/ 

Commitment 

to 

1929 - 1973 

U S ARMY ENGI EER DISTRICT, SALR MEN 

1976 
l ' 

%1 t. r.----"'--- , 

cor'ER DESIGI\' AND END SHEETS 

DRdJl'N BY AL MACK 

r'ISUAL INFORMATION OFFICER 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT 

L S .·lRM} CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

.~ .. " "' ~ 

I. 

I.~ 

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COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE 

A HISTORY OF THE 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT 

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

1929 - 1973 

By 

Joseph J. Hagwood, Jr . 

. U.S. ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT, 

SACRAMENTO 1976 
THE AUTHOR 

JOSEPH J. HAGWOOD, Jr., the author of this work, is a curriculum consultant to the Plumas Unified School District in Quincy, California, and a former 

elementary school principal in Roseville, California. A 1963 graduate of 

California State University, Sacramento, he earned his Master's in history 

from that institution in 1970. His thesis, about hydraulic mining in California, 

was entitled: FROM NORTH BLOOMFIELD TO NORTH FORK: ATTEMPTS 

TO COMPLY WITH THE SAWYER DECISION. Mr. Hagwood is currently 

completing a history of the South Pacific Division, U.S. Army Corps of EngIneers. 
FOREWORD 

The birth certificate of the Sacramento District is dated 7 October 1929, but 

the organization, under other names, performed for many years prior to that 

date. 

At the time of its formal activation, the Sacramento District's boundaries 

were entirely within the State of California, and extended from the Sierra 

Nevada on the east to the coast ranges on the west, and from the Cascade 

range and the Oregon boundary on the north to the Tehachapi Mountains on 

the south. 

Today, the infant District has grown in size to become the second largest in 

the Corps, with design, construction, and real estate responsibilities, both civil 

and military, in all or parts of eleven western states. 

The compelling story of its growth, both before and after its official establishment, is graphically detailed in this history, often in the very words of the 

dedicated Corps employees who contributed to its present preeminence. 

We present it for your consideration and enjoyment, and invite you to share 

with the thousands of Sacramento District employees and officers, past and 

present, the pride they take in their achievements. 

I 

F.G. ROCKWELL, Jr. 

Colonel, CE 

District Engineer 
II 
CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword I 

Preface V 

Chapter I Historical Perspective 1 

Chapter II The California Debris Commission 

and River Reclamation 11 

Chapter III Problems and Promises 31 

Chapter IV The Displaced and the Determined 45 

Chapter V In War: Resolution 62 

Chapter VI Preparing for Crisis 77 

Chapter VII Navigation Projects, 1940-1972 109 

Chapter VIII Harnessing the Rivers: 

Perspective 125 

Chapter IX East of the Sierra 239 

Chapter X Partnerships, Planning 

and Previews 261 

Bibliography 277 

Index 281 

III 
IV 
PREFACE 

...... ~ 

Just across the Charles River from Boston, there was a pleasant green 

mount called Breed's Hill. Just to the west was Bunker Hill. For some obscure 

reason, historians have recorded the battle that took place on Breed's Hill as 

the "Battle of Bunker Hill". On the night of June 16, 1775, only thirty-six 

hours since Washington was elected commander-in-chief of the patriot army, a 

group of farmer-soldiers crept along the dusty roads from Cambridge, and 

under cover of darkness encamped on Breed's Hill. Directed by Major General 

Richard Gridley, Chief of Engineers, they swarmed about under the cold stars, 

sweating, and whispering orders. Through the long night they toiled, putting 

up a redoubt of fresh earth and sod against a rail fence , and fortifying it with 

stones. By first light, the parapet was as high as a man's chin. 

With the light came the Redcoats, commanded by General Howe. Being a 

pleasant summer's day, the residents of Boston climbed to the tops of their 

houses to watch the novel and interesting scene unfolding across the river. 

Some brought food and wine. They felt as if they were going to the theater; 

nobody was really serious; nobody was going to die ; the whole thing was just so 

much play-acting. Never in recorded history were spectators able to observe a 

battle at such close range. The British, wanting to make a noble, straightforward frontal attack, and to demonstrate the uselessness of the entrenchments, 

rolled their drums and advanced toward the breast-works in "long straight 

lines like rows of geraniums." 

When the British were within fifteen yards of the entrenchments, heads and 

rifles suddenly appeared over the parapet, and there was a quick burst of fire 

and smoke. Scorching volleys of slag and horseshoe nails tore open the redcoated bellies. The British soldiers went down "like milkweeds before a 

scythe". They retreated in glassy-eyed horror. General Howe tried to pull his 

men together. He told them, "I shall not desire anyone of you to advance one 

v 
step beyond where I am at the head of your line." Brave but stupid, he lead 

them into the jaws of death again. Once again they were torn to shreds by the 

patriots'muskets. 

By then the farmers were all but out of ammunition. If they had retreated 

they might have saved themselves for another day. They didn't. Some leftthe majority stayed and died in the third and final charge of the day. Halfdressed farm boys and old men hurled themselves against a sea of bayonets 

only to die with British rifleballs crashing through their brains. When the 

smoke cleared, more than a thousand soldiers of the King were laid out on the 

soft green grass, with blood oozing from their torn, lifeless bodies. In this first 

terrible contest, the Americans killed the enemy at the rate of three to one. 

That's how they began - the Corps of Engineers - conceived in haste and 

baptized by fire. Just a day before the battle, the Continental Congress passed 

a resolution providing for a Chief Engineer of the Grand Army. However, the 

resolution was not precisely worded, and some confusion resulted. To put 

things right, the Congress enacted a more detailed resolution on March 11, 

1779. In part it read, "Resolved, that the engineers in the service of the United 

States shall be formed in a corps and styled the 'Corps of Engineers', and shall 

take rank and enjoy the same rights, honors, and privileges with the other 

troops of the Continental establishment." 

Down through the years, the Corps has taken part in every military action of 

the United States, from Breed's Hill to Cam Ranh Bay. In addition, it has 

continually contributed to the growth of our nation through its civil works 

programs. Corps of Engineers' officers have surveyed land, cut roads through 

the wilderness, laid out railroads, protected early settlers, improved rivers and 

harbors, designed and constructed flood-control works, built hydroelectric 

dams, erected public buildings and managed National park areas. It's been a 

long proud history, spanning two centuries. The men and women of the Sacramento District have contributed greatly to the organization's accomplishments and are justifiably proud of their excellent work. 

When asked their feelings about the District, retired employees responded in 

the following manner: 

Robert R. Morley - With the Corps 1929-1968; Sacramento District 1944-

1968 

In retrospect, after completing forty years of service on many different 

types of projects in many sections of the United States, I am convinced 

that the Corps of Engineers is the greatest engineering organization in 

the world and I am proud to have had a small part in its activities. 

Ronald (Tommy) Thompson - With the Sacramento District 1930-1966 (35 

years). Although he may not have known it at the time, when Tommy came to 

the District from the College of the Pacific in Stockton, he came to stay. He 

began in the days when men learned the river by living on it, and by trudging 

miles through thick brush on its banks. With hatchet in hand, he shaped and 

pounded stakes to mark out the now improved levee system that senes the 

Valley. That was back in 1930. He started out as a surveyman - known today 

as an Engineering Aide - on the Stockton Deep Water Channel, and worked 

his way up until at his retirement in December, 1966, he was Chief of the 

Operations Branch in the Sacramento District. 

VI 
He recalls: 

The Corps of Engineers is a sound organization and one I was fortunate to 

have been associated with about half my natural life and substantially 

all my working life. When necessary, the people in the Corps have the 

ability to cut through paper tigers to accomplish things, i.e., during 

World War II, when the Sacramento District went into war construction 

with a hundred or so employees, peaked at about 3,000 and performed an 

amazing amount of work in a relatively short time. 

I believe the challenges being presented by current trends in public 

thinking can be met by the Corps and that sound logical courses of action 

can be developed to get the best possible results for the present and future 

good of the country. 

Frank L. Waddock - With the Sacramento District 1932-1967 (35 years) 

I believe the Corps is highly capable of successfully and expeditiously 

achieving completion of projects assigned to it - both then and now. 

James Coombs - With the Sacramento District 1935-1966 (31 years) 

I always felt that the Corps of Engineers, particularly the Sacramento 

District, was an outstanding engineering organization. I have always 

been very proud to be a part of that organization. In retrospect, my opinions have not changed and I believe that the good work that the Sacramento District has accomplished since its inception in the late twenties 

has led to the recent take over, by the District, of all the Military Work on 

the West Coast. I do not believe that this work would have been given to 

us unless some higher up had great confidence in our work. 

Mrs. Marion Morton - 26 years with the District. Mrs. Marion Morton 

expressed her own feelings, and those of many others, when she stated: 

Always, during my career, I have felt most fortunate and proud to find 

myself in this organization. I felt myself part of a widespread and important and respected activity. I felt conscious of the privilege of working 

with so many admirable people. My feeling has not changed. 

May I add one reminiscent thought. I fully realize this is a different age, 

and the Corps and its works have increased many times over; howeverI can't help remembering those earlier days when we were smaller; not so 

highly organized; and we gladly did whatever needed to be done; our 

Orders and Regulations was the size of a desk dictionary, 10 chapters. 

When one visits the modern office complex now housing the Sacramento 

District offices, it's difficult to visualize those quieter, simpler days; when 

instead of a thousand employees, the Sacramento District employed only a 

handful of men and occupied a small room in a local hotel. 

The first "District office," established in the City of Sacramento, comprised a 

few hundred square feet in the Clunie Hotel located at 8th and K Streets. That 

was more than half a century ago. This small sub-office of the San Francisco 

District was home to the survey parties, snag boat crews and other "River 

Rats" who made the early attempts to improve navigation on the Sacramento 

River. 

VII 
OWEN G. STANLEY 

VIII 
OWEN G. STANLEY 

SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION, 1906 - 1952 

Born 21 September 1882 at Humeston, Iowa. 

AB in civil engineering, Leland Stanford 

Junior University, in 1906. Entered federal 

civil service as a draftsman for the California 

Debris Commission at San Francisco in July 

1906. He continued with the Corps when the 

CDC's organization took over District work as 

the third San Francisco Engineer District. 

(This later became the second San Francisco 

Engineer District and, in 1929, the Sacramento 

Engineer District). Worked as inspector, surveyor, civil engineer and, in 1919, became 

Senior Engineer of the Sacramento District 

with general supervisory authority over all office and field engineering design and operations. Served there until a standard district organization was adopted by the Corps around 

1936 which set up a separate division to prosecute engineering investigations and design. He 

remained in the Sacramento District as Chief, 

Operations Division, until 1939 when he transferred to the South Pacific Division Engineer's 

Office, San Francisco. He served there as Chief, 

Flood Control and Debris Control Section, Assistant Chief and Chief, Engineering Division, 

and finally special assistant to the Division Engineer, for civil works. He prepared and presented a paper, "Possibility of Increasing 

Navigability of the Sacramento River by Construction of Locks and Dams and the Beneficial 

Effects of Same Upon Irrigation" before the 

Sacramento River Problems Conference in 

January 1924. He represented the Corps on the 

Central Valleys Project Studies conducted by 

the Bureau of Reclamation in 1944. Thirteen 

committees covered separate aspects of the project; Stanley chaired the "Navigation" committee, was a member of several others. He participated in the U.N. Scientific Conference on the 

Conservation and Utilization of Resources in 

1949, presenting a paper entitled "Sedimentation", which he prepared jointly with Mr. E.W. 

Lane, Bureau of Reclamation. Mr. Stanley retired as special assistant in 1952 at the age of 70 

after more than 46 years of continuous professional service to the Corps of Engineers, over 33 

of which were devoted to Sacramento District 

projects. Mr. Stanley died in February 1966 at 

the age of 83. 

After utilizing space in the Clunie Hotel for about a decade, the "District 

Office" was moved across the street to the Nicolaus Building around 1924. By 

this time Owen Stanley had made many contributions to navigation and flood 

control in the Central Valley, and Henry Rich was celebrating his 14th year 

with the Corps of Engineers. 

In 1927, operations were moved up-town a few blocks to the Plaza Building 

on 10th Street. Then, two years later, the first official District Office of the 

newly established Sacramento District was set up in the California Fruit 

Building at 4th and J streets. The relatively few offices housed in the Fruit 

Building served as headquarters from 1929 through the first half of the Great 

Depression. 

The larger staff needed to prepare the flood control studies, plan the debris 

dams and complete the expanded work load of the Depression years, required 

additional working space. So, in 1935, the District Office was moved to the Old 

Post Office building at 9th and I Streets. During the latter part of the thirties, 

the District continued to grow, primarily because of the added work force 

needed to complete the famous "308" studies. 

The responsibilities of war-time construction meant yet another move for 

District personnel. New office space was secured in the Wright Building in 

December, 1941. The Sacramento District was headquartered there until its 

IX 
most recent move, in 1961, to the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse located at 650 Capitol Mall. In addition to those buildings that have been "home" 

to the District Office, many other buildings have accommodated various divisions and branches of the main office. The Sacramento Signal Depot, the 

McClatchy Building, the Brinley Building, the Scampini Building, Bryte Yard 

and various other sites throughout the Sacramento area have been utilized to 

house elements of the District. 

For many years, the unofficial District Office was "Frank Fat's", a downtown 

restaurant. Used often as a place for social gatherings of Corps people, it was 

also the place where knotty problems were solved. Many seasoned veterans 

recall the days when small groups of men would go down the back stairs of the 

Wright Building, through ~the back door of "Frank Fat's," past the pots and 

pans in the kitchen, and settle down over a "mild libation" to hammer out, 

informally, that which didn't lend itself to polite discussion. 

Not only the times and places, but the men and women directing the District 

in years past, have set the mood, established the climate, and defined the 

procedures of a given era. Prior to the official establishment of the District in 

1929, men like Owen Stanley, and Division Engineers in San Francisco such 

as Jackson and Grant set the pace and directed the activities of the Corps of 

Engineers in the Central Valley. Since that time however, the Sacramento 

District has been directed by a wide variety of competent, local personalities: 

Henry Rich, a diamond in the rough, could always be counted upon when the 

going got tough; Henderson McGee, known as the professor, who somehow 

managed, in a calm and quiet way, to bring order to a chaotic situation; Amalio 

Gomez, O. Haven Hart and Frank Kochis, professional engineers who could 

cut through the bureaucratic clutter and got the job done. 

The miliary leadership of the District has always been brilliant. Besides 

being capable officers, they often displayed the warmer, human sides of their 

natures. During the war years, Colonel R.C. Hunter was known as a man who 

could accomplish any mission, "no matter what". On the other hand he is 

remembered as being an extremely fair man, well liked by the civilian employees. Colonel Lester F. Rhodes is remembered as being an excellent bridge 

player. He was followed by Colonel Joseph Gorlinski, often called the "Count" 

because of his truly aristocractic manners. Colonel Alvin D. Wilder, it may be 

recalled, was a natural poet and song writer, who gave the District the beautiful ballad entitled "Frankie, Frankie Kochis, King of the Two Top Floors". 

(Sung to the tune of Davy Crockett.) Many District employees remembered 

Colonel Robert Mathe as being a loud singer and a terrible guitar player, with 

the ability to make friends easily. Colonel Crawford Young is said to have been 

a born fighter, a good man to have on your team. It was felt that he acquired 

his excellent characteristics while playing football at West Point. He was a 

blocking back, which allowed his teammates to score. He is also remembered 

as a pretty fair golfer. 

The Sacramento District has been extremely fortunate in having been 

served by exemplary leaderships, both military and civilian. But it must be 

remembered that the District functions and accomplishes its missions through 

cooperation and teamwork. The excellent reputation gained and held by the 

Sacramento District is the result of many people in small elements of the 

organizational structure who put their total effort into their work. It is a team 

x 
enterprise from start to finish. 

The preparation of the history of the Sacramento District was made possible 

by this same kind ofteam spirit. General George B. Fink, South Pacific Division Engineer, Colonel Frederick G. Rockwell, District Engineer, and Colonel 

James C. Donovan, immediate past District Engineer, have demonstrated 

complete cooperation in this project. Many civilian employees, presently 

employed or retired, have also given freely of their time and energy to insure 

the successful completion of the history. Listed in alphabetical order, they are 

as follows: 

District Employees: 

Don Adams, Roan Aicklen, Laura Asay, Helen Bennett, Carl Greenstein, 

Pat Guthrie, Lynn Henson, Les Houde, Wanda Hunt, Oscar Johnson, Marv Le 

Fohn, John Mathews, Lee Mull, Mildred Oulicky, G.W. (Bud) Probasco, George 

Rivera, Jack Ross, Bob Simmons and George Weddell. 

Retired Employees: 

Ray Barsdale, Jim Coombs, Claude A.J. English, Amalio Gomez, Clyde 

Gorman, O. Haven Hart, Sam Kahiona, Frank Kochis, Henderson McGee, 

Robert Morley, Marion Morton, Henry Rich and Ronald Thompson. 

XI 
The Sacramento District, United States 

Army Corps of Engineers, while not yet a 

half-century old , enjoys a heritage deeply 

rooted in the history of the West. For more 

than a hundred years engineering officers have 

been engaged in military and civil works projects throughout the region presently within 

the perimeter of the Sacramento District. 

Prior to the war with Mexico, John C. Fremont, a Corps of Engineers officer, explored 

and publicized much of the area. Of Fremont's 

five expeditions, the second and third were 

most significant. During the second, in 1843 

and 1844, he came west by way of Bent's Fort, 

Colorado, South Pass, Wyoming, and the Oregon Trail to the Dalles; then south along the 

eastern side of the Cascades and the Sierra 

Nevada, and then across the Sierra in the dead 

of winter by way of Carson Pass. He and his 

men lingered at Sutter's Fort for a month to 

regain their strength before continuing their 

journey. After securing fresh horses and 

supplies they headed south through the San 

Joaquin Valley, crossed Tehachapi Pass, followed the Old Spanish Trail into southern 

Utah, and returned to the States by way of the 

Sevier River, Utah Lake, the headwaters ofthe 

Grand and Arkansas Rivers and finally Bent's 

Fort. 

The spring of 1845 found "The Pathfinder" 

on the trail again with a contingent of sixtytwo men. He proceeded to Salt Lake and then 

made his way to Walker Lake by way of the 

Humboldt Valley. With winter fast approaching, he decided to take fifteen of his men over 

the mountains to Sutter's Fort, and ordered 

Joseph Walker to lead the main party across 

the Sierra by way of Walker Pass. Failing to 

find their previously determined rendezvous 

point, Fremont went on to Yerba Buena (San 

Francisco) and Monterey and eventually joined 

his main force in the Santa Clara Valley. Fremont obtained permission from the Mexican 

authorities to remain in California for the rest 

of the winter on the condition that he and his 

men remove themselves from the coastal area. 

With destiny stirring in his soul, he stayed on 

at Monterey, ignored the Mexican authorities 

and eventually became deeply embroiled in 

CHAPTER I 

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 

LIEUTENANT 

JOHN C. FREMONT 

Western troubles, which eventually tinctured 

his celebrated career. And while enthusiastic 

biographers came to pay excessive homage to 

the once obscure lieutenant of topographical 

engineers, he nonetheless established the 

Corps of Engineers quite firmly within the territory, history and mythology of the west. 

Once the question of who owned California, 

and much of the Southwest, was decided, increased numbers of military engineers were 

stationed in the West. In 1846 Lieutenant 

H.W. Halleck (later General-in-Chief of the 

Armies of the United States, 1862-64) was assigned as engineer for military operations on 

the Pacific Coast. Arriving in San Francisco in 

1847, he was appointed Secretary of State for 

California as part of the military government. 

In addition he was charged with the responsibility of carrying out engineering studies for 

the defense needs of the region. 

The next year the Pacific Coast Board of En1 
gineers was created to survey the coastal area 

to focus particular attention on fortification of 

San Francisco Bay. From the mid 1850s until 

the outbreak of the Civil War, Army engineers 

were occupied in building posts and fortifications to protect the area in the event of attack. 

Alcatraz and Angel Islands were fortified. 

Work was also begun on Forts Point, Winfield 

Scott, and Mason while batteries were placed 

on Lime Point. 

Throughout the .decade preceding the outbreak of civil war the heterogeneous population that clung to the shore of the bay busied 

itself with the feverish quest for gold and with 

speculation in commodities and real estate. 

When news of the war arrived in California, 

the citizens rallied to the Union cause and contributed heavily of men, money and materials. 

Some sixteen thousand troops were raised in 

FORT POINT, CA 1869 

Photos from 6th U.S. Army collection 

2 

California during the war. In the main they 

served to free regular seasoned troops for the 

decisive campaigns of the Union Army, their 

chief service to the Nation being the defense of 

the vast western frontier. 

In addition to their strictly military role, engineer officers participated in the surveys and 

construction of the first continental railroad. 

Without the loan of such trained personnel, 

completion of the western railroads may well 

have been delayed half a century by the dearth 

in America of qualified engineers. 

Eventually engineering explorations in the 

far west became focused on two basic objectives: the location of suitable passes through the 

Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges and the determination of a route that would connect 

California with the Northwest. In the summer 

of 1853 Lieutenant R.S. Williamson led an ex-
SAN FRANCISCO H ARBOR . 

I' !J 

3 
pedition south from Benicia (then the state 

capital) into the San Joaquin and Tulare valleys for the purpose of exploring all of the passes in the southern Sierra. 

Williamson, in the company of Lieutenant 

H.L. Abbott of the Topographical Corps, led 

another survey party north through the Sacramento Valley during the spring of 1855. 

When completed the surveys and explorations 

indicated that two possible routes existed between California and the Northwest settlements, one east and another west of the Cascades. The only real obstacles discovered were 

a series of ridges between the Sacramento and 

Des Chutes valleys which could be readily circumvented by means of passes that turned 

their flanks in either direction. 

As an added bonus to the valuable railroad 

data collected, the Williamson-Abbott surveys 

disclosed new agricultural possibilities in the 

little known country between California and 

the Columbia River. Moreover, they painted a 

much more favorable picture of western climate and resources for federal policy makers 

than those who had earlier labeled the region, 

"The Great American Desert." 

Another area of concern to the engineering 

officers stationed on the coast, and to the civilian population as well, was the lack of roads. 

Western congressmen, led by John B. Weller of 

California, placed the blame on the Army 

Corps of Engineers for not providing proper 

transport facilities. Weller told Congress that 

the citizens of California demanded that a 

wagon road be pushed through from Missouri 

to California to aid immigration, serve the 

needs of defense and speed postal service. At 

the same time a colossal petition signed by 

75,000 Californians was presented to the national lawmakers asking that a military 

wagon road be constructed to California by 

way of Salt Lake. These efforts led to appropriations totaling half a million dollars for development of two routes, one north and one south, 

~ ~ . -

CHINESE LABORERS WORKING WITH PICKS AND SHOVELS AND DUMP CARTS 

BUILDING THE EMBANKMENT AND MAKING A CUT (MATERIAL FROM WHICH WAS 

USED TO FILL THE BANK) AT SAILOR'S SPUR, 80 MILES FROM SACRAMENTO IN 1866. 

IN THE BACKGROUND IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF CENTRAL PACIFIC'S 

SHELF-GRADING METHOD IN WHICH DIFFERENT TEAMS OF MEN WORKED ON 

DIFFERENT LEVELS TO SPEED THE WORK TO COMPLETION. 

(Southern Pacific Photo by Alfred A. Hart, official Central Pacific Photographer. 

Sacramento.) 

4 
from the midwest to the coast. And hot on the 

heels of the federal road appropriation came 

another measure most heartening to the advocates of overland transport. The Postmaster 

General was authorized to contract for six 

years at $600,000 a year for semiweekly postal 

service on a 25-day schedule from the Mississippi to San Francisco. 

As Secretary of War in Pierce's cabinet, Jefferson Davis felt that if the Army was to be an 

effective force on the frontier, the difficult 

problems of supply must be solved. More and 

better roads would certainly help. Davis even 

went so far as to experiment with camels to 

facilitate the movement of men and supplies. 

In the summer of 1855 Davis established the 

Pacific Wagon Road Office at San Francisco 

and appointed Major Hartman Bache of the 

Corps of Engineers to supervise activities. For 

the next several years, Army engineers constructed a rather extensive network of wagon 

roads throughout California and the West. 

When trying to secure funds for construction, 

the roads were justified primarily in military 

terms. Yet when built, they incorporated features not required strictly for military purposes. In the final analysis, they proved to be of 

tremendous benefit to both the civilian and 

military population of the far West. With the 

beginning of civil war, the troops involved in 

road construction were ordered east, and any 

project not deemed essential to the war effort 

was halted. 

Hostilities ended and the states bound east 

to west by double band of iron rails; the country's energies were redirected toward economic 

pursuits. Favorable governmental policies, 

boundless natural resources, a tremendous influx of people, a vigorous business community 

and a good bit of advertising helped transform 

California and the West into one of the most 

valuable pieces of real estate on the globe. 

Throughout the final quarter of the last century military activities of Corps of Engineers 

assigned to the Pacific coast fell into two 

categories: coastal defense and final subjugation of the Indians. At century's end, in the 

spring of 1898, the war with Spain erupted, 

UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SURVEY PARTY AT CACHE V ALLEY, 

UTAH,1871. 

5 
ARMY ENGINEERS CONSTRUCT PONTOON BRIDGE ACROSS JAMES RIVER, 

VIRGINIA, DURING CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 

making San Francisco one of the busiest ports 

in the nation. Ships, men and supplies went 

forth to assist Colonel Roosevelt and the Rough 

Riders capture San Juan Hill. By June 30, the 

first troops sailing from San Francisco for the 

Philippines had arrived in Manila Bay to support Admiral Dewey. 

It is important to note that until about the 

turn of the century, Corps of Engineers activities on the Pacific coast, both military and 

civil, were directed and supervised by the 

ranking engineering officer at San Francisco. 

This had been the case since 1866 when Major 

R.S. Williamson was appointed District Engineer for Rivers and Harbors of the Pacific 

Coast. 

Eventually military defense for the area 

would become the responsibility of the regular 

army, with military construction being handled by the Quartermaster Corps. By 1908 the 

area that was later designated the Sacramento 

District was almost evenly divided between the 

First and Second San Francisco Districts. 

Moreover, from 1908 until 1941 , the Sac6 

ramento District, regardless of nomenclature, 

performed a civil mission only. 

It is not a great exaggeration to assert that 

the Sacramento District's ci\'il works responsibilities began with Marshall's discovery of 

gold during the winter of 1848. For. the unique 

early development of the District was practically interwoven with the problems resulting 

from mining activities. Hence . if one is to follow the events that led to the formation of the 

District in 1929, one must be cognizant of the 

circumstances and ramifications of gold extraction within California. 

During the very early days of mining. requirements for gold reCO\'ery were quite simple. Whatever a man could bring with him, or 

manufacture at or near his claim, proved 

adequate to secure the easily worked alluvial 

deposits. But as the sands and gravels of the 

river beds were worked to exhaustion. the 

miners raised their horizons from the bottoms 

of metal pans and wooden boxes to the sides of 

the loft.\, canyons of the Sierra Nevada in 

search of the treasure's source. Here they en-
countered ancient stream channels filled with 

gold-bearing sand, gravel and rock. These tertiary deposits, so called because of the geological division of time during which they were 

formed, proved to be one of the richest sources 

of gold in the state. Profitable mining of these 

ancient channels, however, was dependent 

upon the low-cost removal of overburden which 

blanketed the valuable gravels. 

Anthony Chabot devised a system to uncover 

the gold that was as economical as it was simple. During the spring of 1852 he constructed a 

set of wooden penstocks near his claim on 

Buckeye Hill above Nevada City. A canvas 

hose was attached to the penstocks, and the 

water that poured forth from this ingenious 

device was directed over the soil to be mined. 

Chabot washed the overburden as well as the 

gold-laden gravels into the ditch which had 

been excavated in the bedrock. Periodically he 

would shut off the flow and "clean up" the gold 

which had collected in the natural sluice. Hydraulic mining had been born! 

Once the initial concept was implemented, 

methods and materials improved at breakneck 

speed. Wooden nozzles gave way to iron and 

steel, while sheet iron pressure pipe was substituted for rawhide and canvas hoses. Large 

amounts of available water were the key to the 

process. To meet the demand, extensive water 

systems were built until they cloaked the 

western Sierra in a web of flumes, canals and 

pipelines. At its peak, hydraulic mining 

utilized some 600 thousand acre feet of water 

per year. 

From its simple beginning, the hydraulic 

mining industry grew to gigantic proportions. 

It carried on its operations wholly without regard to what happened to the silt, sand and 

gravel after the gold was removed. Large-scale 

hydraulicking, while it produced great quantities of gold, also produced stupendous quantities of tailing, which became trapped in the 

river canyons of the mountains. During the 

early 1860s torrential rainstorms washed a 

portion of the stored-up debris out of the mountains and down onto the valley floor. 

Immediately a cry of protest arose from the 

farmers as the polluted water, "too thick to 

POWERFUL "WATER CANNONS" 

SUCH AS THIS RIPPED THE 

MOUNTAINS APART, AND SENT 

DEBRIS INTO THE RIVERS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers [C.E.] Photo) 

drink and too thin to plow," swept over their 

unprotected farms. By the early 1880s five 

hundred mines, representing an aggregate 

capital investment of $100,000,000, were sending an avalanche of debris down the rivers that 

all too often claimed fertile agricultural land 

as its final resting place. It is estimated that 

between 1852 and 1909 some one-and-one-half 

billion cubic yards of earth, rocks and sand 

were washed into the streams from the Sierra 

to the sea. 

Valley residents rose up in anger because 

each small rise in the water level meant a 

costly flood. Through the sixties, seventies and 

into the eighties, the atmosphere of hostility 

between valley farmers and mountain miners, 

caused by the constant creeping of the glaciers 

of debris, grew even more tense and bitter. 

Appeal to the legislature and the courts by 

the farmers was inevitable, and after many 

years of frustration and near victories, the agricultural interests prevailed. Finally, the 

7 
,.,. ...,:~. w - 1 ~J.~_..-. ~ 

- ~ 

\.~~ <.:. 

SMALL, PRIV ATEL Y CONSTRUCTED, DEBRIS DAMS SUCH AS THESE PROVED 

INEFFECTUAL IN THE FIGHT TO HOLD BACK THE FLOOD OF DEBRIS THAT WAS 

BEING WASHED INTO THE RIVERS OF THE WESTERN SIERRA. 

C.E.Photos 

8 
"giant was crushed without honor in its own 

country!" The major blow fell during 1884 in 

the form of the sweeping Sawyer Decision 

which enjoined the placing of mining debris in 

water courses which were tributary to navigable streams. Eventually the giant monitors 

were silenced and the flumes, canals and reservoirs rotted away; most of the towns that 

had been nourished by the industry died. 

Judge Sawyer's decision did not outlaw the 

hydraulic process, such. mining being quite 

legal if only the operator kept the refuse of his 

operation out of the drainage system adjacent 

to his claim. As viewed at the time, however, 

fulfilling such a requirement seemed impossible. Bootleg mining continued for a while, but 

it was merely a matter of time before the last 

nozzle was shut off. 

The Sierra, it seems, breeds a stubborn lot, 

for no sooner had the courts suffocated the industry than miners initiated efforts toward rehabilitation. Joined by those concerned with 

river reclamation and flood control, they were 

able to secure passage of a memorial to Congress in 1887 that asked for a complete federal 

investigation of both the debris problem and 

the possibilities of river reclamation. We must 

remember that even though hydraulicking had 

been shut down, the debris problem grew worse 

each year, and it would take yet another decade before the river beds ceased rising and 

began falling. 

In January of 1888 Congressman Biggs from 

Gridley, Butte County, introduced in Congress 

a bill that encompassed both concepts. The valley sought funds for reclamation, not new investigations of the debris problem, and protested the Biggs bill. On the other hand, the 

miners strongly supported the bill and forwarded petitions to Congress endorsing the 

proposed legislation. Finally in September of 

1888 the bill was passed, with a hundred 

thousand dollars being appropriate to provide 

for a commission of three Corps of Engineers 

officers to study the situation, and if possible to 

submit a plan whereby both mining could resume and reclamation of the rivers could get 

underway. 

The Commission investigated the problems 

for more than a year, then published its findings in February of 1891. The engineers believed that by constructing large, permanent, 

stone barriers across the major tributaries of 

the Sacramento River, debris could be restrained. Further, they recommended the 

building of brush wing dams in the river channels to force them to scour out the debris deposited by earlier mining activities. 

Shortly thereafter, a bill incorporating these 

recommendations was introduced in the House 

of Representatives by the recently-elected 

Congressman from Amador County, Anthony 

Caminetti. In the spring of 1893, President 

Harrison signed the Caminetti Act into law. 

As in the case with any compromise, neither 

side was completely satisfied with the 

Caminetti Act. The author of the legislation 

suggested that "the people ,of California do not 

yet realize what a tremendous advantage this 

bill is going to be to them. It is usually spoken 

of as a measure for the benefit of miners, but 

its provisions for the improvement ofthe rivers 

will be found to be still more important." 

His statement has proved to be valid. No 

amount of legislation would ever revive the 

hydraulic mining industry. On the other hand, 

river management, flood control, reclamation 

and navigation projects of every variety, with 

the exception of levees, throughout the Sacramento District had their beginnings with the 

Caminetti Act. 

9 
PHOTOS SHOWING EARLY HYDRAULIC MINING ACTIVITIES AT "MALAKOFF 

DIGGINGS" IN THE UPPER WATERSHED OF YUBA RIVER. THIS SITE IS NOW PART OF 

A 7,OOO-ACRE STATE PARK. 

10 
The interest of navigation, the problem of 

flood control, and the control and disposition of mine debris in and along the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and their 

tributaries, including also the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, are all inseparably connected. These matters are 

in (The) charge of the California Debris 

Commission. 

Quote from Annual Report of the Chief of 

Engineers-1914 

The Caminetti Act created a commission, 

consisting of three officers from the United 

States Army Corps of Engineers, known as the 

California Debris Commission. On June 8, 

1893, the Commission, with Colonel C.H. 

Mendell as president, met in San Francisco to 

assume its official duties. The officers were 

"empowered and required to adopt plans for 

improving the navigation of the Sacramento 

and San Joaquin Rivers, project and construct 

works for impounding detritus and preventing 

the deterioration of the rivers from the deposit 

of hydraulic mining and other debris, and devise means and issue permits for resuming and 

carrying on hydraulic mining operations under 

conditions that will not injure other interests 

in the State." 

Over the years nearly three thousand permits have been issued by the Commission to 

persons wishing to mine by the hydraulic 

method. It proved impossible, however, for private individuals to build and maintain water 

delivery systems and restraining works massive enough to enable industry to accomplish 

even moderate rehabilitation. Hydraulic mining was, and remained "as prostrate as a rural 

graveyard." Many years later, during the 

depths of the "Great Depression," a handful of 

militant visionaries convinced the federal government to become a party to a scheme that 

they believed would resurrect the fallen giant 

- hydraulic mining. These dedicated, wellmeaning romantics - characterized by small 

mountain businessmen, unemployed lumbermen, laborers, dirt farmers blown out of the 

dust bowl and weekend gold-seekers - secured 

passage of legislation which committed the 

CHAPTER II 

THE CALIFORNIA 

DEBRIS COMMISSION 

AND RIVER RECLAMATION 

California Debris Commission to the construction of high dams, similar in concept to those 

proposed in 1891, for the purpose of restraining 

hydraulic mining debris. 

During the late 1930s and early 1940s two 

such dams were constructed, but to date the 

amount of hydraulic mining accomplished 

within the District since completion of the 

dams has remained so meager as to be hardly 

measurable. By the time these concrete plugs 

were placed in the streams of the western 

Sierra, conditions favorable to rehabilitation 

were literally nonexistent. As we will examine 

this topic further in the next chapter, let us 

now turn our attention to the matter of river 

reclamation and flood control. 

During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth, 

swift, handsome and commodious sternwheelers regularly plied the inland waters between 

San Francisco and Sacramento. The river's 

edge near Sacramento was lined with docks, 

piers and wharves to accommodate waterborne 

traffic. The Helen Hensley, Pioneer No.2, 

Alice, Capital, New World, and Julia were 

among the scores of freight and passenger vessels that brought goods and passengers to the 

Capital City. By the turn of the century, upwards of one million tons of freight and three 

hundred thousand passengers were being carried annually by vessels of all classes. 

Moreover the distribution of grain, lumber, 

groceries, fruit, vegetables and merchandise of 

every description was, to a large extent, dependent on inexpensive water transportation. 

Lack of sufficient federal funds coupled with 

obstacles in coordinating monies appropriated 

by the State of California prevented the Commission from implementing meaningful navigation plans until around the turn of the century. Some survey work, snagging and dredging has been accomplished during the last 

quarter ofthe nineteenth century, but never on 

a scale that would clean the Sacramento and 

its tributaries of the accumulated muck clogging their channels and hampering commercial navigation. 

In 1875, Congress began making appropriations to improve the river. The objective sought 

11 
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, . . 

PORT OF STOCKTON . C.E . Photo ' CALIFORNIA 1855 
DOG DAYS AT DAGUERRE POINT DAM ON THE YUBA RIVER NEAR MARYSVILLE, 

CALIFORNIA, COME WITH THE HEA T OF SUMMER AS A LOY AL FRIEND COOLS HIS 

OWN BOTTOM WHILE KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE ON H[S YOUNG MASTER. 

DAGUERRE [S A SACRAMENTO DISTR[CT, US ARMY CORPS OF ENG INEERS, DEBRIS 

DAM. 

(US ARMY PHOTO by Les Houde, 1967) 

14 
was to improve the depths over the bars, generally by construction of wing dams, scraping, 

closing of crevasses or breaks in the levees, 

and principally to aid navigation by the removal of snags. From 1875 to 1899 operations 

were carried on under small reclamation projTRAINING WALLS NEAR DAGUERRE POINT DAM, DESIGNED TO HELP KEEP THE 

YUBA RIVER UNDER CONTROL. 

15 
... 

... ...... 

LEVEE CONSTRUCTION DURING THE EARLY DAYS. WITHIN THE SACRAMENTO 

DISTRICT, MEANT LONG DAYS AND A LOT OF MULE POWER. 

(National Archives Photos) 

16 
ects which proved themselves to be inadequate 

to the task of restoring the river. In 1899 a 

definite project for the improvement of the Sacramento was funded and work began in earnest to improve navigation. The project comprised a channel of seven-foot depth from the 

mouth of the river to Sacramento, a four-fo~t 

channel to Colusa, one three feet deep to Chico 

Landing, and "depths as practical thence to 

Red Bluff." 

For the next four years, particularly in the 

immediate vicinity of Sacra~ento, wing dams 

were constructed at right angles to the banks 

of the river in an effort to have the current 

scour out the main channel. In addition, overhanging trees were cut from the banks and 

limited dredging was done in an effort to maintain a clear and sufficiently deep channel during periods of low water. A new snag scow, the 

Tackle, was put into service in 1908 for the 

express purpose of working between Colusa 

and Red Bluff. Constructed of Oregon fir, the 

Tackle was 64 feet long, 28 feet wide, and drew 

but 3lh feet of water, which made it ideally 

suited to work in the shallow depths up river. 

While snagging, dredging and wing dam 

projects were being completed, the main emphasis was still directed toward halting any 

further debris from entering navigable waters. 

Hundreds of millions of cubic yards of detritus 

had been dumped into the Yuba alone (as much 

or more than all the other tributaries of the 

Sacramento combined). By 1905 the bed of the 

river near Marysville was at least 12 feet 

higher than it was before the days of hydraulicking. To prevent further encroachment of 

the flood of debris, the Commission constructed 

two barriers in the area where the Yuba 

emerges from its confined channel in the foothills. Neither proved adequate to the task of 

restraining the tremendous amounts of debris. 

During the great flood of March 1907, the barriers were breached and destroyed, allowing 

the debris to continue downstream. 

Two other structures of a more lasting nature were built by the Debris Commission as 

part of its general project for control of the debris in the Yuba River. These works were 

begun prior to 1910 and completed in 1935. 

Situated about ten miles upstream from 

Marysville, they consist of Daguerre Point 

Dam, which forms a storage basin for debris, 

and some fifteen miles of training walls designed to keep the river within definite confines. 

For the first decade of the twentieth century, 

progress toward reclamation of the inland 

waterways of the central valley, while well intended, was quite meager. As time went on it 

became increasingly evident that planning on 

a larger scale was essential if permanent and 

meaningful navigation, flood control and debris control projects were going to be completed. 

A.D. Foote, in a paper for the American Society of Civil Engineers, summarized the situation when he stated, ft ••• that work done for 

navigation alone is fatal to flood protection because it contracts the drainage channels in 

order to give depth at low water, and thus prevents the free passage of the floods. Works for 

irrigation alone take water needed for navigation. Mining is stopped because the debris fills 

the drainage channels and spreads over the 

farm lands. Drainage is blocked by the levee 

system built for flood protection; and to build 

levees for flood protection alone is hopeless." 

Antagonism among the varied interests of the 

V alley had to cease. Grain farmers were particularly anxious for reclamation. Foote believed that, "Fifty years of mishandling natural riches and spurning natural laws have so 

far injured it that now it may be said, in an 

economical or engineering sense, the Great 

Valley is lost to the world. The historic wheat 

fields have deteriorated until they are no 

longer of appreciable value to the state." 

It is true that many fields were producing 

only a fourth of what they had originally, but 

to suggest that the Valley was no longer of 

value was bending the truth quite out of shape. 

The state engineer, a bit more sanguine, believed, "The first requisite is a unification of 

purpose and harmony of effort among the varied interests involved." 

17 
HENRY HAYES WADSWORTH 

C.E.Photo 

HENRY HAYES WADSWORTH 

Sacramento District (2nd San Francisco District), 1905-1920. Born 13 January 1865, New 

Haven, Connecticut. He was graduated from 

Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University 

with special honors in 1886, at the head of the 

civil engineering section of his class. Appointed 

surveyor of the Duluth (Minn.) District, Corps 

of Engineers, 6 November 1896. Transferred to 

the San Francisco District 1 April 1905. Was 

commissioned a Major of Engineers in the U.S . 

Reserve Corps in the spring of 1917. Furloughed at his own request as chief assistant 

18 

engineer 14 July 1920. As a senior civilian engineering assistant, he had a prominent part in 

engineering studies and surveys wh ich led to 

the original adoption of the Sacramento Rit'er 

Flood Control Project (under the California Debris Commission ); the San Joaquin River Deep 

Water Navigation Channel to Stockton (under 

the San Francisco District!: and of the Retch 

Retchy u'ott',. supply for the city of San Francisco (under the Department of the Inter/or). 

