Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation System, Building No. 1 (House), 30601 Wellton-Mohawk Drive, Wellton

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-68-G. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Wellton-Mohawk Drive, Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (WMIDD) administrative complex, Wellton, Yuma County, Arizona. Building 1 is 1 of 22 residential buildings arranged in a horseshoe-shaped plan on Wellton-Mohawk Drive, located approximately one-half mile north of Interstate 8. The building lies within the N 1h of the NE 1/4 of Section 4, Township 9 South, Range 18 West, on the Wellton Mesa, Arizona, 7.5-minute U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle (photorevised Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: Zone 11, N E

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-68-G. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Building 1, as part of the former Well ton Government Camp, is associated with the Wellton-Mohawk Division of the Gila Project. Construction of the Wellton- Mohawk irrigation system began in and was essentially completed in With its completion, Colorado River water was delivered to previously arid lands in the lower Gila River valley. Concomitant to construction of the irrigation tem, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) built Well ton Government Camp to provide office space and housing for em- ployees engaged in fieldwork associated with the irrigation project. Today, the headquarters of the WMIDD stand on the site of the camp offices, and the houses serve as residences for WMIDD employees.

The WMIDD administrative com- plex is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a district under Criteria a and c (Thompson and Sterner I The residential build- ings have retained their integrity and contribute to the significance of the head- quarters complex. Report Prepared by: Scott Thompson, Senior Historian Statistical Research, Inc. Tucson, Arizona Date: September Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation System, Building 1 (House) HAER No. AZ-68-G (page 2) I. PHYSICAL HISTORY A. Date of Erection Construction of Wellton Government Camp began on July 5, and all work was completed on March 16, B. Architect Plans for the housing units and garages were produced by the Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma, Arizona. The design section consisted of Lorel W.

Meyers, office and design engineer; Robert D. Austin, design unit head; Evan L. Stoll, design and specifications; and William D. Wagner, design and drafting (Purdin C. Original Owner Reclamation owns the housing units and garages located at the WMIDD administrative complex. D. Original and Subsequent Occupants The residential buildings provided living quarters for Reclamation employees engaged in fieldwork during the construction of the Mohawk, Wellton, Dome, and Texas Hill Canals and their respective distribution systems ( After the WMIDD assumed responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the irrigation system, the buildings served as housing for WMIDD employees. E.

Builder Sooy and Jackson, of Redlands, California, was awarded the contract for constructing the roads, build- ings, and utilities at Wellton Government Camp. Some of the buildings were converted from World War II-era barracks originally located at Yuma Army Airfield. According to the final construction report (Pur- din Sooy and Jackson subcontracted portions of the work to the following businesses: Hall- mark Construction Company, Phoenix, Arizona (sewer and water); Shilkett Plumbing Company, Colton, California (plumbing); J. H.

Welsh and Sons, Phoenix, Arizona (sewer and water); C & C House Moving Company, Phoenix, Arizona (move temporary buildings); Adams Company, Yuma, Arizona (tem- porary building conversion); Gib's Sheet Metal Works, Yuma, Arizona (ducts and metal); Newberry Electric Company, Phoenix, Arizona (electrical); Perrine Company, Yuma, Arizona (air condition- --ing); George W. Long, Needles, California (painting); Sawyer Cabinet Company, Los Angeles, California (cabinet work); Sam George, Yuma, Arizona (plaster and stucco); Benz Roofing Company, Phoenix, Ari- zona (roof and re-roof); Minerva Blind Company, Yuma, Arizona (linowall); L.A. Venetian Blind Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation System, Building 1 (House) HAER No. AZ-68-G (page 3) Company, Los Angeles, California (Venetian blinds); William W.

Selby, Yuma, Arizona (lathing); Wil- liams Insulating Company, Phoenix, Arizona (insulation); and Mitchell-Dickerson Glass Company, Riverside, California (glazing). F. Original Plans and Construction The original drawings for the residences and garages at Wellton Government Camp were produced by the Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma, Arizona, between June and October Sooy and Jackson, a general contracting firm, was awarded the contract to construct the roads, buildings, and utilities at Wellton Gov- ernment Camp for (Purdin G. Alterations and Additions Over the years there have been alterations and additions to several of the buildings that constitute the housing area of the WMIDD administrative complex.

(Alterations and additions are discussed in detail for each of the houses described in this report.) Of particular note is the current Building 11, which was con- structed around the after the original dwelling, a wood-frame duplex created from military barracks sections, was relocated to the Mohawk Canal for use as a ditchrider' s house (Pfaff II. BUILDING

Description

Building 1 (six-room residence, Type 6A) is a one-story frame, ranch-style house with a shingled, hipped roof; stucco exterior walls; and a concrete-slab foundation. There is no basement. The overall dimensions are x with a wing on the south (rear) facade that measures x The north (front) facade has an off-center entrance with a concrete sill covered by a simple, shingled porch hood and three multipane, metal-sash casement windows. The picture window at the east corner wraps around to the east facade. There are 14 multipane, metal-sash casement windows in use on the building's facades. The south (rear) facade has an off-center entrance with a concrete sill leading into a 120-square-foot utility room that juts out from the primary building mass.

There are two dormer vents on the east and south slopes of the roof. A dormer on the west slope of the roof has been altered by the installation of ductwork leading to an outside air-conditioning unit. As orig- inally constructed, the dormer received an elevated evaporative-cooling unit, which has since been re- placed by a ground-mounted air-conditioning unit and ductwork. The front and rear entrances are covered by metal security-screen doors. Other additions include a con- crete pad and porch covering on the southwest facade. The concrete pad measures x Three wood columns support the porch covering. The porch covering has a low pitch and is covered with roll- roofing material.

The east wall of the addition is wood siding; a wood lattice provides shade along a por- tion of the south side of the addition. On December 30, the H. P. Adams Construction Company Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation System, Building 1 (House) HAER No. AZ-68-G (page 4) was awarded a contract for remodeling some of the buildings at the camp (Pfaff Presumably, the porch addition was performed under this contract. A satellite dish is attached to the southwestern edge of the porch covering. Six rooms make up the Type 6A residence: a living room, a dining room, three bedrooms, and a utility room. In addition, there is a kitchen and bath. The building has approximately square feet of living space. Documentation for this report did not include visual inspection of the building's interior.

Plan drawings for the permanent house, Type 6A, indicate that the kitchen and bathroom floors were covered with asphalt tile and that the remaining interior floor surfaces consisted of finished concrete (Reclamation The interior ceilings and walls were plastered. Construction costs for this house were (Pfaff The current condition of the building's exterior is good. III. REFERENCES CITED Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) Wellton Government Camp, six-room residence Type 6A. Drawing U.S. De- partment of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma, Arizona. Drawing on file, Record Group Project Reports, Box National Archives and Records Admin- istration, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver. Pfaff, Christine U.S.

Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region: Historic Building Reconnaissance Survey. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Services Center, Denver. Purdin, Lee D. Final Construction Report on Roads and Streets, Buildings, and Utilities, Wellton Govern- ment Camp near Wellton, Arizona. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma, Arizona. On file, Record Group Project Reports, Box National Archives and Records Administration, Rocky Mountain Region, Denver. Thompson, Scott, and Matthew A. Sterner Inventory and Documentation of the Irrigation System of the Wellton-Mohawk Division of the Gila Project. Technical Report Statistical Research, Tucson.