St. George and Washington Canal Company collection

Collection

Identifier: WASH-005

Scope and Contents

The records of the St. George and Washington Canal Company span the years 1887-1955, with the bulk of material coming from 1901-1955. The Washington Field Canal Company was incorporated May 11, 1875 and existed until the merger on July 10, 1900 when it became part of the St. George and Washington Canal Company.

The collection is arranged by subject within two series: Washington Field Canal Company (1887-1905) and St. George and Washington Canal Company (1901-1955). Both series contain the financial and business records of each manifestation of the company, as well as their respective meeting minutes and correspondence. The Washington Field Canal Company contains the documents dealing with the merger (1900-1901) of the company into its current corporate body.

Dates

Creation: 1887-1955

Creator

Hafen, Arthur K. (Arthur Knight) (Secretary, Person)
St. George and Washington Canal Company (Washington County, Utah) (Originator, Organization)
Washington Field Canal Company (Washington, Utah) (Originator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open and freely available to researchers during Special Collections hours or by appointment. Researchers must complete an Application for Use and show a photo ID prior to accessing materials.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives.

Biographical/Historical note

The Washington Field Canal Company was incorporated May 11, 1875. Irrigation was required for the pioneer settlers of Washington, Utah who were struggling to grow cotton. Their many attempts to dam the Virgin River were unsuccessful and costly, so the residents of Washington formed a canal company, though they continued struggle with too much or not enough water. On December 7, 1889, the largest flood in the history of Washington County, Utah took place, destroying the dam and some of the canal the company had constructed. The company lost all of the money and work that had gone into constructing their dam. February 1891 marked the completion of a new dam, which remained in its original condition until 2005. The canal that carried water to the crops of Washington was completed in 1893. On July 10, 1900, the Washington Field Canal Company reorganized and incorporated itself as the St. George and Washington Canal Company, which is still in existence today.

Full Extent

2.17 Linear Feet (1 gray half letter document case, 1 gray half legal document case, 1 gray flat box, 1 tan medium oversize box, and 2 oversized folders)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Additional Description

Abstract

The records of the St. George and Washington Canal Company span the years of 1887-1955. The collection contains the financial and business records of the company, as well as their meeting minutes and correspondence. The Washington Field Canal Company records document the merger (1900-1901) of the company into its current corporate body.