Mr. Wadsworth died 7 July 1923 . 
U. S. ENG IN EER DEPART MENT 

DREDGE "SAC RAMENTO" 

20" SUCTION DREDGE 

BUlL T AUGUST 19 13 

After years of study, the Debris Commission 

in 1910 recommended a comprehensive plan 

that would improve navigation and provide a 

substantial measure of flood control on the 

Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Prepared 

by H .H . Wadsworth and known as the 

"Jackson Report" (Capt. Thos. H. Jackson was 

Division Engineer at the time), the plan called 

for the construction and enlargement of levees 

along the river banks and levees for artificial 

channels, called bypasses, to conduct the flood 

water in excess of the safe capacity of the river 

channels. Also included in the report was a 

recommendation to construct five weirs to discharge flood waters from the river into the bypasses, and the enlargement, by dredging, of 

the channel of the Sacramento from Cache 

Slough to Suisun Bay. 

Congress didn't adopt the entire plan at once 

but did approve the so-called "minor project" 

which provided for dredging in the channel of 

the Sacramento River below its junction with 

Cache Slough. To facilitate matters, a field office was established in the Clunie Hotel in Sacramento. From the Ellicott Company in New 

York, two long boom clamshell-type dredges 

were purchased, shipped to the delta, and assembled on the banks of the river. At about the 

same time, 1913, a storehouse, marine ways, 

and mooring areas were built at Rio Vista to 

service the dredges and snag boats operating 

throughout the area. Later, a pair of twentyinch suction dredges, christened Sacramento 

and San J oaquin, were built and pressed into 

service on the two rivers. By June 30, 1917, 

they had removed more than 24 million cubic 

yards of mud and debris from the Sacramento 

River below its junction with Cache Slough. 

As on the Sacramento, early-day navigation 

projects on the San Joaquin and its tributaries 

reflected inadequate funding and intermittent 

planning. The San Joaquin rises in the southern Sierra Nevada, flows down the western 

slopes of the range and southwesterly until it 

reaches the San Joaquin Valley near Mendota 

where it turns and flows northwesterly to 

19 
PORT OF STOCKTON-1920s 

Suisun Bay. During the final quarter of the 

last century, because of the poor condition of 

the river, only light-draft steamboats operated 

on the upper reaches of the river and then only 

during high and mean water. Before improvements were made, the main channel and the 

Stockton channel below the city were extremely crooked and quite difficult to navigate. 

Above Stockton, the river was obstructed by 

snags and numerous bars. 

Beginning in 1874, surveys, plans, and appropriations were made for the improvement of 

navigation throughout the Stockton region, 

specifically Mormon Channel, Stockton Channel, the harbor area adjacent to the city and 

the upper reaches of the San Joaquin. As the 

Capital City became the practical head of 

navigation of the Sacramento, so Stockton became the commercial navigation center for the 

San Joaquin Valley. 

By 1907 enough surveys had been completed 

throughout the San Joaquin that men of vision 

began to realize that the San Joaquin and Sac20 

ramento Rivers must be developed as a vast, 

single unit if full utilization and protection 

were to be achieved from and for the area. 

Beginning in 1907, the two areas, while not 

completely defined, were combined into a unit 

known as the Second San Francisco District. 

During 1910-11 the "Second San Francisco 

District" was enlarged to include both river 

systems, and redesignated "Third San Francisco District." Prior to this date the Stockton 

area was officially a part of the "First San 

Francisco District." In addition, the Jackson 

Report outlined projects applicable to both 

river systems. Moreover, in 1912 authorization 

was given to afford the City of Stockton better 

harbor facilities, to be accomplished by dredging Fremont Channel and McLeod Lake to a 

depth of nine feet, and, as was done on the Sacramento, wing dams were placed in the San 

Joaquin to center the flow in the main channels. Because the river was so crooked, seyeral 

cut-offs were likewise dug to straighten the 

waterway in order to facilitate navigation. 
Even though the District had a new name, 

the type, quantity and value of work undertaken remained basically unchanged from that 

which it had been doing for years. Throughout 

the years prior to the first World War, the engineers of the District continued surveying, 

planning, and completing projects demanding 

ever-increasing skill and sophistication. 

During the war years, the workload of the 

District increased. In addition to utilizing the 

Seizure, Tackle, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and 

the newly constructed B ear (governmentowned boats), the District found it necessary to 

let contracts for much of the work to be accomplished. 

From the Olympian and Ajax Dredging 

Companies, the clamshell dredges, Atlas, Hercules, Thor and Delta , were secured. Together, 

they were utilized to build levees, make cuts to 

straighten the channels and dig new ones. 

By combining initiative, imagination and 

hard work the District's engineers greatly improved navigation on the inland waterways, 

SNAG BOAT BEAR 

C.E.Photo 

and at the same time provided a substantial 

measure of flood control for Valley residents. 

By the end of the war, the cities of Stockton 

and Sacramento owed much of the prosperity 

to the tireless efforts of the engineers. 

Stockton's harbor facilities were greatly improved. Some 31,000 linear feet of water front 

were available, with 800,000 square feet of 

warehouse storage space for goods shipped to 

and from the Stockton area. 

Sacramento suffered from a lack of sufficient 

facilities, even though 4,734 linear feet of 

wharves and 201 ,000 square feet of warehouse 

space were available for cargo handling and 

storage. In addition, other facilities lined the 

west bank of the river near the city. 

Improved navigation not only brought prosperity to the cities, but aided in maintaining 

inexpensive water rates and promoted agricultural development throughout the Valley. 

While debris control and navigation projects 

were being realized, the federal engineers were 

cooperating with state and local agencies to 

21 
"l> !4,"~ , 

. #'~~:E~ . ~~f-;.-~ --.; :-" 

J I 

<, • - ~ , f ' 

STOCKTON CHANNEL - APRIL 12, 1926 - DREDGE TENDER FALL, FOREGROUND. SNAG BOATS YUBA AND 

BEAR ALONGSIDE A PILE DRIVER, BACKG ROUND. NOTE HOUSEBOATS ALONGSIDE; THIS IS WHERE THE 

CREWS LIVED. 

C.E .Photo 
formulate, integrate and prosecute plans for 

complex flood control projects throughout the 

Valley. In the main, the works contemplated 

were being de singed with the historical floods 

of 1907 and 1909 in mind. While neither discharged as much water as the flood of January 

1862, they were the largest and only floods for 

which accurate stream flow records were 

available. 

The State of California demonstrated a 

cooperative spirit by adopting the Jackson Report (1910) and at the same time created the 

Reclamation Board. The Board had the power 

to require all future plans of reclamation to 

conform to this report, with such modifications 

as might be deemed necessary. 

Prior to the passage of the act creating the 

Reclamation Board, it was held that a man had 

as much right as the next to reclaim his land in 

whatever fashion he deemed appropriate. A 

report of the Reclamation Board in 1912 defined pre-existing conditions rather succinctly: 

Under the conditions obtaining up to 

the date of passage of this act owners of 

property anywhere in the basin were at 

liberty to reclaim practically as they 

pleased, with various boards of supervisors, acting independently of each 

other, might see fit to impose. Such restrictions rarely considered the interests 

of any save immediate neighbors. In consequence, each small reclamation unit, 

instead of acting along a general plan 

which would secure safety for all, was intent only on saving itself. It really levied 

against its own neighbors, and looked for 

its own safety through their destruction. 

The flood plain steadily rose because increased reclamation confined the waters 

more to the river channels, and there 

were no bypasses to rapidly carry off 

floods and no width of channel at the rivers mouth sufficient to discharge them. 

Levees steadily increased in height, adding additional burden to the land. The 

inevitable end, with a river channel at 

and below Sacramento City with a capacity of but 100,000 second-feet, and record 

floods of 1907, which, if in crest at the 

same time, would have sent 600,000 

second-feet down to tide water, must be 

annual destruction or over-topping of 

levees with enormous consequent damage, and perpetual danger for all interests 

in the valley. No possible levees could 

prevent this result. 

FRANK E. FREY 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, 1902-1936 

Born 13 June 1874 at Vallejo, California. Received his BS in civil engineering from the University of California in 1898. Appointed as surveyman in the Sacramento District in 1902. 

Was in charge of the construction of the restraining barriers on the Yuba River Built 

under the jurisdiction of the California Debris 

Commission from January 1907 to May 1918 

when he resigned to enter private contracting. 

He was in charge of the sub-district of the Sacramento District at Rio Vista from 1919 to 

1935. He supervised dredging of the Sacramento River from the lower end of Steamboat 

Slough to Collinsuille with contract dredges 

and with the Government dredges San Joaquin 

and Sacramento, which were constructed specifically for this work on the Sacramento River 

Flood Control Project. He transferred to the San 

Francisco District 3 February 1936. Was area 

engineer in charge of the job of creating Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, used as the 

site of the Golden Gate International Exposition. This work was accomplished largely with 

dredging equipment of all types available on the 

Pacific coast at that time, including the San 

Joaquin and Sacramento which were transferred from the Sacramento District. After that 

job, his services were utilized by the South 

Pacific Division Engineer on matters pertaining 

to dredging work carried on by the Division. In 

September 1940, he was placed in charge of 

dredging and construction incidental thereto at 

Midway Island. He retired from the South 

Pacific Division office as Senior Engineer (civil) 

30 June 1944. Mr. Frey died 11 September 

1948. 

By 1915 the plan, as developed by the District's engineers and adopted by the state, was 

23 
FRANK E. FREY 

C.E. Photo 

24 
PADDLE WHEEL BOATS TOW A DREDGE UP THE SACRAMENTO RIVER - AUGUST 1927 - NOTE THE DREDGE 

TENDER ALONGSIDE. 

C.E.Photo 
well under way. In the Yolo Basin some 21 

miles of the east levee had been constructed, 

and another twenty miles had been planned 

and approved. When completed, about fortyone miles of levee would form the entire east 

levee of the Yolo Bypass. Several miles of the 

Sutter Basin bypass levees had also been completed. New levee districts were being formed 

so as to aid in the completion of the project, and 

legislation was pending to help bring the plans 

to fruition. The City of Sacramento voted bonds 

to the extent of $594,000 for the construction of 

the Sacramento bypass and weir to carry the 

floods of the Sacramento and American Rivers 

to the Yolo Bypass. 

In March of 1917, Congress finally adopted 

the Debris Commission's general plan of flood 

control for the Central Valley. From this point 

on flood control was added to the other federal 

activities on the Sacramento River and its 

tributaries. The Flood Control Act of 1917 deserves particular recognition, and is of significance, because for the first time Congress extended the federal flood control activity of the 

Corps of Engineers beyond the Mississippi Valley. Moreover, it affirmed the policy of local 

cooperation by providing that local interests 

should contribute substantially to construction 

costs. Further it authorized river surveys to be 

completed with a view toward flood control 

while requiring the Corps of Engineers to consider all other related water uses. That same 

year, Sacramento weir was completed by the 

City of Sacramento and levee construction 

prosecuted with vigor. Much of this construction was expedited during the years of 1917-

1918 in order to reclaim as much land as possible to increase food production for the United 

States and its allies during World War 1. 

Up to this period levee construction was an 

obligation of state and local interests. In the 

years following the war, landowners decried 

the burdensome costs of the levees. Some of the 

farmers actually went bankrupt. 

The Debris Commission was instructed to 

re-examine the projects and make appropriate 

recommendations. The Commission's study 

took the form of the "Grant Report." Just prior 

to publishing the report, the District was re26 

designated the Second San Francisco District. 

Prepared for the California Debris Commission in 1922, the report called for a general 

survey of San Joaquin River system from 

Fresno to the Delta. Further, to the relief of the 

farmers, it and other subsequent studies 

adopted during the twenties put the Corps of 

Engineers in the "levee business" on a large 

scale. 

From this point forward, the federal government, through the Corps of Engineers, 

would invest millions of dollars in levees, weirs 

and other flood control projects throughout the 

Valley. Funding was provided on a 50-50 basis 

with the State of California. 

All did not go as smoothly as it might have, 

however. Levee construction, especially in the 

delta region, was difficult because of the unstable conditions of peat soil. Often the sheer 

weight of a levee would cause the earth on 

which it rested to sink, causing a bulging up 

somewhere else. On other occasions the soft 

earth would topple into the water soon after it 

was placed on the bank. Wave action under-cut 

levees, and without warning entire tracts 

would be inundated, resulting in tremendous 

losses. At other times the peat soil, of which 

many delta levees were constructed, would literally become water-logged and give way, with 

disastrous consequences. 

The Grant Report itself was the focus of some 

controversy. Local Congressman Charles 

Curry wanted the work done by the California 

Debris Commission and in accordance with 

specifications of the report. On the other hand 

there was disagreement on the part of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE) in Washington. The Congressman got his way, the disagreement by the Office of the Chief of Engineers was overridden, and the work was done 

by the California Debris Commission in accordance with specifications set forth in the report. 

From the early twenties, the California Debris Commission received fewer and fewer 

projects, with the bulk of the workload being 

transferred to and supervised directly b~' the 

Second San Francisco District engineers. And, 

while the twenties "roared" for many, river 
traffic, particularly during the early twenties, 

suffered a conspicuous decline. Several dry 

years followed one after the other. Expanded 

irrigation projects took vast quantities of 

available water from the rivers, until, in many 

areas, the Sacramento and San Joaquin were 

little more than isolated puddles. With inexpensive water transportation curtailed, farmers turned to the railroads and trucks to move 

their produce, which fqrther damaged the 

navigation companies. Then in March, 1925, 

the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Power 

Commission were directed to prepare and 

submit to Congress cost estimates for surveys 

of navigable streams where 

... power development appears feasible 

and practicable, with a view to the formulation of general plans for the most effective improvement of such streams for the 

purpose of navigation and the prosecution 

of such improvement in combination with 

the most efficient development of the potential water power, the control of floods 

and the needs of irrigation. 

In April of the next year Major General Taylor, 

Chief of Engineers, and O.C. Merrill of the 

Federal Power Commission, through the Secretary of War, sent to Congress "A letter ... 

showing all navigable streams upon which 

power development appears to be feasible and 

the estimate of cost of examinations of the 

same ... " Included on the list of twenty-four 

major streams (or stream groups) to be studied 

were "Streams emptying into the Pacific Ocean 

south of Columbia River as follows: Eel, Mad, 

Klamath, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Kern." It 

was estimated that $420,000 would be needed 

to prepare the cost estimates for these rivers. 

House Document 308, as the report became 

known, launched and guided the most extensive study of the nation's and Sacramento District's water resources undertaken to date. 

The following year, the extensive and fundamental River and Harbor Act of 1927 

charged the Corps of Engineers with the responsibility of completing the surveys recommended in House Document 308. 

From the standpoint of water resources 

development, the studies were of enormous 

impact. For the first time in history, the 

streams of the entire nation would be inventoried with a view toward integrated development. It is probable that the increased amount 

of work generated by the 1927 Act was the decisive factor in the establishment of the Sacramento District only two years later, in 1929. 

With the change in policy regarding levee 

construction, the Second San Francisco District expanded its work force, prepared new 

projects and revised existing ones. During the 

late twenties, improvements (and modifications) were made to the Feather River Project, 

the Sacramento River Shallow Draft Channel 

and the Sacramento River Flood Control Project. Included in the latter were hundreds of 

miles of levees which protected hundreds of 

thousands of acres of rich farm land. 

The Stockton Deep Water Channel was also 

authorized during this period. Since 1876 

navigation projects had been prosecuted on the 

San Joaquin River, but it was the 1927 Rivers 

and Harbors Act that finally incorporated 

plans for a deep water channel from the Bay 

Area to the City of Stockton. 

With the change in basic policy and the increased workload of the area, by 1929 responsibility was transferred from San Francisco 

and given to the newly-created Sacramento 

District. 

HENRY M. RICH 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, 1910-1949 

Born 14 August 1889 at Wheatland, California. 

Attended Vander Naillen and Healds Technical Colleges in San Francisco and prosecuted 

various extension courses offered by the U niversity of California. Worked on public land surveys for the Fageol Truck Co., Oakland, and as 

a leverman on gold dredges at Hammonton, 

California. Entered Government service in 1910 

and worked as a surveyman and field 

draftsman on the general surveys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys being performed by the Corps. Was placed in charge of 

snag boat operating on the Sacramento and San 

Joaquin rivers in 1915. Was commissioned a 

Lieutenant of Engineers in World War 1. Took 

27 
HENRY M. RICH 

C.E. Photo 

28 
charge of the Sacramento sub-office of the Second San Francisco District in 1919, building 

levees and {lood control weirs and maintaining 

the Sacramento River navigation channels. 

When the Sacramento District was formed in 

1929, he retained his position as chief of the 

Sacramento sub-office and in 1940 became 

Chief, Construction-Operations Division, Sacramento District. He became Chief Civilian Engineer and special assistant to the District Engineer in 1942, continuing in this capacity until 

1949 when he retired. 

Mr. Rich's exceptional ability to get things 

done was invaluable to the Sacramento District, 

particularly during the accelerated construction 

period of World War II. He would try anything 

once, and then a second time to see why it hadn't 

worked the first time. Henry may not have 

known the meaning of "essayons", but he certainly operated by this credo. Mr. Rich died in 

1974 at the age of 85. 

29 
LTC. T. H. EMERSON, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, AUGUST 

1928-SEPTEMBER J 929 

C.E.Photo 

30 
F or all intents and purposes the boundaries 

of the Sacramento District, for many years 

after establishment in 1929, corresponded to 

those of the Great Central Valley of California, 

an area occupying about 35% of the entire 

state. During the District's formative years, 

the economic base of the area rested upon agriculture. Even though the region contains little more than a third of the state's total area, in 

excess of 60 percent of the state's arable land 

was found there. In 1930 the estimated value of 

the land, buildings, equipment and live stock 

utilized by those engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the Valley was approximately fifteen billion dollars. 

During the early 1930s the Central Valley 

along with the rest of the country sank to the 

depths of economic depression. In a desperate 

and at times pitiful struggle to survive, the 

farmers attempted to irrigate as much land as 

possible. These efforts coupled with years of 

subnormal run-off only complicated an already 

deteriorating situation. 

Conditions were particularly acute in the 

San Joaquin Valley. Years earlier as surface 

water supplies became exhausted, the farmers 

tapped the water stored beneath the Valley 

floor. These subterranean waters were so plentiful that, as long as California was sparsely 

settled, extractions from wells made hardly a 

noticeable difference in water levels. After 

each rainy season the levels rebounded to their 

previous highs. Little wonder those who dipped 

the water out thought of ground water as a 

continuous, limitless supply. 

During the twenties and thirties, irrigated 

areas entirely dependent upon a supply 

pumped from ground water increased rapidly, 

though the water levels underlying the Central Valley receded steadily. In some areas, by 

1930, even the underground supply either had 

become exhausted or levels had declined to the 

extent that pumping costs became prohibitive. 

Another area of concern was the invasion of 

saline water into the Sacramento-San Joaquin 

Delta channels rendering the water unfit for 

irrigation, industrial or domestic use. As an 

extension of the San Francisco Bay system, the 

ebb and flow of tides made the channels vulCHAPTER III 

PROBLEMS AND PROMISES 

nerable to assault by ocean water. 

High rivers of winter and spring push the 

salty water towards the Bay, but as flows diminish in late summer and fall the saline waters filter upstream into the fresh water of the 

Delta. Diversion for irrigation greatly facilitates the intrusion of sea water. Salt water 

made its deepest penetration into the state's 

mid-section in 1931. During that recordbreaking period of low run-off the corrosive solution found its way up river as far as Stockton. 

Men have been seeking answers to the saline 

intrusion problem since they recognized it back 

in the 1850s. During the early 1930s they initiated positive measures to correct the ruinous 

situation. 

The Sacramento District Corps of Engineers 

was also concerned about impaired navigation 

on the state's inland waterways, a condition 

abetted and aggravated by extensive upstream 

diversions and abnormally low runoffs. Many 

an "old timer" recalls those days when the rivers above Sacramento and Stockton were as 

devoid of water as was "hell on a hot day. If a 

fish wanted to get from Red Bluff to Sacramento, he'd have had to take the train." 

Comparative commercial statistics validate 

such recollections. The value of products 

shipped on the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

Rivers during 1931 had tumbled some 30Clc from 

the previous year. A decline in tonnage as well as 

market value contributed to the loss of revenue. To the grain and orchard farmers "up 

river," it didn't make a bit of sense to load a 

boat that lacked the water to float it. In a report of the Board of Rivers and Harbors in February of 1931, Colonel Deakyne pointed out 

that "In the Sacramento Valley, irrigation has 

expanded to the point where it absorbs almost 

the entire low water flow of the river in years 

of subnormal runoff. This results in a serious 

handicap to navigation above Sacramento and 

permits the incursion of salt water into the 

delta channels ... " He went on to state that 

much the same condition existed in the southern San Joaquin Valley and added that, "The 

use of underground water has been so extensive that the water table has lowered to a point 

where many wells have gone dry ... " 

31 
On the other hand a flood of major proportion 

has, on the average, occured within the Sacramento District every seven years. With the 

exception oflevees and bypasses little had been 

accomplished to permanently stay the disaster 

that regularly visited the residents of the region. 

In the same report Colonel Deakyne restated 

the deplorable state of affairs brought on by 

unrestricted hydraulic mining, which not only 

caused serious difficulties to navigation but increased flood heights and flood frequency as 

well. Hence, it was apparent that the culprits, 

debris, drought, and flood, while tried and convicted, had not yet been apprehended and punished to the satisfaction of their victims. 

Other agencies besides the Corps of Engineers were also deeply involved in the search 

for answers to the inimical enigma: The Central Valley's water problem. The engineers of 

the Sacramento District cooperated fully with 

the State of California and the U.S. Bureau of 

Reclamation to make the development and 

control of the water resources within the Sac-

~ 

ramento District an integrated part of and a 

meaningful contribution to the successful 

management of water resources throughout 

the West. 

The State's water plan, as outlined by Robert 

B. Marshall, assumed rather definite form during the early 1920s. In the main, it called for 

the export of surplus water from the Sacramento River to the San Joaquin Valley by 

way of a series of canals and the construction of 

a dam across Carquinez Straits. By 1925 a 

more definitive proposal was submitted to the 

legislature which included several modifications to the earlier plan. Extensive study continued on behalf of the state until in 1933 the 

California legislature passed the Central Valley Project Act. 

Initially the Act proposed storage reservoirs 

at Kennett (Shasta) on the Sacramento River, 

Oroville on the Feather, Folsom on the American and at Parker on the Bear River. Additional water was to be supplied to the Sacramento River through a diversion tunnel from 

the Trinity River area. 

1 

LEFT TO RIGHT MAJOR J .R.D. MATHESON, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER; 

CAPTAIN WOOD; W.M. COFFEY, PROJECT ENGINEER; COLONEL ROBBINS, SOUTH 

PACIFIC DIVISION ENGINEER; OWEN G. STANLEY, CHIEF OF ENGINEERING 

DIVISION - SACRAMENTO DISTRICT. TAKEN BY HENDERSON MCGEE AT 

PITTSBURG, CALIFORNIA ON APRIL 14, 1930 TO COMMEMORATE THE INITIATION 

OF WORK ON THE STOCKTON DEEP WATER CHANNEL. 

(Photo courtesy HE. McGee) 

32 
The Corps of Engineers, while recognizing 

the importance of irrigation, reminded the 

state that federal laws gave priority to navigation and therefore sufficient water should be 

retained in the Sacramento River for maintenance of navigability. Delta farmers were also 

demanding high summer flows to curtail the 

severe damage from salt water intrusion, due 

in part to upstream consumptive use. 

Several schemes for financing the state 

water plan were explored without success. Finally, in the face of increasingly critical conditions of water shortage and economic distress, 

construction of the Project was authorized as a 

federal undertaking in 1935. 

The River and Harbor Act of 1935 (August 

30th) contained the initial authorization for 

the Central Valley Project. This initial authorization provided for construction by the 

Corps of Engineers. Just a month earlier the 

Public Works Administration Advisory Committee on Allotments recommended that $20 

million be allotted for the Central Valley Project. For a moment at least, it appeared as 

though the Sacramento District would design 

and supervise the construction of one of the 

most ambitious water projects in the country. 

Excitement and euphoria on the part of Captain J. G. Drinkwater, District Engineer, and 

the engineers of the Sacramento District was 

soon replaced by disappointment and disenchantment when it was learned that Franklin 

Roosevelt, by executive order, transferred the 

$20 million to the Department of the Interior. 

On September 16, 1935, Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior and Administrator of Public Works, announced that the Bureau of Reclamation was to build the first units of the 

Central Valley Project. 

It was Dr. Elwood Mead, Reclamation Commissioner, who determined the structures that 

were to be completed during the initial phase 

of construction. He suggested that a dam at 

Friant on the San Joaquin River and a larger 

one at Kennett (Shasta) on the Sacramento 

(the key unit of the project) would be the principal work undertaken. At the same time various canals, conduits and power transmission 

lines would be built as part of an integrated 

/' 

WALTER M. COFFEY, LEFT, 

HENDERSON E. MCGEE NEAR 

STOCKTON - SEPTEMBER 1930 

(P hoto courtesy H .E . McGee) 

system to provide flood control, electric power 

and water for irrigation. Controlled releases 

from Kennett Dam, it was hoped, would also 

halt the encroachment of salt water into the 

Delta. 

Although disappointed because of the rather 

novel shift in authority for the Central Valley 

Project, the Sacramento District continued to 

cooperate with the State of California and the 

Bureau of Reclamation. Over the years the 

District has actually constructed some of the 

vital components of the Central Valley Project. 

Meanwhile Sacramento District personnel, 

under the supervision of Major J.R.D. Matheson, District Engineer and O.G. Stanley, Chief 

of Engineering and Construction, continued 

working on four major projects: Sacramento 

River Flood Control, Sacramento River Shallow Draft Channel, Stockton Channel and 

33 
MAJOR J.R.D. MATHESON, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, SEPTEMBER 1929-

JANUARY 1932 

34 
SNAGGING 

POWDER MONKEYS - 1936. 

SAM KAHIONA, CENTER 

FRONT ROW: SAM NAIOLE, J. KAHIONA, 

BILL LINT, SAM KAHIONA 

BACK ROW: B. STEWART, M. FALL, 

JACK HILO - 1932. 

SNAGGING OPERATIONS WERE CARRIED ON BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW THE 

WATER. THE OFTEN DANGEROUS WORK WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY "POWDER 

MONKEYS" AND "HARD HAT DIVERS." WHEN SNAGS WERE TOO HEAVY TO LIFT 

OUT OF THE RIVER, DYNAMITE WAS ATTACHED TO BLOW THE OBSTRUCTIONS OUT 

OF THE WATER. ON ONE OCCASION THE CHARGE BROKE LOOSE AND ALMOST 

BLEW THE DIVERS OUT OF THE WATER INSTEAD OF THE SNAG. 

(Photos - Sam Kahiona) 

Suisun Bay Channel. Like his immediate 

predecessor Lt. Col. T.R . Emerson, Major 

Matheson directed the energies and skills of 

the District in a three pronged attack to improve conditions and expand facilities 

throughout the District. As before, the critical 

issues at hand were the needs of navigation, 

reclamation and flood control. In addition, the 

"308" studies were prosecuted vigorously during the early thirties, with initial recommendations being put forth in 1931. More than 

a dozen major projects would eventually be 

completed as a result of these in-depth investigations. All t he notable and indispensable. 

dams and reservoirs found in the Sierra foothills, built by the Sacramento District, had 

their beginnings with the "308" studies. 

It must be remembered that the District was 

formed just as the nation plunged into the 

worst economic depression it had ever experienced. Millions stood in bread lines, foreclosures put families in the streets, savings were 

wiped out in a matter of hours. Adding to the 

man-made misery, nature created a dust bowl 

of the nation's heartland. Countless refugees 

blown out of the dust bowl re-established 

themselves within the confines of the Sacramento District. To ease their burden, the 

35 
1929 - SAND DREDGER SUNK AT MOUTH OF AMERICAN RIVER. 

federal government spent billions of dollars to 

create jobs, stimulate the economy and restore 

a sense of pride in the people. 

When Major J .R.D. Matheson assumed responsibility for the District on September 11, 

1929, it embraced the drainage basins and 

delta waterways of the Sacramento and San 

Joaquin Rivers above their confluence at the 

head of Suisun Bay, and those parts of southern Oregon and of northwestern Nevada which 

constitute that portion of the Great Basin that 

tends to drain toward central Nevada. By the 

time Captain Drinkwater took command in 

February of 1932, the District was enlarged to 

include Suisun Bay. 

Under the able leadership of Matheson, 

Drinkwater and Wood,! the Sacramento and 

San Joaquin Rivers and the Delta and Suisun 

Bay received careful attention during the first 

half of the 1930s. The existing San Joaquin 

River-Stockton Deep Water Channel project 

lCapt. W.A. Wood, Jr. C.E. Acting D.E. J anuary 24, 1932 

to February 16, 1932. 

36 

was 97% complete by 1935. A channel 30-feet 

deep with bottom widths from 150 feet to 300 

feet had been provided for more than 40 miles, 

from Suisun Bay to Stockton. Beginning back 

in August of 1876, the Engineers had worked 

continuously (for almost 60 years) to 

straighten and deepen the natural waterway 

that leads to the very heart of the Great Cen· 

tral Valley of California. By building miles of 

levees, dredging millions of cubic yards of material, cutting off sharp bends, snagging, constructing wing dams and removing thousands 

of obstructions from the natural and manmade 

channel, the Engineers had provided a safe and 

swift thoroughfare for ocean-going vessels. 

Previously completed works in and about the 

Stockton-Delta area were also maintained. 

Work on the Sacramento River during the 

early 1930s was similar to that prosecuted on 

the San Joaquin. The existing project which 

made provision for a channel ten feet deep and 

from 150 to 200 feet wide had been maintained 

from the mouth of the river near Collinsville to 

Sacramento since its completion in 1931. Work 
on the Sacramento River began in 1875, and by 

the depression years the Corps of Engineers 

had studied, surveyed and examined the 

"River of Gold" until they knew all its problems and promises. They had leveed its sides, 

scraped and dug out its bottom, and made provisions to relieve the river of its excess water 

by allowing the floods to escape to bypasses 

through a system of strategically placed weirs. 

The shallow-draft channel was completed in 

1931, so that only maintenance work was 

needed for the remainder of the decade. The 

flood control work, however, has continued to 

the present time. The removal of tens of 

thousands of snags not only aided navigation, 

but allowed the river to flow with greater ease, 

thus adding measurably to its carrying capacity and thereby reducing the danger of flooding. In addition to dredging millions of cubic 

yards of mud, muck and debris from the river's 

bottom, hundreds of wing dams placed in the 

stream forced the Sacramento to scour out its 

main channel. These measures proved so effective that by 1935 the low water level of the 

river at Sacramento had receded to the same 

level it was in 1849, prior to the beginning of 

hydraulic mining. Even the low-water level of 

the Yuba River at Marysville had dropped eleven feet below its 1905 level. 

A modification was made in 1935 to the project (Act of 21 January 1927) which recommended the head of navigation be changed 

from Red Bluff to Chico Landing. Further, the 

River and Harbor Act of August 30, 1935, provided for a depth of six feet between Sacramento and Colusa, and five feet between 

Colusa and Chico Landing, provided that the 

flow of the river would be increased to a 

minimum of 5,000 cubic feet per second upon 

completion of the Kennett Dam and Reservoir 

(Shasta). Finally the federal government, 

through the Corps of Engineers, authorized a 

special direct contribution of $12,000,000 for 

the construction of the Kennett Dam. 

SACRAMENTO WEIR IN OPERATION. THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO IS IN THE 

BACKGROUND. 

C.E.Photo 

37 
The Suisun Bay Channel was another project substantially completed by 1935. The original work was adopted by the River and Harbor 

Act of March 2,1919, and authorized by the far 

reaching Act of 21 January 1927 and modified 

by the River and Harbor Acts of July 3, 1930 

and August 30, 1935. The controlling depth in 

the main channel is 30 feet, and 20 feet in the 

channel south of Seal Island. The widths of the 

channels are 300 feet and 250 feet respectively. 

Located about thirty miles northeast of the 

Golden Gate, Suisun Bay is an integral part of 

the waterways which provide access to inland 

ports from the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, the 

Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers form a 

junction and empty into Suisun Bay near Collinsville; New York Slough, a distributary of 

the San Joaquin, leads to the head of the bay at 

Pittsburg. This interconnecting link between 

San Francisco Bay and the navigation channels of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers 

permits transit of nearly all types of vessels. 

Under the provision of the River and Harbor 

Act of July 3, 1930, local interests were supposed to pay $20 thousand to deepen the channel across Bulls Head Point Shoal, but this requirement was voided when the project became 

a part of the Public Works program. 

In an effort to continue the orderly development of the nation's water resources and provide additional means of support for the millions still unemployed, Congress passed the 

Flood Control Act of June 22, 19362 A landmark decision by Congress, this far-reaching 

Act launched the "Benefit-Cost Ratio" concept. 

Section I of the Act provided 

. . . that investigations and improvements 

of rivers and other waterways, including 

watersheds thereof, for flood-control pur2public Law No. 409 - River and Harbor Act of 1935-

Section 6. Congress instructed the Corps of Engineerl' to 

update and continue the 308 investigations. "That the 

surveys authorized pursuant to section 1 to the River and 

Harbor Act of January 21, 1927, and House Document 

Numbered 308, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session, shall 

be supplemented by such additional study or investigation as the Chief of Engineers finds necessary to take into 

account important changes in economic factors as they 

occur, and additional stream flow records or other factual 

data." 

38 

1928 - STERN WHEELER "DOVER" 

HOMEW ARD BOUND WITH GRAIN 

FROM BUTTE CITY, CALIFORNIA 

(Photo - Sam Kahiona) 

poses are in the interest of the general 

welfare; that the federal government 

should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their 

tributaries, including watersheds thereof, 

for flood-control purposes if the benefits to 

whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs, and if the lives 

and social security of people are otherwise 

adversely affected . 

Regardless of the fact that the statutory directive was pertinent to only flood control improvements by the Corps of Engineers and the 

Department of Agriculture , it was soon 

employed by several other water planning 

agencies. Often as not, however, each agency 

adopted different and, at times, inconsistent 

criteria for establishing benefits and costs. As 

the decade of the thirties drew to a close, the 

Corps of Engineers, as well as other agencies, 

became increasingly concerned with the social, 

general, and potential benefits of a project as 
1927 - STERN-WHEELERS TIED UP AT BRODERICK; IN THE FOREGROUND "SAN 

JOAQUIN NO.2" 

THE "PUTAH" PUSHES A DREDGE UP THE RIVER - Ca. 1930 

(Photos - Sam Kahiona) 

39 
well as the economic and special advantages to 

be gained. 

Another important aspect of the 1936 Act 

was the method and amount of repayment to 

the federal government for improvements 

made for local agencies. Since the end of World 

War I the Chief of Engineers, when submitting 

reports to Congress, had been required to outline the expected local benefits and to suggest 

an appropriate degree of local participation. 

Over the years, levee districts, landowners, 

municipalities and states had provided money, 

lands, rights of way and terminals, but the 

waterways themselves were considered as free 

public highways, hence there was no provision 

for repayment of costs of a navigation project 

by tolls. This meant that the major commercial 

carriers of the Sacramento, San Joaquin and 

the other navigable rivers of the nation made 

no contribution to the development and maintenance of navigation improvements. But since 

the benefits accrued to the general public in 

the form of reduced shipping charges, the benefits were considered widespread and in the 

general welfare. 

Just as the 1927 Act was responsible for the 

establishment of the Sacramento District as 

such, the Act of 1936 proved to be the catalyst 

for expansion. All of the projects determined 

feasible by the "308" studies and the 1927 Act 

were now to be studied in depth with a view 

toward actual construction. The resultant modifications to the Sacramento District's staffing 

pattern was without precedent. To complete 

the surveys the District's personnel was multiplied more than fivefold. 

By the time the investigations could be initiated, it was late 1937. To recruit the additional manpower needed to complete the work, 

Major Bruce Hill, Chief of Engineering for the 

District, went to the University of California at 

Berkeley and offered to employ the top third of 

the graduating class of 1938 who had majored 

in civil engineering. Consequently, many of 

the 1938 engineering graduates at Berkeley 

joined the Sacramento District within a year or 

so. There were about twenty in all. Some remained for but a short time; others stayed for 

many years. Included among the latter were 

40 

Jack Barrish, Robert Cook, Randolph Dewante, William Doyle, Alfred Geandrot, 

Amalio Gomez, Toivo Panttaja, William 

Stecker, Ralph Stowell, Gerard Weeshoff, William Yallalee-, and Arnold Zimmerman. Most 

of these men were recruited by Major Hill 

through Professor B.A. Etcheverry of the University. When the first contingent arrived in 

Sacramento on 1 June 1938 and reported to 

Major Hill, some had naively assumed they 

had already been hired. They were somewhat 

taken aback to learn that they were only reporting for an interview. However, all ended 

happily, for after talking to them, Major Hill 

hired them all. This proved fortuitous; the 

group was the nucleus that provided the leadership that has made the Sacramento District 

one of the finest in the nation. 

The new recruits were assigned to several 

regional planning offices in Fresno, Carson 

City and Stockton. This group of men did an 

outstanding job, considering their limited experience and the abscence of established precedent in major flood control studies. 

Under the direction of Lt. Col. L.B. Chambers, appointed District Engineer in 1936, the 

extensive surveys were begun. Eventually 

they led to the authorization of some seventeen 

major projects within the District. 

1. Big Dry Creek Reservoir 

2. Isabella Dam and Reservoir 

3. Pine Flat Dam and Reservoir and Kings 

River Channel 

4. Success Dam and Reservoir 

5. Terminus Dam and Resen'oir 

6. Lower San Joaquin River and Tributaries 

7. Tuolumne River Reservoirs 

8. New Melones Reservoir 

9. Merced Coun(v Stream Group 

10. Bear Creek 

11. Farmington Resen'oir 

12. New Hogan Reservoir 

13. Sevier River 

14. Black Butte Resen'oir 

15. Folsom Resen'oir 

16. Sacramento River and Major and Minor 

Tributaries 

17. Table Mountain Reservoir (fran Canyon) 
The studies involved four basic considerations: 1. What is the best possible way to 

develop a river? 2. What will it cost? 3. Who 

should pay the bill? 4. Will benefits be greater 

than cost? 

By the time civil works planning was essentially suspended late in 1941, after Pearl Harbor, the survey reports were completed for 

most of the projects. This enormous amount of 

work was done in just three years, and the rate 

of output has not been equaled since. A 

member of this group has suggested, with some 

justification, 

... the reason the job was done so fast was 

that we knew so little about it. In retrospect, I like to think that it was principally 

due to the lack of written instructions 

from above. We were left relatively free 

and we did the best we knew how; and 

generally, though not always, our best 

was good enough. 

It would be difficult to exaggerate the boldness of the New Deal Congress which enacted 

the Flood Control Act of 1936. Such action was 

more in line with Doc Savage "The Man of 

Bronze," hero of the Depression's Youth, than a 

group of federal law-givers. The 1936 Act gave 

birth to two new concepts: 1. Benefits, both direct and indirect to the nation as a whole, and 

2. Flood Control on a comprehensive scale. 

Considering time and circumstance such conduct on the part of Congress, if not intrepid, 

was at least unprecedented. 

During the latter part of the thirties, District 

personnel, in addition to initiating the studies 

called for by the 1936 Act, busied themselves 

with new projects both large and small. Two of 

the lesser projects, Middle River and connecting channels, and the Old River work, were 

both completed prior to World War II. 

These waterways form a part of the complicated tangle of tidal channels, some natural 

and some artificial, that form the aquatic 

labyrinth known as the San J oaquinSacramento Delta. Middle River improvements were begun in 1930 and completed by 

1937. Channels nine feet deep and one hundred 

feet wide were dredged in Middle River, Empire Cut, Turner Cut, Whiskey Slough, and 

Latham Slough. (See Map) 

Middle River, a bychannel of the San Joaquin River, and a principal artery of the Delta 

maze, leaves Old River, another bychannel, 

above the city of Stockton and rejoins the main 

river below the city. Turner Cut enters the San 

Joaquin upstream from Middle River and is 

connected by Empire Cut to Latham Slough 

and Middle River. 

Old River, only twenty-eight percent complete (1973) and classified inactive, was authorized in the summer of 1937. The main 

channel is the most westerly of those into 

which the San Joaquin River divides as it 

meanders through the Delta. When and if 

completed the project will include a channel 

along Old River from its mouth near Venice 

Island to Lammers Ferry Road; a side channel 

at Orwood; a channel in Grant Line Canal; a 

channel through Doughty Cut to the Holly 

Sugar factory; a channel from Doughty Cut to 

the head of Old River; and for entrances to 

Fabian-Bell Canal. According to the latest 

data available, existing improvements in the 

Delta are adequate for present navigation 

needs. Even so, studies are presently underway 

to determine future needs for this important 

region. 

41 
LIEUTENANT COLONEL L. B. CHAMBERS, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, 

AUGUST 1935 - AUGUST 1940 

42 
HARRY L. ENGLEBRIGHT DAM ON THE YUBA RIVER. (Ca 1969) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
NORTH FORK DAM, ON THE NORTH FORK OF THE AMERICAN RIVER. 

CONSTRUCTION WAS INITIATED IN 1937; IT WAS COMPLETED AND IN USE AT THE 

END OF THE FISCAL YEAR 1939. THE RESERVOIR IS LOCATED ABOUT 5 MILES 

NORTHEAST OF THE CITY OF AUBURN AND 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF SACRAMENTO. 

THE DAM IS 155 FEET HIGH, 620 FEET LONG; THE RESERVOIR HAS A DEBRIS 

STORAGE CAPACITY OF 26,000,000 CUBIC YARDS. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE 

PROJECT WAS TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE RESUMPTION OF HYDRAULIC MINING IN 

THE TRIBUTARY WATERSHED FOR WHICH THE MINERS ARE REQUIRED TO 

REIMBURSE THE UNITED STATES ACCORDING TO THE DEBRIS CONTRIBUTED AT A 

SET PRICE PER CUBIC YARD MINED. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

44 
Probably the most exciting, controversial 

and impressive projects undertaken during the 

last years of the Depression were the debris 

dams built on the American and Yuba Rivers 

and the proposal for a deep-water ship channel 

from the Delta to Sacramento. As was pointed 

out earlier, the idea of mining by the hydraulic 

method was never really abandoned. The economic famine of the thirties was so complete 

that even the rehabilitation of the hydraulic 

mining industry was seen as a possible solution to put food in the bellies of the unemployed. 

