The Deset Blossoms
Many of the innovations that occured here were truly firsts in the
nation. The Minidoka Dam and Power Plant, and the three pumping
plants near Declo, marked the first hydroeletric power to
pump irrigation water on a large scale. The first lift pumping plant
was the largest pumping plant in the world when it was built.
In October of 1906, engineers closed the gates of Mindoka Dam
to fill the 120,00-acre foot capacity Lake Walcott for the first time.
During the three days it took to fill the lake, local settlers scoured
the muddy riverbed below the dam looking for mussels and river gold.
The first water was turned into the canals in 1907. Some
homesteaders had been on their land for three years before they
could bring in a crop. When water was turned into the new canals, it
presented problems. The water tended to cut through the canal
banks. Stopgap methods were used to get through the 1907 season,
however, some farmers did not receive water for two more years.
In the winter of 1907 and 1908, sagebrush was hauled to the
canals and stacked along the inside backs. Wire net was then
unrolled over the brush to hold it in place. In the spring of 1908, a
clay slurry was poured down the canal b anks to make them
watertight.
Because of delays in funding, the $5.8 million Gravity Division
and the South Side Pumping Division of the Minidoka Project was
finally completed in 1909. The original water supply for the North
Side Pumping Division had been reassigned to the Milner-Gooding
project, downstream.
After WWII. the Burau of Reclamation returned to complete the
Minidoka Project. With the discovery of the huge Snake Plain aquifer
by Julion Clawson in 1947, the Bureau then had a water supply to
develop and additional 82,610.1 acres. The Bureau conducted public
drawings in 1954, 1957 and 1962 to award homestead farm units to
the winners. Military veterans were given priority to settle one of 241
farms that were offered. Large crowds gathered in the Rupert
Square, from all over the U.S., to witness young girls, senators and
dignitaries draw the names of the lucky winners. This was the last
large-scale homestead drawing in the country.
{Picture Captions]
Early Canal - Artery of Life
The Last Nationwide Homestead Drawing
