The Old Irrigation Dam On The Virgin River

By ELSPETH KUTA

Special to The Progress

The early pioneers of the Virgin Valley worked the dam – to raise alfalfa – to feed the horses- to work the dam -to raise the alfalfa – to work the …and so it goes.

One of the most unpredictable things of early life in the Virgin Valley was finding a reliable and consistent source of water. One of the ways to ensure there was water was to build a dam to make sure they had that vital resource.

The Mesquite Dam is located just north of the city of Mesquite on the Arizona side. When heading out to Scenic, AZ. On Scenic Drive when you cross the Frehner Bridge look north. Just on the northside of the bridge if you look down you will see the Mesquite Dam and where the irrigation canal starts.

First built in 1880 by the first settlers of Mesquite, it was in those days only brush and boulders. There was a constant battle between the river and the settlers.

One of the classic stories about the Mesquite Dam was Carlos Knight’s old cow. In 1910 a rather large flood came down the Virgin River, so large it was referred to as ‘Old Noah.’ The flood took the dam out and the irrigation ditches.

The men immediately had to leave the fields and get to work to salvage the dam. In fact they camped at the dam site 6 miles out of town.

Carlos Knight tied the old cow to the back of his wagon and kept her at the dam site. The men would bring a handful of hay to help feed the cow, in return they would get a bowl of fresh milk to go with their bread and molasses otherwise known as sops. This is what the men survived on until the dam was fixed and operational again.

The early settlers in 1880, under the direction of Bishop William Branch, built the original dam. Bishop Branch was the lay religious leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the area, the equivalent of a pastor.

He led the way with a group of men to first install a dam of boulders and brush.They cut cottonwood logs as large as they could.Tied them together with wire and strung them across the river, they then hauled brush and rocks and put that on top of the logs.They worked forty teams at a time some hauling logs others brush and rocks. Dangerous work, but no human lives were lost. They did lose a team of horses.

In regards to building the dams William Abbott; who came to the Valley in 1877 as a young man and spent his life here; said this: “We kept on building dams, shovelling sand out of the canals, and fixing the breaks in our canals. I have worked in the river building dams in water up to my neck for two or three weeks at a time. We put into our dam at one time 300 loads of brush and 500 loads of rock, and this had to be done often.”

Fifteen times the brush and boulder dam was rebuilt. Finally, in 1955 the dam was rebuilt for the last time using metal railings and concrete.

That year, the Mesquite Irrigation Company was formed. Leonard Reber President, — Hughes Vice President,V Pollock Secretary, and M Jensen, Max Hafen and Bud Hardy on the board.

Espy construction company were hired to build a permanent dam. Jim Espy and Alton Stout were the engineers. The project was funded by F.H.A and ACP loan. An amazing feat at a cost of $60,000.

When the big old cottonwood logs were ripped out they were solid, green and still had bark on them, as though they had been put in yesterday. In 1955 they had been buried in the water for over 50 years.

There was doubt in the beginning of the project, many wanting to turn the money in because no dam had ever tamed the river or held out against flood waters. They did not have to wait long for the new dam to be tested, no sooner had the heavy equipment been moved than a flood came down the river. The dam held. This was cause for great celebration, a fulfillment of one Charles Arthur Hughes dreams, who at the age of 81 in 1969 said “One of the things he wanted to see in his lifetime was the dam cemented along with the irrigation canals and there it is ”

The dam has served the community for 141 years now. May it continue to do so for as long as it is needed. Thank you to those who built it and, over the years, maintained it.