Section 5 of the Act of 1893 (as amended) 

which organized the California Debris Commission directed the Engineers to "determine 

the utility and practicability ... of storage 

sites. . for the storage of debris or water or as 

settling reservoirs." From time to time the 

California Debris Commission had reported on 

the feasibility of constructing dams for the impounding of debris from hydraulic mining with 

a view to rehabilitating the industry. 

But just as in the old days, when the "flatlanders" got wind of what the "mountain folks" 

were up to they raised their collective voices in 

protest. They went so far as to hire an engineer, Otto von Geldern, to investigate the 

rehabilitation of hydraulic mining by the 

building of high dams. As might be expected, 

von Geldern's study revealed that resumption 

of hydraulicking meant certain doom for the 

Valley. 

In his report, he suggested that regardless of 

the economic conditions of the time, the whole 

matter revolved around the safety of the Valley and those who resided there. He pointed out 

that the reliability of such dams as those proposed could not be assured, nor could the effect 

of the fill on such structures be definitely 

known. Hence, such barriers would be a grave 

threat to the valley. 

Von Geldern held that the whole idea of rehabilitation was nothing more than a dangerous experiment. He recalled that similar structures had been used in the Alps and Appenines, but that not even these were of the 

"extraordinary dimensions and of such enormous voluminous capacity to hold back avCHAPTER IV 

THE DISPLACED 

AND THE DETERMINED 

alanches of debris" as those proposed for the 

Sierra. Finally, he believed it to be dangerous 

to "trifle with the great forces of nature which 

in geological ages have been brought to something like a stable equilibrium ... " 

Supporting von Geldern were others of note: 

Professor Robert Unser, Dean of the College of 

Mines of the University of California, and Ross 

E. Browne, a well-known mining engineer of 

the time. And, of course, reference could always be made to the landmark study done by 

Gilbert (Karl Grove Gilbert, Hydraulic Mining 

Debris in the Sierra Nevada, 1917). All believed hydraulicking was a menace to the public welfare. 

In summary, their arguments were: 1. High 

dams were dangerous; 2. Rehabilitation was 

financially unsound; 3. Only a few might prosper at the expense of thousands; 4. Future 

generations would suffer; 5. Reservoirs would 

fill and become useless; 6. The government, 

state or federal was not in the mining business, 

nor would it be sound public policy for either to 

be so; 7. Water was more important than gold 

for California; 8. New legislation would deprive the people of the right of injunction. 

Those favoring rehabilitation were just as 

dedicated to the merits of their cause. Probably 

James D. Stewart presented the case for the 

miners as well as anyone. He remarked, "I was 

born and reared within the sound of the roar of 

the hydraulic monitor and giant. My schooling 

and living has (sic) been wrested from the 

gravels of the hills I have always loved." 

Stewart disclosed that during the previous 

forty years, the damage suffered by the agricultural interests had been largely repaired, 

and in some cases the land had actually benefited from the debris washed out of the mountains. The hydraulic mining industry, on the 

other hand, had been wiped out and those endeavoring to rehabilitate the industry had met 

only sneers and scorn. 

Stewart complained further that while 

agrarian interests were violently opposed to 

state or federal aid to miners, they gladly accepted financial assistance. To the charge that 

hydraulicking would prove to be unprofitable, 

he suggested that this was a matter concerning 

45 
PERSONNEL - U.S. ENGINEER OFFICE, SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - MARCH 25, 1937 

INDEX 

First Row: Mr. A. A. Crofts, Mr. E. A. Brule, 

Major A. S. Ackerman, Lieut. Colonel L.B. 

Chambers, Major W.E. Harris, Mr. Owen G. 

Stanley, Mr. G. E. Goodall; 

Second Row: Mrs. Rose Gordon, Miss Alice 

Plummer, Miss Lola-Merne Willson, Mrs. 

Claire Frank, Miss Opal E . Fisher, Miss 

Katherine Maxwell, Mrs. Elsie M. Mann, Miss 

J essie Coleman, Miss Ada A. Arzig, Miss 

Josephine Bueler, Mrs. Maurine McArthur, 

Mrs. Marcella Ansell; 

Third Row: Mr. Harry J. Prince, Mr. Henry E. 

Thurston, Mr. William Goldsmith, Mrs. William H. Rice, Mr. Roy E. Lundquist, Mr. Nikonar A. Uteev, Mr. Rowland L. Egenhoff, Mr. 

Henry M. Rich; 

Fourth Row: Mr. Benjamin R. Plunkett, Mr. 

Ashton R. Codd, Mr. Strode L. Ely, Mr. William H. Rice, Mr. Henderson McGee, Mr. Arthur M. Balsam; 

Fifth Row: Mr. Jack L. Newman, Mr. Paul J. 

Verjbitsky, Mr. Curtis Greene, Mr. Carl A. 

46 

Behrens, Mr. James H. Kroh, Jr., Mr. C. Gordon Spalding, Mr. Milton Farley, Mr. Chester 

Cordano, Mr. Harlan D. Ellmaker, Mr. 

Franklin W. Murray; 

Sixth Row: Mr. Lesley D. Locey, Mr. Eskdale 

Newton, Mr. William R. Daniels, Mr. Ira J. 

Colwell, Mr. Ralph L. Merritt, Mr. Edward V. 

Metcalf, Mr. Horace Mann, Mr. John A. Bates; 

Seventh"Row: Mr. Ora S. Hoover, Mr. George 

F. Ricci, Mr. Edward W. Blackmer; 

Eighth Row: Mr. Erwin G. Dahneke, Mr. 

Michael J . Donovan, Mr. Oswald Speir, Mr. 

Myer Samuel, Mr. Francis G. Christian. Mr. O. 

Haven Hart, Mr. Robert Robertson, Mr. Willis 

C. Spaulding, Mr. Roy K. Sy·kes. Mr. Vance L. 

Young, Mr. Hershal L. Smith, Mr. DeWitt A. 

Dudley; 

Last Row: Mr. William Shearer, Mr. Lester 

Wall, Mr. William T. Thomas, Mr. Owen G. 

Stanley, Jr., Mr. V. A. Llopis. Mr. Lewis T. 

Smith. 
J 

UPPER NARROWS 

RESEnVOIR 

RIVER • 

° SMARTSVILLE 

• YSVILLE 

• NEVADA CITY 

o GRASS VALLEY 

OREST HILL 

° 

LINfCOL~-~BU:N .RAV,rl . NEWCASTLEo 

LOOMISo 

ROCKLINo 

ROSEVILLE C 

~ 

AMfRIClfAIR OAKS 

o 

. SAeRAMEt'JTO 

DEBRIS CONTROL RESERVOIRS 

~ SCALE o IN!. SM. 10M; 

47 
the hydraulickers alone. Stewart put forth a 

six-point program covering construction and 

repayment of the high dams: 

1. The state and federal governments make 

the necessary appropriations to build these 

dams. 

2. That these dams be built by, and be under 

the supervision of the California Debris CommISSIOn. 

3. That no dams be built on any stream until 

the hydraulic miners on that stream have filed 

a written petition with the California Debris 

Commission, asking that such a dam be built, 

and deposit sufficient funds with the Commission to cover the initial inspection ofthe project 

by the Commission's engineers. 

4. That the petition shall state how many 

cubic yards of gravel the petitioner expects to 

work. 

5. That no dam shall be built until the petitioners file an undertaking or bond that they 

will work the amount of yardage stated in their 

petition. 

6. That when the dam is built, they will file 

with the Commission a further bond to cover 

payment of the storage of the debris behind the 

dam. 

Further, he claimed tremendous direct and 

indirect benefits would befall the state if the 

dams were built and hydraulicking resumed. 

He predicted that a total of $600,000,000 could 

be directly recovered by hydraulicking. Some 

of the indirect benefits, he believed, would be 

more far-reaching than the direct. The debris 

dams would be an integral part of flood control, 

irrigation, salinity control in the Delta region, 

and the navigation plans of the state as a 

whole. Moreover, hydraulic work, performed 

during the winter months, would draw off the 

unemployed from the cities and farms, thus 

stabilizing the labor force. 

Evidence, argument and expert opinion was 

proffered, in abundance, from both sides causing the level of hostility to rise and the polarization of public opinion. Though defeated year 

after year, the supporters of rehabilitation continued the fight. Not since the turn of the century had hydraulicking received such scrutiny. 

or as much active support. 

48 

By the early thirties economic conditions 

provided added force and a sense of immediacy 

to the cause of the supporters. A two-pronged 

attack was initiated, one supporting flood control and the other easing the unemployment 

problem. The solution to both difficulties, according to the mining interests, was the building of high dams. 

As the economic crisis became more acute 

throughout the state, the voice of opposition 

became mitigated, and was finally overwhelmed. On the national level, Harry Englebright, Congressman from Nevada County, 

finally convinced Congress to aid in reviving 

the potentially profitable industry. In the 

summer of 1934 he was instrumental in securing an amendment to the Caminetti Act, allowing the construction of high dams, and on this 

occasion sufficient funds were appropriated to 

insure completion of the barriers. The federal 

government, in return, would be repaid by 

those using the dams. 

The individual, company, or corporation operating thereunder working any 

mine or mines by hydraulic process, the 

debris from which flows into or is in whole 

or in part restrained by such dams ., . 

shall pay for each cubic yard mined from 

the natural bank a tax equal to the total 

capital cost to the dam, reservoir, and 

right of way divided by the total capacity 

of the reservoir ... 

In August of the next year Congress approved a project for the development of storage 

facilities on the Yuba, Bear, and American 

Rivers having a total estimated cost of roughly 

seven million dollars. Four dams were to be 

completed, two on the American and one each 

on the Bear and Yuba Rivers. Because of a 

landslide and generally unstable conditions of 

the site, the Ruck-A-Chucky Dam on the Middle Fork of the American was never completed. 

Henry Rich remembers the "Ruck-A-Chucky 

Gold Rush". a slide from the abutment 

stopped the construction of this dam. After the 

slide some gold was discO\'ered, and a rush was 

on, stopping everything temporarily until the 

gold fever was over with. I m~'self did pick up a 

few nuggets I found while doing some panning, 
WALTER M. COFFEY 

WALTER M. COFFEY 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, 1917-1935. 

Born 9 September 1890 at Santa Barbara, 

California. Received his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of California in 1916. 

Was appointed as ajunior engineer in the Sacramento District on 15 October 1917. He was in 

charge of one of the three sub-districts of the 

Sacramento district from 1920 to 1935, with office headquarters at Stockton. During those 

years he was responsible for field supervision of 

all river and harbor maintenance and construction work on the San J oaquin River and its 

tributaries during his incumbancy, the preliminary surveys and the construction of the 

deep water navigation channel from Stockton to 

Suisun Bay were completed. Mr. Coffey retired 

from the federal service on 30 November 1935 

and died in 1950. 

49 
and later discovered I had approximately 

$190." Moreover, construction of the Dog Bar 

Dam on the Bear was delayed and finally 

abandoned because of litigation that prohibited operation of the most valuable mines in 

the drainage area. The same act that adopted 

the project also stipulated 

that work shall not be begun on any reservoir until the repayment of the capital 

cost thereof by the payment of taxes on 

materials hydraulically mined from the 

natural bank . . . is assured to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War. 

In addition to guaranteed repayment, the 

federal government required four other assurances: 1. That the gravels to be washed contained sufficient quantities of gold to justify 

mining, 2. That sufficient yardage existed, 3. 

That the owner had or could secure water 

supplies sufficient for operation, and 4. That 

the owner had sufficient financial resources to 

install the necessary equipment and hire the 

men to carryon operation. 

Almost three years passed before the necessary guarantees were finally secured. In a letter to the California Debris Commission dated 

March 25, 1937, J.P. Hall, President of the 

California Hydraulic Mining Association, informed Major Harris, C.E., that "sufficient 

guarantees have been filed with the California 

Debris Commission to guarantee the construction of the North Fork Dam ... " on the American River. Only thirteen days later, Congressman Englebright advised the miners that 

the guarantees and assurances had been accepted in Washington. 

Two debris dams (and reservoirs), the Upper 

Narrows on the Yuba and the North Fork on 

the American, were completed prior to United 

States involvement in the Second World War. 

Both are units of the Sacramento River Debris 

Control Project authorized by the 1935 River 

and Harbor Act. After the War, in the fall of 

1945 the Upper Narrows Dam was renamed 

the Harry L. Englebright Dam. By doing so 

Congress posthumously honored the man who 

had worked so hard to provide the means for 

rehabilitation of the hydraulic industry. 

50 

North Fork Dam, the first concrete arch dam 

built by the Corps of Engineers, is located on 

the North Fork of the American River about 

five miles northeast of the city of Auburn. The 

structure is 155 feet high and 620 feet long at 

the crest. Lake Clementine, the reservoir behind the dam, has a debris-storage capacity of 

approximately 26,000,000 cubic yards. 

Englebright Dam is located on the Yuba 

River about twenty miles northeast of the city 

of Marysville. This arch structure is 260 feet 

high and 1,142 feet long at the crest. The reservoir has a debris-storage capacity of 

118,000,000 cubic yards. 

Over the years neither reservoir has been 

used extensively for debris storage. Why? 

Weren't these impressive, single arch, concrete 

monoliths designed to stimulate, reawaken, 

indeed rehabilitate the hydraulic mining industry? This final hope for renewed prosperity 

was doomed to failure before the first batch of 

concrete was poured. Conditions were so altered by the time of their completion that no 

amount of concrete could achieve the impossible. Besides, 19th century appliances seem 

strangely out of place in the 20th century 

world. 

What was to have been the panacea for the 

hydraulic mining industry has in reality had 

little effect on gold production in the state. 

Triumph proved an empty victory; too little 

much too late. The world was a vastly different 

place in 1940 than during the last quarter of 

the nineteenth century. What would have been 

a godsend to the early pipemen and powdermonkeys, was just so much concrete to the men 

of the mid-twentieth century. The relative 

value of gold, the cost of operations, court battles with irrigation districts, the approaching 

spectre of war, the importance of Sierra waters 

for other than mining purposes - all of these 

factors, and more, made any idea of reviving 

the hydraulic mining industry an exercise in 

futility. 

The controversy surrounding the debris 

dams was long from settled when Sacramento's 

Chamber of Commerce and its two major 

newspapers declared war on Col. Thomas H. 

Jackson, Division Engineer at San Francisco. 
MEN WORKED HARD AND LONG DURING THE THIRTIES TO REINFORCE LEVEES ALONG THE SACRAMENTO 

AND SAN JOAQUIN RIVERS. 

C.E.Photo 
Sacramento City and the Central Valley, like 

the rest of the nation trying to endure the 

rigors of the Great Depression, coveted any 

project and was willing to defend any scheme 

that promised relief. Being an agricultural 

center, the Valley had suffered longer and to a 

greater extent than many other regions, and 

would not tolerate anyone or anything that 

stood in the way of recovery. They accused Col. 

Jackson of being such an obstacle. Let's review 

the evidence. 

To prosper, a farming district must have 

adequate transport facilities to ensure successful distribution and marketing of its produce. 

For years residents of the Sacramento Valley 

were in large measure dependent upon the 

river to satisfy their needs. The agricultural 

depression beginning in the twenties and becoming a part of the general world-wide depression of the thirties, coupled with record low 

runoffs from the Sierra wrought a malicious 

circle which entrapped the local farmers. 

Their efforts to offset tumbling prices by 

producing more resulted in consumptive use of 

the overtaxed available water, which lowered 

the river to where navigation was impaired, 

which in turn caused them to look elsewhere 

for carriers to distribute their goods. By utilizing trucks and trains to ship the bulk of their 

produce the farmers helped speed the demise of 

commercial navigation on the Sacramento 

River. 

The city, dependent upon the prosperity of 

surrounding farms for much of its own, plucked 

the dropping banner from the farmers and 

made the agrarian cause its own. For, the 

number employed in Sacramento's canneries, 

food handling and processing was in direct 

proportion to the tonnage marketable. To these 

conditions one might add at least a portion of 

the 350,000 "Okies" and "Arkies" who in their 

jalopies migrated to California between 1934 

and 1940. Displaced, like the dust responsible 

for their plight, these hard working men and 

women were seeking opportunities to fill their 

stomachs and restore their pride. The Chamber 

of Commerce of Sacramento believed they had 

hit upon a project that would provide social security to the residents of the Valley in the 

52 

same way the debris dams would bring it to the 

mountain miners; a deep water ship channel to 

Sacramento was envisioned. 

Their idea was neither novel nor unique, but 

given the severe conditions of the times, it was 

resurrected and embellished by the city 

fathers. The project was originally sponsored 

by the State of California and the Sacramento 

Chamber of Commerce in 1916. During the ensuing years the Sacramento City Council, the 

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and 

the Yolo County Board of Supervisors had 

likewise sponsored the plan. 

In October of 1916 the Chamber of Commerce convinced the state to appropriate 

$3,500 to be matched by the Chamber, for the 

purpose of making a study of the Sacramento 

River with a view of providing deep sea shipping at Sacramento. The survey was started, 

but slowed by World War I. Finally on October 

7, 1922 Paul M. Norboe, Assistant State Engineer submitted his report recommending a 

deep water channel project. 

The report was received, filed and forgotten. 

In 1924 the Sacramento City Council created a 

Deep Water Commission, which in turn hired 

C.E. Grunsky, a San Francisco engineer, to 

prepare a study. Grunsky's report was submitted in 1925, discussed, filed and ignored. 

In October of 1933 the Sacramento Chamber 

of Commerce appealed to Senator Hiram 

Johnson for a survey to be completed by the 

Corps of Engineers. Soon thereafter the Senate 

passed Senate Resolution 142 requesting the 

Corps of Engineers to conduct such a study. 

Completed under the supervision of Captain 

Drinkwater, District Engineer for Sacramento, 

the unfavorable report was submitted to a special meeting of the Rivers and Harbors Committee by Col. Jackson in August of 1935. "The 

report contains a recommendation against a 

thirty-foot channel by Colonel T. H. Jackson of 

San Francisco." So stated the Sacramento Bee 

on August 22, 1935. 

Not only did he feel a deep water ship channel for Sacramento was unwarranted. he also 

proposed changes in the flood control program 

on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. 

After studying the situation Jackson felt that 
WHILE THE CONTROVERSY RAGED OVER DEBRIS DAMS AND DEEP WATER 

CHANNELS, SNAGGING OPERATIONS AND OTHER MAINTENANCE CHORES 

CONTINUED DURING THE 1930s. 

new levees should be set back further from the 

rivers, and in some cases built higher. Further, 

he halted much of the levee work already approved until new plans could be drawn up. For 

holding such views Col. Jackson incurred the 

wrath of Sacramento's newspapers, whose attack upon him during the following years was 

as persistent as it was pitiless. Because he demanded a meeting with the State Reclamation 

Board be closed to the public, theBee suggested 

that "Such tactics on his part can be interpreted by the public in only one way . .. there 

is a nigger in the woodpile he wants to keep 

covered up and is afraid to let the spotlight of 

public analysis shine on his proposed changes." 

In another article it was pointed out that, 

"Sacramento, through the late Congressman 

Curry, had its flood control program adopted 

by Congress and the army engineers were detailed to help carry it out. Everything has proceeded smoothly until Colonel Jackson was 

placed in charge ... The lives and property of 

valley residents are at stake where floods are 

concerned. Colonel Jackson and no one else 

must be permitted to interfere with the levee 

protection afforded the city and the lower valley. " The Bee conceded the point that " ... his 

engineering ideas may be sound and should 

have been included in the project originally," 

but argued, "this is no time, with the work almost completed, to impose new and costly burdens on the landowners." In the same article it 

was threatened, "If J ackson persists in his 

arbitrary attitude the Reclamation Board has 

no alternative but to go over his h ead and seek 

relief from his superiors in Washington." 

During the week of September 22, 1935, the 

Chamber of Commerce learned of a trip to 

Washington planned by Colonel J ackson, and 

sent W.G. Stone racing off to the nation's capital "to present Sacramento's side of the case 

before Jackson can create an unfavorable at53 
titude against the capital city with the Army 

Board of Engineers." The battle raged on. True 

to their threat those who opposed Jackson's 

views went over his head to General E .B. 

Markham, Chief of Engineers. Early in October General Markham came to San Francisco 

to effect a compromise between Jackson and 

his chief opponent, the State Reclamation 

Board. A.M. Barton, Chief Engineer of the Reclamation Board, and State Engineer Edward 

Hyatt, presented engineering objections to 

Colonel Jackson's proposals at a four-hour 

meeting with the General, while A.R. Gallaway, President of the Reclamation Board 

added that the plan couldn't be financed by the 

state and landowners. 

After listening to both sides General Markham ordered briefs of the controversy be prepared and exchanged between Jackson and the 

Board, with the entire summation submitted to 

him. The General indicated he would have 

members of his staff arbitrate if a satisfactory 

compromise couldn't be effected. 

Just after Thanksgiving 1935, General 

Markham sent Brigadier General George B. 

Pillsbury, Assistant Chief of the Corps of Engineers, to the Sacramento District for a first 

hand look at the problems. On the morning of 

December 3rd, General Pillsbury, in company 

with Col. Thomas Jackson, the Division Engineer; Col. L.B. Chambers, Sacramento District Engineer; Edward Hyatt, State Engineer 

WORK CONTINUED ON STOCKTON CHANNEL THROUGHOUT THE GREAT DEPRESSION. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

54 
MOTOR LAUNCH CALAVERAS 

July 1936 

THE ONLY PRACTICAL METHOD OF TRA VELING THROUGH THE DELTA AREA DURING THE THIRTIES WAS 

BY SURVEY BOATS SUCH AS THE CALAVERAS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
DREDGES HARD AT WORK ON STOCKTON CHANNEL DURING THE EARLY THIRTIES. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo) 
and A.M. Barton of the State Reclamation 

Board, set out on an inspection tour of the 

levees between Sacramento and Colusa in an 

effort to gather information about the flood 

control project. 

General Pillsbury spent two days checking 

the condition of the levees and listening to arguments. On December 5,1935, he ordered the 

resumption of levee work on the Sacramento 

River. State officials hailed the ruling as a victory for more than eighty percent of the points 

involved. Off the record, state officials stated, 

"that if any levee breaks occur this winter, 

Colonel Jackson must assume the responsibility because of his action in holding up the 

work." 

The Bee directed its attack mainly upon 

Jackson's ideas, but before long the Sacramento Union made it a personal vendetta. 

During the Spring of 1936 the following lines 

appeared in the Union: 

Colonel Thomas H. Jackson's name is 

anathema to the valley ... (he) is an irritant and an expense to the valley. Instead of having to pass matters over his 

veto, why not remove him? It would save 

time, expense and constant irritation. 

It looks as if his attitude is one of 

studied unfriendliness to this section. It 

would be stretching human credulity too 

far to ask anyone here to believe Colonel 

Jackson is sincere in opposing every proposal looking toward the development of 

the valley section. 

It is time for the people to speak up. 

Their interests have been trampled upon, 

their requests for federal help have been 

scorned by an army man who is misfit in 

any system of civilian benefits contemplated by the government. 

In a letter to the editor signed, "Sacramento 

Valley Property Holder" the writer congratulated the Union's editor for his attack upon 

Colonel Jackson and suggested that, "The local 

district engineer does exactly what he is told to 

do by Colonel Jackson." The writ~r ~hen a~­

pealed to the Union to run an edItorIal entItIed, "Show Some Guts, Colonel Chambers; 

Fight Jackson." 

The rhetorical siege continued into the 

summer of 1936, when on July 20th Colonel 

Jackson requested retirement after forty-one 

years of active service. Who was this man who 

brought forth such invidious response from 

those who disagreed with him? Was he qualified to hold the views to which he clung? 

Colonel Jackson had been active in flood control work in California since his first assignment in 1907, when as a captain he laid out the 

Sacramento Flood Control Project, a 

$50,000,000 project, begun in 1910 and more 

than 90% completed by 1936. During World 

War I he was in charge of the advanced section 

of the Corps of Engineers on the western front. 

He received the Distinguished Service Medal; 

the Purple Heart; Officer of the Legion of 

Honor, France; Commander of Leopold, Belgium; and the Polish Order of the Valiant, for 

his work as commander of the engineer forces 

in France. 

Upon returning home to San Francisco in 

1922, he served as Sixth Corps Area Engineer 

for six years. In 1928 he was appointed president of the Mississippi River Commission with 

the rank of brigadier general. Then it was back 

to San Francisco in 1934, when he was appointed Division Engineer. In addition to reviewing the needs of the Sacramento District, 

he personally directed plans for reclamation of 

Yerba Buena Shoals in San Francisco Bay, and 

for the Los Angeles County Flood Control Project. On September 1, 1936, Colonel Jackson 

was replaced as Division Engineer by Colonel 

John J. Kingman. W.G. Stone, traffic manager 

of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, who 

had raced to Washington, D.C. to present Sacramento's argument, later became Port Director of the Sacramento deep water facility. 

Earlier General Markham said he was 

pleased that "all differences of opinion with regard to the completion of the Sacramento-San 

Joaquin River Flood Control Project have been 

settled amicably ... " 

Following a conference with state officials, 

the General issued the following statement: "I 

am very pleased indeed that we are now in full 

57 
COLONEL (THEN CAPT.) THOMAS H. JACKSON , DISTRICT ENGINEER. JRD SAN 

FRANCISCO DISTRICT (FORERUNNER OF SACRAMENTO DISTRICT) FEBRl'ARY 1907 

(Ca 1928). 

58 
accord with the state representatives so that 

the remaining work . . . may be vigorously 

prosecuted .. " When asked to respond to the 

reports that Colonel Jackson would be transferred to another district, Markham said there 

was "nothing to" such rumors, but that the 

Colonel had not been in good health, further 

that he might resign because "he was a sick 

man." And so he did. 

More than any other single event, the "Campaign to get Jackson" exemplified and, in fact, 

was a kind of microcosm which reflected the 

frustration experienced by those who suffered 

through the Depression. Desperate men 

employ desperate means to justify what they 

believe to be a good end, and those who made 

their homes in the Great Central V alley of 

California were not unlike the rest of the nation and the world when seeking answers or 

placing blame. No matter whether it be the 

voice of reason, reaction, radicalism or revolution, if it disagrees with, or is viewed as a hindrance to, the hoped for solution, it is turned 

aside or attacked. 

The historian, David Shannon, brings the 

local conflict into focus, and places it in proper 

perspective in his commentary about the 

period: 

The apostle Luke wrote that man does not 

live by bread alone. Few would question, 

however, the fact that the availability of 

bread and the way man earns it have 

tremendous implications for his society. 

In the 1930's the availability of bread was 

very much on men's minds, and economic 

distress colored American society in 

many of its noneconomic aspects, both obviously and subtly. The fundamental assumptions Americans made about their 

society, the manner in which they educated their young, what they did in their 

leisure time, even how many they were 

and where they were, were all fundamentally affected by the overriding omnipresent, dismal economic situation. 

A group of Iowa farmers expressed themselves in more condensed fashion when they 

protested: "In Hoover we trusted, now we are 

busted." and "Hoover, Hyde, Hill and Hard 

Times." 

The point is, those who resided within the 

Sacramento District weren't alone nor unique 

in their distress. While Valley people battled 

for debris dams, levees, deep water channels 

(for both Sacramento and Stockton) and anything else that could be translated into work, 

food and restored pride, the rest of the nation 

fought for or against T.V.A., socialism, communism, the Supreme Court, the New Deal, 

organized labor, tariffs, Negroes and the Bonus 

Expeditionary Force. Most Americans,it's 

true, agree with Jefferson's sage advice that, 

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed 

for light and transient causes; and accordingly 

all experience hath shown, that mankind are 

more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 

the forms to which they are accustomed." During the depths of the Depression, there was a 

question throughout the Valley and the Nation 

as to how long some evils were sufferable, and 

what were light and transient causes. Revolution, both economic and political, then, presented itself as a possible way out of the dilemma. 

In the end it was neither Roosevelt's manifold alphabet agencies, nor public works projects, nor pork barrel legislative make-work 

programs, that brought an end to economic 

disaster and possible revolution. Somber 

events and evil schemes transpiring in Germany, Japan, Poland, Czechoslavakia and 

Pearl Harbor, in the final analysis, proved to 

be the catalyst for recovery within the Sacramento District and the Nation. It is paradoxical that the frustration, defeatism and hatred 

spawned by the Depression, in large measure 

were responsible for the worldwide cataclysm 

which eventually brought prosperity to the 

United States. 

59 
EQUIPMENT SUCH AS THIS HELPED MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF DISTRICT LEVEES DURING THE PERIOD 

BETWEEN THE WARS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
COLONEL ROBERT C. HUNTER 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - NOVEMBER 1940 - DECEMBER 1944 

C.E .Photo 

61 
It is difficult to find a parallel to the unwisdom ofthe British and weakness of the 

French Governments, who nonetheless 

reflected the opinion of their Parliaments 

in this disastrous period. Nor can the 

United States escape the censure of history. Absorbed in their own affairs and all 

the abounding interests, activities, and 

accidents of a free community, they simply gaped at the vast changes which were 

taking place in Europe, and imagined 

they were no concern of theirs . .. 

... so in a few years they had to pour out 

the blood and treasures ofthe New World 

to save themselves from mortal danger. 

Winston S. Churchill 

CHAPTER V 

IN WAR: RESOLUTION 

As the war clouds darkened and the world 

scene grew cheerless, the United States began 

tooling up for conflict. As part of the general 

preparedness schedule, all construction of 

Army Air Corps facilities was transferred from 

the Quartermaster Corps to the Corps of Engineers by act of Congress effective November 

20, 1940. With the attack on Pearl Harbor as 

the catalyst, construction for the remainder of 

the Army was charged to the Corps of Engineers on December 16, 1941. 

Construction responsibilities being transferred to the Engineers was no reflection on the 

other services, but was necessitated by expediency. The urgent and almost overwhelming 

construction job thrust upon the nation deWOVEN LUMBER MATTRESSES, MANUFACTURED AT THE SITE AND HELD IN 

PLACE BY COBBLES, WERE USED EXTENSIVELY FOR BANK PROTECTION PRIOR TO 

THE WAR. THIS TYPE OF ACTIVITY WAS GREATLY CURTAILED DURING WORLD 

WAR II. 

C.E .Photo 

62 
manded mobilization on a wartime footing. 

The Corps of Engineers was the country's only 

existing agency, either civil or military, that 

could readily meet the multiple demands of 

such a job. 

The immensity of the task and the efficiency 

with which it was executed are reflected in the 

following figures: From the beginning of 1940 

to the end of 1945, in the United States alone, 

some 3,000 command installations, 300 major 

industrial projects and hundreds of miscellaneous facilities were completed. Included in 

the above were 500 camps, 765 airfields, 167 

storage depots, and numerous training schools, 

ports of embarkation, hospitals, and other 

facilities. During the war years approximately 

$11,000,000,000 worth of construction was 

completed by the Corps of Engineers in the 

United States. By the summer of 1942 the 

Corps of Engineers was directing construction 

activities in this country at the rate of 

$20,000,000 a day (nationwide expenditures). 

Because of its geography and talented citizens 

the Sacramento District was awarded a substantial percentage of the tasks to be fulfilled. 

Henry Rich described the prewar scene and 

compared it to the first days after Pearl Harbor. Before the war, "things were rather peaceful, and we had about 300 employees, counting 

everyone in the main office, plus all field personnel and maybe counting a couple of cats in 

the warehouse at Rio Vista." 

During 1940 and following the transfer of 

Army Air Corps facilities late that year, and 

due to the ominous world conditions of 1941 

the District had grown to about 600 people. By 

the end of 1942 more than 2,000 would be sharing the workload of the District. 

Mr. Rich stated that, "Come war time in 

1941 the office was moved from the Post Office 

Building to the Wright Building at 8th and L 

Streets. It seemed everything was dumped into 

the District's lap, and we started to grow and 

grow and grow, with offices in six other buildings in Sacramento, plus six large field offices. 

They were located at Rio Vista, Marysville, 

Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield and Reno. Later 

we opened an office at Salt Lake City." 

Col. Hunter, in keeping with the national 

policy of limiting wartime construction projects on rivers and harbors to improvements 

that had direct importance for the war effort, 

cut the civil works mission of the District to a 

bare minimum. Earlier it had been anticipated 

that the major work of the District during 1941 

and 1942 would be in connection with the Sacramento River Flood Control project and the 

completion of the debris dams. Dredging below 

Cache Slough and construction of levees on the 

Sacramento and Feather Rivers, together with 

work in the Delta were all planned. Such was 

not to be the case. Only the most essential 

maintenance was prosecuted during the war 

years. 

Mrs. Marion Morton relates her feelings regarding the District's change of direction. "The 

transition from civil to wartime military construction was to me a marvelous adaptation. 

Inspectors and workers on earthwork and hydraulic jobs found themselves on-the-job learners of building and paving. Because of the pressures of wartime needs, they soon became seasoned and experienced. When the unfamiliar 

functions were transferred from the Quartermaster Corps, they were somehow assimilated, 

and made to produce the results intended." 

At the time military design and construction 

functions were assigned to the Sacramento 

District in 1941, its military boundaries comprised the Central Valley of California from 

Kern County in the south to Shasta County in 

the north. During 1942, Reno Army Air Field 

(Stead Air Force Base), Nevada, was included 

within the District. 

In those hectic days following Pearl Harbor, 

the increase in volume and variety of work was 

met with added resolution and vigor, the sneak 

attack providing the necessary stimulus, if 

such were needed. The tremendous expansion 

of construction work, even though accompanied by a significant increase in total personnel employed by the District, was marked 

by a corresponding decrease in cost of overhead. Every possible means was utilized to diminish the number of steps necessary to prepare plans and specifications. Office staff as 

well as field personnel worked long hours to 

such good purpose that eventually the cost of 

63 
District overhead, including consulting and architect engineers, fell to less than 29c of the 

cost of work placed. But, even with the confusion and flurry of activity present at the time 

there was no disposition to lose sight of the fact 

that those needed at the fighting fronts must 

not be retained on construction work when 

others could replace them. By the end of 1943 

more than 500 men and women formerly 

employed by the Sacramento District were in 

the uniforms of the various Armed Services. 

Some paid the supreme price and would never 

return to their desks and dredgers of the District. 

Jim Coombs, at that time Assistant Chief of 

Electrical Section, comments on the above. 

"During World War II, the Sacramento District 

did a great job preparing the plans and specifications and overseeing the construction of millions of dollars of work. Somewhere in the District's files is an indication that we had the 

lowest district costs for the work produced in 

the country." To be exact, it wasn't long before 

the Sacramento District was building at the 

rate of $20,000,000 a month. 

The construction work assumed by the District after December 1941 involved a variety 

and magnitude that in retrospect it is difficult 

to believe that it was all accomplished. One of 

the initial assignments was to prepare temporary housing for 37,000 Japanese Americans 

who were ordered from their homes, farms and 

businesses. 

As early as 1886, when there were only 400 

Japanese in the entire state of California, the 

slogan "The Japs Must Go" was first voiced. 

Even in 1941 residents still harbored a remembrance of the long and bitter contest for 

Chinese exclusion, and many of the arguments 

that had been employed against the Celestials 

seemed equally applicable against the Nipponese, who by pigment, stature, language, 

and customs resembled the former. While making up barely more than one percent of the 

state's population, they were seen as a "clear 

and present" danger. 

Against the background of the attacks on 

Pearl Harbor, the Philippines and Guam, the 

horror-fiction anecdotes that circulated widely 

64 

as to what the Japanese Americans would do if 

war came assumed believable proportions. Officially admitted losses were high; rumor multiplied them. Many residents of the Pacific 

Coast believed that, with the Pacific fleet destroyed, the west coast was vulnerable to attack. 

Jack English related the following incident, 

which helps us understand the concern of the 

time. 

That was quite a trip. We followed the 

southern route through New Orleans, 

across Texas and Arizona to Blythe where 

we entered California, for it was still winter on the northern routes. We noticed as 

we passed through the open spaces of 

Arizona that we were practically the only 

car travelling West, with comparatively 

heavy traffic toward the East. At one stop 

I was asked if I didn't know that the 

Japanese might be coming? 

To Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, 

Commanding General of Western Defense, "A 

Jap's a Jap. It makes no difference whether he 

is an American or not." 

The General was not alone in his feelings. 

Throughout the western states the majority of 

residents demanded that eyery Japanese be 

evacuated from the coastal areas. For some 

time, however, Washington was reluctant to 

adopt a policy of mass evacuation and internment. It seems that when the respected correspondent Walter Lippmann added his yoice in 

protest, President Roosevelt changed his mind. 

On February 12, 1942, Lippman stated that, 

"The Pacific Coast is officially a combat zone: 

some part of it may at any moment be a 

battlefield. Nobody's constitutional rights include the right to reside and do business on a 

battlefield." Only fiye days later President 

Roosevelt signed Executiw Order No. 9066, 

which authorized the Secretary of War to establish military areas from which any and all 

persons might be excluded. The exclusion order 

was immediately effected, and with brutal disregard the entire Japanese American community of the West, more than 100,000, were 

dri yen from t heir homes. 

The engineers of the Sacramento District 
were assigned the task of housing more than a 

third of the displaced. Having but a few days to 

secure shelter, any vacant dwelling, however 

rude, was pressed into service to serve as 

gathering and sorting places. Warehouses, 

fairgrounds, and even horse barns were used as 

temporary homes. Camp Kohler adjacent to 

McClellan Field, one of the first military construction jobs completed by the Sacramento 

District, came into being first as a Japanese 

induction center and was later used as an army 

base. Other alien induction centers were hurriedly built at Fresno, Marysville, Merced, 

Pinedale, Stockton, Tulare, Turlock and 

Walerga. Within a few weeks from the date of 

receiving the unpleasant assignment, Sacramento District personnel had constructed 

housing for approximately 37,000 Japanese 

Americans, at a cost of almost five million dollars. Considering the time constraint and the 

shortage of labor and materials, the job was 

completed quite satisfactorily. 

In time, the War Relocation Authority took 

over internment responsibility from the Army 

and selected ten sites on which to construct relocation centers of a more permanent nature. 

All the camps were located in desolate areas 

and built on federally owned land - usually 

Indian reservations. The Sacramento District 

also helped in the construction of these. Life in 

the great sprawling camps, including Manzanar and Tule Lake in California and Abraham 

in Utah, constituted a sociological laboratory. 

Occupants divided themselves into two groups, 

those which accepted the predicament and 

tried to make the best of it, and another, smaller, which rebelled at the treatment and bitterly opposed the camp administrators. 

The American public too, after the initial 

flush of war panic had cooled, reconsidered the 

evacuation and internment of American citizens, and became sharply divided as to the 

wisdom, necessity and merit of the action. Finally in December 1944, the evacuation orders 

were rescinded, but by then a third of the 

Japanese had moved eastward to communities 

outside the exclusion areas or had entered the 

armed services. By 1945, the population in the 

camps had dwindled to about 62,000. 

From the above, it is obvious that both the 

civilian and military authorities considered 

the Second World War as being a direct threat 

to the West Coast. And until 1943, when the 

direction of war changed in the Pacific, the 

prospect of hostilities within the boundaries of 

the Sacramento District was a vital factor in 

the plans and functions of the District. 

For the first three months of 1942, the District personnel engaged in organizing and implementing their military construction mission. Even for the Corps of Engineers, it takes 

a little time to change gears and prepare for 

new roles. We are reminded that California 

contained more than ten percent of the troop 

training centers of the nation during the War. 

The area was also the principal staging area 

for the Pacific campaign. In addition, the Air 

Corps required scores of flight strips and associated facilities, many of which were built in 

and by the Sacramento District. Moreover, ordinance, holding and reconsignment, and 

quartermaster depots and storage areas were 

built, all in record time. 

The main work, then, of the Sacramento District during the war was to seek out suitable 

areas for military bases, both Army and Air 

Corps, throughout the Great Central Valley of 

California and construct needed appliances to 

ensure the success of the war effort. As the war 

continued, the District would be expanded to 

take in large sections of other western states. 

We can never know the full extent of the District's wartime activities because many of the 

records have been lost, or thought not important enough to file in the first place. Enough 

has survived, however, to furnish us with at 

least a partial view of the events that transpired during that critical period. 

A few days following Pearl Harbor, a directive was issued for construction of a staging 

area to house 28,000 men near Pittsburg 

(California). Normally, weeks would be necessary for the preparation of plans and specifications, and for the acquisition of the real estate for this kind of project. Within eight days, 

the work to be done was outlined, and ninety 

days later Camp Stoneman was ready for sol65 
DELTA QUEEN 

(Photo Sam Kahiona) 

-

diers on their way to the Pacific. In addition to 

the troop housing, the waterfront area had to 

be dredged to afford deep water vessels berthing space. Soon the Sacramento and San Joaquin, the familiar dredges of the District, were 

hard at it, displacing thousands of cubic yards 

of mud. 

Two other well known river craft, the Delta 

King and Delta Queen, were utilized at Camp 

Stoneman. No longer would they take pleasure 

seekers up and down the inland waterways of 

California, but aided the war effort by ferrying 

troops from Stoneman to San Francisco to 

board ships for the Far East. 

The dredges themselves went on to help win 

the war after they finished their duties in the 

District. The Sacramento was transferred to 

Midway Island, where it dredged a channel, 

and then moved on to Johnson Island. While 

there, a Japanese submarine took a few pot 

shots at it, so that when it finally got home, a 

couple of "wound stripes" decorated the stack. 

Henry Rich recalls that, "most of the 

supplies, while the dredges were in the South 

66 

Pacific, were furnished by the District Office. 

Almost every other night around 10:00 P.M. 

our time, we talked to the crew and took their 

order for what supplies and parts were 

needed." 

The Sacramento worked as far west as 

Okinawa. After the war the Sacramento and 

San Joaquin were brought home to continue 

their work on the flood control projects on the 

rivers for which they were named. 

While the dredges were off to the South 

Pacific and construction was underway at 

Pittsburg, Sacramento District personnel 

began building Camp Beale, near Marysville. 

All the facilities for a city of 43,000 troops had 

to be provided. Barracks, dispensaries, a hospital, fire station, mess halls. a chapel. laundries 

and scores of other kinds of housing and services were provided. 

Many and varied units made use of the 

facilities while being trained at Camp Bt'ale. 

