R A N C I S G . N E W L A N D S A N D P A S S A G E O F T H E R E C L A M A T I O N A C T O F 1902

By 1900, it had become evident that the array of incentives for local and State development of large-scale irrigation works had been unsuccessful in yielding significant results. Support for a greater Federal role was growing among westem congressman, and among those at the forefront was Nevada Representative Francis G. Newlands.

Newlands, a wealthy Californian, moved to Carson City, Nevada, in 1888 and a year later to

Reno. He became actively involved in the State's economic and political affairs, and in 1892 was elected to the U.S. Congress. He served as a representative until 1903 when he was elected

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing to the U.S. Senate. From the outset ofhis political career, Newlands became an advocate and spokesperson for the reclamation of arid lands. He was also the owner and developer of lands in westem Nevada and eastem Califomia. Among the properties he purchased were sfrategic sites for water storage and irrigation along the Tmckee and Carson rivers; he offered these to the state of Nevada in 1890 but no action was taken by the legislature. A number of years later, Newlands bought Donner Lake in Califomia and offered to sell it on generous terms to any irrigation district that might be formed in the area (Glass, Water for Nevada, the Reclamation

Confroversy. 1964, p. 40). Included in the large acreage that Newlands eventually amassed was the site of what would later become Lahontan Reservoir.

Unlike most westem promoters, Newlands advocated rational planning and orderly economic development as vital to successfiil irrigation. He applied these principles to his own projects by hiring engineers and geologists to conduct studies and develop plans. A leading proponent for reclamation in the 1890s, Newlands initially fought for State sponsorship of irrigation projects.

Over the course of the decade, he became convinced that State governments as well as private enterprise were not capable of successfully accomplishing large-scale irrigation projects and called for a greater Federal role (Robinson, p. 15).

At the annual meeting of the National Irrigation Association held in Chicago in November, 1900, Newlands and two other leaders in the Reclamation movement, George W. Maxwell and Francis

H. Newell, spoke in sfrong support of proposals under consideration for the Federal constmction of irrigation works. The team of three, consisting of a politician, a publicist, and an engineer, worked separately and together throughout 1900 and 1901 to gamer congressional and public endorsement for Federal reclamation (Robinson, p. 15).

On January 26, 1901, Newlands introduced legislation in Congress for a national reclamation program. The bill, drafted with the assistance of Maxwell and Newell, failed to pass. The

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing momentum and support for Federal sponsorship of irrigation had grown, however, and the movement received a tremendous boost when Theodore Roosevelt became President in

September 1901. Having lived in the West, he had firsthand knowledge of its arid condition and acted quickly to establish a Federal reclamation program. In his message to Congress at the opening session in December 1901, he became the first President to recommend Federal legislation for the reclamation of arid lands in the West.

With the strong support of the President behind them, a committee of seventeen congressmen, one from each westem state, met under the chairmanship of Nevada Representative Francis G.

Newlands and drafted an irrigation bill. Introduced into Congress by Newlands, the bill quickly passed through both houses and was signed into law by President Roosevelt on June 17, 1902.

Under the terms of the Newlands Act, commonly referred to as the Reclamation Act, the

Secretary of the Interior was authorized to locate and constmct irrigation works in the arid

Westem States and territories. Funding for constmction of these projects was to come from the sale of public lands within the benefitting states and territories. Following completion of project facilities, project lands would be opened for settlement under provisions of various homestead laws and in tracts no larger than 160 acres. The 160 acre limitation was designed to prevent land speculation and to encourage homesteading by individuals and families, a major focus of westem irrigation supporters. Newlands had been adamant in his belief that families, not corporations, should be the beneficiaries of Federal reclamation works. Settlers were required to reclaim at least one-half of their land for agriculture. Project constmction costs were to be repaid over a period of time by the project settlers. The agency established to administer the provisions of the

Act was initially called the United States Reclamation Service (Reclamation Service). F.H.

Newell, an irrigation engineering authority previously with the Geological Survey, was named

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Chief Engineer of the new bureau.̂

B E G I N N I N G S O F T H E N E W L A N D S P R O J E C T

Eleven days after passage of the Reclamation Act, Newell privately submitted six possible projects to the Secretary of the Interior. Among them was the Tmckee-Carson Project which proposed to fiimish water to around 400,000 acres in Westem Nevada (MacDonnell, p. 144-45).

In July, the Secretary withdrew 2.6 million acres of Federal public lands in the Tmckee and

Carson basins from entry under the Homestead Acts. In Febmary 1903, the Nevada legislature, responding to influence exerted by Newlands, passed the Irrigation Law of 1903. It established the Office of State Engineer responsible for solving water problems and administering water rights. The act also provided for cooperation between the State of Nevada and Secretary of

Interior in developing Federal reclamation projects.

