The City Of Buckeye history

Indeed, when the United States became the owner of the vast territory acquired from Mexico at the end of the Mexican War in 1848, they were anxious to determine the value of these new lands.

The United States government, seeking accuracy and consistency, issued a series of manuals beginning in 1851, to direct surveyor’s in their work.

Congress acted quickly and granted lands and loans to the first transcontinental railroad entity in 1862 and made similar grants to other railroads in ensuing years.

Because surveys in Arizona began in 1868, it was these set of instructions that helped inform land policy and governed how bodies of water in the Arizona Territory were recorded.

The original Desert Land Act of 1876 called for adequate irrigation but did not specify how officials of the land office could determine what was adequate.

In 1877, the founder of the settlement that would eventually become Buckeye led a party of six men, three women and 10 children from Creston, Iowa, to Arizona.

In May 1885, Malie M. Jackson and his partners J.L. Spain and Henry Mitchell laid out the canal, which was named Buckeye in honor of Jackson’s native state of Ohio.

Clanton built 10 miles of the canal, which was completed in 1886.

After first living in Big Bug and Phoenix, Clanton and his family moved to the Buckeye area in 1887.

On June 28th, 1888 the law firm of Baker and Campbell of Phoenix rendered the following opinion as to the title of the Buckeye Canal Company to 50,000 inches of water in the Gila River.

On April 9th, 1889, A. W. Chamberlin, general solicitor for Equitable Mortgage Company reported to Charles N. Fowler, president of the Mortgage Company that the Irrigation Company’s affairs were all in good shape and carried out legally in every respect.

On February 1st, 1890 Walnut Grove Dam on the Hassayampa broke and released a torrent of water stored behind it, which came rushing down the otherwise dry creek bed of the Hassayampa.

In July of this year the largest flood since 1891 came down the river and washed out the northwest end of the dam but was rebuilt and water again running inside of three days.

The agreement was signed on February 10th, 1897 by T. N. Clanton, President and J.L. Alexander, Secretary for the Canal Company, and the three above named gentlemen, for the farmers.

On October 5th, 1899, the O’Neil interest in the Buckeye Canal system was sold to W. Moultrie of Fresno, California by William O’Neil’s widow.

On September 27h, 1900 they were issued a sheriff’s deed against the Buckeye Canal Company on a judgment obtained by W. Moultrie on February 24th, 1900 for the sum of $11,292.23 and assigned by him, to the new company and so passed into oblivion the old Buckeye Canal Company.

Significantly, the first Annual Report of the Reclamation Service, published in 1902, maintained that irrigation in the drainage basin of the both the Gila and Salt, had already been developed to such a point that there was insufficient water for lands.

During 1904 the line was extended through Arlington country to Gila Bend, and from the Buckeye dam to Bill Moore’s, Coldwater on the Agua Fria.

The following are a few of the larger items of expenses listed for the year 1905 up to November 1st: New canal-$15,194.72; canal repairs-$3,648.58; dam repairs-$5,411.81; canal breaks-$517.85; new headgate-$850.50; South Extension-$368.21; Hassayampa flume-$385.31.

162, published in 1906, adding further information about the Gila’s eclectic and erratic character.

Jones gave a brief review of the organization and first location of the Buckeye Canal down to the organization of the present company in March, 1907.

By the beginning of 1909, the farmers had so improved their water system that the price of water was fixed at $1.00 per acre for the period from April 1st to October 1st for stockholders and $1.50 for non-stockholders.

Moreover, this report had been written to conform to the 1910 Enabling Act allowing Arizona to join the other forty-six states.

At a meeting of the directors on June 17th, 1911 the question came up of building an office building, as heretofore the secretary had been furnishing his own office, generally in his home or place of business.

By 1912, major buildings were constructed, along with expansion of the business community.

On May 25th, 1914 a resolution was adopted at a special stockholder’s meeting, adopting a lateral system for both irrigation and waste ditches that had been presented by Engineer Hancock some time before.

E. C. Murphy’s USGS survey—an unpublished report dated April 1915 on potential hydroelectric power sites in Arizona--depicts the Gila’s status at statehood.

In May, 1917, a movement was set on foot by the directors to complete the White Tank Canal down to now the upper spillway of the Canal and utilize it instead of the present canal and so get back farther from the river as every rise in the river was a constant threat to its breaking into the canal.

At an adjourned stockholders meeting on April 19th, 1918 the board reported that they had agreed on the following prices for the 4,000 shares of new stock:

On February 21st, 1923, at a joint meeting of the canal directors and the directors of the Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District, Mr.

During the spring of 1925, F.A. Reid and S.C. Miller and the Gillespie Water Company both made propositions to the Irrigation Company to dewater the valley for the use of the water, by pumps or otherwise.

All during the year 1928, there had been considerable discussion about putting down wells to increase the flow of water, and at one time the board by official action, advised the Drainage District board to put down at lease ten wells and later at another meeting increased it to twenty.

At the annual meeting on January 13th, 1931, a resolution was passed putting the sale of water on an acre-foot basis when the river flow fell below 6,000 inches, for a period of five days or more.

At the annual meeting of 1933, a plan was adopted authorizing the secretary to accept crop mortgages, in some cases, in lieu of cash, for the payment of water.

In 1935, the Buckeye Chamber of Commerce started the Helzapoppin Days, which became a local tradition.

On August 8th, 1940, the canal board instructed the superintendent to proceed with putting down well No.

During the year 1947, a representative of Phelps-Dodge mining interests at Morenci approached the Buckeye Secretary, A. T. Jones and offered to buy the water Buckeye had coming to them from the Salt River Valley Water Users Association in their settlement of the water suit some years before.

On October 5th, 1948 C.M. Ainsworth, consulting engineer for the United States Borders Commission came before the canal board and reported as to the condition and necessity of cleaning the river channel in some way before a big flood came down it.

In September, 1949 a movement was launched for a big celebration when the company had paid off its last bond and would be debt free.

At the regular directors meeting on January 2nd, 1951, the matter of new wells being drilled on the Indian Reservation came up for discussion with representatives from Arlington present.

During the year 1953, Arlington Canal Company and the Buckeye Irrigation Company had been having some trouble over Buckeye waster water.

On January 17th, 1955, the annual stockholders’ meeting was held and Narramore, Beloat, Pfluger, Schweikart, Lanford, Arnold and Bales were elected directors and Narramore and Schweikart were elected president and vice-president, with Weigold retained as secretary-manager.

In October, 1960 the company started negotiating on purchasing the Stillman property at 205 Roosevelt Ave., he present site of the Company office.

In 1965, the company began bargaining for the purchase of the effluent water form the City of Phoenix and the other SROG (Southwest Regional Operating Group) cities.

A 25-year dry period on the Salt River watershed ended on January 4th, 1966, when the “Big Flood” on the Salt River occurred.

See the Pulitzer Prize-winning, William Goetzmann, Exploration and Empire: The Explorer and the Scientist in the Winning of the American West (New York: Norton, 1967), 392.

See, also, Roger Dunbier, The Sonora Desert: Its Geography, Economy, and People (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970). For its importance to the natural and human history of the American Southwest, the Gila River has inspired surprisingly few books.

On February 13th, 1980, a similar flood took place when the Roosevelt Dam released considerable water which caused even more flooding along and near the river.

In the fall of 1981, the company office was remodeled, making two attractive office rooms and a main conference room out of the original implement display room.