Infantry, tank crews, engineers and various 

other types of commands learned the deadly 

skills needed to combat the enemy. The 13th 
Armored Division was the fIrst unit to actiYely 

train at the base, followed by many other units 

including the 81st and 96th"Infantry Dhisions: 

After lea,"ing Beale the men of the 13th Armored would fight and die in the Ruhr pocket, 

at Regensburg and along the Danube and Isar 

RiYers. The "Wildcats" of the 81st met the 

enemy at Angour, Peleliu and elithi while the 

96th helped take Leyte and Okinawa. Some of 

Patton's men also trained at Beale before going 

off to Africa and Europe. 

Before long, the Sacramento District was 

furiously building cantonments. storage depots 

and eyen hospitals allover the Central Valley. 

X ear Stockton, they were turning a Portuguese farmer's sheep pasture into the 

Stockton General Depot. It became a fair-sized 

city that repaired, maintained and supplied an 

endless variety of war material to all parts of 

the globe, especially the Pacific area. At its 

wartime peak the installation was capable of 

loading 6,000 rail cars of supplies and equipment a month. Besides this huge supply depot, 

the Engineers from Sacramento put up a multitude of similar projects in the Xorthern San 

Joaquin Valley: Stockton Quartermaster 

)'Iotor Depot; Tracy Sub-Depot: Lathrop Army 

Sen' ice Forces Depot; Stockton Ordnance 

)'Iotor Base; Lathrop Engineer Depot; Lathrop 

Holding and Reconsignment Depot; were typical of the support facilities constructed by the 

District in the Stockton area. 

In the Sacramento area, the District engineers constructed Camp Kohler. Additional 

Army projects completed in the Sacramento 

area included the Army Signal Depot; The 

Bercut-Richards Warehouse; and a camouflage 

center. The State Fairgrounds were even 

utilized for military purposes. To facilitate the 

transportation of troops and supplies. the District spent a million and a half dollars during 

1942 and 1943 modifying railroad classification yards at Lathrop, Riverbank, Roseville, 

Stockton and Sacramento. 

The Central '-alley was not the only area 

that received immediate attention regarding 

construction for the Army. In 1940 Colonel 

Carroll H. Deitrick was sent in search of a 

behind-the-lines storage facility. "We tried to 

find a site nearer a large city .. We spent 

many weeks searching for a place which would 

meet all the requirements. The desire was to 

haye it as close as practicable to the west coast 

and still keep a safe distance from the sea." 

High in the Sierra, just north of the small town 

of Doyle, he spied the "ast. uncluttered expanse of Honey Lake V alley. Years later, in 

recalling his decision to recommend the area 

for the ordnance depot, he admitted, n •.. not 

one bit of consideration was given to the comfort and con"enience of anyone who was supposed to man and operate this place. At the 

time, such things were secondary. The winning 

of a war was of number one importance." 

During 1941 the Army took action to establish its new base. The area selected was about 

mid-way between Susanville and Reno. Construction was underway just fIYe days after the 

War Department, in General Order Xumber 9. 

dated February 6. 1942. designated the site, 

Sierra Ordnance Depot. Before long the District engineers were constructing housing and 

mess halls for the workers. Jo !land, in her 

excellent history of the Depot, points out the 

sad plight of the contractors in converting the 

desert into a storage depot. "So acute were the 

contractor's labor problems that any and all 

comers were hired. The riff-raff of western 

cities came to the isolated location which was a 

harbor for fugitives from justice and those indidduals down on their luck:' 

The base, in addition to its role as an ammunition storage area, served as a troop training facility. ).IoreO\'er, Italian prisoners of war 

were kept there, and never failed to share 

many colorful experiences \'.ith their keepers. 

On April 2, 1943, a seYenty-t,\,o bed hospital 

was authorized, and by September it was ready 

for use. Once again, whether on the floor of the 

Central '-alley or high in the Sierra, the Sacramento District engineers performed their assigned tasks excellently. Sierra Ordnance 

Depot serYes as a good example. \Yithin a few 

months they had transformed a high mountain 

desert into a facility that loaded 3,000 rail cars 

a month with bombs and munitions to stop the 

enemy. 

Training and storage bases. of course, were 

67 
only a part of the District's projects completed 

in California during the war years. Housing 

was needed for prisoners of war. During 1944 

and 1945 Sacramento personnel constructed 

detention camps at Tagus Ranch, Stockton and 

Pittsburg. At Byron Hot Springs, an existing 

hotel was reconstructed at a cost of $215,000, 

and used as an interrogation center. To speed 

the military m~npower buildup needed to 

prosecute the war, the District, in September of 

1942, constructed Army induction stations at 

Sacramento and Fresno. And to provide care 

for our fighting men wounded on the fighting 

fronts, hospitals were built at Auburn and 

Modesto. 

While hundreds of men and women of the 

District's work force busied themselves with 

the design and construction of supply bases, 

storage depots, hospitals, internment camps 

and the myriad army facilities, hundreds of 

others were actively engaged in what proved to 

be Sacramento's major assignment: airfield 

site selection, design and construction, initially within California and later in other 

western states. Almost fifty major and minor 

Air Corps bases were either partially or completely constructed by the Sacramento District 

within California alone. 

Soon after the Corps of Engineers received 

responsibility for Air Corps construction in the 

fall of 1940, the Sacramento District began 

work on projects "inherited" from the Quartermaster Corps. Early in 1941 improvements 

were being made at Mather Field and Sacramento Air Depot, both of which are located 

near the state capital. 

First activated in the summer of 1918, 

Mather Field (Air Force Base) is among the 

oldest military installations in the Sacramento 

District. Little used between the wars, the base 

was reactivated and completely rebuilt by the 

Sacramento District early in 1941. During 

World War II it became one of the major flight 

training schools in the nation. By the time it 

was turned over to the Air Transport Command in October 1944, Mather had graduated 

3,875 pilots and 3,200 navigators who saw action in every combat area of the globe. 

For more than a year the base served as the 

68 

"Gateway to the Pacific." From runways built 

by Sacramento Engineers, combat crews and 

aircraft lifted off for the war against Japan. 

Almost the entire fleet of B-29 Superfortresses 

employed in the Pacific Theater left from 

Mather. Millions of dollars were spent not only 

on extensive runways, but on housing, hospitals, stores and every conceivable appliance 

and utility needed on the greatly enlarged 

base. 

Concurrent with the work at Mather, the 

District quickly enlarged the Sacramento Air 

Depot (McClellan Air Force Base l. Haven Hart 

described the way things were done in the very 

early days of military construction. "An example of the lack of experience in military construction was the mess hall at McClellan. Engineers simply found a mess sergeant and 

asked him how he thought the facility should 

be laid out. When completed everyone thought 

the mess hall was well designed." 

Sacramento Air Depot also traces its lineage 

to the earliest days of flying. The base descended directly from Rockwell Air Depot 

which was established in 1912 as the Army's 

first regularly organized school of aviation, on 

North Island in San Diego Harbor. By the 

early thirties, the depot had outgrown its 

facilities on the island, and largely through the 

efforts of Arthur Dudley of the Sacramento 

Chamber of Commerce, the base was moved to 

the old Mexican land grant, Rancho Del Paso, 

near Sacramento. The depot became fully operational on March 2, 1939. Only a few days 

earlier, more than 50,000 people had attended 

the dedication ceremonies. General George C. 

Marshall, General Henry H. (Hap) Arnold, 

Senator Hiram Johnson and Colonel Carl 

Spaatz were among the dignitaries present. On 

December 1, 1939, the War Department 

selected the name McClellan Field for the military reservation of which the Sacramento Air 

Depot was a part. 

Even though the Sacramento District was 

enlarging and improving the base prior to our 

involvement in the War, new construction really mushroomed following the news of Pearl 

Harbor. Runways, warehouses, mess halls, 

barracks, offices, utilities, roads and other nec-
MCCLELLAN AIR FORCE BASE (Ca 1967) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
essary facilities were quickly provided. Many 

were finished just in the nick of time to take 

part in one of the War's most guarded operations. 

Not since the Revolutionary War had the 

United States suffered losses such as experienced at Pearl Harbor and Bataan. "Remember 

Pearl Harbor" became the rallying cry for the 

nation in a year of unparalleled defeats. To 

counteract defeatism and lift American hopes, 

a daring raid was planned on Japan's heartland. Led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, 

twenty-two B-25 bombers began landing at 

Sacramento Air Depot on March 26, 1942. 

Here the aircraft underwent final inspection 

and repair. Each of the planes was fitted with 

o ... 

<~,,~.:,- \ .. ,-< 

~.' 

70 

new propellers, a sixty gallon gas tank was 

placed into the lower gun turret, and a camera 

installed on board each aircraft. Following 

other minor modifications and a thorough 

going over, the raiders lifted off Sacramento 

Air Depot's flight strip on April Fool's Day, 

1942. Eighteen days later Colonel Doolittle, 

with sixteen of the B-25's and 79 pilots and 

crewmen, left the tossing deck of the aircraft 

carrier Hornet 688 miles from Tokyo. Thirteen 

of the planes unloaded their quarter ton bombs 

on Tokyo. Two hit targets in Nagoya while a 

single aircraft bombed Kobe. Of the men that 

left McClellan, most were imprisoned by the 

enemy, three were shot. Of the total, nine died. 

One of the planes crash landed near Vladivos-

~CAA"'f;NTO ENGINEER OISTRtCl 

LOCATION or AIR nELDS 

o ( 
tok and was interned by the Russians, never to 

be returned. The crew escaped to Iran. 

Meanwhile, building continued at the base. 

The shortage of troop housing facilities 

reached critical proportions, prompting the 

building of two and one-half million dollars 

worth of housing on some 118 acres of recently 

leased land. Officially the acreage was designated "Troop Area," but in the vernacular of 

the day it was "Spli-nter City." 

Staggering as its responsibility was for supply, repair and maintenance, Sacramento Air 

Depot under a Colonel Clark, took on supervision of many other air depots throughout the 

Sacramento District. Due to the increasing 

tempo of the war in Europe and the sword 

rattling of Japan, Headquarters Army Air 

Corps activated five sub-depots under Sacramento Air Depot's supervision during August of 1941. In November, three other subdepots were added, and early in 1942, ten more 

were being supervised by Colonel Clark. In 

May, Colonel Clark was appointed Commander of the 4th Air Service Area Command 

with headquarters in San Francisco. On July 6, 

1942, 4th Air Service Area Command headquarters was moved to Sacramento, and it was 

here, then, that the principles and practices of 

coordinated logistics were worked out. 

The increased Air Corps activity was reflected by the greatly expanded program of air 

field construction by the Sacramento District 

Corps of Engineers. Before the war, there were 

few air fields in the West, and those that were 

here were usually very small and not adequate 

for military purposes. Before long, just as with 

Army bases and supply centers, the Sacramento District had two score of air bases 

under construction from one end of the Valley 

to the other. Basic flying and pilot schools were 

built at Chico, Lemoore, Mather, Minter and 

Merced Fields. Runways, taxiways, hangars, 

housing, barracks for troops, male as well as 

female, and whatever other support systems 

unique to a given base, were put up without 

delay. The following is a list of the major and 

auxiliary Air Corps facilities located with the 

Sacramento District (California) during the 

war: (See Map) 

1. Redding Army Air Field 

2. Vina Auxiliary Field 

3. Campbell Auxiliary Field 

4. Kirkwood Auxiliary Field 

5. Chico Army Air Field 

6. Or land Auxiliary Field 

7. Oroville Army Air Field 

8. Marysville Army Air Field 

9. Sacramento Air Depot 

10. Lincoln Auxiliary Field 

11. Winters-Davis Flight Strip 

12. Mather Field 

13. Sacramento Municipal Airport 

14. Fairfield-Suisun Airport 

15. Franklin Auxiliary Field 

16. Kingsbury Auxiliary Field 

17. Concord Army Air Field 

18. Stockton Field 

19. Tracy Auxiliary Field 

20. New Jerusalem Auxiliary Field 

21. Mariposa Auxiliary Field 

22. Modesto Auxiliary Field 

23. Merced Army Air Field 

24. Merced Auxiliary Field 

25. Ballico Auxiliary Field 

26. Merced Municipal Field 

27. Athlone Auxiliary Field 

28. Hammer Field Army Air Base 

29. Lemoore Army Air Field 

30. Helm Auxiliary Field 

31. West Auxiliary Field 

32. Huron Auxiliary Field 

33. Indian Auxiliary Field 

34. Murray Auxiliary Field 

35. Visalia Army Air Field 

36. Porterville Army Air Field 

37. Delano Army Airdrome 

38. Dunlap Auxiliary Field 

39. Fomosa Auxiliary Field 

40. Minter Field 

41. Oildale Army Airdrome 

42. Pond Auxiliary Field 

43. Semi-Tropic Auxiliary Field 

44. Gardner Field 

45. Allen Auxiliary Field 

46. Kern Auxiliary Field 

47. Parker Auxiliary Field 

Building, extending and improving runways 

was not enough. The planes that used them 

71 
had to be protected as well. The Corps of Engineers provided security for aircraft, especially fighters, by building revetments at 

major Air Corps installations. Mound-shaped 

revetments were three-sided rectangular, roofless structures made of pilings, earth and usually surfaced with asphalt. Netting and 

camouflage was suspended over the top, hopefully concealing the plane from enemy bombers. Henderson McGee, in recalling protective 

measures utilized during the war years, indicated that while fighters were hidden by revetments, airfield water towers got the 

"chicken feather camouflage" treatment. Not 

strong perhaps, but it helped the structures 

blend into the surrounding landscape. 

In the early days of the airfield construction 

program, very little was known of design 

criteria for runway pavements meant to support the loads of the moderately heavy planes 

then being used, or for the B-29s then undergoing development. Determining correct design 

criteria proved to be among the most difficult 

and important technical missions accomplished by the Corps of Engineers during the 

war years. 

The extent of the problem first came to light 

in the spring of 1941 when the 160,000 pound 

XB-19 was pulled from the Douglas hanger at 

Santa Monica on May 6th. The huge airship 

broke through the apron and caused considerable damage to the asphalt runways. If an 

empty B-19 caused damage to a dry runway, it 

wasn't difficult to calculate the problems associated with fully-loaded planes landing on 

rain-soaked fields. A technical barrier had 

been reached. Before long, however, the engineers of the Sacramento District were deeply 

involved in studies that would eventually surmount the barrier. 

The weeks following the attack on Pearl 

Harbor witnessed a crushing load being placed 

on airfields within the District. In an effort to 

reinforce General Douglas MacArthur, General Arnold ordered every available B-17 to be 

flown to the Pacific war zone at the earliest 

opportunity. Soon thereafter scores of the Flying Fortresses were giving the airstrips at 

Mather and McClellan a cruel pounding. Con72 

struction and repair crews had to work around 

the clock to keep the fields operational. Considering the fact that a B-17 weighs only about 

half as much as a B-29, the future appeared 

bleak indeed. 

Clearly superbombers would require runways that were longer, wider and stronger 

than ever before. General Arnold's plans called 

for carrying the war to the enemy by way of 

heavy, long-range bombers. 

For some time Colonel Hunter had been 

working with James Porter of the California 

Division 6f Highways and Lt. Col. John Colonna, the Fourth Air Force Engineer, on plans 

for District constructed flight strips. Porter, as 

a junior engineer for the Division of Highways, 

had investigated pavement failures throughout California, and decided that porous, loosely 

compacted soil used in roadbeds was the major 

problem. After having studied the problem he 

devised a procedure known as the California 

Bearing Ratio test, to measure shear resistance of base and subbase materials. In time he 

formulated curves that would show the relationship between bearing ratios and pavement 

thickness for wheel loads up to six tons. Given 

an opportunity to apply his findings and techniques to runway construction, he conducted 

tests at Stockton Air Base. Constructed by the 

city in 1936, the runway had been torn up during the winter of 1940-41 by relatively light 

Army trainers. A nearby taxiway laid down at 

the same time was still intact. Porter planned 

to make tests on the taxiway as it existed, and 

on a special area rebuilt for his purposes. Hopefully he could validate his theories and his 

unique process. Colonel Hunter provided complete engineering support for the project and 

soon Porter, with Sacramento District cooperation, demonstrated that his theories were very 

close to being correct when applied to real conditions. While it wasn't the whole answer to 

airport construction problems, it proved to be 

the breakthrough that showed the way for future design. The Sacramento District was the 

first in the Corps to make use of Porter's 

California Bearing Ratio in the design and 

construction of flexible pavements. Later, the 

Office, Chief of Engineers (OCE) adopted it as 
the standard for the entire Corps. 

In addition to putting their skills to the test 

within California, Sacramento personnel were 

called upon to complete an air base in the 

Pacific Northwest. The work at Ephrata, 

Washington, had fallen far behind schedule, 

and even though outside the District, the completion of the job was turned over to Sacramento to expedite by every means possible. 

Key personnel were sent to Ephrata to reorganize the work in cooperation with contractors 

who had demonstrated an eagerness and ability to overcome obstacles. Sacramento men 

spent $500,000 and five weeks in completing 

the airstrip. Upon completion, it was used by 

hundreds of bomber crews to gain the necessary skills to bring the war to Japan's home 

islands and German factories. Frank L. Waddock, long-time District employee, stated that 

the Ephrata work was, "One of the outstanding 

jobs the District accomplished ... during 

World War II ... The know-how of designers 

and construction men in the Sacramento District succeeded in providing adequate airfield 

pavement for the Flying Fortresses - the first 

step into the Pacific Area in support of our 

armed forces." 

Those who had gone to Ephrata were just 

preparing to return home after their blitz when 

a second one appeared. Tonopah Bombing and 

Gunnery Range in Nevada was to be expanded, 

the runways extended, and new taxiways and 

parking aprons to be built. The time allowed to 

plan the work, mobilize construction equipment and personnel was a little over six weeks. 

All this was to be accomplished in the middle of 

a desert 400 miles from Sacramento. The existing water supply furnished but 20 percent of 

the daily requirements. Jack English gives us 

some insight into this particular project. 

One situation ... which greatly impressed me was in connection with the 

huge expansion ofthe Tonopah Army Airfield out in Central Nevada way back in 

1943, which entailed eight million dollars 

worth of construction in a very few weeks. 

This project was of vital importance to the 

Fourth Air Force, so much so that upon 

receipt of the authorizing directive, a 

briefing meeting was held in the District 

Engineer's office for personnel involved in 

this project. (l was liaison engineer assigned to that installation.) The Commanding General of the Fourth Air Force, 

Major General Lynd, a very tough, much 

decorated soldier, outlined in no uncertain terms just what was expected of the 

Corps ... some of his remarks to say the 

least were not l'ery complimentary. (l 

think all those present were seething at 

his words.) At the conclusion of his talk, 

Colonel R.C. Hunter, our truly wonderful 

wartime District Engineer arose to his 

feet, looked the General directly in the 

eyes and said in no uncertain terms, 

"General, now if you can act as tough as 

you talk I will guarantee you the project 

will be completed and turned over to you 

for its mission, on time." Momentarily he 

appeared somewhat taken aback, then 

said "Alright, Colonel, what do you want 

me to do?" The answer was "Call up 

Washington and get me authority for a 

free hand to accomplish this project without interference." The call was immediately made and completed. The General turned to Colonel Hunter, informed 

him that the required authority was 

granted, and would immediately be confirmed. Colonel Hunter thanked the General again, assured him that the project 

would be completed on time, then turned 

to all present and said, "You all know 

what is required, now get going!" (Believe 

me we did!) To cut a long story short, we 

lived through some of the most hectic 

weeks of our careers, but the job was completed ahead of schedule. The District received a letter of commendation from the 

above-cited General. Not only did he do 

that, but he attended a luncheon meeting 

of the Sacramento Section, American Society of Civil Engineers, (many of us were 

members) where he again congratulated 

Col. Hunter and the District, upon the job 

we had performed. He also said that it 

was the first time in his career he had 

73 
ever commended the Engineers. He was 

most gracious and fulsome in his praise. 

Believe me it was worth all the hardship 

of those hectic days. 

An interesting point about the expansion of this project was that its mission 

was very secret. I was at Post Headquarters for some days working out layouts for 

expansion with the Post Commander, but 

at no time was I allowed to inform him of 

what particular mission all the hectic 

urgency was about. I remember calling 

the Liaison Officer at Headquarters 

Fourth Air Force, and pointing out to him 

the embarrassment and difficulty connected with such a situation. My answer 

was definite ... "too bad, work it out the 

best you can, but any information regarding the type of aircraft for which this 

huge expansion is authorized is strictly 

taboo!!" As usual I obeyed the last order 

and accomplished my assigned mission to 

the best of my ability; however, it was 

rather difficult to plan runway and apron 

extensions without disclosing the size or 

the new plane. If! remember correctly the 

plane was the then sensational B-29. 

Henry Rich added a humorous note to the 

above. "It proved difficult to keep men on the 

job because of the 'opportunities' found in 

Nevada. We had to use 'persuasion' to get saloon keepers to be cooperative." 

District Cir. No. 225 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

U.8. Engineer Office 

P.O. Box 1739, Wright Bldg., 

1209 8th St. 

Sacramento (8), California 

11 November 1943 

DISTRICT CIRCULAR 

Subject: Accomplishment at the Tonopah 

Bombing and Gunnery Range. 

To: All Officers and Employees, Sacramento 

Engineer District. 

1. The manner in which the expedited construction program was completed at the Tonopah Bombing and Gunnery Range has 

74 

caused the Commanding General of the 4th Air 

Force to make written acknowledgement to 

this office, which is quoted in part for the information of all concerned: 

The fine spirit of cooperation displayed 

in the successful accomplishment of certain special and specific items of urgent 

construction at Tonopah Bombing and 

Gunnery Range is indeed worthy of special mention. The excellent organization 

of engineering and construction forces 

under your immediate jurisdiction has 

immeasurably contributed to the war effort. I desire to extend my sincere appreciation and commendation. 

2. I desire to add my commendation to that 

of General Lynd for the whole-hearted effort 

that employees ofthe District put forth in completing this "impossible" job far ahead of 

schedule. 

3. Approximately $8,000,000 of construction 

was completed in a period of a few weeks' time. 

This involved construction of fourteen miles of 

eight-inch water line, which was hauled from 

Sacramento, welded and buried in eight days. 

The amount of concrete in the warm-up apron 

alone equals a twenty-foot wide highway 

seventy miles long, all laid in three weeks. 

This does not include the asphalt pavement of 

runways, nor does it mention the structures or 

utilities completed in record time. The water 

supply for the project is no longer extremely 

scarce and critical, but is now abundant. 

4. Commendation is not only due those employees who were engaged directly on the project and to those who successfully solved the 

transportation and material and equipment 

supply problems, but to all members of the District organization. 

5. The Ephrata job was a good test of the 

team work of which the Sacramento District 

was capable. The Tonopah job was a further 

and more exacting test of the District employees' and our contractors' capabilities. These 

tests have been met to the entire satisfaction of 

all concerned. 

DISTRIBUTION: 

All Officers 

& Employees. 

R.C. Hunter 

Colonel. Corps of Engineers 

District Engineer 
DUGWAY PROVING GROUND - UTAH (Ca 1948) 

Army Corps of Engineers 
By the end of 1943, new construction work 

was diminishing and the personnel strength of 

the District leveled off at about 1,200. Yet extensive modifications were still necessary to 

airfields and other installations to adapt them 

to new uses. Several airfields were enlarged 

and runways improved and extended to accommodate the vastly heavier aircraft that 

were being developed. Fairfield-Suisun, 

Merced (Castle Field) and Mather Field were 

among those whose pavements were 

strengthened to handle B-29 and B-36 bombers. 

During this transition period it became necessary for the Corps of Engineers as a whole to 

contract their widespread activities by absorption and amalgamation of field activities to effect economies in administrative costs. As a 

part of this overall reorganization the Salt 

Lake City District of the Mountain Division, 

by General Order No. 19, Office, Chief of Engineers, of 18 September 1943, was abolished 

effective October 1, 1943. 

The responsibilities, functions, personnel, 

funds, property and records of the Salt 

Lake City Engineer District are transferred to the Sacramento, California, Engineer District, Sacramento, California. 

The territorial area of the Sacramento, 

California, Engineer District, is enlarged 

to include that of the existing Salt Lake 

City Engineer District. 

As a result, the personnel strength of the 

former Salt Lake District was cut from approximately 900 to 150 employees and operations 

in the area continued as a field office of the 

Sacramento District. 

From 1943 to the end of hostilities, the District, with its usual dispatch was busy completing Army and Air Corps facilities in Nevada 

and Utah. During 1943 the District began construction at Ogden Arsenal and Tooele 

Ordnance Depot worth almost eleven million 

dollars. That same year work was begun at 

Dugway Proving Ground valued at $1,700,000, 

76 

and at Fort Douglas near Salt Lake City, 

$250,000. The hospital at Bushnell, Utah, was 

also begun in 1943 by Sacramento personnel. 

During 1944 work was completed at Deseret 

Depot, Salt Lake City Army Air Base and 

Wendover Bombing Range. In the spring of 

1945 prisoner of war camps were built at Dugway and Utah Air Corps Station. 

It is especially interesting to note that 

Sacramento-built facilities launched the first 

and the last aerial attacks on Japan. Doolittle's 

raiders, it will be remembered, left McClellan 

early in 1942 for the first bombing attack over 

Japanese cities. Colonel Tibbets and the crew 

of the "Enola Gay" were among the last. Both 

used Sacramento-constructed facilities. 

On August 30, 1943, District personnel 

began work at Wendover Bombing Range in 

Utah, and by January 1, 1944, had completed 

the training facilities that had been authorized. As soon as this job was completed 

they began constructing proving facilities at 

Granite Peak. On December 17, 1944, the 

509th Composite Group arrived at Wendover 

with their B-29s and began training. The unit 

was the first of the Army Air Corps to be 

equipped and trained for atomic warfare. Later 

in the year Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., and 

Major Charles W. Sweeney piloted two of the 

Group's B-29s over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 

dropping the first and last atomic weapons 

used in war. 

Upon cessation of hostilities many army and 

air corps installations became surplus to the 

needs of the country and were disposed of 

either directly by sale or transferred to the 

War Assets Administration for ultimate disposal. This was also the case with the mass of 

equipment and supplies that had accumulated. 

Many of the larger bases within the District 

after V -J (Victory in Japan) day, particularly 

Mather and McClellan, served as debarkation 

points for returning aircraft and personnel. In 

1947, the Sacramento District's military functions were discontinued, with one important 

exception, the underground explosion tests 

conducted in Utah. 
Allied victory quickly turned sour. Within a 

few months, the Soviet Union ignored her wartime pledges and with a barbaric appetite gobbled up most of Eastern Europe. Soon antagonism between the free and communist nations became a fundamental condition of the 

postwar world that affected almost all aspects 

of public life, foreign and domestic. Even before 

the end of the war, relations were deteriorating 

between the Soviets on the one hand, and the 

United States and Great Britain on the other. 

The situation worsened during 1946 over Germany, the Middle East and atomic energy. All 

the while the Russians secretly continued to 

work on their version of an atomic bomb. 

In 1947, with a new arms race under way, 

the Sacramento District became involved in 

gathering data for military planners. Washington wanted information on "protective construction" and the transitory effects of large 

scale (nuclear) explosions upon military installations. The Sacramento District conducted 

a nation-wide search for suitable areas in 

which to conduct such tests (soil types, rock 

formations, etc.), and to locate an engineering 

firm capable of building the necessary 

facilities. Favorable soil and rock formations 

were found to exist in Utah and Colorado. The 

prime research and development firm awarded 

the contract for the work was the Engineering 

Research Associates of Arlington, Virginia. It 

was their task to determine how effectively 

and economically to construct facilities that 

would withstand high yield forces. 

Jim Coombs stated that, "I consider it (Underground Explosion Test Program) to be the 

most significant during my tenure with the 

government ... " In addition to the prime contractor, several other firms and agencies 

worked under Corps supervision in the construction and instrumentation of the program. 

Some of those responsible for the work were: 

U.S. Bureau of Mines 

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 

Morrison-Knudsen 

Colorado School of Mines 

Denver University 

Armons Research Foundation 

CHAPTER VI 

PREPARING FOR CRISIS 

Rensselaer Poly technical Institute 

Stanford Research Institute 

U.S. Armed Forces Special Weapons Project 

U.S. Geological Survey 

U.S. Ordnance Department 

Mr. Coombs gives some further details about 

the project. 

77 

District personnel accomplished much of 

the work, such as: (a) Geology of all sites, 

(b) Soils sampling and soils analysis, (c) 

Site surveys, (d) Site reports and site 

selection. Many of the outstanding scientists of the country were also involved as 

special consultants for the program. The 

Sacramento District was responsible for 

the conduct of the program with technical 

assistance from OCE. Sacramento District personnel responsible for supervision of the project were Henderson 

McGee, Walter Grimes (early in program), F.W. McGregor, and myself. 

The reason I feel that the project had significance was in the manner in which the 

tests were conducted and the problems 

that had to be solved. Since there was 

very little data available on underground 

explosion effects, the program was developed on a 'crawl before your walk' concept. The effects of very small charges of 

TNT were determined before larger 

charges were detonated, until a detonation of 320,000 pounds of TNT was made 

in soil and rock. These tests were extrapolated to the 20 kilo ton TNT equivalent to 

record what explosion effects were available and had to be developed, including 

cable, dust collection, photography and 

various gage types for soil, rock and 

structures. As previously mentioned the 

test results were used to set up the atomic 

testing in Nevada, and, I suspect, the 

more recent deep underground charges in 

rock. It is therefore apparent that every 

effort had to be made to obtain the best 

test data possible. This was a great challenge to all participants as well as the 

Corps of Engineers. 
COLONEL LESTER F. RHODES 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - JUNE 1945 - AUGUST 1947 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

78 
(Army Corps of Engineers Photos) 

79 
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSION TESTS 

80 
COLONEL JOSEPH S. GORLINSKI 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - SEPTEMBER 1947 - MARCH 1950 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

81 
RECIPIENTS OF 20-30 YEAR EMBLEMS - 1949 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

RECIPIENTS OF 20-30 YEAR SERVICE EMBLEMS, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, ENGINEER DAY, 16 JUNE 1949 

Front Row: Domingo T. Macaraig (32 years), 

Irving R. Foster (31 years), Elmo A. Brule (38 

years), Elsie Mann (31 years), Horace Mann 

(35 years), Rowland L. Egenhoff (36 years), 

August E. Raezler (35 years), Col. Joseph S. 

Gorlinski, District Engineer, Henry M. Rich 

(39 years), Ralph G. Griffin (39 years), Maland 

M. Stooks (36 years), James B. Fraser (31 

years), 

Second Row: Robert B. Douglass (20 years), 

Frank A. Darby (22 years), Henderson E. 

McGee (22 years), William G. Sherman (26 

years), Francis G. Christian (20 years), William R. Daniels (20 years), George J. Mollison 

(25 years), Carl A. Behrens (26 years), Bert R. 

Carnahan (24 years), 

Third Row: William E. Lint (22 years), Walter 

V. Donnelly (23 years), Harlan D. Ellmaker 

(25 years), George F. Ricci (23 years), Lynn A. 

Bedwell (20 years), Milton Farley (22 years), 

Curtis Greene (21 years), James F. Choate (23 

years), Paul Bennett (21 years), 

Fourth Row: Harold Tofsrud (21 years), Edward V. Metcalf (27 years), Kenneth C. Elmes 

82 

(23 years), George T. Wilson (21 years), James 

H. Kroh, Jr. (21 years), Orville H . Hart (21 

years), Manuel F . Nascimento (21 years), Arne 

Solvig (24 years), Olaf O. Olsen (23 years), 

Fifth Row: Edward W. Blackmer (27 years), 

J ames A. Pennell (22 years), Erwin G. 

Dahneke (21 years), Ralph B. Brown (21 

years), Julius Nelson (31 years). 

In addition to those pictured, the following employees who were unable to attend the presentation were awarded service emblems: Richard 

F . Monson (38 years), Stanley Leslie, retired 

(35 years), John W. McCormick (33 years), 

Katherine A. Maxwell, retired (31 years), 

Mich a el J . Donovan (28 years), William 

Beinhauer (27 years), Percy L. Jones (23 

years), Joyal R. Morton (23 years), Walter J. 

Daveler , retired (23 years), Victoriano A. 

Llopis (21 years), Willis C. Spaulding (21 

years), Robert R. Morley (21 years), Arthur C. 

Showman (21 years), Thomas B. Morris (21 

years), Donald G. McConnachie, retired (21 

years), Ernest A. Sugg (20 years), William B. 

Gerhart (20 years). 
Prior to official reports being issued about 

the project in the spring of 1948, rumors circulated that underground factories and other 

facilities were to be built. Some even believed 

that the Army was drilling for oil. H.O. Plath, 

Resident Engineer at Salt Lake City, spiked 

the speculation when he explained, "The only 

things we are putting underground are explosives and the targets." On March 15, 1948, 

Colonel Joseph Gorlinski, District Engineer, 

and Henderson McGee conducted a group of 

twenty-five military and civilian experts, 

many from the Sacramento District, on a tour 

of the sites and later met in Sal t Lake City for 

consultations. Site selection began in 1947, followed by actual construction work in the 

spring of 1948. By the summer of 1952, the 

scene was set for the most violent non-atomic 

explosion set off to that time. 

On July 8, 1952, Sacramento District engineers accompanied by physicists, detonated 

four rail carloads - 160 tons - of TNT at 

Buckhorn Wash, near Castle Dale, Utah. Construction crews had worked for four years digging tunnels and building protective structures at the blast site. Even though the charge 

contained the same amount of high explosives 

used in the blast in dry clay near Dugway Proving Grounds a year earlier, which was then 

the most powerful non-atomic explosion ever 

detonated, the Buckhorn blast, because it was 

imbedded in a cliff of Navajo Sandstone, exceeded the Dugway explosion in intensity. 

The entire test site was honeycombed with 

instruments to record the behavior of the shock 

waves and the strain on the rock being tested. 

Arrangements were made to record the shock 

of the spectacular blast as far away as 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the laboratories 

of the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Instrumentation development, in fact, had been 

one of the factors that accounted for the great 

length of time involved in setting up the tests. 

Moreover, each target was built to scale. In all, 

three sites comprised the intermountain underground testing program. Within the Dugway area, tests were conducted in sand, clay 

and limestone. At Castle Dale, Utah, 

sandstone was utilized, and at Grand Junction, 

Colorado, test work was completed in granite. 

By the time of the Buckhorn blast in 1952, 

more than seventy explosions had been set off. 

Testing done under this program finally came 

to an end in 1954. 

Another kind of underground construction, 

the backyard bomb shelter, also made its debut 

in the early 1950s. Americans had become increasingly jittery ever since the end of the war 

as they realized that communism was out to 

conquer the free world. A formidable deterrent 

to unrestrained expansion of communism was 

America's monopoly on atomic weapons. This 

security was shattered and the public stunned 

when President Truman announced on September 23, 1949, that the Soviet Union had 

exploded an atomic bomb some three weeks 

earlier. Washington was just as shocked and 

unnerved as the man on the street, because its 

policy of "containment" had made no allowances for such a contingency. In the end, Washington's answer was to build hydrogen bombs. 

The following summer, the nation's fear of 

communist aggression was vindicated. After 

months of minor skirmishes with their 

brothers to the south, the North Koreans 

launched a massive invasion across the 

thirty-eighth parallel at 4:00 A.M., Sunday, 

June 25, 1950 (Korean time). Whether it was 

the Russians, the Chinese or the North Koreans who made the decision for invasion and 

why, at this particular time, has never become 

known in the West. Many believe that the 

chain of events followed from Dean Acheson's 

"defense perimeter" speech of January, 1950. 

His line ran through the Aleutians, Japan, the 

Ryukyus and the Philippines. Formosa and 

Korea were outside of what he believed to be 

our defense responsibility. Those not within 

the perimeter, if attacked, would have to rely 

upon their own power to resist "and then upon 

the commitments of the entire civilized world." 

Regardless of who made the decision or for 

whatever reason, the North Koreans invaded 

the South, and once again American "blood 

and treasure" were spent in its defense. 

The Sacramento District became involved, 

though indirectly, when military design and 

construction responsibilities were again as83 
84 

I' Eagle L;;}(e 

HOI1~Y~\ 

~ Sierra 

Ordinance 

Depat 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT 

MILITARY WORK 

1951 
.<,-

COLONEL C.C. HAUG 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER" APRIL 1950 - JUNE 1953 

C.E. Photo 

85 
signed on January 1, 1951. The new boundaries for military work comprised all the counties in northern California north of and including Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Sacramento, San 

Joaquin, Calaveras and Alpine with the exception of Benicia Arsenal which remained within 

the boundary of the San Francisco District. 

The effect of the war (police action) on Army 

and Air Force installations within the District 

was immediate. Jolted out of their comparative 

serenity, military and civilian personnel rebounded from their shock and hustled to supply General MacArthur, an engineer officer 

himself, one more time. In the three years and 

thirty-two days of the Korean conflict, the 

United States sent more than one and a half 

million soldiers, sailors and airmen to fight 

with the United Nations forces against the 

communists, both Korean and Chinese. From 

Travis, Mather, McClellan; from Sierra 

Ordnance Depot, Sharp Army Depot, from 

Lathrop and Tracy; from runways and warehouses built, rebuilt, expanded and extended 

by men and women of the Sacramento District, 

men by the thousands and supplies by the 

thousands of tons enabled allied forces to hang 

on and finally push back the enemy. But even 

the genius of MacArthur couldn't achieve a 

clear victory in Korea. The conflict ended in an 

armistice and long-drawn-out negotiations. 

The military boundaries of the District were 

again expanded on October 1, 1955, to include 

the State of Nevada, except the southern counties of Lincoln and Clark. Four years later, in 

an attempt to equalize the workload between 

the Sacramento and San Francisco Districts, 

specific military projects such as Sharpe General Depot and Travis Air Force Base were 

transferred to San Francisco from Sacramento. 

The geographical areas transferred included 

Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Mendocino, San 

Joaquin, Siskiyou and Sonoma counties. 

With the expanded boundaries came an increased work load. The Strategic Air Command's massive buildup during the 1950s also 

had a direct effect upon type and number of 

projects undertaken by the District. Their new 

super heavy bombers, the B-47 and later the 

B-52, had the same kinds of effects on runways 

86 

during the '50s as the B-17 and B-29 did on 

flight strips designed for their predecessors. 

For example, in 1958 when Strategic Air 

Command's 320th Bombardment Wing was assigned to Mather, more than $20,000,000 was 

spent on the construction of additional runways and buildings to handle the heavy bombers and refueling tankers. Similar conditions 

existed at the other large air bases located 

throughout the District. Several of the older 

pavements (constructed in 1942-43) that had 

been heavily trafficked and on which distressed slabs had not been replaced, were found 

to be in a poor condition. In several of the airfield pavement evaluation reports written in 

the late 1950s, one finds the following kinds of 

remarks: 

The most probable cause of damage to the 

pavements is overstressing due to the operation of aircraft considerably heavier 

than that for which they were designed 

... The slabs which are under the landing 

wheels of the B-52s and KC-135s have 

shown signs of movement along the 

cracks and some slight fragmentation has 

been noted. 

Not only strength but length was a factor in 

the new facilities constructed in the late fifties. 

The improvement at McClellan is a case in 

point. In January 1958, the Sacramento District completed a 3,450-foot extension to the 

base's main north-south runway. The new total 

length, not counting a new 1,000-foot overrun 

at the north end and 970 feet converted to 

overrun at the south end, came to 10,530 feet. 

Some of the newer runways were so wide that 

many smaller aircraft could actually land 

cross-wise. Long-needed modernization and 

expansion of storage facilities and personnel 

housing were also started during this period. 

Dental clinics, community centers, service 

clubs, schools, exchange sales stores, dormitories, commissaries, officers' quarters, 

steam plants, recreational and training buildings, medical facilities; in fact, just about any 

and all things necessary or desirable for a 

people entering the space age were being constructed by the Sacramento District during the 

late 1950s. 
COLONEL W.L. ELY 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - JVL Y 1953 - DECEMBER 1955 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photos) 

87 
In 1957, the District was given the unique 

opportunity to design a complete, modern air 

base from the ground up. Ten years earlier, old 

Camp Beale near Marysville, had been declared surplus by the War Department. On 

September 29, 1947, the War Assets Administration assumed custody of the base and reserved certain portions for the National Guard. 

Early in 1948 the Air Force requested the 

W.A.A. for Beale and a transfer was arranged. 

For the next three years, until 1951, the old 

army cantonment saw limited use as a 

bombardier-navigator training facility. Six 

years later it was designated a SAC base. In 

the spring of 1957, the Sacramento District engineers broke ground for the installation's first 

modern runway. By the next summer the District had completed a 12,000-foot airstrip with 

500-foot overruns on both ends. 

Named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale, founder 

of the U.S. Army Camel Corps and Commissioner of Indian Affairs in California and 

Nevada, the base is one of the few in the nation 

designed from the start as a contemporary and 

highly sophisticated Air Force facility and not 

a made-over airdrome constructed to service 

craft of an earlier era. Runways were laid out 

in logical areas and didn't have to be put down 

just to avoid a barracks, or in an area where 

soil conditions happened to be suitable. Support facilities and community services, for a 

change, were constructed with an eye to 

aesthetics, and to blend with and complement 

the total program of a modern city. For, over 

the years, that's what Beale, thanks to sound 

engineering and design practices, has become, 

one of the largest communities in the area. The 

Sacramento District, and Beale in particular, 

received some of their most exciting news, and 

one of the District's most valuable contracts, 

during 1959, with the word that the District 

had been selected to construct a Titan Ballistic 

Missile site near Beale Air Force Base. 

Involvement in missile support systems was 

nothing new, however, for the Corps of Engineers. Ever since the Armed Forces initiated 

their missile research and development programs in 1945, Army Engineers had played a 

supporting role with their vital construction ef88 

forts. And when the first Nike battery became 

operational in December 1953, the Corps of 

Engineers could be justly proud of its contributions to its development. This first antiaircraft missile program was the outgrowth of the 

realization that a single plane carrying a nuclear weapon, and penetrating the defenses of a 

community, spelled total destruction and annihilation of the city and its families. Soon 

Nike missile installations were deployed 

throughout the United States in defense of its 

major industries and cities. 