On March 7, 1903, Charles D. Walcott, Director of the USGS, wrote to Secretary of the Interior

B.S. Hitchcock requesting approval to undertake the first five Reclamation projects. Among them was the "Tmckee Project" in Nevada. Just a week later, on March 14, the Secretary of the

Interior authorized proceeding with all five projects. Three million dollars were initially allotted for the Tmckee Project. The official name change from Tmckee or Tmckee-Carson Project to

Newlands Project took place in March 1919, in honor of Francis Newlands, who died in

December 1917.

The Tmckee River Basin had been recognized early on for the irrigation possibilities that existed

^ In 1923, the official name was changed to the Bureau of Reclamation. The Reclamation Service was originally placed within the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1907, it was established as a separate bureau within the Department of the Interior. Newell's title changed from Chief Engineer to Director. He remained in that position until December 1914.

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing there. It was one of the areas investigated by Powell's Irrigation Survey in 1889-90. Further surveys of reservoir sites and measurements of river flows along the Tmckee and Carson Rivers, among others in Nevada, were conducted at the tum of the century by Leon H. Taylor, a USGS hydrographer. His work was instmmental in the selection of the site of the Tmckee-Carson

Project. Compared to other locations, it had two key ingredients in its favor. The first was the availability of large areas of unclaimed public lands suitable for irrigation downstream on the

Carson River and, to a lesser extent, on the Tmckee River. Elsewhere in Nevada, most of the lands that controlled the use of water had fallen into private hands thereby precluding settlement opportunities (USRS First Annual Report, p. 224). The second factor in favor ofthe Tmckee-

Carson Project was Lake Tahoe. Its enormous water supply could be managed easily for irrigation releases by constmcting a relatively small dam at the outlet of the lake.

Early studies for the project called for a system of waterworks extending from Lake Tahoe into the Tmckee and Carson River basins and beyond to Lovelock and the Humboldt Sink (Townley, Tum This Water Into Gold. The Story ofthe Newlands Project. Second Edition.1998. pp. 22, 36). Several reservoirs, diversion dams, and canals formed the core of the undertaking. Water would be diverted from the Tmckee River to the Carson River where it could be used to irrigate lands in the Carson River Basin. To accomplish this, a diversion dam constmcted on the

Tmckee River would divert water into a 31-mile-long main canal that would convey it to the

Carson River. A second dam constmcted on the Carson River would divert water into project canals for delivery to project lands. Key to the project would be a storage dam at Lake Tahoe, a beautifiil natural lake straddling the Califomia and Nevada state lines. Enlarging Lake Tahoe would ensure an adequate supply of water during the late irrigation season when the flows of the rivers were at their lowest. Several other storage reservoirs on the Tmckee and Carson Rivers were also considered (Simonds, 1996, p. 4). Reclamation initially estimated that the project could irrigate about 400,000 acres. As planning and constmction proceeded, this grand scheme was gradually scaled back to a project serving about 200,000 acres (1912) and eventually, in

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1926, to an irrigable area of about 73,000 acres. This reduction in size reflected the realization that the water supply was simply not available to irrigate the vast acreage originally intended.

P L A N N I N G A N D C O N S T R U C T I O N O F M A J O R P R O J E C T F E A T U R E S : 1902-1915

Almost immediately following selection of the Tmckee-Carson Project, the newly-created

Reclamation Service opened an office in Reno and placed Leon H. Taylor in charge as supervising engineer.(Simonds, p. 8). A phased constmction plan was developed with the diversion dams and canals to be built first followed by the storage facilities. Work started with constmction of Derby Diversion Dam (originally called the Main Lower Tmckee Diversion

Dam) on the Tmckee River about 20 miles below Reno, and the 31 -mile long Tmckee Canal

(originally called the Main Lower Tmckee Canal) originating at Derby Dam (USRS Second

Annual Report. 1904, p. 365). This initial component was broken down into three divisions and separate bids were solicited for the constmction of each division. Division 1 included Derby

Dam, the headworks of the Tmckee Canal, and the first six miles ofthe canal. Divisions 2 and 3 covered the remainder of the canal (Simonds, p. 8).

Bids for constmction ofthe dam and canal were opened in Washington D.C. by the Secretary of the Interior on July 15, 1903. The contract for Divisions 1 and 2 was awarded to C.A. Warren &

Company with bids of $324,967 for Division 1 and $415,020 for Division 2. The contract for constmction of Division 3 was awarded to the E.B. & A.L. Stone Company who submitted a low bid of $250,700. The confracts for the diversion dam and canal were among the first awarded by the infant Reclamation Service. The specifications for Derby Dam bear the distinction of being the first issued by the agency.

Constmction of the project began soon afterwards. The contractors, advertising widely in cities throughout the American West, hired more than 500 men to work on the dam and over 1,000

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing workers to dig the Tmckee Canal. Because of the remoteness of the project location, laborers had to live in temporary camps set up near constmction activities. The camp at the Derby Dam site soon acquired a reputation as a "hell hole" of violence, crime, gambling, and prostitution.

