Irrigation Canals in the Uinta Basin, Rhodes Canal, Duchesne

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,7-DUCH.V,1J-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Within a year after the Ute Reservation was opened for homestead entry in Thomas and Martha Rhodes built a homestead located a mile north of the confluence of the west and north forks of the Duchesne River. The canal built by Thomas was constructed with a team of horses, slipscraper and the help of neighbors. The canal continues to have a large impact on the economic well-being of the community. In addition to providing an example of early irrigation techniques that has withstood the test of time, the canal underscores the cooperative spirit fostered by Mormons in the Great Basin, but also found in the development of the Uinta Basin. Inventoried by: James Jurale, David Stalheim, Craig Fuller National Park Service July Irrigation Canals in the Uinta Basin, Rhodes Canal HAER No.

UT-30-J (Page 2)

Description and Background History

Thomas Rhodes filed for 3.1 of water from the Big Spring Branch of the Duchesne River on June 22, He had started work on the ditch the previous month. Two other members of the Hanna community, A B. Atwood and Heber Moon, took part in the irrigation enterprise. The Rhodes Canal was completed on May 22, The original canal measured feet long, 4.5 feet wide at the top, 2.5 feet wide at the bottom, and had an effective depth of 2 feet. The average fall was 11 feet per mile. On June 29, an additional was filed on by William Moon to be diverted through the canal. In a ditch drawing of water from the Big Spring Branch of the Duchesne River was constructed above the Rhodes Canal by the Big Spring Irrigation Company of Hanna.

The shareholders of the two companies recognized that the water available from the Big Spring Branch was insufficient to serve both interests. In they agreed to cooperative in digging a one-mile extension of the Rhodes Canal that would divert water directly from the North Fork of the Duchesne River. The point of diversion of the extended canal was on the east bank of the North Fork of the Duchesne River located in the southwest quarter of Section 7 T. 1 N., R. 8 W. The twin screw type headgate which presently regulates water flow is located at the original point of diversion. The Rhodes Canal runs along the eastern side of the Hanna Valley and provides irrigation for oats and alfalfa.

References

Miscellaneous Book #1, Duchesne County Recorder's Office, Duchesne, Utah, pp. State Engineer's Office File Salt Lake City. State Engineer's Office File Salt Lake City. V. Garth Norman, Cultural Resources Survey of the Duchesne River Area Canal Rehabilitation Program. Orem, MESA Corp.,