As additional information about Soviet aircraft became available, defense officials feared 

attacks by huge formations of supersonic 

enemy bombers that could deliver their terrible engines of death from extremely high altitudes. The Nike Ajax, as the first missiles 

were called, was capable of destroying a single 

enemy bomber some thirty miles distant. Before long this original system was modified and 

armed with a nuclear warhead and renamed 

N ike Hercules. Now a single missile could 

smash whole fleets of enemy aircraft a hundred 

miles from launch site. Transformation of the 

Ajax missiles into the faster, more powerful 

and deadlier Hercules was begun in California 

in May 1958. 

As missile preparedness was accelerated, 

construction of the more conventional defense 

system diminished proportionately. A case in 

point: In fiscal year 1957, 37 percent of the 

Army's total military construction program 

was in support of various missile projects. But 

by the very next year this percentage had 

climbed to 48 percent. The advance in missile 

construction for the Air Force was even more 

dramatic. Allocations there jumped from 2 percent of the total budget in 1957 to approximately 50 percent by 1960. 

While the Nike Hercules could blunt any 

enemy bomber raid, it couldn't be counted on to 

stop a missile barrage. Intercontinental ballistic missiles race toward their victims at 20,000 

miles per hour. Thus when plans were being 

formulated in 1956 to devise a defense against 

them, the difficulties seemed insurmountable. 

Once again the Nike system was updated and 

greatly sophisticated. The result was the con-
troversial Nike Zeus. Some top-ranking Army 

officers suggested that with further modification the latest Nike could even be made to 

intercept and destroy Russian satellites. 

More sophisticated missile systems required 

improved and expanded radar facilities, both to 

track the incoming enemy and to guide the deterrent. Jack English described a humorous 

and potentially lethal incident that he shared 

while in search of such a radar site. 

The period just after the Korean War and 

on through the fifties saw considerable 

activity in the construction of radar and 

communications installations. Inasmuch 

as these generally required mountain top 

locations, considerable exploration for 

suitable sites was required. I personally 

visited many peaks in California on these 

projects, and can recall many rough but 

interesting trips. Probably the most exciting of these was one to the top of Fredonyer Peak, Elev. 7,995 feet, Lassen 

County, California. It was a rugged peak 

with jagged lava formations at its summit. In order to ascertain the adequacy of 

the area required for a possible installation, it was necessary for my partner in 

this venture (a liaison engineer from San 

Francisco District) and myself to determine measurements by pacing. Considering the rugged terrain this was no easy 

task, especially so when we encountered a 

very steep escarpment directly in our 

path. As we were pondering how to overcome this problem, an immediate solution 

presented itself, for there above our heads 

on a small ledge appeared a magnificent 

mountain lion in all its fury, teeth bared, 

tail lashing, at the same time emitting 

that spine chilling warning peculiar to 

that species. We froze, each of us carefully 

picked up a rock and very carefully backed 

away, then slowly retreated to the safety 

of the Forest Service Lookout. 

Needless to say we never completed that 

measurement on the ground. It was the 

only survey in which I participated where 

a vital distance was estimated by eye 

alone! 

With the Underground Explosion Tests as a 

base, new data were collected and integrated 

by the Sacramento District to formulate a 

rather complete bank of knowledge related to 

missile support systems. By the mid-fifties District personnel had already determined that, 

"Criteria for the underground storage of materials for survival and retaliation include an 

areal limitation between latitudes 35 degrees 

and 40 degrees, west of the crest of the Sierra 

Nevada, excluding an area of 40-mile radius 

from San Francisco ... " And since the Corps, 

in general, and the Sacramento District specifically, had been supporting the Armed Forces 

missile program with construction from their 

earliest research, construction of Titan sites by 

the District was but a natural extension of this 

work on behalf of the Air Force's retaliatory 

capability. It should be remembered that construction of ground support facilities for missiles is complex in the extreme. Facilities have 

to be prepared from which to launch, house, 

and track the "big birds." Additionally, other 

technical equipment and facilities to house 

personnel are a necessary part of the job. Finally, Corps construction had to be integrated 

with the schedules for missile fabrication and 

its related equipment, and with the training of 

personnel. 

Flexibility seemed to be the key to success. 

While the Corps was completing its part of the 

project, for instance, the Air Force was proceeding with research and development on the 

yet unproven Titan itself. To further complicate the situation, each change in the missile 

required modification of the underground silos, 

equipment terminals, control centers and/or 

powerhouses. 

On January 30, 1959, the Air Force announced that studies were about to get underway to survey possible missile site locations in 

the vicinity of the Strategic Air Command's 

Beale Air Force Base. Surveys were conducted 

by Sacramento District teams throughout the 

summer. On September 17th, Colonel Paul 

Carlton, Commander of the 4126th Strategic 

Wing at Beale, announced that the base had 

been selected as the fifth Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missile site. Beale AFB was desig89 
COLONEL ALBERT E. MCCOLLAM 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - JULY 1956 - JULY 1959 

90 
nated as the support base for the underground 

silos located within a fifty-four mile radius. 

One site was about eight miles north of Chico, 

another was approximately ten miles west of 

Live Oak in the Sutter Buttes area, and the 

third was located only a few miles southeast of 

Lincoln. Originally, it was estimated that 

twenty-two months and forty-two million dollars were required to accomplish the construction task. 

Within a few days of the announcement, 

Sacramento District personnel began negotiating directly with the landowners involved to 

acquire the real estate, about sixty acres each, 

for the sites. A measure of the significance of 

the project was the declaration of Harold 

Robinson, director of the California Disaster 

Office, that California might have to alter its 

plan to utilize Chico as the provisional state 

capital in the event of a disaster. 

By September 24, 1959, a field office of the 

Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, Air Research and Development Command, was 

opened at McClellan Air Force Base to supervise the installation of equipment for the three 

Titan launching sites. Following this action, 

the Sacramento District, by District Order No. 

59-51, established the Valley Area Office on 30 

September, in the old Splinter City area of 

McClellan, with Olaf Lein in charge. Earlier, 

Mr. Lein had served as Assistant Chief of 

Construction-Operations Division. Colonel 

Howard Morris, District Engineer, appointed 

Arden Kull and Ellsworth Kanzler to assist 

Lein. Prior to his new assignment, Kull had 

been honored by the Air Force for his efforts in 

postwar planning of air fields and supervising 

construction activities at Travis AFB. Kanzler 

had performed in a similar capacity at Mather, 

McClellan and Beale. 

Colonel Morris assigned Fred Fader resident engineer responsibilities at the Lincoln 

site, G.W. (Bud) Probasco at Sutter Buttes, and 

Joe Nelson to serve as resident engineer at 

Chico. Bids for the Titan work amounting to 

approximately $30,000,000 were opened on 

January 12, 1960, in the Empire Room of Sacramento's Hotel Senator. More than 600 excited and anxious contractors and spectators 

jammed the room to learn that Peter Kiewit 

Sons' Company of Arcadia, Los Angeles 

County, had submitted the low bid. Some bidders came from as far away as Iowa in hopes of 

getting a "piece of the action." 

When work began in January 1960, negotiations were relatively uncomplicated for the 

civil type work, such as excavation, backfill 

and concrete operations. But as the project 

progressed into the spring and summer, 

changes assumed a more complex and demanding nature. Hence, negotiations became more 

difficult. Modifications, due to new data and 

changes in the Titan missile, compounded each 

other, while removal of completed work added 

to the complexity. The unique nature of the 

construction, such as purging of pipes, welding 

stainless steel pipe and new cleanliness requirements meant that new procedures had to 

be employed. Some idea of the magnitude of 

the task may be gained by comparing the initial contract of $30,000,000 with the addition 

of about 400 changes with a dollar value of 

approximately ten million. 

Excavation of the shafts for the missile silos 

began on March 10, 1960, and were generally 

complete by late summer. Backfilling began in 

September and was finished within a few 

weeks. 

More than 600,000 cubic yards of rock and 

earth were excavated, stockpiled and then rehandled for the backfilling during the construction of this complex. When completed, approximately 32,000 cubic yards of concrete, 90 

miles of cables, 300 tons of piping and about 

1,800 separate Air Force supply items could be 

found at anyone of the three sites. 

Each site included three missile silos with 

related propellant and equipment terminals, a 

control center, a power house, two antenna 

silos, entry portal and a complex system of 

tunnels which connected the various components. All were underground! The silos themselves were 155 feet in depth with an inside 

diameter of 40 feet. The concrete walls of each 

silo were up to three feet thick and the top of 

each was covered by a pair of horizontal leaf 

concrete doors weighing 125 tons each. Using 

information gathered during the Underground 

91 
Explosion Tests of earlier years, the structures 

and equipment contained therein were protected from the shock of possible atomic blasts 

by incorporating protective construction features into each project. 

Just as the project passed the mid-point of 

completion, the Sacramento District's role in 

the work was terminated, with supervision of 

the construction being transferred to the recently created Corps of Engineers Ballistic 

Missile Construction Office (CEBMCO) in Los 

Angeles. The office had been established to 

strengthen, steamline, expedite and integrate 

all Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) 

construction efforts nationwide. At the time, 

ICBM construction consisted of Titan, Atlas 

and Minuteman squadron sites at or near 

selected bases all over the country, in addition 

to testing facilities at Vandenberg AFB, 

California and Cape Canaveral (Kennedy), 

Florida. CEBMCO was opened in Los Angeles 

on 1 August 1960, but Sacramento's Titan 

work wasn't transferred until 1 November 

1960. At the time the change took place, Colonel H.N. Turner, District Engineer, stated, "It 

is very satisfying to turn over the project to the 

new office knowing construction is ahead of 

schedule." Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Sherrard headed up the new Beale Area Office, as 

the office was now called, with Olaf Lein acting 

as Deputy Area Engineer. 

At the time of transfer to CEBMCO, 95 District employees were assigned to the work in 

the field and a substantial part of the production time of the Construction Branch was involved with the work. Moreover, at the time of 

takeover, wherever practicable, personnel already performing various duties were transferred to the new Area Office. 

Once the missile sites were nearly operational (they never had to be used, thank God!), 

they suffered from severe accidents and before 

long were declared obsolete and abandoned. On 

May 24, 1962, a terrific blast at the Chico site 

destroyed a Titan missile and heavily damaged 

the silo in which it was housed. In the investigation that followed, the Air Force stated that 

two separate explosions had occurred because 

of a blocked vent and a blocked valve. Two 

92 

weeks later, on the sixth of June, a flash fire 

broke out in another silo, killing a worker. Besides taking a life, the accidents caused damage in excess of ten million dollars. Finally, in 

March, 1965, the Titan I missile squadron was 

deactivated. 

Before we leave our discussion of the fifties, 

another military construction project is worthy 

of noting. On May 15, 1956, the new Automatic 

Teletypewriter Switching Center at the Davis 

Transmitter Station, a key installation in the 

Army's strategic communications system, was 

dedicated in ceremonies that included Major 

General Cordeman, Deputy Chief Signal Officer, and Governor Knight of California. The 

first of its kind to be placed in service, the complex consisted of three vital units, a Transmitter Station near Davis, a Receiver Station on a 

mesa just east of Middleton, Lake County, and 

a Relay Tower located on the summit of Mt. 

Vaca near Vacaville. 

Once again Mr. Jack English is called upon 

to add a personal touch to this interesting construction job. 

The siting of the component parts of this 

facility posed many interesting problems 

for at that time direct line of sight was 

required between each unit, thence from 

the Relay Tower to the Presidio. Considerable exploration and travel was entailed in locating and checking the feasibility of the sites finally selected. The Mt. 

Vaca site was unique inasmuch as it was 

in the ideal position to fulfill the requirements of the system, and fortunately 

there was just sufficient area adequately 

to contain this facility. However, this location was subject to very high winds, and 

inasmuch as the function of the tower required a structure practically vibration 

free, this structure was very rigidly designed using very solid materials; the 

steel structure was very heavy. 

Access to the tower site was by a very 

narrow and winding trail, so delivery of 

construction materials was somewhat difficult. I suppose that if this tower was 

being constructed today the steel members would be easily delivered by helicop-
TRANSMITTER STATION NEAR DAVIS, CALIFORNIA 

(Photo courtesy Jack English) 

. ; 

-. 

-. - - .. ~~~ 
ter. I remember that during construction 

I was at the tower one afternoon when the 

wind was coming in from the coast, and it 

was the only time on a construction job 

that I ever saw steel workers crawling 

along the beams, like old time seamen 

working sail aloft in a gale ... they also 

quit work in mid-afternoon, ... the wind 

velocity was too much for them, somewhere around 80 miles an hour. Incidentally, during the preliminary site studies, 

I remember that the engineer from Sixth 

Army Signal Corps and myself were determining the practicability of a certain 

line of sight . . . and the signal we were 

attempting to pick up was from an old 

army heliograph ... that was certainly a 

marriage of the ancient and modern. 

Alas, all the effort that went into the design and construction of this fine system 

was lost to much more sophisticated 

facilities now available ... the communications satellites now do its work. 

Strange as it may sound ... the Transmitter Station near Davis has been "given back to the Indians" for a college. I 

feel rather good about this action for the 

buildings were well designed and constructed and should prove very useful for 

this purpose. Incidentally this Station occupied one complete section of land (i.e. 

six hundred and forty acres more or less, 

so there is adequate area for any future 

expansion of the campus.) 

The fully automatic teletype switching center, which was placed in service in May of 

1956, was the first full-scale installation of its 

kind in the world. It was the center for official 

Army teletype messages west of the Mississippi River, and served as the jumping-off point 

for Pacific overseas radio messages to Honolulu, Tokyo and the Far East. The station was 

the farthest step yet taken to perfect worldwide communication. The earliest transmitting station in the Sixth Army area (then 

known as the Ninth Corps area) was located at 

the Presidio of San Francisco and sent its messages via old "Marconi type" antennae supported between two towers. By 1930 this had 

94 

been replaced with commercial sets delivering 

up to 10,000 watts. Some improvements were 

made prior to the War, but, "During an 

emergency, the tape waiting for transmission 

or typing would frequently pile up until it 

covered the floor." Further modifications were 

made, but even so, the extra heavy load placed 

upon the system during World War II emphasized the need for further development in automation. After a great deal of study, experimentation and terrain surveys (some twenty 

sites in all) the site between Davis and Winters 

was chosen. While it served, especially in those 

fearful years following Korea, the Station contributed substantially to the defense of our 

country. 

The Sacramento District embarked upon the 

decade of the sixties with prospects of the 

largest dollar workload since it had built Folsom Dam. In no small way, the huge Titan 

project, coupled with the civil mission, accounted for the optimism. When all missile 

work was given to CEBMCO however, the District adjusted itself to a workload equaling only 

about half of that expected at the beginning of 

the fiscal year (July, 1960). This shift, while 

taking away one of the largest contracts in the 

District's history, was directly responsible for 

the transfer of practically all of San Francisco 

District's military design and construction activities to the Sacramento District. The greatly 

reduced military workload within Corps Districts nationwide, because of all missile projects going to CEBMCO, meant that the 

number of Districts performing a military mission was cut to only seventeen. In the shuffie, 

Sacramento also assumed responsibility for all 

real estate activities, both civil and military, of 

the San Francisco District. Moreover, by the 

same directive of 7 April 1961, OCE General 

Orders No.9, all other services related to military design and engineering, military construction and real estate were transferred as 

well. By this change, effective 1 July 1961, 

Sacramento took over the design and construction of major facilities at the following military 

installations: Hill AFB, Dugway, Castle AFB, 

Travis AFB, Fairfield, EI Cerrito, Eureka, Salt 

Lake City, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, 
." ."'/ I 'v / _'-.,,,,; 

A GROUP FROM THE ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS "WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION" TOUR THE S-IV-B TEST 

COMPLEX. JOE NELSON, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AT THE NASA PROJECT OFFICE, IS EXPLAINING 

THE USE OF THE SAFETY NET TO THE HAPPY GROUP. (Ca 1964) 

(A rmy Corps a/Engineers Plwto ) 
Two Rock, Wendover AFB, Madera, Modesto, 

Rio Vista, Sharpe General Depot, Golden Gate 

Cemetery, Little Rock Hospital (Little Rock 

District), Almaden Air Force Station (AFS), 

Ford Ord, Hamilton AFB, Mill Valley AFS, 

Point Arena, San Francisco Defense Area, 

Sunnyvale, Oakland Army Base, Benicia Arsenal, Forts Baker and Barry, Presidio of San 

Francisco, Klamath, Presidio of Monterey, 

Vallejo, Fort Mason, and San Francisco National Cemetery. 

If this wasn't enough to boost sagging spirits, 

it was also learned that Sacramento was to 

playa vital role in President Kennedy's strategy to have an American on the moon by decade's end. In compliance with a joint agreement between the Corps of Engineers and 

NASA (the National Aeronautic and Space 

Agency), dated April, 1960, as amended December, 1961, the Sacramento District gained 

responsibility for the construction of two static 

test stands and related works for the Saturn 

S-IV-B rocket engine. On November 2, 1962, 

Colonel H. N. Turner, District Engineer, designated Joe Nelson as Project Engineer for the 

new missile support work. In the same district 

order Colonel Turner stated that as of 14 

November 1962 a Project Office would be established and function as a unit of the 

Construction-Operations Division. 

Early in 1962, the Los Angeles District 

began designing the complex while Sacramento began site preparation. In November 

1962, Colonel Turner announced that bids 

would be asked in January 1963, for construction of the moon rocket testing facilities main 

contract. 

The Saturn program had been in the planning for over six years by the time the test 

facilities were ready. Back in the spring of 

1957 a group headed by Dr. Wernher von 

Braun began studies which eventually led to 

the Saturn, America's first vehicle developed 

specifically for deep space investigation. On 

August 15, 1958, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) took the first steps in 

what finally developed into the Saturn project. 

A year later, November 18, 1959, NASA assumed technical direction of the program pend96 

ing formal transfer from the ARPA. Only two 

months later the Saturn project was approved 

as a program of the highest national priority. 

During the summer of 1961, construction of 

the liquid hydrogen test site neared completion 

at Sacramento Test Facility. To speed the project along, facilities existing from earlier programs were utilized. Then in December, prototype S-IV stage tankage was installed and 

propellant loading tests began. Progress continued on the second stage of the rocket, and on 

August 17, 1962, the initial static firing of the 

S-IV took place at Sacramento. During the test 

some 90,000 pounds of thrust was generated 

for ten seconds. On October 4, a firing lasting 

seven full minutes was successfully completed. 

By the middle of November a total of eleven 

tests had been completed on the test stands 

constructed under the supervision of the Sacramento District. 

The S-IV-B stage left Huntington Beach for 

Sacramento in March of 1966, where it would 

undergo acceptance firing. Throughout the late 

sixties the test facilities served to prove and 

improve the S-IV-B engine. All was progressing quite smoothly at Sacramento until on 

January 20, 1967, the Saturn's third stage 

exploded shortly before its scheduled ignition. 

The terrific blast completely destroyed the engine about to be tested and also did substantial 

damage to the test stand. Later it was learned 

that the wrong welding material was used on 

one of the ambient temperature helium storage 

spheres located on the engine thrust structure. 

An unidentified witness described the explosion. "I was driving toward Folsom about five 

miles from the center when I saw a big ball of 

fire. Then I felt a shock wave." Before it was 

destroyed, the rocket motor was designated to 

propel astronauts Frank Borman, Michael Collins and William Anders into earth orbit for a 

full-scale rehearsal of moon flight operations. 

Even though the massive rocket was reduced 

to flaming rubbish, and the entire Saturn program set back, no one was injured and eventually the United States put a man on the moon 

before the sixties were over. When Neil 

Armstrong set foot on the moon in t he summer 

of 1969, the Sacramento District Corps of En-
1. 

f I 

I 

-- -

BETA I TEST STAND WITH MOCK-UP OF FLIGHT VEHICLE IN TEST POSITION. NOTE SIZE OF AUTOMOBILES 

FOR COMPARISON. (Ca 1965) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
gineers recalled with pride their efforts in the 

partnership that allowed Armstrong to state, 

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap 

for mankind." 

Besides its extensive involvement with missile support systems, the Sacramento District 

undertook military construction programs during the 1960s that nearly defy description. Not 

since the War had such a tremendous variety 

and volume of work in support of the Armed 

Services been accomplished. Two basic reasons 

are identifiable for the colossal growth of military work: (1) The uncertain and tense world 

situation due to such things as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, American bombing of North Vietnam, 

Communist China's expllJding its first atomic 

bomb, the Israeli-Arab six day war, North Korean capture of the USS Pueblo, the Tet offensive, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, 

North Korea's shooting down of an unarmed 

American reconnaissance plane; and (2) New 

responsibilities gained by the District during 

the sixties. (Office, Chief of Engineers assigned 

the Sacramento District all family housing design in the 6th Army Area, which included 

both North and South Pacific Divisions). From 

1964 up to and including 1969, the District 

spent almost $200,000,000 for military construction, an average of over $32,000,000 for 

each of the last six years of the decade. 

The following is a random list of typical construction jobs that may give a hint as to the 

diversity of projects completed in the 1960s. 

1962 1. Radar Tower - Red Bluff AFS 

2. 100-Man Fallout Shelter - Almaden AFS 

3. Support Facilities for Fuel Cell 

Dock - Mather AFB 

4. Heating Plant Addition - Hill 

AFB 

5. Family Quarters - Dugway Proving Ground 

6. Nike-Hercules Improvement Kit 

- San Francisco Defense Area 

7. Finance Building - Fort Ord 

8. Modification to Satellite Test 

Annex - Sunnyvale 

98 

9. Auto. Data Proc. Facility -

McClellan AFB 

10. Area Search Radar Facility -

Travis AFB 

1963 1. Re-Entry Vehicle Test FacilitiesGreen River, Utah 

2. Chapel, Base Alterations and 

Photo Lab Alterations - Castle 

AFB 

3. Rocket Motor Surveillance Facility 

- Hill Air Force Range 

4. Academic Building - Presidio of 

Monterey 

5. Dispensary and Dental Clinic -

Oakland Army Terminal 

6. Family Housing - Sharpe General Depot 

7. Modification of Existing Intrusion 

Alarm Systems - 23 N ike Sites 

8. Globecom. Facilities - McClellan 

AFB 

9. Engineer Iroan Test Lab - Sharpe 

Army Depot 

10. BOQ - Fort Ord 

1964 1. Rehabilitation of Pier Facilities -

Oakland Army Terminal 

2. Officers Quarters - Hill AFB 

3. Logistical Facility Depot 

McClellan AFB 

4. Parking Apron and Hoverpoint -

Fort Ord 

5. Runway, Overrun - Hamilton 

AFB 

6. Enlisted Men's Mess Hall -

Hunter Liggett 

7. Hydrant Fuel Aviation-Fuel & 

Emergency Power Plant - Travis 

AFB 

8. Wherry Housing - Presido of San 

Francisco 

9. Dispensary & Dental Clinic - Two 

Rock Ranch Station 

10. Guided Missile Surveillance Facility - Sierra Army Depot 

1965 1. Photo Material Storage Facility -

Defense Depot Tracy 

2. Minuteman Enginet:'ring Test 

Facility - Hill AFB 
3. Combat Vehicle Test Tract -

Tooele, Utah 

4. 100 Units Family Housing-Presidio of San Francisco 

5. 190 Units Family Housing - Fort 

Ord 

6. Regional Environmental Health 

Laboratory - McClellan AFB 

7. Demolition of Bldgs. & Relocation 

of Lincoln Blvd. - Letterman 

Hospital 

8. Bachelor Officer's Quarters -

Sierra Army Depot 

9. Emergency Power Supply -

Middletown Radar Station 

10. 550 Bed Hospital- LettermanPresidio of San Francisco 

1966 1. Logistical Facility Depot - Hill 

AFB 

2. Hangars, Maintenance Engine 

Runup - Hill AFB 

3. Logistical Facilities Depot -

McClellan AFB 

4. Sunnyvale Test Center Interim 

Expansion 

5. Warehouse Mechanization - Defense Depot Ogden 

6. Photogrammetric Mapping -

Camp Roberts 

7. Modification of Warehouse - Sacramento Army Depot 

8. Drainage and Fencing - Golden 

Gate National Cemetery 

9. High Altitude Training Building 

-Mather AFB 

10. Bluelight Project and Fueling System - Beale AFB 

1967 1. Ammunition Maintenance Facility 

- Sierra Army Depot 

2. Chapel - Beale AFB 

3. Preparation of Community Shelter 

Plan - Sacramento County 

4. Test Range, Air to Ground - Hill 

AFB 

5. National Fallout Shelter Updating 

Program Northern Callifornia 

6. Library and Theater - Hill AFB 

7. Rifle Squad Tactical Range - Fort 

Ord 

8. Minuteman Engineering Test 

Facility - Hill AFB 

9. Hospital Expansion - Ford Ord 

10. Aircraft Care and Preservation 

Facilities - Sharpe Army Depot 

1968 1. Student Dormitory with Mess -

Presidio of Monterey 

2. Hazardous Test Facility - Hill 

AFB 

3. Aircraft Systems Test Facility 

Depot - McClellan AFB 

4. Family Housing - Umatilla Army 

Depot, V ancou ver, Washington 

5. Squadron Operations (SAC) 

Mather AFB 

6. Cold Storage - Beale AFB 

7. Runway and Lighting Repairs -

Dugway Proving Grounds 

8. 150 Units Family Housing- Presidio of San Francisco 

9. Enlisted Men's Barrack Complex 

- Fort Ord 

10. Composite Medical Facility -

Mather AFB 

1969 1. Airfield Improvements - Dugway 

99 

Proving Grounds 

2. Telemetry Building - White 

Sands Missile Range, Green River, 

Utah 

3. Squadron Operations - McClellan 

AFB 

4. Ammunition Maintenance Facility 

- Tooele Army Depot, Utah 

5. Design of 100 Units Family Housing - Fort Huachuca, Arizona 

6. Design of Improvements - Fort 

Lewis, Washington 

7. 50-Man BOQ - Hunter Liggett 

Military Reservation 

8. Surface Drainage System, Warehouse - Defense Depot Tracy 

9. Shipment Processing Facility -

Tooele Army Depot, Utah 

10. Design of Western Medical Institute of Research - Presidio of S.F. 
SR-71 

(U. S. Air Force Photo) 

o 

o 

.-I 
These are meant only to be representative of 

the hundreds of projects (large and small), 

planned, designed and supervised by the personnel of the Sacramento District. Included 

among them are jobs whose value ranged from 

a few thousand dollars, to those exceeding sixteen million dollars. One of the biggest was 

initiated when Colonel Crawford Young, District Engineer, participated in ground breaking ceremonies for the $16,500,000 Minuteman 

II Engineering Test Facility at Hill Air Force 

Base in Utah. The facility is being used to update the ground support equipment and missile 

components for the Minuteman II ICBM. In 

contrast, Colonel Young and Colonel Robert 

Sauer, Commanding Officer of the 3535th 

Training Wing, turned the first shovels of dirt 

at similar ceremonies for a $934,000 gymnasium and dormitory at Mather Air Force 

Base. Very different from either of the above 

was the 550-bed Letterman Hospital, then 

under construction in September of 1967. This 

modern medical facility cost over $13,000,000. 

Undoubtedly the most mysterious and at 

times intriguing construction project completed in the '60s was "Bluelight" at Beale Air 

Force Base. Roan Aicklen recalled the enigmatic representatives from Lockheed who 

would show up at the District to check on the 

progress of the special runway and support 

facilities necessary for "Bluelight." Roan remembers "it was awfully difficult to properly 

design appliances for something when precise 

specifications were not available." 

Late in 1964 it was announced that Beale 

was to become the home of the Lockheed 

SR-71, which was finally revealed as 

"Bluelight." The "Beale Blackbirds," as they 

became known, were supersonic reconnaissance aircraft which could fly from Beale to 

Washington, D. C., in about an hour. The 

SR-71 squadrons were officially activated as 

the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing on 

January 1, 1965, but the first plane didn't arrive for another year. Later the 4200th was 

re-designated as the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. 

The highly classified plane has a spectacular 

set of statistics. For instance, like Superman, it 

can travel faster than a speeding bullet, more 

than 3,100 feet per second. But unlike other 

Mach 3+ aircraft which can fly at very high 

speed for only brief periods, the SR-71 is capable of cruising for hours at super-supersonic 

speed at more than 80,000 feet. Constructed 

largely of titanium, the craft actually "grows" 

several inches after it has flown at ultra-high 

speed, and parts of the plane glow because of 

the terrific heat it generates as it smashes into 

the rarefied stratosphere more than fifteen 

miles above the earth. 

During the closing years of the 1960s, after it 

was learned that Red China would soon be able 

to deliver atomic warheads to major U. S. cities 

via ICBMs, a great controversy grew around 

the type of defense that should be developed to 

meet the new threat. What was needed was an 

effective, yet economically feasible anti-missile 

capable of seeking out and destroying ICBMs 

launched against the United States mainland. 

Sentinel was the name applied to the Communist Chinese-oriented antiballistic missile 

system, which was really an outgrowth of the 

Nike series. 

Late in November, 1967, meetings were held 

at ten locations throughout the nation to discuss proposed sites for the new weapon. Colonel Crawford Young, District Engineer, and 

Creed Card, Real Estate Division Chief, met at 

one such meeting with Utah's Governor Calvin 

Rampton, Salt Lake City officials and representatives of the Army Air Defense Command 

(ARADCOM) in Salt Lake City. At the meeting the ARADCOM officials presented a general description of Sentinel, what it was supposed to do, and how it might involve the community, Salt Lake City being one of the potential sites. A similar meeting was held in San 

Francisco during the summer of 1968 after it 

was announced that the San Francisco Bay 

Area might serve as another Sentinel site. 

Sentinel was described as an area defense 

system, which would afford protection to all 

U. S. cities, not simply those near the missile 

sites. And because of their range, it was believed that relatively few sites would suffice to 

protect the entire country against the kind of 

attack Red China would be capable of by the 

101 
mid-70s. It was thought that some fifteen to 

twenty areas of the country were suitable for 

the proposed deterrent. Plans called for the 

first battery to be operational by the early '70s, 

with the remainder of the network standing 

guard five or six years later. 

The summer of 1968 found District real estate personnel acquiring permits for right-ofentry, followed by other specialists undertaking electronic monitoring, core drilling, seismic tests and detailed surveys so that final site 

selections could be made. Meanwhile the controversy regarding the effectiveness and cost of 

the system became quite heated. Many were 

afraid that once a site was operational near 

their city the enemy would zero in on them to 

knock out the anti-missil~ system. Others protested that nothing could stop an ICBM anyway, that it would just be pouring billions 

down the drain to construct the network. I'll the 

end, public pressure halted the site selection 

work and the little bit of construction that had 

been accomplished. 

Changing tactics, the Air Force scaled down 

its original proposal and tried to sell the idea of 

protecting only our own ICBM sites so as to 

ensure a retaliation capability in the event 

enemy missiles were aimed at our underground silos. The new anti-missile system was 

designated Safeguard. But, because of the 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), this 

system has, for the moment at least, also been 

shelved. 

There can be no question in anyone's mind 

that the war in Viet Nam has dominated a 

great deal of American thinking since the 

early 1960s. Here again as in World War II and 

Korea, our blood and treasure have been 

poured out in defense of human life. No previous task in its long history has taxed the Army's Corps of Engineers more heavily than its 

chore in Viet Nam. Just as much, or perhaps 

even more than the Pacific battles during 

World War II, Viet Nam is an "Engineer's 

War." Thousands of civilian and military construction men have built more than a billion 

dollars worth of facilities since our involvement. Hospitals, roads, air strips, communication systems, ammunition dumps, fortifica102 

tions, floating docks and housing have all been 

built by the Army Corps of Engineers under 

the most repugnant conditions. One of the 

more spectacular projects is the deep-water 

harbor at Cam Ranh Bay. Within a year, the 

Corps transformed a sun-baked wasteland into 

a modern harbor. 

Indirectly, the Sacramento District has 

aided the war effort by building runways, supply, ammunition and repair depots throughout 

the western states, from which men and 

supplies are forwarded to the fighting area. 

The District has been directly involved in the 

war by sending its own men to Viet Nam. Most 

of the Army officers serving with the District 

have seen action in Southeast Asia, some on 

more than one occasion. 

Civilians employed by the District have also 

volunteered for service in support of the national effort to aid the South Vietnamese. Included among the volunteers are Farold 

Thompson, Rex Williams, Edward Lyons, William Farrell, William Heyenbruch, Victor 

Schulman, Warren Sharp, Harold Moreton, 

Glenn Castle and Bill Doyle. 

Hopefully, President Nixon's announcement 

of peace, made during January 1973, will signal the end of destruction and devastation and 

usher in a time of reconciliation and rebuilding 

throughout Southeast Asia. At this point in 

time, we can't know with any degree of certitude the course of future events, nor is it possible to foresee the impact the cessation of hostilities will ultimatley have on the military installations within the Sacramento District, 

and hence indirectly upon the military program of the District. Whatever tomorrow 

holds, one thing is certain, the Sacramento 

District stands ready to protect and preserve 

life here at home and to enhance our chances of 

success on the many troubled fronts the world 

over. 

The emphasis of this discussion of military 

history has been, of necessity, a recounting of 

direct and indirect support afforded our armed 

forces by the Sacramento District since 1940. 

But we would ignore another vital function of 

the District if we failed to mention the life protection and life support facilities provided by 
'E' '~ 

~ -,,' , 

THE NEW LETTERMAN GENERAL HOSPITAL AT THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO 

(CALIFORNIA) WAS DEDICATED 14 FEBRUARY 1969. THE 550-BED, 10-STORY 

MEDICAL FACILITY WAS BUILT BY HALVORSON-McLAUGHLIN CONSTRUCTORS 

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, U. S. ARMY CORPS OF 

ENGINEERS, FOR APPROXIMA TEL Y $15 MILLION. THIS IS THE MAIN ENTRANCE ON 

THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo, 14 May 1969). 

103 

"B"'H" 

"H'il" 

'n"· 
the Sacramento District. Since 1961, the District has assumed a leadership role in Civil Defense and National Fallout Shelter Programs. 

Working with private, local, state and federal 

agencies, District personnel have planned, implemented and expanded Civil Defense projects. During the fall of 1968, Sacramento District's civil defense boundaries were enlarged 

to cover all of Northern California and the 

states of Nevada and Utah. The boundary 

changes meant a modification in organization 

as well. The Civil Defense Section, formerly a 

part of the Military Branch, was abolished. In 

its place, a Civil Defense Support Branch was 

set up in the Engineering Division. The new 

branch contained the Disaster Assistance and 

Fallout Shelter Sub-offices located in Salt Lake 

City and in San Francisco. Over the years Sacramento has cooperated with other agencies to 

offer continuing programs of education and 

training to employees and the general public. 

The main thrust of their efforts is to develop 

plans for protection of life and property against 

the effects of either natural or manmade disasters: fire, explosion, earthquake, flood, nuclear 

attack or any other catastrophe which might 

befall our people. When District personnel answered the calls for help from the victims of the 

1964 Alaskan earthquake, the recently formulated plans were given one of their first real 

tests. Since then the increased sophistication of 

the program has provided a measure of relief 

and recovery that reflects the dedication of the 

Corps of Engineers. 

Besides providing an umbrella of protection 

for the general populace, the Sacramento District has constructed facilities that help rebuild 

the shattered bodies of our fighting men. Beginning during World War II, the District built 

hospitals throughout California and the West. 

But these were never meant to be permanent 

structures. Therefore, following the War, the 

Corps of Engineers planned and built some of 

the nation's first truly modern medical 

facilities. Under the auspices of the Veterans 

Administration, some eighty hospitals were 

authorized during the late 1940s to be built 

nationwide. 

Jack English, in recalling the construction of 

104 

the Fresno Veteran's Hospital, stated that: 

... unlike so many of our wartime projects, into which necessarily so much energy was expended, only to see them 

phased out, abandoned and demolished, 

here was one that would be designed and 

constructed in the very latest techniques 

(at that time) for the rehabilitation of the 

casualties of our wars. This was something very close to me, for I had been a 

front line stretcher-bearer in World War 

I, and therefore knew what it was all 

about. 

In the fall of 1965, construction was begun 

on the new 550-bed Letterman General Hospital at the Presidio of San Francisco to replace a 

facility built in 1898. Four years later, on February 14,1969 the new facility, the largest military hospital in the West, was dedicated. One 

of the most modern in the country, the 

$15,000,000, ten-story medical facility was 

completed under the supervision of the Sacramento District. Present at the dedication 

ceremonies and justifiably proud of their part 

in the project were Colonel (now General) 

George B. Fink, Sacramento District Engineer, 

and Frank Pieretti, Military Branch Chief. 

Adjacent to the New Letterman General 

Hospital, the District is completing the Western Medical Institute of Research. When 

finished, this research center will be the 

largest facility of its kind in the western 

United States. 

Prior to completion of the New Letterman 

Hospital, bids were opened in June, 1968, for 

the 440-bed Silas B. Hays General Hospital at 

Fort Ord. Three and a half years later, just a 

few days before Christmas 1971, dedication 

ceremonies were held to celebrate the completion of the new facility, the second largest hospital ever constructed by the District, Letterman being the largest. The $13,700,000 Fort 

Ord facility is an ultra-modern complex, the 

equal of any large metropolitan hospital. 

Closer to home (Sacramento), the District 

has completed another, though smaller, medical complex at Mather Air Force Base. This 

$4,500,000 hospital was also begun in 1968, 

and offers its patients the very latest in medi-
THE ARMY'S NEW LETTERMAN GENERAL HOSPITAL, SAN FRANCISCO 

EACH OF THE SEVEN NURSING FLOORS HAS TWO SOLARIUMS - PATIENT 

RECREATION ROOMS WHERE THE VIEWS ARE SPECTACULAR. (MAY 1969) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

105 
MATHER AIR FORCE BASE $4% MILLION, lOS-BED MEDICAL FACILITY 

C. E. Photo 

cal treatment facilities. Housing 105 beds, the 

hospital has specialized clinics for radiology, 

cystology, urology, pediatrics, obstetrics, surgical and aerospace medicine. Like other medical facilities already completed or presently 

under construction, the new hospital replaces 

facilities built during the Second World War. 

Another project worthy of separate note is the 

three-story, split-level hospital which was 

begun at Hill Air Force Base in May of 1972. 

Scheduled for completion in 600 working days, 

this modern concrete and steel facility will 

provide a new measure of health care for the 

service personnel of this sprawling Utah base. 

Probably more than any other type of construction project, hospitals reflect the emerging role of the Corps of Engineers in the field of 

military construction. No longer are thought 

and action limited to the engines of war and 

the systems that support them (rocket launchers, runways and fortifications); of equal 

concern are commodities designed to improve 

the human condition : hospitals, schools, 

homes, research centers, libraries and chapels. 

106 

In retrospect, it is a formidable task to comprehend the transition that has occurred in the 

field of military construction in the Sacramento District since those quiet days prior to 

Pearl Harbor. Not only has the District grown 

in the number and complexity of the kinds of 

projects it completes, but it has experienced 

phenomenal growth in the number of square 

miles of territory it administers. Beginning 

with the Central Valley of California in 1940, 

the District has over the years become the center of military design activities in the West. In 

1961 it assumed design and construction responsibility for all the area previously under 

the jurisdiction of the San Francisco District. A 

decade later, in the summer of 1970, Sacramento acquired the military design work of 

the Los Angeles District, and both the military 

design and construction responsibilities of the 

Seattle District which had centralized responsibility for the entire North Pacific. For design 

alone the District's area of responsibility coincides with that of the Sixth Army which includes the states of California, Oregon, Wash-
SILAS B. HAYS GENERAL HOSPITAL 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

THE $526,000 CHAPEL CENTER, MATHER AIR FORCE BASE, SACRAMENTO, 

CALIFORNIA, WAS COMPLETED IN AUGUST 1969 UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. COX, LISKE, LIONAKIS 

AND BEAUMONT, OF SACRAMENTO, WERE THE ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANTS, 

AND NIMBUS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, SACRAMENTO, BUILT THE PROJECT. 

(USAF Photo, May 1970) 

107 
ington, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and 

Montana and encompasses some 864,000 

square miles. For design and construction, approximately 700,000 square miles make up the 

District's responsiblity, and give it the position 

of second largest in the nation for military 

work. Contracts in support of the military during the early 1970s mirror the ever increasing 

role assumed by the Sacramento District in the 

western United States. In the Pacific Northwest, work has been or is currently underway 

at the following installations: Seattle Defense 

Area, McChord AFB, Malmstrom AFB, Fairchild AFB, Fort Lewis, Yakima Firing Center, 

Fort Lawton, and Mountain Home in addition 

to the air bases, stations and depots already 

108 

cited. From 1 July 1970 through 30 June 1971, 

146 contracts worth $25.1 million had been 

awarded for military construction within the 

new boundaries of the Sacramento District. 

These ever-increasing responsibilities 

weren't assigned to Sacramento by accident or 

chance, but because of demonstrated excellence. Colonel James C. Donovan summarized 

the quality of the District's personnel in his 

Christmas message of 1970: "Our opportunities for service now literally extend from the 

Rockies to the Pacific Ocean and from Canada 

to Mexico. We have this opportunity because of 

your outstanding professional abilities, selfless 

dedication to the public interest, and unblemished record of integrity." 
The importance of California's inland 

waterways for transportation was initially discerned by the Indians who plied the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers in fragile tule 

rafts and dugout canoes. Scattered above the 

flood plain were the villages of the Maidu, 

peaceful natives who found abundant food 

along the tree-lined waterways, the same 

streams that served as highways for the Indians. The Delta, however, was a different 

matter. The Indians, and later the Spanish, 

considered the region acceptable only for ducks 

and mosquitoes. Viewing this rich agricultural 

area as it now exists, it is difficult to visualize 

it as once being merely a broad, treeless swamp 

which served as a barrier to navigation. The 

early explorers often lost themselves in the 

maze of shallow delta channels as they 

searched among the tules and cattails for the 

mouth of the Sacramento River. 

Except for the Spanish, the Russians from 

Fort Ross were the first white people to navigate the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. 

As early as 1837, they sailed the rivers to bring 

supplies inland. One of the first, if not the first, 

steam-driven vessel to reach Sacramento was 

the tiny Sitka, which made the trip from San 

Francisco to Sacramento in only six days and 

seven hours. 

Permanent settlement of the region was assured with the arrival of a mixed bag of people 

in the fall of 1839. John Sutter with three other 

white men, some Hawaiians and an Indian 

boy, set up a camp near the junction of the 

American and Sacramento Rivers. Within two 

years Sutter had pretty much completed his 

famous fort. Named Nueva Helvetia, the settlement grew in importance, and soon became 

the hub of civilization in the then remote interior. Sutter's establishment of Sutterville in 

1846, Marshall's discovery of gold in January, 

1848, and the laying out of the City of Sacramento a month earlier by John Sutter, Jr., 

were the significant events that served as the 

prelude to the mass movement of men and 

supplies from the Bay to Sacramento, the 

jumping-off point for the mines. 