Other constmction camps were established along the route of the Tmckee Canal. In 1904, the

Reclamation Service moved its Reno office to the small town of Hazen located on the Southem

Pacific Railroad route (Townley, p. 26). Growing rapidly, Hazen soon earned the same reputation as Derby camp. Completion of Derby Dam and the Tmckee Canal brought about the abandonment of the work camps and, in December 1906, the Reclamation Service relocated its

Hazen office to the growing town of Fallon.

The first work at Derby Dam consisted of the constmction of a temporary dam on the Tmckee

River upsfream of the permanent dam site. A temporary flume and ditch diverted the Tmckee

River around the location of the fiiture dam. Once the site was free of water, the foundation area was cleared, providing a solid base for the dam. A cutoff wall consisting of parallel and interlocking steel sheet pilings, and designed to prevent seepage under the dam, was the first feature ofthe dam itself to be constmcted. Then the contractor began the placement of concrete over the foundation area. The dam, completed in 1905, consists of a gated concrete stmcture spanning the Tmckee River and an earthen embankment extending from the north abutment in a northwesterly direction for nearly 1,200 feet. The concrete stmcture originally consisted of 16 bays, each one containing a lower and upper slide gate. A series of regularly-spaced concrete piers formed the bays and accommodated the metal gate guides. Three of the original center gates were removed in 1929 and replaced with one large 10- by 25-foot flood gate. Another alteration occurred in 1908 when a wooden fish ladder was installed. This feature was repaired, altered and practically reconstmcted in 1912. The resulting fish ladder was a wood flume

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing containing flashboards. The dam has a diversion capacity of 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs)."*

The Tmckee Canal was constmcted at the same time as Derby Dam. Located at the south end of

Derby Dam, the canal headworks consist of nine 5-foot by 10-foot slide gates separated by concrete piers. The canal follows the broad Tmckee River Canyon before tuming southward to terminate at Lahontan Reservoir. Started in September 1903, excavations were carried out using steam shovels and horse-drawn fresno scrapers. The most difficult aspect of the constmction was the approximately 10-mile sfretch through the steep canyon. Four tunnels, all reinforced with concrete, were built along the canal route to reduce its overall length and minimize excavation costs. The tunnels range in length from 213 feet to 1,515 feet and cover a combined distance of nearly 3,000 feet. At a number of points along its route, the canal incorporates confrol gates to release water for irrigation of adjacent lands. At its terminus, the canal originally discharged into the Carson River through a temporary timber chute, the last feature to be finished. With the anticipated constmction of Lahontan Dam, the terminus was changed in

1910 so that the canal now empties via a concrete chute into Lahontan Reservoir. The change in terminus apparently extended the canal by about a mile to its present length of 32 miles. With a capacity of 1,500 cfs. , a bottom width of approximately 20 feet, and a maximum water depth of

13 feet, the canal was completed in May 1905. Amid great excitement, a congressional delegation led by Senator Newlands dedicated Derby Diversion Dam and opened the headgates of the Tmckee Canal on June 17, 1905, exactly three years after passage of the Reclamation Act.

It was the first time that water flowed from a Federal Reclamation project to "make the desert bloom".

On September 9, 1904, the Reclamation Service awarded the first of four contracts covering

Derby Dam was subsequently modified in 1999 when the downstream apron was completely replaced.

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Section E NEWLANDS PROJECT Name of Multiple Property Listing various constmction aspects of the Carson River Diversion Dam and the conveyance stmctures that would carry water to farmers' ditches in the area around Fallon (Simonds, p. 5). The Carson

River Diversion Dam, located about five miles downstream from where the Tmckee Canal empties into the Carson River, was completed by September 1905. The concrete dam is 23 feet high with a crest length of 241 feet; it has a diversion capacity of 1,950 c f s . The outlet works consist of a spillway with 21 5- by 10-foot double leaf slide gates and one 15-by 10-foot hinged gate.

Also finished by September 1905 were the two main canals built to carry water from the Carson

River Diversion Dam to farms in the vicinity of Fallon. The nine-mile-long northside canal ("T"

Line Canal) begins at a headgate at the north end of the dam and fraverses a particularly sandy region on the north side ofthe river. The canal is 10 feet wide at the bottom, six feet deep, and has a typical maximum water flow of 450 cubic feet per second. The southside canal ("V" Line) extends from a headgate at the Carson River Diversion Dam for 27 miles long along the south side of the river. The canal has a bottom width of 22 feet, a depth of 12 feet and a typical maximum water flow of 1,500 cubic feet per second.̂ Lands served by the " V " Line Canal are of more varied soil types than those under the "T" Line Canal.

Constmction of the canal network proceeded at a fast pace. The distribution system was divided into districts, numbered one through seven, with district one located just south of Fallon and district two to the north. By the end of 1906, both districts were reported near completion.

Work in all the other districts had started and, in some cases, was well underway. Among the features finished was the principal branch of the " V " Line Canal, known as the "S" Line. It

^ At 5.8 miles below the headgate, a powerhouse was built by TCID in 1955 to take advantage of a 26-foot…