The trickle of men during 1848 became the 

torrent of humanity of 1849, and the leisurely 

CHAPTER VII 

NAVIGATION PROJECTS 

1940-1972 

pace of river traffic was shattered by the collective wakes from all sorts of vessels making 

their way from San Francisco to Sacramento, 

and then on to Marysville. The first large 

steamboat to navigate the river was the 

McKim out of New Orleans, which brought a 

bunch of gold seekers to Sacramento in October 

of 1849. Because of the relatively poor condition of the river, it often took ten days to make 

the hundred mile trip from the Bay to Sacramento. Sailing vessels were especially vulnerable while navigating the river due to the 

strong current and calm weather of the Valley. 

Even so, vessels of considerable size could 

make their way to Stockton on the San Joaquin, and to points up river from Sacramento 

with little difficulty during periods of high water. During 1850 for instance, as many as 65 

steam and sail boats tied up at Sacramento in a 

single day. River boats became such a part of 

the interior's economy that some became 

warehouses while at least one served as a jail. 

With the advent and accretion of hydraulic 

mining, the river channels filled with muck 

and navigation was greatly impaired. 

Nonetheless, as the gold in the fields replaced 

the gold in the hills in importance and value, 

the rivers continued to be of vital importance 

as the chief means of transport until after the 

turn of the century. During the late 1880s, 

when California led the nation in wheat production, in excess of 50 million bushels of grain 

were transported annually on the rivers. But, 

with an ever increasing number of snags and 

sandbars collecting in the rivers and competition from railroads and trucks, commercial 

navigation on the Sacramento and San Joaquin gradually fell off. 

The Corps of Engineers became involved 

with navigation on the Sacramento River 

through the River and Harbor Act of March 3, 

1875. Work was authorized only a year later on 

the San Joaquin in an effort to improve navigation to Stockton. The original project (Sacramento River Shallow Draft Channel), has 

been modified by the Acts of 1882, 1889, and 

1894. The present shallow-draft channel was 

authorized in 1899 and subsequently modified 

by the Acts of 1912, 1927 and 1935. 

109 
THE PADDLE WHEEL WORKBOAT, PUTAH, CHURNS UPRIVER. THIS CORPS OF 

ENGINEERS CRAFT WORKED ON THE RIVER AS LATE AS 1952. 

(Photo - Gordon Spalding) 

110 
-'" """~_' , 

7 

SNAGGING IN THE SACRAMENTO RIVER NEAR CORNING. (1965) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

111 
MILITARY SUPPLIES ARE MOVED BY TUG AND BARGE ON THE SWOLLEN 

SACRAMENTO RIVER. 

(Army Corps of Engineers photo, 1969) 

112 
VETERAN POWDER SPECIALIST, BILL CHRISTY, LIGHTS A FUSE TO SET OFF AN 

EXPLOSIVE CHARGE. SOME SNAGS ARE IN A WKW ARD POSITIONS AND BLASTING 

THEM OUT OF THE WATER IS THE ONLY PRACTICAL WAY TO GET RID OF THEM. A 

STATE FISH AND GAME REPRESENTATIVE IS PRESENT DURING ALL BLASTING TO 

INSURE THE MAXIMUM POSSIBLE PROTECTION FOR FISH. THIS IS THE 

SACRAMENTO RIVER NEAR VINA, CALIFORNIA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo, 1965). 

113 
.

~ M 

CUTTING A WAY AT AN ISLAND IN A PROJECT STEP TO BRING DEEP SEA SHIPS 90 

MILES INLAND FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN TO THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY IN 

CALIFORNIA IS THE DREDGE "PAPOOSE." IT IS WORKING UNDER A CONSTRUCTION 

CONTRACT ISSUED BY THE U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO THE HYDRAULIC 

DREDGING COMPANY OF OAKLAND. THE "PAPOOSE," A 30-INCH SUCTION DREDGE. 

PUMPS STICKY CLAY MATERIAL AT THE RATE OF 1,100 CUBIC YARDS PER HOUR TO 

A SPOIL AREA THROUGH A 1,000-FOOT LENGTH OF DISCHARGE LINE RESTING ON 

PONTOONS. THE ANCHOR BARGES SHOWN IN THE FOREGROUND FLANK THE 

DISCHARGE LINE TO KEEP THE LINE AND DREDGE FROM SWAYING. THE DREDGE 

W AS ON THE HOMESTRETCH OF A $2,500,000 CONTRACT WITH THE SACRAMENTO 

DISTRICT FOR REMOVING SILT-DEPOSITED ISLANDS FROM DRAINAGE CHANNELS 

IN THE VICINITY OF LIBERTY ISLAND AND PROSPECT SLOUGH, LOCATED ABOUT 7 

MILES NORTH OF RIO VISTA, CALIFORNIA. CLOSE TO 4,500,000 CUBIC YARDS OF 

MATERIAL WERE REMOVED UNDER THIS PHASE OF THE SACRAMENTO DEEP 

WATER SHIP CHANNEL PROJECT. THE CHANNEL JOB WAS ON THE DRA WING 

BOARDS AND UNDER CONSTRUCTION SINCE ITS AUTHORIZATION IN 1947. THE COST 

OF THE INLAND SEA WAY IS PLACED AT $40,000,000. 

(Corps of Engineers Photo) 

114 
As has been noted earlier, the deep water 

channel to Stockton was authorized in 1927 

and then enlarged by the 1935 authorization, 

and as we have seen, with few exceptions, the 

vast majority of navigation work on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and in 

Suisun Bay was completed prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Since that 

time the Sacramento District has maintained 

these navigation projects (Mokelumne River; 

Feather River; Old River; Middle River and 

connecting channels; Sacramento River 

shallow-draft project; San Joaquin RiverStockton Channel) and made improvements 

and enlargements to the turning basin at 

Stockton during the 1950s. 

The major, single most expensive and most 

controversial navigation project completed 

since the war, or, in fact, ever constructed by 

the Sacramento District is the Sacramento 

Deep Water Ship Channel. We reviewed earlier how the City of Sacramento and other local 

interests had been fighting for such a project 

since just after the turn of the century. The 

Sacramento District Corps of Engineers became involved in 1933 when the U. S. Senate 

Committee on Commerce instructed the Chief 

of the Army Engineers to investigate the situation. Begun under the direction of Captain 

Drinkwater, District Engineer, a detailed 

study was prepared by the Sacramento District. But because of a number of factors, not 

the least of which was the war, the report 

wasn't released for a dozen years. Finally, after 

immense pressure from local interests, Congress authorized the project in the River and 

Harbor Act of July 24, 1946 (Public Law 525, 

79th Congress, 2d Session). As finally adopted 

the project called for a 30-foot deep channel 

from Suisun Bay to an inland harbor at Sacramento, a distance of forty-three miles. In addition to the channel, a triangular harbor and 

turning basin at Lake Washington, a barge 

canal with a navigation lock to connect the 

harbor with the Sacramento River, and a 

single leaf combination highway and railroad 

bascule bridge across the canal at the harbor 

end of the navigation lock was also included in 

the project. 

During the scores of years of endeavor by 

local interests, several possible routes were 

drawn for the hoped-for channel. One of the 

more interesting suggested that the route follow the San Joaquin River to a point near the 

mouth of the Mokelumne, then by canal to the 

Sacramento River to an area near its junction 

with the Cosumnes River. Then, a cut would be 

made through low land to a harbor facility to 

be prepared in the vicinity of William Land 

Park in southwest Sacramento. 

As authorized, the channel leaves the Sacramento River at Cache Slough and then proceeds almost due north in a straight line that 

runs west of the twisting and turning Sacramento River. As it nears Sacramento, the 

channel makes a slight bend to the left and 

then a bit later to the right, ending in the harbor. 

In digging the new facility, the Corps widened and deepened existing channels from 

Suisun Bay through the Sacramento River and 

Cache Slough, a distance of about 18 miles. 

The last 25 miles were excavated through 

fields on Prospect Island, Little Holland Tract 

and the Yolo Bypass. 

Federal first cost for the project was just 

under $40,000,000 but state and local interests 

have made substantial contributions as well. 

As early as 1942, the Sacramento Chamber of 

Commerce decided to aid the Corps of Engineers and raised some one hundred thousand 

for research and promotional activities. Of the 

total, the City of Sacramento appropriated 

$25,000, the County matched this amount, 

while $42,500 was pledged by individual businessmen. The remaining $7,500 was contributed by the Chamber of Commerce. 

After the District and the Division reported 

favorably to the Chief of Engineers in June, 

1945, and following his review and approval, 

Congress authorized the project. At the same 

time, they divided the cost between the federal 

government and local interests in the following 

manner: The Corps of Engineers would do the 

initial dredging and excavation, and maintain 

the channel after its completion; local interests 

would be required to provide all rights-of-way, 

relocate utilities, provide belt railroads, and 

115 
SACRAMENTO DEEP WATER CHANNEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. (Ca 1961) 

(Sacramento Bee Photo) 

116 

( 
CORPS OF ENGINEERS PERSONNEL RESPONSIBLE FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE SACRAMENTO 

BARGE CANAL LOCK MET AT THE W ATERW A YS EXPERIMENT STATION AT VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, 

DURING JANUARY 1957. PICTURED ARE (LEFT TO RIGHT): F. R. BROWN, WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT 

STATION; J. C. HARROLD, OFFICE, CHIEF OF ENGINEERS; T. E. MURPHY, WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT 

STATION; J. H. ABLES, JR., WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION; F. KOCHIS, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT; W. C. 

CASSIDY, SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION; J. B. TIFFANY, WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION; LIEUTENANT 

COLONEL LOOP, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT; AND H. F. PETERSON, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, ALL OF THE 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, U. S. ARMY. 

C. E. Photo 
construct proper terminal facilities. 

In the spring of 1947, local residents formed 

the Sacramento-Yolo Port District. Later the 

same year, the State of California approved the 

project and appropriated seven hundred fifty 

thousand dollars so that the newly created port 

district could purchase rights-of-way, easements and other necessary properties. On 

November 4, 1947, the sale of $3,750,000 worth 

of general obligation bonds was authorized to 

finance construction of terminal facilities. By 

the time the project was dedicated in 1963, 

local interests had spent $4,072,000 to comply 

with requirements exclusive of terminal 

facilities. The cost of basic terminal facilities 

amounted to about ten million, seven hundred 

thousand dollars. Moreover, the State rebuilt 

the Rio Vista bridge to accommodate oceangoing vessels, at a cost of more than 

$3,000,000. 

With design completed and construction 

drawings ready, the Sacramento District 

began moving dirt in July, 1949. The first job 

completed was construction of levees in the 

harbor area. During 1950-51, the Engineers 

completed work in Cache Slough adjacent to 

the Egbert Tract. At this point, some four and 

one-half miles of the ship channel were completed to final design standards. It was hoped 

that the channel and harbor would be completed by about 1953. But such was not to be. 

With the outbreak of the Korean War in the 

summer of 1950, work on the project was suspended. 

Work was resumed in 1956. When completing design studies for the lock in the barge 

canal, District personnel borrowed from the 

experience which had proved successful in the 

construction of the Algiers Lock, located just 

south of New Orleans. Modifications necessary 

to fit the special requirements in Sacramento 

were checked out on a working model at the 

Waterways Experiment Station at Vicksburg, 

Mississippi. 

Finally, at noon on July 19, 1963 , after many 

delays a nd fourteen years since the first 

shovelful of dirt was turned, the project was 

dedicated. At the time, specia l mention was 

made of the fact that Bill Clark, who handled 

118 

BARGE CANAL LOCK UNDER 

CONSTRUCTION. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

the ship channel project for the District, had 

probably supervised more earth moving than 

any man in the West. He began with the 

Stockton Channel in 1932 and later supervised 

the compaction of earth fill at Folsom Dam. 

During the War he supervised construction of 

Chico Army Air Base and the extensive railroad classification yard at Roseville. 

With the completion of the Sacramento Deep 

Water Channel, the Sacramento District added 

still another important project to its growing 

list of accomplishments designed to help residents of the West maintain one of the highest 

standards of living ever known. 

The completion of the project meant a great 

deal to Sacramentans and they held one of the 

biggest celebrations ever to mark t he event. 

Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, was 

the principal speaker at the dedication ceremonies. Another important participant in the 

ce lebration was Major Genera l Robert G. 

MacDonnell, Deputy Chief of the Armv Engineers. Earlier, he had been Div j:';io;1 En-
SACRAMENTO DEEP W AT (Army Corps of Engineers ~~t~fANNEL, JULY, 1961 
gineer, South Pacific Division, and was closely 

associated with the construction. Colonel H. N. 

Turner, District Engineer, was particularly 

proud of the District's role in the project, as 

was Lieutenant Colonel C. R. Teagle, Deputy 

District Engineer, who frequently checked 

construction progress with Wesley South, recently appointed project engineer. 

It seemed everybody had something to say or 

write about the channel. Congressman John 

Moss recounted his part in getting the work 

completed, and his occasional disappointment 

with the Corps of Engineers. He recalled how 

he worked tirelessly to circumvent an early 

Corps of Engineers' study that reported the 

cost-benefit ratio of the then proposed port to 

be .98 to 1, which meant the returns from the 

port would amount to only 98 cents for each 

dollar invested. 

W. G. Stone, Port Director, enjoyed a great 

feeling of success because he had been pushing 

very hard for the facility for nearly forty years. 

You might remember that he and Colonel 

Jackson didn't always see eye to eye on the 

Port question during the 1930s. Senator Clair 

Engle recalled in detail how he had supported 

the project since 1943. He believed that the 

economic significance of the facility extended 

beyond California to all of the western states. 

Senator Thomas Kuchel called the new port, 

"A monument to the faith which the people of 

the community have in the future." Complementing the Sacramento District, he stated 

that they were, " ... highly competent engineers of the United States Army ... " 

Prior to the official opening of the deep water 

channel, the Harbor Prince, a sightseeing boat 

from San Francisco, came up the channel on 

May 11, to become the first vessel to dock at 

the new Port of Sacramento. To get things 

under way officially, however, Sacramento 

held a reception on Thursday, July 18th, followed by a parade and dedication during the 

following two days. All in all, it was quite a 

celebration. 

Following the completion of the deep water 

channel, a small but related navigation project 

was authorized in 1963 and completed in 1964. 

In the main, the work amounted to deepening 

120 

and widening the existing Suisun Point and 

Bulls Head Channels in the Carquinez Strait 

and Lower Suisun Bay. The improvement affords additional maneuvering space for deepdraft vessels so as to alleviate dangerous collision and grounding hazards, and created a 

settling basin to reduce shoaling of the main 

navigation channel. 

A huge navigation project authorized in 

1965 is the John F. Baldwin and Stockton Ship 

Channels. Total first cost of the project is estimated at $62,900,000 (July 1970 prices), which 

is exclusive of $470,000 for Coast Guard navigation aids. Preconstruction planning was 

completed during Fiscal Year 1969. The massive project will involve both the San Francisco 

and Sacramento Districts, and will mean modifications to most of the existing navigation 

projects from San Francisco to Stockton. The 

San Francisco Harbor Project, the Richmond 

Harbor Project, the San Pablo Bay and Mare 

Island Strait Project, the Suisun Bay Channel 

Project, and the San Joaquin River Navigation 

Project will all be deepened, widened, 

realigned and/or in some way modified and improved. In addition, turning basins, maneuvering areas, recreation areas and other new work 

will be completed within the perimeters of the 

enormous navigation project, named in honor 

of one of California's most revered congressmen. 

The first concern of the federal government 

in the river systems of the Central Valley was 

maintenance of navigation. The need for such 

was created by the deposition of mining debris 

in these channels, and to keep pace with the 

West's rapid development, additional navigation projects have been authorized during the 

last 98 years. These projects cover about 500 

miles of more than 1,500 miles of waterways 

available for navigation throughout the Sacramento River, San Joaquin Riwr, Delta and 

tributaries of these rivers and channels. Presently, the maintenance activities receiving the 

highest priority are those associated with the 

deep water ship channels and consist mainly of 

dredging. Snagging, clearing, control of mining debris, repair and rehabilitation of wing 

dams, maintenance of spoil areas and other 
THE SACRAMENTO RIVER DEEP WATER SHIP CHANNEL BEING USED BY TUG AND 

BARGE. THE 2S-MILE LONG CHANNEL, BUILT, MAINTAINED, AND OPERATED BY 

THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, CONTAINS THE 

ONL Y NA VIGA TION LOCK IN CALIFORNIA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

-~ :... 

~~::: 

~.- -.,;! 

- ..... ·t~ . -- ~ - ---- PUSHBOAT PROCEEDING PAST SACRAMENTO PORT AND ON INTO SACRAMENTO 

DEEP WATER SHIP CHANNEL BUILT BY THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, US ARMY 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

121 
~. 

LOOKING WEST, SACRAMENTO RIVER IN FOREGROUND. PORT OF SACRAMENTO IS SEEN IN UPPER LEFT 

CENTER OF PICTURE. THE LARGE EXPANSE OF WATER IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE YOLO BYPASS DURING 

FLOOD. THE COAST RANGE MOUNTAINS CAN BE SEEN AT THE VERY TOP OF THE PICTURE. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
miscellaneous work make up the remainder of 

the navigation work. With the present trend 

toward larger vessels requiring deeper channels, it is probable that projects encompassing 

standards to meet these requirements will be 

completed in the years to come. But, as has 

been pointed out earlier, we must never assume that the needs of navigation can be separated from the concerns and plans for the river 

system as an integrated whole, i.e. irrigation, 

flood control, power development, and recreation. It is to these other areas that we now 

turn our attention. 

-'. 

A VINEYARD NEAR MANTECA, CALIFORNIA (Ca 1969) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

123 
' ,.; 

MARYSVILLE, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER, 1955 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo 

',-

------. ----
Early settlers of California and the West 

were unmindful of the potential destructive 

force of the rivers of the region. So they built 

their homes, farms and cities in the forks ofthe 

Valley's great streams, on the flood plains and 

finally on reclaimed swamp lands. The natural 

danger of the situation was increased by the 

hydraulic miners who were soon clogging the 

channels with millions of cubic yards of debris. 

Having had their own way for countless millennia, the rivers weren't going to give up their 

natural territory without a struggle. They 

struck back again and again! Towns and cities 

of the Great Central Valley were often under 

several feet of muddy water before their planning stages were completed. 

As long as the region was sparsely settled, 

the loss of life and property was not extensive. 

Certainly people died, homes and farms were 

destroyed but generally people of the Valley 

took the disasters in stride and learned to live 

with the situation, at least for a while. Instead 

of moving to higher ground, people leveed 

against the rivers and took to boats when the 

levees failed. Sacramento residents endeavored to remedy the situation not only by putting up levees, but by raising the level of their 

streets. A unique solution indeed, but of little 

lasting value. 

Only a decade after entering the Union, 

Californians learned of the foolishness in 

building on the flood plains. The great winter 

floods of 1861-62 were unprecedented in modern memory. Rivers crested, spilling their destructiveness over the banks, making an inland sea of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

Valleys. The huge lake was 250 to 300 miles 

long and from 20 to 60 miles wide, and in some 

areas water lapped over the tops of telegraph 

poles. Floodwaters seemed to cover everything, 

spreading ruin, devastation and disease over 

thousands of square miles; creeks and arroyos, 

dry most of the year, became angry torrents; 

and every low-lying area became a lake. Business and transportation (other than by boat, 

which proved extremely dangerous) simply 

came to a standstill; cattle and other livestock 

perished by the tens of thousands; and it has 

been estimated that as much as a fourth of the 

CHAPTER VIII 

HARNESSING THE RIVERS: 

PERSPECTIVE 

state's taxable wealth was lost. 

Having paid their sacrifices to the river gods, 

the populace suffered an even crueler blow 

from the two years of extreme drought that followed the great flood. Misery from the rains on 

the southern ranges was inconsequential when 

compared to the appalling losses caused by the 

almost complete absence of moisture for some 

600 days. Pastures became deserts, the earth 

iron, and the sky turned to brass. The animals 

not drowned the previous year shriveled and 

died on the sun-baked ranges. Carcasses lay in 

heaps about the dry water holes and sandchoked springs. And then, as if sent by a displeased god, swarms of locusts blackened the 

skies of California's great valley, eating any 

remaining vegetation. To climax the devastation, a virulent plague of smallpox gripped the 

land, sending spears of terror into every village, rancho and city of the south. Particularly 

hard hit were the Indians, who seemed to vanish in the face of the collective catastrophe. 

Forbidding heaps of bones and skeletons, 

everywhere bleaching in the sun, symbolized 

the ruin of southern California. 

The flood and drought of the early '60s were 

only the first among many to be recorded since 

California and the West had been taken and 

held by Americans. The flood of '75 is significant in that for the first time it was proven 

beyond reasonable doubt that hydraulic mining debris was adding to the intolerable natural conditions. Disaster struck on the night of 

January 19, 1875. After being filled for weeks 

by rain and snow, the Yuba River went over 

the levees at Marysville, and by the next afternoon the town was a huge bowl of brown water. 

When the water finally receded, it was discovered that the town had become a dump for 

massive quantities of mining debris. 

We learned earlier that the agriculturalists 

defeated the miners in 1884 with the Sawyer 

decision. But not even Judge Sawyer could halt 

the rain and snow, nor could he conserve 

needed water for the years of drought. Neither 

could an injunction stem the flow of debris already placed in the stream channels. While the 

Almighty still has something to say regarding 

the kind and amount of moisture that will 

125 
YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 1955 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo 
,-

YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 1955 

(Army Corps of Engineers, Photo) 

j / .;:,. ' ... / 

J 

_ i" 

.-. /. 
bless or distress the land, and when and where 

it will arrive, the Corps of Engineers has accomplished a great deal to guide, conserve and 

utilize this all-important natural resource. 

Out of the studies of the 1870s and 1880s 

came the "Act to Create the California Debris 

Commission" on March 1, 1893. From this the 

groundwork was laid for the flood control projects of today. Moreover, a long while before it 

was considered a national responsibility, flood 

control work was initiated through specific 

legislation meant to solve common problems on 

the Sacramento and Mississippi Rivers. 

Throughout the first quarter of the twentieth 

century, most of these activities along the 

main stems of the Sacramento and San Joaquin were conducted by the California Debris 

Commission, and later by the Sacramento District. Then, in 1927, the District (Second San 

Francisco District) was instructed to conduct 

the "308" studies, a physical and economic survey of all the water resources within its area of 

responsibility. These, in turn, have become the 

foundation, the basic blueprint, for all flood 

control development within the District. 

To further clarify and demonstrate the pressing need in past years for flood control works, 

and to a lesser extent today, let us examine two 

tragic events; both resulting from floods due to 

levee failures. Perhaps by viewing natural 

calamities in terms of human suffering we will 

gain an appreciation of the efforts, of the past 

and present, put forth by men and women of 

the Sacramento District to prevent or at least 

minimize similar destruction. 

Four minutes after midnight on the bleak 

morning of December 24, 1955, the levee protecting Yuba City failed to hold. The break occurred near Gum Tree Station, just upstream 

from Shanghai Bend and about two miles 

south of Yuba City. The open country in the 

area of the break was at least 25 feet below the 

crest of the levee; hence, when the barrier collapsed, the Feather River gushed through the 

breach in a torrent, which chewed an ever bigger hole in the levee. Destruction rushed toward the town in the guise of a wall of water up 

to 30 feet high. Striking the outskirts violently, it tended to flatten out as it entered and 

128 

passed through the town. Before it was 

checked, 100,000 acres were covered. While 

more than half the entire state was hit by 

flooding to some degree, the Yuba City flood 

constituted the greatest single disaster. 

Viewed state-wide, the flood of December, 

1955, was the greatest disaster of its kind ever 

to occur in California. It was rated as the worst 

misfortune of any kind since the earthquake 

and fire in San Francisco in 1906. 

Thirty-eight people died and 3,227 were injured as a direct result of the levee break and 

flood. Four hundred and sixty-seven homes 

were totally destroyed and another 5,745 damaged. In all, 8,500 families suffered tangible 

losses. Destruction in Sutter County alone was 

estimated between $35,000,000 and 

$40,000,000. In terms of human suffering, it's 

impossible to place a price tag. Men toiled unceasingly to save their homes, only to see them 

swept away or filled with mud. Often women 

and children spent hours in the icy waters before they were rescued. Twelve thousand residents were evacuated and had to spend days 

and often months away from their homes. How 

does one measure terror? It's ironic that for 

days the major concern had been not Yuba 

City, but Marysville, which had become an island in a sea of angry water. For hours before 

the levee broke, people huddled near their 

radios, listening to announcements relating to 

the battle to save the levee. In the end, the 

levees protecting Marysville, though battered 

and weakened, held. Suddenly the point of 

focus changed. Amid confusion and fear, 

mothers and fathers grabbed their children, 

got into their cars and raced to safety. 

Many did not escape. Three men of the Sutter County sheriffs staff, Earl Blackburn, his 

son Robert, and John Talley, perished while 

warning people of the coming danger. Three 

other men working on the levee near Gum Tree 

Station were caught by the raging current. 

Others died in their homes. A score were trapped when their cars were submerged by the 

flood. Of the bodies recovered following the 

flood, the youngest was that of Robin Darlene 

Ethington, only 3 years old. The eldest was 

that of E. W. Hudgens. age 82. 
"KISKA" ASSISTING ARMY 

ENGINEER TROOPS PLACE CANVAS 

ON YUBA CITY LEVEE. 

Along with hundreds of others, men of the 

Sacramento District battled the flood at Yuba 

City during the disaster. Existing levees often 

developed soft areas that crumbled easily 

under pressure of the flooding rivers. Men of 

the Sacramento District devised a system of 

placing tarpaulins over the banks until they 

appeared secure. By working day and night, 

Colonel Wilder, Acting District Engineer, and 

his men did all that was humanly possible to 

preserve life and property. They stayed on for 

months rebuilding the broken and damaged 

levees. 

Meanwhile, downstream on the Sacramento, 

residents of every Delta island were waging 

their own battles for survival. Here too, hundreds of men worked incessantly, shoring up 

the levees with everything from sandbags to 

bulldozers. Sometimes they won. Sometimes 

their efforts weren't enough. And, before their 

ordeal was over, Delta residents endured several days of anxious waiting. This was especially true of those who lived in Isleton, a small 

town on the lower Sacramento. The levees protecting the town had been seriously weakened 

and arrangements were made to evacuate the 

entire population. While other islands were 

lost to the flood, Andrus-Brannan Island, on 

which Isleton is situated, was saved. 

Some 16 years later, Isleton's luck ran out at 

midnight on the morning of Wednesday, June 

21, 1972, when the Delta suffered its most recent disaster. For, at that moment which separates one day from the next, a Reclamation 

District levee failed, allowing some 200,000 

acre-feet of water to pour over Andrus-Brannan Island. It wasn't the first time the levees 

failed and it won't be the last. The AndrusBrannan levees were built in 1872-1873, and 

have failed in 1878, 1879, 1881, 1902, 1904, 

1906, 1909 and 1972. The story is pretty much 

the same for the rest of the islands ofthe Delta. 

Upon receipt of the news of the break, the 

Sacramento District was immediately 

mobilized. Colonel James Donovan, District 

Engineer, headed up an inspection party and 

flew by helicopter to the crippled area. Construction Division Chief, Ellis McKinsey, 

mobilized contractors, and before long, trucks 

were hauling in fill material in a desperate 

race against time and tide. Isleton, like the rest 

of the Delta, is below sea level; hence, to save 

the town, a dike had to be thrown up over a 

mile in length and to a height of up to eight 

feet. Before long the water had reached the 

temporary works and they had to be 

strengthened by additional rock and earth. To 

prevent raw sewage from contaminating the 

drinking water, the District supervised the 

construction of another dike surrounding the 

city's sewer plant. Courageous volunteers and 

paid flood fighters used thousands of sandbags 

and truckloads of plastic sheeting in a feverish, 

last-ditch stand to save the town. Bill Calvin, 

Resident Engineer for the Valley, set up an 

office in Isleton from which he directed the contracted work throughout the night. In the end, 

the rivers had won again; the emergency dikes 

were overtopped by the Delta waters. It should 

be noted that this all took place in the middle 

of a rather dry summer, not during a winter 

flood. The consequences are the same; property 

is lost, and the suffering is endured. So, regard129 
A GRAPHIC EXAMPLE OF LEVEE EROSION A TTRIBUT ABLE, IN EVER-INCREASING 

CASES, TO THE WAVE ACTION PRODUCED BY BOATS AND WATER SKIERS. 

(Sacramento Bee Photo by Frank Stork - 19 July 1970) 

130 
FARM FLOODED AT SHERMAN ISLAND - JANUARY 27, 1969 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
less of the underlying causes of flooding, the 

need for flood control works remains, even 

though much has already been accomplished. 

Too often, when gauging the relative merits 

of a particular project, men have thought in 

terms of crops, land values, dollars spent and 

saved, and political consideration. Perhaps 

there ought to be a larger category given to 

potential human suffering. The above examples are only two of hundreds of similar incidents that might be cited, and are meant only 

to be illustrative of the types of problems present within the Sacramento District. 

PROJECTS AND PLANS 

Prior to the War, flood control projects consisted mainly of enlarged channels, levees, 

weirs and bypasses. After the War, the emphasis became focused on large multiple purpose 

dams, the idea being to stop or at least slow 

down and control the excess flows so that existing channels could cope with measured releases. For years the Sacramento District had 

studied and laid plans to harness the major 

tributaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

Rivers, but the attack on Pearl Harbor suspended all thoughts of civil works. By late 

1944, however, most Americans believed the 

Nazis were whipped and hoped that Japan 

would soon be brought to her knees. Congress, 

too, shared these feelings and decided to take 

steps to ensure adequate employment for the 

returning veterans while bringing to fruition 

the years of civil works planning. A few days 

before Christmas 1944, Congress passed the 

Flood Control Act of 1944 (Public Law 534, December 22, 1944, 78th Congress, 2d Session). 

Not since the Depression had a public works 

program of such magnitude been authorized. 

Included in the work to be accomplished were 

sixteen dams, miles of levees and extensive 

channel improvements within the District. 

When word reached the Sacramento District 

Office, people were so excited that they went to 

lunch, spent the afternoon celebrating and 

didn't return to work until the next day. 

Unfortunately, there was a hitch in American optimism. Hitler didn't know he was beaten. In the cold foggy dawn of 16 December, the 

132 

Fifth and Sixth Panzers, and the German 

Seventh Army swept through the Ardennes on 

a 40-mile front, smashing all resistance. For a 

time no one was quite sure when or where they 

could be stopped. Operations charts showed the 

German penetration as a huge bulge in the Allied lines, hence the engagement was soon 

knoWIl as "The Battle of the Bulge." Unable to 

crush the surrounded city of Bastogne, or to 

capture any large American fuel supplies, the 

Germans literally ran out of gas and were 

stopped just four miles from the Meuse River 

by American and British units. Meanwhile, 

General Patton's Third Army struck a crushing blow against the south flank of the Bulge 

on 22 December, the same day Congress passed 

the flood control legislation. While the outcome 

was never in doubt, the adversaries paid an 

awful price in testing each other's strength. 

The Germans suffered more than 200,000 

casualties, while the Americans lost almost 

half that number. Clearly, the war was not 

over! Another five months of intensive fighting 

took place before the Germans surrendered on 

May 7,1945. VE Day was celebrated in every 

Allied country, but there was little cause for 

rejoicing in the Pacific and Asia. The Japanese 

weren't aware they were whipped either. Even 

so, the end was near. 

At 9:15 A.M. on the 6th of August 1945, an 

atomic bomb was toggled out of the belly of the 

"Enola Gay" at an altitude of 31,600 feet over 

Hiroshima. Within seconds, 60,175 men, 

women and children were disintegrated along 

with their city. Not quite a month later, on 2 

September 1945, surrender documents were 

signed on the deck of the battleship Missouri, 

only a few miles from where Commodore Perry's treaty had been signed ninety-two years 

earlier. Now the war was over and the construction authorized during the Christmas 

holidays of 1944 could get underway. 

PINE FLAT 

The first reservoir and dam project to get 

underway in the District as a result of the 1944 

Act was located at Pine Flat on the Kings 

River, about twenty-five miles east of Fresno. 

The location occupies one of the last great nat-
133 

DEPENDABLE 

CONSERVATION 

STORAGE 

(ACRE FEET) 

433,000 

10'3,900 

8815,000 

243,880 

NONE 

908,500 

255,000 

NONE 

NONE 

NONE 

NONE 

NONE 

970,000 

140,000 

105,000 

500,000 

4,550,280 
PINE FLAT DAM 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
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PINE FLAT: ONE OF THE LAST GREAT NATURAL DAM SITES ON THE SIERRA FRONT. THIS IS THE SITE OF 

THE DAM, ON THE KINGS RIVER, FRESNO COUNTY, PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION. 

(A rmy Corps of Enf{ineers Photo) 
ural damsites in the western Sierra. As such, it 

has been an obvious position for a barrier since 

very early days. Who originally saw it as such 

is difficult to say, but it is known that it was 

mentioned in a "Report of the Board of Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the 

State of California," signed and sent to Congress by President Grant on March 23, 1874. 

The Commissioners were Barton Alexander, 

Lt. Col., Corps of Engineers; George Mendell, 

Major, Corps of Engineers; and Professor 

George Davidson, of the U. S. Coast Survey. 

Their report laid most of the essential groundwork for later studies and plans for the project. 

Contemporary engineering studies which finally led to the construction of the project were 

begun by the State of California during the 

early twenties and published in a State Water 

Plan report of 1927. That same year Congress 

directed the Engineers to make a physical and 

economic study of all the river resources of the 

State. Later, during the Depression, as the 

State endeavored to secure federal help for the 

basic Central Valley Plan (Project), Pine Flat 

was not included in the C.V.P. It will be remembered that, at the time, the emphasis was 

on exporting surplus water from the North, 

and the Sacramento River seemed the only 

likely source. Even so the State was still interested in the site. 

The Sacramento District was asked to look 

into the project again under the terms of the 

1936 Flood Control Act. Prior to that time, the 

Mississippi and Sacramento Rivers had received federal flood control monies. But, in 

1936 halting the damage done by floods became a nationwide concern, on the premise 

that taken together floods constituted a cumulative drain on national resources. On the 

Sacramento, San Joaquin and their 

tributaries, it was estimated that the annual 

loss due to flooding amounted to about eight 

million dollars. 

While the authorization, planning and construction of a major dam and reservoir is never 

a simple task, the confusion and embroilment 

surrounding the development of the Pine Flat 

project seemed, at times at least, more akin to 

136 

a script for a soap opera than a serious essay. 

Not only were there longstanding questions of 

federal/state involvement, but before final authorization was given to the Corps of Engineers, the scene was littered with contradictions. 

Based on the 1936 Act, the Sacramento District, through the O.C.E. and Secretary of War, 

submitted its report on the Kings River to 

Congress in February 1940, where it became 

House Doc. 630, 76th Congress. At about the 

same time, however, a feud was developing between the Departments of Agriculture and Interior over jurisdiction of national forests. 

When the smoke cleared, the Interior Department was on top of the heap - which soon led 

to its involvement with Pine Flat. Before long, 

Secretary of the Interior Ickes ordered the 

Bureau of Reclamation to make its own investigation for construction of a dam at Pine Flat. 

President Roosevelt, in the spring of 1940, 

wrote the Secretary of the Interior stating that 

the Bureau should build the dam, but not right 

away because of war in Europe and in Asia. 

Confusion reigned, for just a few months earlier FDR had marked "OK" on the report submitted by the Corps. 

With the outbreak of war, most domestic 

programs were shelved - Pine Flat among 

them. But, once victory was assured, and with 

economists fearing tremendous numbers unemployed, Congress passed the Flood Control 

Act of 1944, which settled the question of who 

was going to build Pine Flat. Even so, things 

were muddled over the matter of repayment. 

As it worked out, both the Corps and the 

Bureau of Reclamation have played roles in 

this area. Operation and maintenance of the 

dam and reservoir are the responsibilities of 

the Corps. Local interests are required to pay 

for the conservation accomplishments of the 

project. They are also required to pay the annual operation, maintenance and replacement 

costs allocated to irrigation, and to provide all 

lands, easements. and rights-of-way for the 

downstream channel improvements. The 

Bureau of Reclamation executed interim contracts with users of irrigation water in 1963. 

The dam, reservoir and downstream channel 
GOVERNOR EARL WARREN (CENTER, HAND RAISED) DURING DEDIC A TION 

CEREMONIES AT PINE FLAT -1947. 

improvements form a unit of the comprehensive plan for flood control and related purposes 

for the entire Sacramento-San Joaquin Basin. 

Pine Flat Dam is a gravity-type concrete structure 429 feet high, 1,820 feet long and creates a 

reservoir of 1,000,000 acre-feet. The entire capacity is required for flood control, but, because 

of climatic conditions, full use of these same 

facilities are needed for conservation storage at 

the end of the flood season. Torrents that had 

earlier spelled ruin for those of the Kings 

River-Tulare Basin area now are regulated 

and released to nourish the rich fields of the 

southern San Joaquin, making it one of the 

richest farming regions in the world. 

Construction was initiated on May 27 , 1947, 

when Governor Earl Warren set off the first 

dynamite blast during dedication ceremonies. 

Colonel Dwight Johns, newly appointed Division Engineer, Colonel E. H. Marks, the retiring Division Engineer, and Colonel L. F . 

Rhodes, Sacramento District Engineer, were 

among the many dignitaries present at the 

function . In addition, largely through the efforts of the Fresno area boosters who wanted to 

make it a real celebration, thousands of spectators were on hand for the occasion. The blast 

that sent tons of rocks roaring down the canyon 

wall also signaled the end of the devastation 

because of the flooding of the Kings River. It 

was estimated that $15,000,000 in losses had 

been sustained from the waters of the Kings 

River alone from the time the flood control 

legislation of 1936 was passed to the beginning 

of construction in May 1947. Since completion 

in 1954, Pine Flat Dam has protected 80,000 

137 
~. I 

h \ 

'I 

• ~ J • 

GOVERNOR WARREN SET OFF THE FIRST BLAST TO MARK THE BEGINNING OF 

CONSTRUCTION OF PINE FLAT DAM - MAY 27. 1947 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

138 
SHADY PICNIC SPOTS CAN BE INDIVIDUALLY YOURS AT SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, SITES ALONG THE SHORELINE OF PINE FLAT RESERVOIR 

NEAR FRESNO, CALIFORNIA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

139 
acres of prime agricultural land in the Kings 

River region and, in conjunction with other 

Corps of Engineers dams, has effectively 

stopped the flooding of 260,000 acres of rich 

croplands in the Tulare Lake area. Additional 

channel improvements were begun in 1968 and 

have provided an added measure of safety and 

control of the released waters. During construction of the dam, penstocks and outlet provisions for future power development were 

built into the main structure, but to date power 

generating facilities have not been authorized. 

For almost twenty years now Pine Flat Dam 

and Reservoir have served the residents of the 

Kings River region faithfully. Guarding 

against floods, providing water for irrigation 

and recreation, this quiet sentinel has saved 

lives and millions of dollars, and given pleasure to millions who use the lake for swimming, fishing, boating and picnicking. 

ISABELLA 

At 11:30 A.M. on May 29, 1948, the Kern 

River Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the 

Kern River Veterans Club raised the American Flag just a few hundred feet from where 

Isabella Dam was to be constructed. The Kern 

County Union High School Band began to play, 

and Mr. E. C. Mill, principal of their school, 

felt a bit of pride swell in his chest as they did. 

ISABELLA DAM BACKS UP A HUGE RESERVOIR OF WATER NEAR BAKERSFIELD, 

CALIFORNIA. THIS SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DAM AND 

RESERVOIR OFFERS A VARIETY OF RECREA TION ACTIVITIES SUCH AS BOATING. 

HUNTING, FISHING, SWIMMING, PICNICKING AND HIKING. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

140 
CONSTRUCTION OF THE OUTLET TUNNEL - ISABELLA DAM ON THE KERN RIVER - 1950. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photos) 

141 
Public ground breaking ceremonies for the 

soon to be constructed Isabella Dam were 

under way! After a lengthy list of local dignitaries was introduced, Colonel Joseph Gorlinski, Sacramento District Engineer, and Colonel Dwight Johns, Division Engineer, spoke 

of the benefits of the project. While reviewing 

the history and need for the dam, Colonel 

Johns told the following story: 

I heard the other day about a native 

Californian who was showing his Eastern 

cousin some of the wonders of this state. 

As they passed a magnificent citrus 

grove, the cousin said, "Just look at that 

- I have never seen such enormous 

grapefruits. " " Oh, those ," said the 

Californian, "are just one of our smaller 

varieties of lemons. The season's not very 

good." Farther along the road the cousin 

said, "And what are the gigantic blossoms 

over in that field? They are the biggest 

flowers I have ever seen." "Oh, that's just 

a patch of little dandelions," replied the 

Californian. By this time the cousin had 

picked up the cue, and when they crossed 

the bridge over the raging Kern River at 

flood stage, he said, "Ah, I see someone 

around here has a leaky radiator." 

Colonel Johns went on to suggest that 

Californians knew that the Kern was no "leaky 

radiator." Indeed, the Kern River can at one 

moment lie calm, even docile, and hours later 

boil into one of the most violent streams in the 

West. Feeding as it does from the extreme 

southerly reaches of the Sierra Nevada, the 

Kern is itself a river of extremes. During dry 

years, the annual flow may be as slight as 

185,000 acre-feet, but during a wet year the 

A CONVOY OF DOZERS RAISE A LEVEE IN THE FLOODED TULARE LAKE BASIN TO 

PROTECT CROPS FROM BEING DESTROYED. THE BASIN RECEIVED BOTH 

RAINFLOOD AND SNOWMELT WATER FROM ONE OF THE WETTEST SEASONS IN 

HISTORY IN THE HIGH SIERRA NEVADA. APRIL 1969. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photos) 

142 
FLOODING THE CROPS SOMETIMES BECOMES NECESSARY TO PREVENT FURTHER 

DAMAGE. HERE A DIESEL POWERED PUMP TRANSFERS WATER FROM A DRAINAGE 

CANAL TO THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF DIKED LAND TO PREVENT UNCONTROLLED 

FLOODING. BY TAKING CALCULATED LOSSES THROUGH THE CONTROL OF FLOOD 

WATER, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF POSSIBLE CROP DAMAGE ARE SAVED. IT'S ALL 

PART OF THE FLOOD CONTROL SYSTEM OF THE TULARE LAKE AREA JUST 

NORTHWEST OF BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, WHICH RESPONDS TO THE OUTFLOW 

OF WATER FROM THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS' FLOOD 

CONTROL DAMS ALONG THE SIERRA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

143 
,.. 

JOHN FREMONT AND FORTY-NINERS TRAMPED THROUGH THE RUGGED COUNTRY 

WHICH PRESENTLY CRADLES ISABELLA DAM AND RESERVOIR. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

flow may increase tenfold to almost two million 

acre-feet of angry water. Before the dam was 

completed, floods occurred from sudden, unpredictable, and violent winter storms, and 

then later as a result of heavy unchecked 

spring runoff. 

For almost twenty dry years (1917-1936), 

Kern County residents all but forgot the terrible danger of floods only to be jolted by six wet 

and costly years (1936-1943). Flash floods and 

high water lasting months took a fearful toll in 

Kern and Kings Counties. During 1943, some 

ten million dollars worth of damage was done 

to agriculture alone in the Tulare Lake Basin 

- the Kern River contributed almost half of 

the flow that caused the damage. Earlier the 

City of Bakersfield sustained extensive damage by being seventeen feet below the flood 

crest of the February 1937 flood. 

144 

For years residents of the southern San Joaquin Valley had advocated the building of 

works to harness the Kern, to make it serve, 

not destroy . The Corps and the State of 

California had studied the area for a number of 

years. Even before 1920, local interests and the 

State attempted to get a dam built, primarily 

for conservation purposes. A project predicated 

on conservatioon alone, however, never appeared to gain enough support to get funded. 

Need for development and control of the river 

was again recognized in Bulletin No. 29 published by the State in 1931. It wasn't until the 

Flood Control Act of 1936, though, that definite action was taken. 

The Sacramento District, under the direction 

of Lt. Col. Chambers, District Engineer, and by 

the authority of the 1936 Act, undertook a 

study of the area in 1937. Their report wa~ 
completed in 1940 but not made public until 

1944, due to the War. Their study disclosed 

that, on the ayerage, almost three-q~arters of a 

million dollars in flood control benefits would 

be realized with the completion of regulatory 

works on the Kern. Moreover, it was believed 

that an average benefit to irrigation and existing power facilities, to the tune of $185,000 

would be realized. It wasn't long after the District filed its report that Congress authorized 

the Isabella Project in the 1944 Flood Control 

Act. 

It was John Fremont, a Corps of Engineers 

officer, who named the ri\'er in honor of his 

party's topographer, Edward M. Kern. Fortyniners and suryiYors of many an ill-fated immigrant party crossing Death Yalley also 

passed through the area. The gold rush to the 

northern mines had prett~' well petered out 

when, in 1854, a fellow by the name of Richard 

Keys found pay dirt a couple of miles below the 

present dam. As others learned of the discovery, a tent-town named Hogeye sprang to 

life. Later the name was changed to Keysville. 

A few years later a prospector with the unlikely name of Lovely Rogers was about to 

heave a rock at his unruly mule when he took a 

second look at the object in his hand and was 

surprised to find he was holding a chunk of 

quartz laced with gold. It wasn't long before a 

conglomeration of tents and shacks became 

known as Quartzburg. Soon the city was captured by the army of Temperance, and the local 

saloonkeeper, a Mr. Hamilton, was escorted 

out of town. Resourceful guy that Hamilton 

was, he took most of his clientele with him and 

set up the town of Whiskey Flat, which adopted 

the more sedate name of Kernville in 1864. 

Things moved fast in Kernville in those days, 

and justice, partial as it was, kept pace. Once, 

when a well-liked fellow named Ollie Miles 

stabbed the village bully, ajury of Ollie's peers 

(and probably friends) ruled that the roughneck had committed suicide by throwing himself on Ollie's knife. 

The dam and reservoir got their name from a 

much more famous person, Queen Isabella of 

Columbus fame. Actually it wasn't a direct 

connection, for a group of miners, neighbors to 

Hogeye and Whiskey Flat, started a little settlement and named it in her honor. At present 

all these settlements are resting quietly beneath the waters of Lake Isabella. Almost all of 

them, anyway. Most of Kernville was razed in 

1948 when construction got underway, but 

some of its buildings were moved upstream to 

present-day Kerm'ille. 

Construction was initiated on March 16, 

1948, under a contract with the Rand Construction Company. At the time of the formal 

ground-breaking ceremonies. some work had 

already been accomplished and was proceeding 

at a rate consistent with appropriations. Some 

fi\'e years later in April, 1953, the project was 

completed. Located about 50 highway miles (35 

miles as the crow flies) northeast of Bakersfield, the project consists of a 185-foot high 

earthfill dam with an ungated concrete spillway in the left abutment. In addition, a 100-

foot high earthfill auxiliary dam was needed to 

form a reservoir having a gross storage capacity of 570,000 acre-feet for flood control, irrigation and recreation. Federal cost was approximately twenty-two million dollars: it was 

money well spent. 

Bakersfield and about 350,000 acres of farm 

land and oil fields in the Kern Ri \'er region are 

protected by the project. As a partner to dams 

on the Kings, Kaweah and Tule Rivers, Isabella helps curb flood losses to cropland in the 

Tulare Lake Basin as well. During the floods of 

1955, 1956 and 1958, the Dam and Reservoir 

prevented damages that would have amounted 

to two and a half million dollars. The facility 

paid for itself twice over during the recordbreaking rainflood of December 1966, when 

operation of the project prevented more than 

fifty million dollars in damages. Just three 

years later, in January and February of 1969, 

the most damaging snowmelt floods of record 

occurred in the Tulare Lake basin. Coordination of Isabella dam and reservoir with the 

other flood control works in the area prevented 

a total of more than one hundred sixty-one million dollars in flood damage. 

We'll never know how much suffering and 

loss of life was prevented, but it's reasonable to 

assume that the local residents had a few kind 

145 
THE OUTFLOW FROM ISABELLA DAM CONTINUED AT A HIGH RATE DURING APRIL 1969 TO LOWER THE 

RESERVOIR TO MEET THE RECORD SNOWPACK MELT. 

(A rill y C()rps O/Eflf.[il1/'crs Photo ) 
(Army C()rps or f;;IIf..[illcers Pho/()) 
words for the Sacramento District Engineers 

as they walked on dry floors in their stocking 

feet and listened to the rain pounding on the 

roof. And, during those hot, dry summers the 

farmers have an additional 50,000 acre-feet of 

water to pour over their parched fields. 

FOLSOM 

Few rivers in this country are as famous as 

the American (Rio De Los Americanos). Following Marshall's accidental discovery of gold 

on the South Fork of the American River, the 

area became the destination of thousands seeking quick riches. Men stood in freezing water, 

while their heads cooked in the blazing sun, 

searching the American for its treasure. At 

Rattlesnake Bar, Mississippi Bar, and other 

gravel bars in the river, thousands toiled; most 

never found much and turned to other enterprises. Some became exceedingly wealthy. Just 

a "good spit-in-the-wind" west of the present 

dam site, a group of black miners staked out a 

claim on a wide gravel bar in 1850. Nigger Bar 

(later renamed Negro Bar), as it became 

known, prospered for a while and then fell victim to the raging river next to which it was 

built. By then others had come to the area, and 

together, the survivors of the flood and the 

newcomers built a new camp on the bluffs overlooking the stream. Granite City, they called 

it. Early in 1855, Captain Joseph Folsom hired 

the now-famous Theodore Judah to survey the 

area and layout a town, but before the lots 

could be marked and sold, Captain Folsom died 

on July 19, 1855, leaving to others the job of 

creating his town. After his death his heirs 

honored him by changing the name of the 

squalid settlement to Folsom City, and disposed of the lots by auction to land speculators 

and the squatters who had gathered there. Joe 

Folsom, considered by some to be not completely honest, acquired title to the land, Rancho Rio de los Americanos, through a long 

court battle, and by the application of questionable methods. The renowned historian, 

Bancroft, put it this way: 

It is necessary for the living to take 

charge of the effects of the dead, but it 

148 

smells strongly of the cormorant the avidity with which men of prominence have 

participated sometimes in the name of 

friendship, but usually actuated by avarice. The body of William Alexander 

Leidsdorffwas scarcely cold before Joseph 

L. Folsom obtained ... an order to take 

charge of the estate .. . 

Nonetheless, the town grew and prospered. 

Many a curious child spied the trains coming to 

the end of the line, and listened intently as the 

stage drivers, who met the trains at Folsom, 

called out their destinations: "Fiddletown, Volcano, Hangtown, Mormon Tavern, Shingle 

Springs, Buckeye Flat, El Dorado, Summit Hill 

and Diamond Springs." Just as intently, people 

listen today to the lyrics of country singer 

Johnny Cash as he bemoans the fate of those 

stuck in Folsom Prison, located a short distance from the present dam. 

The first dam to be built on the American 

River near Folsom was completed in 1893. Intended to run the generators of the recently 

completed power house, it also created an irrigation project. And, it is not out of line to 

speculate that the small reservoir behind that 

dam cooled many a resident suffering through 

the valley's long hot summers. As long as a 

half century before this, however, men desired 

to harness the American. Before it was controlled it was as treacherous as any in the 

country. Often as not, when Sacramentans 

found themselves up to their armpits in frigid 

water, it was the American and not the Sacramento River that was responsible. Like a 

wild, incapacious beast bent on destruction, 

the unbridled American would roar down the 

Sierra, through the foothills, and onto the valley floor, sweeping everything and everybody 

in its path to ruination. 

John Sutter wanted to control it for use as a 

waterway for logs. Early miners sought to dam 

the river to employ the waters to wash their 

gravel. In 1850, the Virginia Company constructed a dam and canal to clear the riYer bed 

for mining and to furnish a supply to their 

"Long Tom" sluice boxes. The Natoma Company dug a canal near Salmon Falls to bring 

water to Folsom and to provide wah'r for the 
..... OLD BRIDGE ACROSS THE AMERICAN RIVER NEAR THE SITE OF FOLSOM DAM. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

. - INSPECTING FOLSOM DAM SITE - 1948. LEFT TO RIGHT - JAMES L. ROSE, 

RESIDENT ENGINEER; COLONEL DWIGHT F. JOHN, SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION 

ENGINEER; COLONEL JOSEPH S. GORLINSKI, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT 

ENGINEER. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

149 
FOLSOM DAM PROJECT NEAR FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA. VIEW OF DIVERSION TUNNEL LOOKING 

DOWNSTREAM FROM STA. 6+55 ON RIGHT ABUTMENT OF MAIN DAM. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

mines. H. G. Livermore wanted to build a dam 

at Folsom to create a mill pond for a saw mill 

operation. In 1868 he started a dam at Story 

Bar. Construction was stopped in 1882, then 

later finished by convict labor. 

The Corps of Engineers has been involved 

with the American River since the late 1800s. 

First it was hydraulic mining debris, and later 

flood control that concentrated their attention 

on the stream. A great deal of data was 

gathered when the Sacramento District 

worked on the "308" studies. Additional information was called for and gained because of 

the Flood Control Act of 1936. It was at this 

time the "benefit-cost ratio" formula was initiated. All agreed that a dam was needed at the 

confluence of the North and South Forks of the 

American River; the size and capacity of the 

dam and reservoir, on the other hand, were a 

source of heated arguments. The State of 

California, in a report to the Legislature in 

1931, recommended utilizing the natural site 

near Folsom for a reservoir with a capacity of 

355,000 acre-feet. 

The Sacramento District Engineers, too, in 

their earlier studies, had determined that a reservoir of about this size would be adequate. 

These plans were drawn up during the Depression, and they represented the restricted thinking of that era. After studying the situation 

further, the Corps modified its thinking and 

came to believe that a much more substantial 

structure would be needed to do the job. To 

complicate the matter further, the Bureau of 

Reclamation looked at the American River in 

terms of the overall development of their Central Valley Project. As it did for other projects, 

the massive 1944 Flood Control Act determined who was going to build the project, but 

left other questions (irrigation, power development, etc.) unanswered. For a time, in fact, 

the 1944 bill made no mention of American 

River development, but was added at the urging of Senator Downey. 

Originally, the authorization was for the 

smaller project put forth by the state. Finally, 

after much discussion, Governor Earl Warren 

stated that if the federal government wanted to 

pay for a dam three times larger than the one 

152 

originally planned, the state shouldn't object. 

The Sacramento District engineers drew up 

plans for a reservoir with a 1,000,000 acre-foot 

capacity. Congressman Clair Engle pressed for 

the larger project, and when President Truman 

sent a special message to Congress specifically 

recommending expansion of the American 

River, the Corps-size project was all but assured. Meeting in Sacramento, Colonel Joseph 

Gorlinski, Sacramento District Engineer, Edward Hyatt, of the State Water Resour~es 

Board, Governor Warren and representatives 

of the Bureau of Reclamation worked out what 

became known as the "Folsom Formula." 

So that construction could begin without 

further delay, a million dollar appropriation 

was secured with the understanding that additional legislation would be forthcoming to enlarge the project and to incorporate the agreements reached as part of "Folsom Formula." 

Hearings were held during the spring of 1948, 

but the Eightieth Congress failed to act. The 

next year, enactment of Public Law 356 of the 

Eighty-first Congress, signed by President 

Truman on October 14, 1949, settled the matter once and for all. As amended, the legislation provided for: (Folsom Formula) 

1. A 1,000,000 acre-foot reservoir and 

dam to be built by the Corps of Engmeers. 

2. A hydroelectric plant at Folsom 

Dam to be constructed by the Bureau of 

Reclamation. 

3. A downstream dam and power plant 

(Nimbus) and all necessary transmission lines from these power plants to 

load centers to be constructed by the 

Bureau of Reclamation. 

4. Folsom Dam and Reservoir to be 

transferred to the Bureau of Reclamation for operation and maintenance in 

accordance with the federal reclamation laws and Section 7 of the Flood 

Control Act of 1944. 

5. Folsom Dam and Reservoir to become an integral part of the Central 

Valley Project. 
FOLSOM DAM SITE FOUNDATION EXCAVATION WORK. 
BY JANUARY 1954 THE HALF-WAY POINT HAD BEEN REACHED IN THE PLACING OF CONCRETE. DISTRICT 

PERSONNEL POSE FOR THE OCCASION. 
BY THE SPRING OF 1954 FOLSOM DAM WAS WELL ON THE WAY TO COMPLETION. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
DURING DECEMBER 1955, FOLSOM DAM PREVENTED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGES TO THE CITY OF 

SACRAMENTO AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. 
COLONEL ALVIN D. WILDER - SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, DECEMBER 1955 

-JULY 1956. 

157 
ELMO A. BRULE 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, 1911-1954 

Born 29 February 1884 near Modesto, California. LLB, San Francisco Law School, 1915. 

Admitted to the State of California Bar in 1915. 

Entered federal civil service in 1904 through 

appointment in the Post Office Department, 

Alameda, California, later served at Mare Island under the Navy Department. Was appointed Clerk in the Second San Francisco District, transferred to the Third San Francisco 

District and California Debris Commission 

July 1920, and promoted to Chief Clerk. This 

was the senior administrative slot of the district 

and he had direct charge, immediately under 

the District Engineer, of all disbursing, finance 

and property accounting and of general district 

office administration. He stayed in that position 

when the district office was moved to Sacramento in 1929. He served as Chief Clerk, 

Chief Administrative Assistant, Administrative 

Officer, and Executive Assistant until the time 

of his retirement in March, 1954. He was on 

loan to the Los Angeles Engineer District for 13 

months during 1935-36 as Chief Administrative Assistant to aid in the reorganization and 

expansion when that district initiated work on 

the fiood control project for Los Angeles County. 

He served continuously in the US civil service 

from his original appointment until he reached 

mandatory retirement age, missing a half century of service by thirty-eight days. Elmo Brule 

died in July 1966 at the age of 82. 

On March 7, 1956, Army Engineers of the 

Sacramento District, in a quiet ceremony, 

hoisted the national colors above the dam to 

signal completion of the project. Formal dedication ceremonies were held on Saturday, May 

5, 1956. Everybody who was anybody was 

there; Governor Knight; Assistant Secretary of 

the Army Roderick; Congressmen Moss, 

Kuchel, Engle, and Murray; and a host of 

others. The Sacramento District turned out en 

masse for the event; after all, they had worked 

for over seven years on the construction phase 

of the project, to say nothing of the many years 

of planning. 

158 

The main dam has a concrete gravity river 

section with earthfill wing dams. It is 340 feet 

high and 10,200 feet long. An auxiliary dam at 

Mormon Island is an earthfill structure 110 

feet high and has a crest length of almost 5,000 

feet. Eight earthfill dikes were also built to 

help form the reservoir. They range in height 

from ten to one hundred five feet, and together 

have a total crest length of 11,710 feet. If added 

together, the main dam, the auxiliary dam and 

the dikes would form a solid barrier almost 

three miles long. 

Folsom is truly a multipurpose structure. 

Constructed primarily for flood control, it also 

provides hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of 

water for irrigation, power development, wildlife conservation and recreation. The lake 

covers parts of three counties and has been 

highly developed by the California Division of 

Beaches and Parks. 

Folsom Dam is one of the greatest projects of 

its kind in the West. After engineers from the 

Sacramento District laid several test strips 

they determined the best method of compaction 

of some 13,000,000 cubic yards of fill. Construction began in October of 1948 on the extreme right wing of the main dam, and 'by August of the following year excavation was well 

underway. It was then that the engineers experienced their first real difficulty. A previously unknown fault was found under the left 

abutment, which required extensive excavation. A real milestone was reached with the 

pouring of the first bucket of concrete on October 29,1952. From then on, the four-cubic-yard 

buckets operated on an around-the-clock 

schedule. When finished, 1,050,000 yards of 

concrete had been placed. 

Meanwhile, construction of the power plant 

and the eight dikes, some of which qualify as 

large dams themselves, was proceeding on 

schedule. Not that the American was going to 

be civilized without a fight, for on several occasions, the swollen river reacted violently, 

washing out the cofferdams. On February 25, 

1955, a 52-ton steel gate was dropped into 

place and effectively closed the 1,500-foot diversion tunnel, causing the lake to begin filling. As the giant slab slipped into place, a 
ELMO BRULE 

159 
small group of men warmed themselves over a 

small fire on a bluff a hundred feet above the 

tunnel opening. Among those keeping the vigil 

were Lt. Colonels Grace and Wilder of the Sacramento District Office; Colonel William Ely, 

District Engineer; Donald Horton, Assistant 

Secretary of the Army; Horace Johnson, Chief 

of Construction-Operations Division of the District, and Mr. O. Haven Hart, who was his assistant at the time. Most of the engineers who 

had worked on the project from the start were 

there also. Backs to the wind, they experienced 

the warm glow of satisfaction that comes from 

knowing you've done a good job. 

It wasn't long before the great barrier would 

receive its first crucial test. During the great 

flood of December 1955, the greatest river flow 

to that time filled the yet-to-be-completed reservoir in a matter of days. By being able to 

control the river for the first time, the dam 

saved the City of Sacramento from disaster and 

prevented $20,000,000 in damages to highly 

developed agricultural land. During the February, 1963, flood, the project prevented approximately forty-five million dollars in damages. It was estimated that a like amount was 

saved the next year during the December, 

1964, floods. Hence, in only a few years, the 

dam more than repaid the $63,000,000 it cost 

to build. Again, no way has yet been devised to 

accurately estimate the amount of human suffering that was prevented. Surely it was, and 

will be, considerable. From its stormy baptism 

to the present day, this unique structure has 

all but eliminated the danger of flooding on the 

American. 

Like many other man-made reservoirs in the 

West, Folsom Lake, of necessity, covered old 

ghost towns as it filled. Probably no one will 

ever know just how many, but at least two 

dozen were known to have existed in the area. 

The area of EI Dorado County covered by the 

lake had the majority, including Growler Flat, 

Condemned Bar, Wild Goose Flat, Rattlesnake 

Bar, Salmon Falls, Quail Flat, Manhattan Bar, 

Granite Bar, Long Bar, McDowell Hill, Higgins Point, Jenny Lind Flat, Buckeye Flat and 

Elephant Flat. Where the lake covers SacOFFICE SERVICE BRANCH INTER-DISTRICT CONFERENCE - NOVEMBER 1957 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

160 
ramento and Placer Counties were places such 

as Mormon Island, Red Bank, Poker Bar, Bean, 

Maple Ridge, Doton Bar, Carlton and Horseshoe Bar. 

Earlier the Army Engineers from the Sacramento District and other agencies, including 

the Smithsonian Institution, combed the area 

in search of Indian artifacts. While their finds 

were not spectacular, they did add to the 

knowledge of the Indian tribes of the area, both 

in historic and prehistoric times. Another delicate job performed by the Sacramento District 

was the transfer and relocation of last remains 

from graveyards. Hundreds of people were 

interviewed as to how many bodies were buried 

in the area to be flooded. Many graves were 

unmarked and some almost impossible to recognize. It was known that eighteen persons 

were buried near Salmon Falls, and it was 

thought that 36 graves were located at Growler 

Flat. The greatest number were at Mormon Island; from Dr. McCall who died in 1850 at the 

age of 26, to Kate Edmonds who passed away 

at the age of 93, on June 12, 1950. In carrying 

out this task, as with all the other jobs completed by the Sacramento District in building 

Folsom Dam, the work was done in a professional manner and with the respect due the 

early pioneers. The relocated cemetery is now 

situated just south of the Mormon Island dike. 

MERCED COUNTY STREAM GROUP 

The 1944 Flood Control Act was the mos~ 

important document of its kind in American 

history. It is probable that never again will so 

many vital civil works projects be authorized 

at one time. And while it is true that the majority of the flood control dams planned and built 

by the Sacramento District were large, imposing works, other smaller projects, just as important to the residents of the area, were begun 

while Pine Flat, Isabella and Folsom Dams 

were being completed. Examples of this type of 

work are the dams and reservoirs of the 

Merced County Stream Group. 

A few miles east of the city of Merced, a maze 

of creeks and sloughs tumble through the foothills ofthe central Sierra. Most ofthe year they 

161 

lend themselves to quiet picnics, lazy walks 

through fields of California poppies brought to 

life by spring rains, or brisk autumn hikes on 

trails that wind through groves of oaks. But, 

like their larger cousins, these placid streams 

can gorge themselves on torrential rains, rush 

out of hills on a wave of destruction, and flatten or carry away that which stood in their 

way. Does it really matter whether one is 

drowned by a small stream or a large river? 

To bring these unruly waterways under control, the Sacramento District has constructed 

four dams and reservoirs which protect about 

136,000 acres of agricultural land while adding 

a large measure of security to the people living 

in Merced, Planada and LeGrand. As with so 

many other projects, the dams were planned 

during the Depression but had to wait out the 

war before being started. The largest of the 

four reservoirs, Mariposa, was begun in March, 

1948, and finished by November of the same 

year. Located on a creek of the same name, the 

dam is an earthfill structure 88 feet high, almost 400 feet thick at the base, and over 1,300 

feet long. It has an ungated saddle spillway, a 

pair of auxiliary dikes, and backs up Mariposa 

Creek (also known as Duck Slough) to form a 

reservoir of 15,000 acre-feet. 

Owens Dam, completed in October, 1949, 

was the next component of the project to be 

finished. Similar in design to the others in that 

it, like they, are earthfill structures having 

ugated saddle spillways, it is located about two 

miles north of Mariposa Dam. The smallest 

reservoir of the four, it stores only 3,600 acrefeet of water. Owens Dam is 75 feet high and 

790 feet long. 

The fifty-three foot high Burns Dam was 

completed just six months before the outbreak 

of the Korean war. Together with an auxiliary 

dike, it forms a reservoir on Burns Creek with 

a capacity of 6,800 acre-feet. Even though it's 

the lowest structure of the group, it has the 

distinction of being longer, at 4,074 feet, than 

the other three dams combined. 

Four years later, in December, 1954, Bear 

Dam and Reservoir, on Bear Creek, was completed. The last to be finished, it is the highest, 

92 feet, and the second longest, 1,830 feet. Its 
MARIPOSA DAM 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
reservoir of 7,700 acre-feet is just slightly 

larger than that behind Burns Dam. 

The project was constructed for the sole purpose of flood control, and it didn't have long to 

wait before receiving a severe test of its 

capabilities. During the December 1955-

January 1956 floods, these four small dams 

held the streams in check and prevented an 

estimated $4,800,000 in damages to towns, 

farms and transportation facilities of the Central San Joaquin Valley. Moreover, by reducing the maximum flood flows of the San Joaquin River, the danger to Stockton and the 

Delta region was lessened. Again, during the 

1958 flood, damages estimated at more than 

five and a half million dollars were prevented. 

OUTLET WORKS - MARIPOSA DAM. 

By that time, however, the Sacramento District had completed two diversion canals downstream from the dams to help distribute the 

water. Black Rascal Creek flows can now be 

carried in part by Bear Creek, and excess 

water from Owens Creek can pass to Mariposa 

Creek through a 400 second-foot capacity 

canal. 

Local interests were required to furnish 

lands, easements and rights-of-way, as well as 

being responsible for highway and utility modifications. Total costs for all requirements of 

local cooperation were $1,148,000. The project 

as a whole was finished in Fiscal Year 1957 at 

a cost of $2,751,259 to the federal government. 

Besides being important to the immediate area 

163 
F ARMINGTON DAM PROJECT NEAR FARMINGTON, CALIFORNIA. COMPLETION PHOTO - VIEW LOOKING 

SOUTHERLY FROM RIGHT ABUTMENT SHOWING RIP-RAPPING FOR SLOPE PROTECTION. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
DAM AND RESERVOIR. FARMINGTON Engineers Photo) (Army Corps of 

----------- ----------

~~~~-~----
it serves, the project forms an essential link in 

the overall flood control plan for the San Joaquin Valley. Operation and maintenance are 

the responsibility of the Sacramento District, 

Corps of Engineers. 

FARMINGTON DAM 

A few miles south of Stockton on U. S. 

Highway 50 is the settlement of French Camp. 

This tiny village hugs the south bank of Littlejohn Creek. In the old days, prospectors used to 

follow the stream on their way from Tuleburg 

(Stockton) to the mines. Like the rest of the 

streams of the Western Sierra Nevada, Littlejohn Creek frequently spilled over its banks, 

and when it did it put the settlements along its 

banks under water. Furthermore, its uncontrolled floods met the San Joaquin River just 

south of Stockton, adding the straw that often 

broke the levee's back. 

To correct the situation, the Sacramento District constructed Farmington Dam and Reservoir three and a half miles upstream from the 

town of Farmington. Work on the project was 

started in the summer of 1949, and by June, 

1951, the main dam and spillway were completed. Additional downstream improvements 

on Duck Creek and Littlejohn Creek were 

finished by the spring of 1955. Later, Congress 

authorized the enlargement of Duck Creek 

channel downstream of the diversion structure, which had been completed in May, 1955. 

The enlargement work was finished in January, 1967. Together, these improvements, built 

strictly for flood control, afforded protection to 

58,000 acres offarm land, suburban and industrial areas immediately southeast of the City of 

Stockton. Local interests were required and 

have provided, without cost, all necessary 

lands, easements and rights-of-way for the diversion channel, and have modified all bridges 

and utilities to conform to the needs of the 

project. 

The dam itself is a long, low earthfill barrier 

58 feet high and 7,800 feet long (crest length) 

that forms a reservoir with a capacity of 52,000 

acre-feet. Federal construction costs of 

$3,676,384 were more than justified, in that by 

preventing flood damages during 1955-56 and 

166 

1958, the dam, reservoir and appurtenant 

facilities spared residents of the area a lot of 

grief, and saved an estimated five and a half 

million dollars. Local interests are responsible 

for the operation and maintenance of the 

channel improvements, while the Corps maintains and operates the dam and reservoir. 

SUCCESS AND TERMINUS 

During dedication ceremonies for Pine Flat 

Dam in 1954, the Chief of Engineers stated 

that flood protection facilities of the southern 

San Joaquin Valley "still had a hole" in them. 

His comments alluded, of course, to Kaweah 

and Tule Rivers, at the time flanked by the 

recently completed Isabella and Pine Flat 

Dams on the Kings and Kern Rivers. These 

four rivers form one complex drainage system 

that, until checked, emptied into the Tulare 

Lake Basin and only partially into the San 

Joaquin River. Each begins within a few miles 

of the others near Mount Whitney, pursues a 

separate and turbulent channel down the face 

of the western Sierra, smacks the floor of the 

San Joaquin Valley with sizable impact, then 

combines to nourish or flood the Tulare Lake 

Basin. With the ground breaking ceremonies 

for Success Dam near Porterville on the Tule 

River on 16 October 1958, Sacramento District 

engineers began to "plug the hole" in the system. And, when construction got underway 

only a few months later on Terminus Dam, the 

residents of the Kaweah-Tule River Basin felt 

sure that soon they would no longer have to 

fear their benefactors, the Tule and Kaweah 

Rivers, but simply appreciate them. 

For years the southern San Joaquin Valley, 

when compared to the Sacramento with its 

magnificent flood control works, remained virtually defenseless against both flood and 

drought. From 1938 to 1958, major floods visited the area to spread their ruin. Prior to 

1938, many waterless years caused a great 

deal of harm, only in reverse. But, when the 

Sacramento Engineers completed Success in 

the spring of 1961, and Terminus during the 

summer of the following year, they captured 

that pair of mindless vandals, flood and 

drought, and rehabilitated them so that the~' 
\ 

TERMINUS DAM AND LAKE KAWEAH 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
HEA VY MIST RISES FROM THE OUTFLOW OF TERMINUS DAM ON THE KAWEAH RIVER ABOVE VISALIA, 

CALIFORNIA. THIS FLOOD CONTROL DAM IS OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY THE SACRAMENTO 

DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, AND IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR IN KEEPING AGRICULTURE OF THE 

V ALLEY HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo) 
PLACING CONCRETE-FILLED SANDBAGS ACROSS THE LIP OF THE TERMINUS DAM 

SPILLWAY, THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, GAINED 

ABOUT 10,000 ACRE-FEET OF ADDITIONAL STORAGE SPACE DURING THE RECORD 

SNOWPACK SNOWMELT OF JUNE 1969. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

169 
could provide succor instead of destruction. 

Moreover, we learned earlier, especially in the 

case of the Folsom Dam and Reservoir, that 

substantial works are not the products of a 

single night's dream, nor do they affect only 

the land on which they are constructed. Each is 

the end result of years of toil and sweat by 

many, meant to satisfy a variety of needs. A 

project always has ramifications extending beyond its immediate time and perimeters. 

The lake beds of Success and Terminus, and 

the hills that enclose them, are as rich in history as any in the state. It was in 1856 that 

Sardis Wilcox made a home for himself and his 

family on a quarter section at the junction of 

the main and south forks of the Tule River. 

Until realtors of the Sacramento District purchased the land, members of the Wilcox family 

held title to the original parcel as well as adjacent tracts within the region. In fact, it was 

John A. Wilcox who detonated the initial 

dynamite charge that signaled the start of construction on the Success project. Hidden beneath the quiet water of the reservoir are the 

old adobe home of Origen Wilcox, the orange 

trees planted by Herman Templeton before the 

turn of the century, and the site of the Wilcox 

family cemetery, which has since been relocated. 

H. H. Holy of Visalia, a long time resident of 

the Kaweah River region, set off the blast that 

began the work on Terminus Dam. As he did, 

the echo brought a smile of achievement to 

many; the cherished dreams of decades were 

being fulfilled. For others who had spent their 

lifetimes on the property of their parents and 

grandparents, it was grief and disappointment 

that gripped their hearts. Swallowed up by the 

waters behind Terminus Dam are homesteads, 

first settled in the summer of 1856. Hale 

Thorp, the first white settler to come to the 

area, brought his family to the banks of the 

Kaweah River that year and made a home for 

them. His grandson, Dave Mehrten, whose 

place joined the old homestead on the south, 

was one of the last to move out of the reach of 

the rising water. Some of the first to go were 

the descendents of Charles Marx and J. W. B. 

Rice, whose homes were built very close to the 

170 

damsite. Mr. Marx settled the area in 1884 and 

planted one of the first orange groves in the 

district. The dams, which give protection and 

sustenance to the many, have had to sacrifice 

the possessions of the few. 

The first to suffer the encroachment of western civilization in the area were the Indians. 

As early as 1804, Spanish expeditions attacked 

and destroyed Indian villages. In their zeal to 

convert the territory to Christianity, the 

Spaniards captured many Indians, especially 

children, and took them to the coastal missions. An exception was the Monochi Indian 

group of the upper Kaweah River region who 

remained unmolested, save for possible 

epidemics of which there are no records. By the 

middle of the nineteenth century, however, native civilization along the lower reaches of Tule 

and Kaweah Rivers was seriously disorganized. While Indian contact with Europeans 

was rare in the higher reaches, it was violent 

and catastrophic in the area where the rivers 

meet the valley floor. In general, the Indians 

didn't suffer to a great extent because of the 

gold rush, simply because relatively few miners came to the region. The history of the Tule 

and Kaweah Rivers is and has been measured 

by bushel baskets of wheat, vegetables and 

fruits, not ounces of gold dust. Hence, it was 

early recognized that the control of these 

streams was essential if the full potential of 

the land was to be realized. 

The first Corps of Engineers officer to visit 

the area was John C. Fremont. During his second expedition he crossed the Sierra in the 

dead of winter, rested briefly at Sutter's Fort, 

and then made his way south through the San 

Joaquin Valley during the spring. On April 9, 

1844, he camped on the banks of the Kaweah. 

In his journal, he referred to the Wukchumni 

Indians, who lived in the vicinity, as the 

"Horse-thieflndians." Six years later, in 1850, 

Corps of Engineer officer Lieutenant George H. 

Derby was sent into the Tulare Lake Basin to 

find a suitable place for the establishment of a 

fort to protect the San Luis Obispo area from 

Indian raids. In describing the delta of the 

Kaweah River, Lt. Derby wrote: 

The land is excellent for cultivation, well 
QUIET WATERS AND MOUNTAIN SCENERY BECKON THE NATURE LOVER AT LAKE 

KA WEAH CREATED BY TERMINUS DAM, A SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, CORPS OF 

ENGINEERS, EARTHFILL STRUCTURE ON THE KAWEAH RIVER, SOME 20 MILES 

ABOVE VISALIA, CALIFORNIA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

171 
timbered and an abundance of excellent 

building material may be found close at 

hand . . . it is a beautiful, smooth, level 

plain covered with clover of many different kinds and high grass and shaded by 

one continuous growth of oaks of a larger 

and finer variety than I have ever seen in 

the country. 

The land, which now lies at the bottom of 

Lake Kaweah, gradually developed into 

an agricultural region devoted to dry and irrigated farming, citrus groves and livestock 

ranching. The small town of Terminus served 

the needs of the local ranchers and orchardists. 

From a deposit at Lime Kiln Hill, presently the 

south abutment of Terminus Dam, limestone 

was mined and utilized throughout the valley 

for some seventy years prior to the construction of the dam. 

The Corps of Engineers again was involved 

in the area when conducting the "308" studies, 

and while completing its investigations relative to the 1936 Flood Control Act. Held up by 

the war, authorization for the two projects was 

finally included as a part of the Flood Control 

Act of 1944. Even though some preliminary 

work was accomplished, interest in the work 

began to lag. Tulare County had suffered the 

ravages of major floods in 1862, 1866, 1875, 

1879 and 1906 besides the several that occurred during the late thirties and middle forties. At other times, crops shriveled and cattle 

dropped and rotted under the searing heat of 

drought. It required the massive Christmas 

flood of 1955 to arouse the populace to renewed 

action. They soon learned that, by delaying the 

work for years, the original authorization of 

$4,600,000 was far from enough to complete 

the projects. 

Wading through turbid water, often up to 

their necks, Visalia and Porterville residents 

and valley farmers surveyed their damages, 

looked at the absence of flood damages on the 

Kings and Kern Rivers, cursed themselves and 

the rivers, and realized that in just this one 

flood they had lost more than it would have 

cost to build both dams. 

On January 17, 1956, representatives of 

cities, irrigation districts, boards of supervisors, and other groups packed the office of the 

Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District in 

V isalia and decided to act. They formed the 

Terminus-Success Flood Control Dams Association, and elected Jack Chrisman to be permanent chairman. Then they took immediate 

steps to place the projects on the Army Corps of 

Engineers "most wanted list." With the aid of 

their representatives in Washington, they 

were able to get the projects included in the 

Omnibus Bill of 1956, only to have the bill vetoed. The next year Congress passed another 

similar bill, but it too was vetoed because President Eisenhower felt it was loaded with unnecessary projects. Finally, the 85th Congress, 

in the summer of 1958, passed a revised bill 

that was signed by the President on July 3, 

1958, which carried an authorization of28 million dollars for Success and Terminus Dams. 

Sacramento District engineers began exploratory drilling of Lime Kiln Hill and Bells 

Bluff, the south and north abutments of Terminus Dam, found the site satisfactory, and 

completed plans for the project. Like operations were also underway at the Success Dam 

site. Here on October 16, 1958, ground breaking ceremonies were held for Success Dam and 

Reservoir. Brig. Gen. R. G. MacDonnell, South 

Pacific Division Engineer, delivered the principal address, in which he emphasized the fact 

that "the hole" in flood protection works was 

about to be plugged. A few months later, Colonel A. E. McCollam, Sacramento District Engineer, served as the main speaker at the 

ground breaking for the Terminus project held 

on Thursday, 19 February 1959. 

Success, named for a small mining town 

nearby, was the first started and first finished. 

Located about six miles east of Porterville, the 

$14,250,000 earthfill dam backs up a reservoir 

of 85,000 acre-feet. This vital unit of the comprehensive Sacramento-San Joaquin Basin 

flood control plan consists of a main dam 142 

feet in height and an auxiliary earthfill dam 

about 40 feet high. The main dam has an ungated saddle spillway (broad-crested weir) with 

a crest length of 200 feet and a capacity of 

126,000 c.f.s. The primary work of t he project 

is, of course, to protect the lives and property of 

172 
FLOODED FARM BUILDINGS IN THE TULARE BASIN RESULT FROM THE RECORD SNOWPACK IN THE HIGH 

SIERRA NEVADA FOLLOWING THE RAINFLOODS OF FEBRUARY 1969. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
SITE OF SUCCESS DAM PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION (TAKEN IN FEBRUARY 1959). THIS DAM IS ON THE TULE 

RIVER, IN TULARE COUNTY. 
those living below the dam, and to prevent the 

flooding of 60,000 acres of rich farmland. Byproducts of this function are the additional 

water for irrigation and a substantial pool for 

recreation and wildlife conservation. The project almost paid for itself during the recordbreaking rainflood of December, 1966, when it 

prevented an estimated $10,000,000 in damages along the Tule River and an additional 

$400,000 in losses to the Tulare Lake Basin. 

Twenty miles east of Visalia stands the 250-

foot high Terminus Dam. Here, too, an auxiliary dam was needed to create the reservoir. 

When at capacity, the facility stores 150,000 

acre-feet of water for flood control, irrigation 

and recreation. The $19,300,000 barrier more 

than paid for itself in the December 1966 flood. 

Moreover, the men, women and children of 

Visalia and some 126,000 fertile acres of croplands are protected by the silent and obedient 

sentinel straddling the Kaweah River. 

In recalling the events that led to the construction of Pine Flat, Isabella, Success and 

Terminus Dams, mention has often been made 

of the Tulare Lake Basin. Perhaps a brief word 

of description would help explain this body of 

water that no longer exists, and further demonstrate the significance of the four Corps of 

Engineers dams located in the southern San 

Joaquin Valley. A mere century ago, Tulare 

was the largest lake west of the Rocky Mountains. Fed by the Kern, Tule, Kaweah and 

Kings Rivers, this great shallow inland sea 

was home to a variety of aquatic life; salmon, 

perch and sturgeon once supported a commercial fishing industry. Yokut Indians lived 

along the shores and on the islands of this lake, 

that covered some 800 square miles of the 

upper San Joaquin Valley, as late as 1862. The 

"Mose Andross", a schooner, was built for the 

express purpose of hauling cattle and hogs 

across Tulare Lake. In 1876, it was converted 

to a sidewheel steamer with parts salvaged 

from a steamboat that had tried to reach the 

lake in 1862 by pushing up the San Joaquin 

River. Running aground just short of its mark, 

it rested for years in the mud until it was broken up in the conversion of the "Mose Andross." Years later, the "Water Witch" joined 

the fleet of shallow draft vessels on the lake 

and was used to catch terrapin, served as delicacies in the finer restaurants of San FranCISCO. 

Over the years, the lake would wax and 

wane, in proportion to the variations in rainfall. On a half dozen occasions, since records 

have been kept, the lake has dried up altogether. Usually, though, it would recede 

gradually, exposing rich alluvial soil that 

tempted farmers to plant their crops along its 

edges. During the latter years of the 19th century, a series of dry years and increased irrigation shrank the lake to almost nothingness. 

Then, in 1880, the California legislature 

passed a law allowing farmers to purchase reclaimable swampland for only $2.50 an acre, 

most of which would be refunded to the buyer if 

he spent a like sum on levees and other reclamation projects. Enactment of this law caused 

a stampede to the area, and the reclamation 

and irrigation districts that were formed were 

soon hard at work draining the marshlands, 

building leeves and cultivating fields where 

not long before Indians fished from tule-reed 

rafts. "Sandlappers," as they were called by the 

cattlemen, fitted their horses' hooves with 

boards so they wouldn't sink in the muck as 

they worked to push the lake back and reclaim 

more land. 

More than once, competition for the rich 

lakebed exceeded the limits of legal and gentlemanly behavior in an eruption of heated argument and gunfire. What began as a quiet 

May morning in 1880 ended as the "Battle of 

Mussel Slough." It was here, near Hanford, 

that seven men were killed in a dispute that 

was caused by the Southern Pacific Railroad 

playing fast and loose with the settlers and 

land speculators over the ownership of a certain parcel of reclaimed swamp. The tragic incident gained nationwide fame in Josiah 

Royce's, "The Battle of Oakdale Flat," and 

Frank Norris' novel, "The Octopus." In time, 

literally the entire lakebed was transformed 

into some of the richest agricultural land in the 

world. But, unprotected by effective control 

works, the phantom lake would return with 

the torrential rains that occur in the southern 

175 
SUCCESS DAM - NEARLY COMPLETE: NOTE THE CONTROL TOWER ON THE LEFT. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
THE DAMS THAT PROTECT THE TULARE BASIN ALSO PROVIDE PRECIOUS IRRIGATION WATER FOR 

THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF RICH FARMLAND. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
Sierra. And when this happened, it took years 

to dry out the land and rebuild the irrigation 

and flood control works. 

The four dams built by the Sacramento District in the area have changed the situation 

considerably. Working together as an integrated system, they prevent flood damages to 

260,000 acres of cropland in the Tulare Lake 

Basin. Over the years, they have prevented, 

and will continue to prevent, the loss of life, 

suffering, and tens of millions of dollars worth 

of damage to the "Phantom Lake" region. 

BLACK BUTTE 

Besides having a distinctive charm, Black 

Butte is unique in other ways. It's the only 

major dam and reservoir project constructed by 

the Sacramento District on the west side of the 

great Central Valley. Further, it was the first 

to be constructed under a new Federal-State 

plan of cooperation. 

Stony Creek, like the other streams in 

California, has a long history of floods of its 

own, and of having contributed greatly to those 

attributed to the Sacramento River, into which 

it empties. A product of long planning, beginning in the twenties, refined in the thirties and 

authorized in 1944, the project was nearly forgotten for many years thereafter. But the 

Christmas flood of 1955, and that of February 

1958, brought the project back into focus by 

flooding Orland and Hamilton City, and adding to the destructive force of the mighty Sacramento. Almost a half million dollars in damages would have been prevented if the dam had 

been in place prior to these floods. Since its 

authorization as part of the Flood Control Act 

of 1944, the project had received several appropriations for studies and planning, and was 

nearly ready for the construction phase many 

times. But, for one reason or another, it never 

moved off dead center. 

Spurred by the suffering experienced during 

1955 and 1958, residents of Butte, Tehama and 

Colusa Counties joined with Glenn County to 

seek relief from the State of California. They 

sought immediate construction of the oft proposed project. Soon, the Federal-State cooperative plan was worked out. The bone of conten178 

tion had been the repayment of that portion of 

the facility allocated to water conservation. 

There was no legal entity willing to furnish the 

necessary guaranties, and for awhile it appeared that the lack of one would halt plans for 

quick completion of the works. To save the 

situation, the State of California agreed to act 

as guarantor. After a resolution of intent was 

passed, the State Legislature appropriated 

several million dollars to underwrite the 

guaranty, and Black Butte was subsequently 

integrated into the Central Valley Project. 

The Real Estate Division of the Sacramento 

District prepared an extensive document explaining to local landowners their rights with 

regard to government acquisition of their land: 

The need for the land, how the value of their 

property would be determined, and what steps 

to take if they didn't feel the offer made was 

fair. A great many more facts and general information were supplied in the paper, which 

proved a great help to local residents by clearing up rumors and false information that naturally accompany any such project. 

On Saturday, June 4, 1960, a large group of 

local residents and dignitaries sweltered in 110 

degrees heat while attending the groundbreaking ceremonies for Black Butte Dam. Following remarks presented by Colonel Howard 

Morris, Sacramento District Engineer, and 

Brig. Gen. R. G. MacDonnell, South Pacific Division Engineer, Major General William Cassidy, Assistant Chief for Civil Works, Office of 

the Chief of Engineers, delivered the principal 

address of the day. Following his presentation, 

Devere Mallon, previous owner of the dam site, 

stepped up and detonated a dynamite charge 

that marked the beginning of construction. 

Actually, initial work had begun in March of 

1960. Dam closure was achieved by November 

1962, and the entire structure completed during December 1963. The dam was dedicated 

some months earlier, on JUIL' :29, 1963, 

another hot day. Speakers rc ),;enting local, 

state and federal agencie~ shared their 

thoughts and feelings abou, HiL' lmportance of 

the facility. Following the int rOll uction of 

Army Engineer personnel by Colonel Herbert 

Turner, Sacramento District Engineer. 
). 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS 

SACRAMENTO, CALI FORNIA 

BLACK BUTTE DAM SITE. 
GROUND BREAKING AT BLACK BUTTE DAM SITE - JUNE 4, 1960. 
BLACK BUTTE DAM AND LAKE 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

BLACK BUTTE DAM BID OPENING, MAY 10, 1966. LEFT TO RIGHT: A. J. SEAMAN, 

COLONEL H. A. MORRIS, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, AND JIM CHADICK, 

RESIDENT ENGINEER. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

181 
Brigadier General Arthur Frye, Jr. , South 

Pacific Division Engineer, delivered the dedicatory address. Skipping over the well-known 

benefits and purposes of the new dam, the 

General emphasized the local cooperation 

given the project, and the manner in which the 

dam would fit into the overall scheme of flood 

control and water resource development in the 

State of California. 

Almost four years in construction, the project comprises an earthfill dam 140 feet high 

and 2,970 feet long and six dikes ranging in 

height from seven to thirty-eight feet with a 

total length of 3,005 feet. The spillway is an 

uncontrolled broad-crested weir with a crest 

length of 118 feet and having a capacity of 

76,000 c.f.s. Total capacity of the reservoir, at 

gross pool, is 160,000 acre-feet. The major 

function of the project is flood control, but it 

also provides 56,800 acre-feet of new water annually for irrigation. Because of the many 

people coming to the lake to swim, fish, waterski and just plain relax, the Sacramento District has undertaken an ambitious plan of recreational development at Black Butte. Besides 

the $14,500,000 federal first cost for the dam 

and reservoir, almost a million dollars has 

been earmarked for development of recreational facilities. Finally, the dam provides a 

large measure of security to the residents of 

Orland and Hamilton City, and to a transcontinental highway, a railroad and 64,000 

acres of Sacramento Valley farm land. 

NEW HOGAN 

"Push the plunger, Walter!" The stubborn 

shaft descended into the detonator. Several 

hundred feet away mounds of iron ore, white 

sand and blue cement exploded in a flash of 

patriotic color. A second later, the sharp crack 

from the blast echoed across the ravine and 

richocheted offthe old dam. All the while, Walter Hogan maintained a solemn countenance 

as the multi-colored clouds of dust rose into the 

still air, marking the beginning of construction 

of the New Hogan Dam and Reservoir. Some 

300 spectators squinted and shielded their eyes 

as they watched one of the most unusual dedication ceremonies ever held. 

182 

It was altogether fitting for the 76-year-old, 

white-haired man to climax the occasion which 

meant the beginning of a new era of security 

for those living along the banks of the 

Calaveras River. Former Stockton city manager and city engineer, Walter Hogan had devoted a great deal of his active life to the control of floods from the Calaveras, which had so 

often threatened Stockton. Probably more than 

anyone else, he had labored to tame the river, 

for it was Hogan who conceived and fought for 

the original flood control dam that bore his 

name. The old dam, completed during the first 

years of the Great Depression, though inadequate, was a unique example oflocal initiative for self-protection. Unable to halt the full 

force of major floods, it nonetheless was the 

best that the people of Stockton could afford at 

the time, and through the years it had prevented many millions of dollars in damages 

and saved scores of lives. 

Under the direction of the Greater Stockton 

Chamber of Commerce, and in cooperation 

with the Sacramento District, the groundbreaking ceremonies held on November 10, 

1960, signaled the end of more than twenty 

years of campaigning by residents of the area 

for a major flood control dam. In his remarks at 

the time, General MacDonnell stated that, 

"The people of this valley have built the most 

remarkable economy of its kind in the world 

. . . it is proper that it be given protection and 

the means to expand." 

Bids for the $16,000,000 project were opened 

on October 25, 1960. At about the same time, 

Colonel H. N. Turner, Sacramento District 

Engineer, appointed Donald Putnam as Resident Engineer for the New Hogan facility. As 

was the case with Black Butte Dam, the state 

acted as guarantor allowing construction to 

proceed more rapidly. The Department of 

Water Resources, acting for the state, assured 

the Corps of Engineers on March 5, 1959, that: 

The conservation (irrigation) services to be 

provided by the dam were needed and would be 

used; the cost allocated to the conservation 

function was acceptable to the state; the Department of Water Resources, on behalf of the 

state, would enter into a contract with the fed-
.-~ 

. ..,.-

t -

. .- -\ -

... -- .# 

~-

>. 

.. 

BORROW PIT AT NEW HOGAN DAM SITE - PHOTO TAKEN IN EARLY 1964. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

183 

-. ~,;. 

~ ...-~: ~~ ... ~~, 

~ ... o!' ....... 

'> ' 

.... .... --

-. 
DRA WING SHOWS POSITION OF NEW HOGAN DAM UPON COMPLETION. THE OLD HOGAN DAM IS SEEN IN 

THE BACKGROUND. APRIL 1961. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
NEW HOGAN LAKE FILLING. THE ORIGINAL HOGAN DAM IS FAST DISAPPEARING BENEATH THE NEW LAKE 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
eral government for repayment of the project 

cost allocated to conservation. Just a year later, in the spring of 1960, such a document was 

executed with the Bureau of Reclamation. 

For the next three and a half years, work 

went on day and night to effect rapid completion of the project. Through the intense heat of 

San Joaquin Valley summers and the muck 

and mire fomented by cold winter rains, men 

and machines choked on dust and slogged in 

the slippery mud and brought closure to the 

dam in November, 1963. Eight months later, in 

June, 1964, the project was completed for operational use. 

Their many months of toil had wrought a 

magnificent structure that sits astride the 

Calaveras River some twenty-eight miles 

northeast of the City of Stockton. The main 

dam, located immediately downstream from 

the old Hogan Dam, is a rockfill barrier having 

an impervious earth core and a maximum 

height of 200 feet and a length of just under 

2,000 feet. To create the 325,000 acre-foot reservoir, four dikes were also constructed. They 

are rolled earthfill structures ranging from 10 

to 18 feet in height, and if placed end to end 

would cover 1,355 feet. A gated spillway, (3 

tainter gates, 38' x 36') 130 feet in length, with 

a capacity of 106,400 c.f.s., regulates the flow 

from the reservoir. 

It was a long uphill fight to get the job done. 

Planning funds were initially allocated in Fiscal Year 1945, but things moved slowly. Then 

the Korean War brought a halt to the planning, which wasn't resumed until 1957. Finally, on a bright, sun-drenched Saturday 

morning in May, 1964, the project was dedicated. From reviewing the evidence, the planning and execution of the dedication ceremony 

seemed almost as involved as building the 

dam. Bands played, howitzers thundered, 

helicopters hovered about, sky divers fell out of 

the blue, while a grand entourage of dignitaries reviewed the troops and spoke on the 

subject of the day. The principal speakers were 

General Jackson Graham, Director of Civil 

Works, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and 

186 

Congressman John J. McFall of the 11th U. S. 

Congressional District. Attending from the 

Sacramento District were Lieutenant Colonel 

C. R. Teagle, Deputy District Engineer; 

Amalio Gomez, Chief, Engineering Division; 

O. H. Hart, Chief, Construction-Operations 

Division; Ronald Thompson, Chief, Operations 

Branch; Bill Doyle, Chief, Planning Branch; 

Ansel Myers, Resident Engineer for New 

Hogan Dam; Arnold Lee, District Photographer; Clyde Gorman and Carl Greenstein 

from the Technical Liaison Office (Public Mfairs Office). 

After all the local, state and federal officials 

were introduced and the speeches made, Mrs. 

Frances H. Winter, daughter of the late Walter 

Hogan (he had died 5 April 1962 and never saw 

the fulfillment of his dream), stepped up to the 

rostrum and shared a few brief thoughts with 

the audience. Then, to climax the gala event, 

she, her daughter Pamela, and General 

Graham took flare guns in hand, pointed them 

skyward and fired - the facility was properly 

and officially dedicated. Six days later, 29 May 

1964, Max Sweet, President of the Greater 

Stockton Chamber of Commerce, wrote Colonel 

Mathe, District Engineer, to thank him for the 

efforts of Corps' staff in handling the ceremonies. 

Indeed, the project and all the men responsible for its completion are held in high esteem 

by the residents of Stockton. For the dam and 

reservoir provide flood protection for 46,000 

acres of highly developed agricultural land 

along the Calaveras River and to the residents 

of another 14,000 acres of urban and suburban 

Stockton. Their transportation facilities, industries and military installations are afforded 

security as well. For the farmers of the region, 

the project adds 71,800 acre-feet of new water 

each year to an area where the supply was inadequate and overdraft pumping was depleting 

ground water supplies. Moreover, it's estimated that if a major flood occurs, operation of 

the dam in conjunction with downstn>am improvements would prevent damages of 

$50,000,000. Cause for celebration indeed! 
NEW HOGAN DAM AND LAKE - JULY 1969. 
PLANNING STRATEGY FOR THE JUMPING FROG JUBILEE ARE HIRAM 

WITT, NEW HOGAN DAM AND LAKE MANAGER, AND 'OCE', THE FROG WHO WILL 

CARRY THE COLORS OF THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, ARMY CORPS OF 

ENGINEERS. ANGELS CAMP, SCENE OF THE ANNUAL FROG JUMP, AND NEW HOGAN 

DAM ARE BOTH IN CALAVERAS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, WHERE FROG JUMPING 

CONTESTS HAVE BEEN HELD FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS. 'OCE' GOT HIS NAME 

FROM THE INITIALS, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. PHOTO TAKEN 161\ 1,-\ \' 

1967. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

188 
.' . ", 

- III ~; 

RENO, NEVADA, AFTER RECESSION OF TRUCKEE RIVER FLOODWATER. NOTE mGH WATER MARK ON THE 

RIVERSIDE HOTEL. NOVEMBER 1950. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
MARTIS CREEK 

Hidden away in a lonely, sagebrush-covered 

valley, a few miles southeast of Truckee, and 

just off the road to the north shore of Lake 

Tahoe, is Martis Creek Dam and Reservoir. 

Driving through the valley in the middle of 

summer, gamblers headed for North Shore to 

"pay their dues" seldom imagined that, when 

fed by spring runoff and mountain thunder 

showers, Martis Creek could grow to enormous 

proportions. Racing through the highland. it 

soon merges with the Truckee River, which in 

turn cuts a path through the heart of Reno on 

its way to Pyramid Lake. It is in downtown 

Reno that flooding problems have often occurred. A part of the solution are the channel 

improvements completed by local interests and 

the Corps. The other part is the dam and reservoir on Martis Creek about two miles above its 

confluence with the Truckee River, and about 

thirty-two miles upstream from Reno. 

190 

The $8,000,000 project consists of an earthfill dam 113 feet high and 2.670 feet long I crest 

length). While the primary purpose of the 

20,400 acre-foot reservoir is flood control, it 

will also offer increased recreational opportunities and will augment the existing water 

supply in the Truckee River Basin. Authorized 

by the Flood Control Act of 1962, preconstruction planning was started early in 1964, with 

initial construction getting under way three 

and a half years later, in the fall of 1967. In the 

spring of 1970, the contract was a'warded for 

the main dam. It was at this point that the 

local interests began their part of the work. 

Channel improvements along the Truckee 

River in Reno. A year and a half later, about 

the time Reno pre-schoolers were dreaming of 

the Great Pumpkin and pestering their folks 

for a witch's costume, the engineers from Sacramento achieved closure of the main dam in 

October 1971. 
i!;:.", 

r »~. 

~. - '-": 

t·· .' 

I 

THE SPILLWAY OF THE MARTIS CREEK DAM, UNDER CONSTRUCTION BY THE 

PERINI CORPORATION FOR THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 

PHOTO TAKE 26 AUGUST 1970. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo) 

LEVEES 

SACRAMENTO - SAN JOAQUIN 

RIVERS AND TRIBUTARIES 

The Flood Control Act of 1944 did more than 

authorize dams and reservoirs to protect valley 

residents. Not as glamorous, perhaps, as the 

big dams, but vital to the overall blanket of 

protection are the systems of levees and channels that were raised, dug, lengthened, widened and/or strengthened as a part of the 1944 

Act. 

Beginning in the northern end of the valley 

the Sacramento Flood Control Project was 

modified by the 1944 Act (and subsequent 

Acts). Known as the Sacramento River and 

Major and Minor Tributaries project, it is a 

part of the $163,600,000 flood control and irrigation work that began in 1917 and continues 

to the present. Construction of this phase 

began in Fiscal Year 1949, but because of the 

Korean conflict was suspended by Presidential 

directive of 21 July 1950. Before the work was 

halted, improvements were completed on Deer 

Creek located about ten miles south of Red 

Bluff, and along Butte and Little Chico Creeks 

that run a few miles south of Chico. Levee and 

canal construction was again resumed in Fis191 
SACRAMENTO WEIR CONNECTING THE SWOLLEN SACRAMENTO RIVER WITH YOLO BYPASS - PHOTO 

TAKEN DECEMBER 1955. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
BREAK IN EAST LEVEE OF SAN JOAQUIN RIVER BELOW MOSSDALE. FLOODING OF RECLAMA TION DISTRICT 

NO. 17 - DECEMBER 1950. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
cal Year 1957, with '/;orK on Cherokee Canal, 

Elder, Chico and ::"Iud Creeks, and Sandy 

Gulch. Then in 1964, the revetment of bypass 

levees was begun along the Sutter, Yolo, Tisdale and Sacramento Bypasses. For the project 

as a whole, approximately 72 miles of channel 

improvements, and 107 miles of levees and 

bypass revetment to prevent erosion are involved in the project. Hopefully the bypas3 

levee revetment features included in the work 

will not only afford added security to the flood 

plain lands next to the bypasses, but will also 

lessen the requirements for levee repairs during extreme high water. 

::"Io\ing south past Sacramento to the region 

a few miles north of Stockton, one comes upon 

Bear Creek and its tributaries. Forty-one miles 

of levees and 24 miles of channel improvements have made the stream a valuable ally to 

those who farm some 30,000 acres along its 

banks. Because of work by the Sacramento 

District, large tracts of vineyards, orchards 

and row-crops are now safe from the sometimes 

\iolent Bear Creek. The federal cost of the 

project, 8.3,185,000, was largely repaid during 

the floods of 1964 and 1966, when the improvements prevented alm03t a million and a 

half dollars in damages. First studied under 

the "'306" reports, the project ",vas authorized in 

1944. Advance plannjng was initiated in Fiscal 

Year 1947, but suspended in Fiscal Year 1951 

while awaiting agreement with local intere3ts 

regarding the extent of the work to be accomplished. Classified ""deferred" in the mid-fiftie3, 

it was reviewed in the early 1960s, with construction finally getting under way in the 

summer of 1963. Four years later, on July 20. 

1967, the work .vas completed. 

South of Stockton, the San "Joaquin RiT;er 

twists and coils like a can of worms. Fed by 

hundreds of streams large and small, the main 

channel and many of its tributarie3 would 

often overtop their banks when pressured by 

spring runoffs. Long recognized as a serious 

situation, the lower San Joaquin River, from 

the ::"Ierced River to the Delta, has been 

3tudied ,::ince before the turn of the century. 

Intensive ,::ur;eY3 were conducted a;;: part of the 

'"308" studies and plans were laid to improve 

194 

conditions during the late thirties. Though authorized in the 1944 Act, work was not begun 

until 1956. By raising and strengthening existing levees, building new ones, reveting river 

banks, and removing snags in the main channel of the San Joaquin, flood protection to suburban tracts in the vicinity of Stockt{)n and to 

140,000 acres of prime farm land in the lower 

San Joaquin Valley is provided. When one considers the fact that had the project been completed prior to the 1955-56, 1958 and 1966-67 

floods, almost $3,000,000 in damages would 

have been prevented, it is not difficult to see 

why local interests were anxious to cooperate 

in its quick completion. 

Residents of the area coordinated their plans 

for improvement of the river with those of the 

Sacramento District to ensure the effecti..-enes" 

of the COrp3 work, In addition to bearing the 

cost of the improvements upstream from the 

mouth of the Merced River, local interests were 

required to furn.ish flowage rights to lands on 

either side of the main 3tem of the San Joaquin, lands, easements and right3-0f-way for 

levee construction. They al5D had to make all 

necessary relocations and modifications to 

utilities, and to maintain the levees and channel improvements once they were completed. 

By July 1968, total local costs amounted to 

over twenty-eight million dollars. while federal co"t" ran to less than half that amount. All 

units of the project have now been transferred 

to the State of California and are operated and 

maintained by the State Reclamation Board.. 

As an integral part of the flood control plan for 

the San Joaquin Basin, the project was designed to 3upplement the completed and authorized reseryoir;;: on the Stanislaus. 

Tuolumne and upper San Joaquin Rivers. 

Still further 30uth is Big Dry Creek Dam, 

located ten miles northeast of Fresno and not 

quite that distance due south of the Bureau of 

Reclamation'3 Friant Dam. The Big Dr\' Creek 

project comprises a forty-foot high e'arthfill 

dam across Big Dry Creek and diversion 

facilitie3 both upstream a:-. -: dOV'.TIstream from 

the dam. By storing 16.,2.50 acre-feet of water 

and by di\'e~ing the flow;;: of Dog and Big Dry 

Creeks to LIttle Dry Creek and ther. in to the 
FLOODING BY DUCK CREEK IN VICINITY OF SHARP'S LANE, SOUTH OF STOCKTON. DECEMBER 1950. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
MAZE ROAD BRIDGE OVER SAN JOAQUIN RIVER BETWEEN TUOLUMNE AND STANISLAUS RIVERS. VIEW 

LOOKING NORTHEAST. DECEMBER-1950. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
San Joaquin River, extensive flood protection 

is afforded the urban and suburban areas of 

Clovis and Fresno. Though a relatively small 

and inexpensive project ($1,369,931), it, too, 

contributes to the overall pattern of defense 

against floods that are being systematically 

brought under control throughout the San 

Joaquin River Basin. 

The work was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1941, but construction wasn't begun 

until the spring of 1947. Considered complete 

in 1948, it was later discerned that remedial 

work was needed to control side-hill erosion. 

This phase was initiated in October 1952, and 

completed by March of 1955. Like so many 

other flood control projects, Big Dry Creek 

Dam more than justified the cost of construction by saving an estimated $3,000,000 in 

damages during the Christmas flood of 1955. 

And, as is the case with several other projects 

built by the engineers from the Sacramento 

District, Big Dry Creek Dam and Reservoir has 

been transferred to the State of California for 

operation and maintenance. 

The Flood Control Act of 1954 held special 

interest for the residents of Sacramento. For it 

was this Act (Public Law 780) that put the 

finishing touches on the flood control works 

along the American River downstream from 

Folsom Dam. In the spring of 1957, engineers 

from the Sacramento District began the construction of seven miles oflevee along the right 

(north) bank of the American River. Beginning 

near the Elvas Bridge in eastern Sacramento, 

the project extends upstream to the bluffs near 

the City of Carmichael. Old levees in the area 

which had been overtopped in the extensive 

flood of 1950 were enlarged, set back from the 

river and tied into existing works. The 

$2,000,000 improvement forms an integral 

part of the flood control plans for the Capital 

City and its suburbs. Since completion in the 

fall of 1958, the levee has prevented many millions of dollars in damages by supplementing 

the regulatory facilities of Folsom Dam. 

Moreover, it has allowed the often flooded hop 

fields of the area to be transformed into a safe 

tract on which hundreds of millions of dollars 

worth of fine homes and apartments have been 

constructed. The project will prevent an estimated $95,000,000 in damages, working with 

Folsom Dam, should a major flood occur. As an 

added safety feature, pumping facilities were 

included in the project for disposal of interior 

drainage. 

The same flood control legislation also provided for work on the Truckee River north of 

Lake Tahoe. Actually the project extends all 

the way from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. 

Late in the summer of 1959, District personnel 

began enlarging the channel of the Truckee 

River just below the outlet structure near 

Tahoe City on the California side of the lake. 

When finished, this part of the work increased 

the capacity of the outlet to some 2,500 c.f.s. 

when the lake level is 6,228 and to 3,300 c.f.s. 

when the lake is at 6,229.1 feet elevation. This 

had two effects: First, the increased releases 

have alleviated flood damages to lakefront 

homes, but they also necessitated limited 

amounts of flood control work to be accomplished between the lake and the City of Truckee to prevent flood damages along this section 

of the river. In the main, this work consisted of 

low levees and channel improvements at intermittent locations. By the spring of 1960, the 

engineers had completed additional channel 

work downstream from Reno where the river 

winds through Truckee Meadows. This improvement doubled the capacity of the stream, 

from 3,000 c.f.s. to 6,000 c.f.s. for a distance of 

about seven and a half miles. Second, to compensate for the increased flow through this region, the channel was improved all the way 

downstream to Pyramid Lake by clearing and 

snagging. 

Considered an interim improvement project, 

it is meant to be a part of the basin plan for 

flood control and related purposes being constructed by the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation 

(Washoe Reclamation Project). The Corps project affords at least partial security to residents 

on the shores of Lake Tahoe and to some 2,000 

acres of agricultural land along the Truckee 

River. Federal costs for the phases completed 

thus far have been just over a million dollars. 

One hundred and thirty air miles due west of 

Tahoe, the Sacramento District has completed 

197 
--

AMERICAN RIVER OVERFLOW. LOOKING NORTH ALONG FULTON A VENUE. NOVEMBER 1950. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
FLOODING IN UPPER LAKE, CALIFORNIA, DURING THE WINTER OF 1906-1907. 

(Photos - Mrs. Eva M. Sanborn) 

199 
the Middle Creek Improvement Project near 

the town of Upper Lake in Lake County. This 

work, like the American River levees and those 

along the Truckee, was authorized by the Flood 

Control Act of 1954. Construction was begun in 

1958 but required nine years to complete because of the subsidence of placed material. The 

reason for the sinking is that a good deal of the 

work was done on reclaimed swamp land and 

lakebed. The project extends from the north 

shore of Clear Lake, the largest natural lake 

lying entirely within California, to the region 

of the Upper Lake Racheria Indian Reservation. 

Even though the work cost but $2,600,000, it 

consists of several elements. Existing levees 

were enlarged and new ones built. Seven miles 

of channel improvements were made along 

lower Middle Creek and to its tributary 

streams. To protect the town of Upper Lake, a 

4,000-foot-long diversion channel was dug to 

carry the excess flood flows from Clover Creek 

around the town and safely join them with 

those of Middle Creek. In addition, a pumping 

plant near Bloody Island was built to dispose of 

interior drainage. 

Clear Lake itself is something of a geological 

curiosity. Actually it is two lakes made one by 

a lava flow that blocked the flow of Cache 

Creek, causing the lower lake to spill over into 

the upper. Later the upper outlet that drained 

the lake to the Russian River was blocked by a 

massive landslide, causing the lake to rise and 

finally cut a channel through the lava dike on 

Cache Creek. For thousands of years, Pomo Indians fished its clear blue waters in the shadow 

of the volcanic Mt. Konocti until they were 

driven off or killed by the white settlers. In 

fact, the name for the Corps constructed pumping plant (Bloody Island) on Middle Creek 

takes its name from a landmark that was the 

site of an Indian slaughter. 

In a futile attempt to save their land, Indians 

of the area struck back at the Mexican and 

American settlers. Finally, the newcomers 

called in the military from Benicia Arsenal to 

exterminate those not already killed. Two 

whaleboats, filled with soldiers, and mounted 

with small brass howitzers, attacked the na200 

tives, pushing them to a little island at the 

north end of the lake where they made a last 

stand. The ensuing slaughter left the islet with 

the name, "Bloody Island" (Bloody Island 

Pumping Plant). As the marshland at the far 

end of the lake was reclaimed for farming, the 

island disappeared, but not the name. 

A project of particular interest to Colonel 

James C. Donovan, Sacramento District Engineer, and to his immediate predecessors, was 

the Sacramento Bank Protection Project. The 

Flood Control Act of 1960 authorized the modification of the existing Sacramento River 

Flood Control Project, making it a long-range, 

one hundred million dollar undertaking. Actually, many of the concepts contained in the new 

authorization were first put forward during the 

Depression by the courageous Thomas 

Jackson. 

Preconstruction planning for the initial 

ten-year phase of the work was begun soon 

after the authorization was made during the 

summer of 1960. In June of 1963, construction 

crews began the long and difficult task of bank 

erosion-prevention work that would eventually 

provide and maintain the integrity of the levee 

system that affords protection to millions of 

residents of the Sacramento Valley and the 

Delta region. Over the years, it is hoped that 

new work will reduce the costs of emergency 

repairs and further diminish the amount of 

land lost to the forces of erosion. The need for 

downstream dredging should also be reduced. 

By the fall of 1972, almost 40 miles of bank 

protection work had been completed at critical 

levee erosion sites in the Delta alone. It is expected that $40,200,000 will be spent on this 

type of work by the end of the first ten-year 

phase of construction, $26,800,000 of it federal, 

$13,400,000 non-federal, which includes some 

$4,100,000 in cash contributions. 

Added dimensions to the broadened program 

are the extensive recreational facilities being 

built as an integrated part of the bank protection work. The boat launching and automobile 

parking area developed at Hogback Island in 

Steamboat Slough is an excellent example of 

this kind of construction. Other recreation 

sites have been developed at Live Oak on the 
UPPER LAKE, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 1937 

(Photos - Mrs. Eva M. Sanborn) 

201 
COLONEL HOWARD A. MORRIS, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - JllLY 

I959-JUNE 1960. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

202 
CONGRESSMAN HAROLD T. (BIZZ) JOHNSON (D) SECOND DISTRICT (CENTER) 

LOOKS OVER THE $30,000 BANK PROTECTION JOB COMPLETED ON 22 OCTOBER 1968 

BETWEEN CHICO LANDING AND RED BLUFF ON THE SACRAMENTO RIVER. ANSEL J. 

MYERS (LEFT), VALLEY RESIDENT OFFICE ENGINEER, AND C. A. STROMSNESS, 

MA YOR OF THE TOWN OF TEHAMA, MET WITH CONGRESSMAN JOHNSON ON THE 

RIVERBANK NEAR TEHAMA WHERE VALUABLE FARMLAND HAD BEEN 

THREATENED. THE SACRAMENTO RIVER BANK PROTECTION PROJECT IS A 

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

BANK PROTECTION PROJECT - SACRAMENTO RIVER 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

203 
HOGBACK ISLAND AQUATIC PARK AND RECREATION SITE ON STEAMBOAT SLOUGH IN THE 

SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA. THE PROJECT FEATURES TWO BOAT LAUNCHING RAMPS , PARKING 

FACILITIES, A SANDY BEACH, TRAILS AND PICNIC AREAS. THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, U. S. ARMY CORPS 

OF ENGINEERS, CONVERTED THE ISLAND FROM ITS FORMER WILD STATE AS PART OF AN ADJACENT BANK 

PROTECTION PROJECT. THE PARK, WHICH TOOK EIGHTEEN MONTHS TO COMPLETE, HAS BEEN TURNED 

OVER TO THE STATE RECLAMATION BOARD FOR OPERA TlON AND MAINTENANCE. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo, 8 Dec 67 J. 
Feather River, and at Garcia Bend, on the Sacramento River just south of Sacramento. 

Until a few years ago, Walnut Creek wandered through a quiet little town of the same 

name, found just over the hill from the busy 

City of Oakland. In 1960, fewer than 10,000 

people lived in Walnut Creek, but only ten 

years later the population had grown to almost 

50,000. Moreover, the other small Contra 

Costa County towns found nearby have also 

grown in about the same proportion. Most of 

the time the creek is as quiet as the town used 

to be. Even when the creek, and the tributaries 

that feed it, used to run through the streets of 

the town as well as in their proper channels, 

not a lot was ruined, simply because there 

wasn't a lot to ruin. With the tremendous popularity of the area, however, especially demonstrated by those who work in the Bay Area, 

there is now much and many to suffer when the 

creek is allowed to escape its natural channel. 

Even though the population was relatively 

sparse during the middle and late fifties, the 

floods of 1955-56 and 1958 put the town under 

water, resulting in more than three million 

dollars in damages. Conditions being what 

they are today, the partially completed project, 

in conjunction with other facilities, will prevent damages estimated at thirty million dollars, should a major flood strike the area. 

Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1960, 

the improvements include: Extension of existing levees; construction of new levees; channel 

improvement and enlargement on Walnut 

Creek and on the lower portions of Pacheco, 

Grayson, San Ramon, and Los Trampas 

Creeks. Post-authorization changes, however, 

have modified the original plan so that now 

channel work is also to be done on Pine and 

Galindo Creeks. 

Preconstruction planning was initiated in 

November 1961. Actual work on the 

$31,000,000 project began during the summer 

of 1964, and has been continuing on a rather 

uncertain course since that time. It seems that 

all parties concerned can't agree upon a path to 

follow in order to reach basically the same 

goals. Nonetheless, like most other projects, it 

has unique features all its own. It affords practical security to the residents of the beautiful 

city of Walnut Creek, and to approximately 

6,100 acres of flood plain at and below the city. 

One of the latest projects to be completed, 

incorporating both levee and channel improvements, is the Mormon Slough Project located downstream from New Hogan Dam on 

the Calaveras River, seventeen miles east of 

Stockton. The original flood control work done 

on this part of the river consisted of a dam and 

diverting canal, which diverts Mormon Slough, 

a distributary of the Calaveras, back into the 

river about four miles east of Stockton. The 

dam and diverting canal were completed back 

in 1910. 

The new work is designed to supplement the 

flood control aspects of the New Hogan Dam 

and Lake by carrying increased flows originating from the reservoir itself and from the 

drainage area below the dam. This has been 

accomplished by minor channel enlargement of 

Mormon Slough between the small town of BelIota and Jack Tone Road, and substantial 

channel work and modification on the lower 

reaches of Mormon Slough and the old diverting canal. New levees were constructed along 

the north bank of the diverting canal, and on 

both sides of lower Mormon Slough, as well as 

on the south bank of Potters Creek, another 

small stream in the area. 

Like New Hogan Dam, the project is an essential link in the flood control chain that has 

civilized the Calaveras River Basin. Preconstruction planning for the work was begun 

in the winter of 1964. Three and a half years 

later, just before Halloween 1967, construction 

of the project got under way. And by the time 

school children were exchanging valentines in 

1970, most of the work was finished. Finally, 

by Christmas 1971, the remaining miscellaneous minor touches were put on the work to 

make it a completed unit. 

EMERGENCY WORK 

For just about a hundred years now, Corps of 

Engineers officers have been working in the 

great Central Valley of California. While the 

Sacramento District has grown so that it now 

covers much of the western United States, the 

205 
center of the flood control effort yet remains 

bounded by the Cascades on the north, the 

Tehachapis on the south, the Coast Ranges on 

the west and the mighty Sierra Nevada on the 

east. During the last century, the Corps has 

done all within its power to protect the people 

who make their homes within this perimeter. 

But even after the expenditure of millions of 

man-hours and millions of dollars, the forces of 

nature still overcome all attempts to subdue 

them. Sometimes it's a warm rain in early 

spring that falls on a "ripe" snowpack, causing 

it to melt and add to the runoff; then down the 

steep sides of the Sierra a wall of water spills 

into the valley, overtopping natural banks and 

causing levees to burst. Occasionally, in the 

middle of summer, when the Delta is crowded 

with pleasure craft, a peat-founded levee fails, 

allowing the waters to rush over the lowerthan-sea-level islands, destroying all in their 

wake. Sometimes, a terrific wind storm will 

tear trees out of the levees by their sod-holding 

roots. Water pours into the ulcer formed in the 

'111 rf ,. - trll, , 

-

meat of the bank, and before long a farmer sits 

with his wife and children on the roof of his 

flooded home, wondering, "whose side is God 

on, anyway?" In the short view at least, it matters little what the cause of the disaster may 

be. The fact is someone must act and act 

quickly and intelligently to stop the flooding 

and effect emergency repairs. Very often, in 

the great Central Valley as well as in the rest 

of the nation, that someone is the Corps of Engmeers. 

Unlike new project construction, which requires specific Congressional authorization, 

continuing Congressional authorization permits the Corps to undertake emergency work 

immediately. Three general Congressional authorizations, with annually appropriated 

funds, exist to allow this quick action: 

Emergency bank protection - Section 14, 1946 

Flood Control Act; Snagging and clearing -

Section 208, 1954 Flood Control Act; Floodfighting, rescue, and repair work - Public 

Law 99, 84th Congress, and antecedent legisla-

,. .... ~ SLl" , /fr p&,LI 

BAKERY 

ICE C A COfFE 

DOWNTOWN WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA - 1958 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

206 
COLONEL HERBERT N. TURNER, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - JUNE 1960-

JULY 1963. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo) 

207 
A PORTION OF THE WALNUT CREEK PROJECT, CONTRA COST A COUNTY, 

CALIFORNIA, ALREADY COMPLETED. THIS VIEW FACES A SOUTHEASTERLY 

DIRECTION AND IS JUST UPSTREAM FROM THE TOWN OF PLEASANT HILL. TOTAL 

COST OF THE PROJECT IS ESTIMATED AT OVER $32 MILLION. CONSTRUCTION 

STARTED IN 1964. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

COLONEL CRAWFORD YOUNG (RIGHT), SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, t\.t\ln, . 

HA VEN HART, CHIEF OF CONSTRUCTION-OPERATIONS FOR THE DISTRICT, VISIt 

THE WALNUT CREEK FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT ON 26 JUL Y 1968 

(Army Corps a/Engineers Photo) 

208 
TINTED CONCRETE FOR WALNUT CREEK WAS THE 

SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION BETWEEN WALTER LUCAS, 

CHAIRMAN OF THE ACTION FOR BEAUTY COUNCIL; 

COLONEL GEORGE B. FINK, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT 

ENGINEER; AND JOHN RONA YNE, COMMISSIONER OF THE 

CONTRA COST A COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER 

CONSERV A TION DISTRICT. A LIGHT BROWN TINT WAS 

SELECTED TO IMPROVE THE APPEARANCE OF THE 

SIDEW ALLS OF ABOUT 1,000' OF THE CHANN EL AS PART OF 

THE FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT BEING BUILT BY THE 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT. US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, 

IN WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA. 
COLONEL ROBERT E. MATHE, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEERAUGUST 1963 - JUNE 1966 

(Army Corps afEnglneers Photo) 

210 
AT THE BETHEL ISLAND LEVEE BOIL, JULIO HRIBERNIK, BETHEL ISLAND BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN 

CHARGE OF LEVEES, LISTENS AS PAUL McQUEEN, DUTRA DREDGING CO., SPEAKS WITH DALE DOBLE, 

CHIEF EMBANKMENT DESIGN SECTION, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. A 

POSSIBLE DISASTER INVOLVING LIFE AND PROPERTY ON BETHEL ISLAND WAS AVERTED BY QUICK ACTION 

ON A LEVEE BOIL RUNNING ABOUT 120 GALLONS A MINUTE ON THE HORSESHOE BEND AREA OF PIPER 

SLOUGH. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo) 
tion. Several other authorizations are on the 

books as well, but it is P. L. 99 that is most 

often used in the valley when things go amiss. 

Even so, the District acts under this authorization only at the request of responsible local entities, and only after it has been determined 

that the non-federal capabilities have been 

exhausted. 

In recent years, emergency work has been 

completed by the District under Public Law 

91-606, at the specific request of the Office of 

Emergency Preparedness (OEP), after an area 

has been designated by the President as a federal disaster area. A case in point was the failure of a levee protecting Andrus-Brannan Island on 21 June 1972. When the levee failed, 

Colonel Donovan and his men mobilized flood 

fighting operations under P.L. 99 in a desperate struggle to save the town of Isleton. Their 

work went unrewarded - Isleton was inundated. Forty-eight hours later, Colonel Donovan requested authority and funds to close the 

breached levee under the same law, only to 

find that such repair did not qualify under this 

law because the failure was not the result of a 

flood. After the President declared the Delta 

island(s) a federal disaster area, the OEP authorized the necessary work under authority of 

P .L. 91-606, and requested the Sacramento 

District to supervise the restoration. On the 

first day of July, men and equipment began the 

frustrating job of plugging the hole in the 

levee. Finally, on 24 July the gap was filled 

and thoughts could be turned to the long and 

costly work ahead - pumping the water out of 

the lake that had been formed inside the island. Such has not always been the case. In 

1938, the levees protecting Franks Tract, 

Mandeville, Venice, and several other smaller 

islands failed. Thirty-five years later, Franks 

Tract is still under water. 

Since 1950, eight of the major Delta islands 

have been flooded because of levee failures. In 

almost all cases the reason has been the fact 

that the levees, many of which are over 100 

years old, are built upon, and often constructed 

of unstable peat soil. During the early years of 

the 20th century, dozens of levees failed, but 

since the last major reclamation work, when 

212 

many of the old levees were raised and 

strengthened, there have been relatively few 

major levee breaks. 

The Sacramento District has spent some four 

million dollars for emergency work in the 

Delta alone. About three million dollars has 

gone for flood fighting rescue and repair, while 

the remainder has been expended for the removal of wrecks and obstructions, emergency 

bank protection, and for snagging and clearing. Millions more have been given to 

emergency work accomplished along the bypasses and rivers of the District. 

It's a mistake, though, to visualize the engineersjust sitting about waiting for a crisis to 

develop before they figure out what to do. On 

the contrary, they are constantly checking 

their work, and probing the District for weak 

spots that may be potential disaster areas. On 

occasion, they even simulate floods to check 

out the system. It was, perhaps, ironic that one 

such exercise was conducted just a year prior to 

the massive Christmas floods of 1955. Under 

the direction of Colonel Ely, Sacramento District Engineer, the men of the Corps fought a 

mock flood for more than a week during the 

latter part of October and early November 

1954. The theoretical storm soaked northern 

California and the valley until the region was 

thoroughly saturated. From the Division office 

came news of additional heavy rains. At the 

same time, Colonel Ely was given streamflow 

and other related make-believe data. From 

then on, the District was on its own to handle 

the theoretical emergencies as if they were the 

real thing. To add a note of realism, the floods 

were based on what actually happened in the 

years 1862, 1916, 1938, and 1950 - the wettest years of record to that time. 

The purely simulated rainstorm, approximating one of the worst in history, sent 

the rivers on a rampage. Water spread over the 

valley from Red Bluff to Bakersfield. Appropriately named "Operation Splash", the crisis 

was developed through the day by the use of 

sealed envelopes, each marked so that it would 

be opened at the predetermined time. Action 

taken on the basis of the information concealed 

in the envelopes depended entirely upon the 
EMERGENCY LEVEE REPAIR WORK - SHERMAN ISLAND IN THE SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA13 FEBRUARY 1969. 
JUNK CARS ON THE LEVEE REDUCE EROSION FROM WINDBLOWN WAVES IN THE TULARE LAKE BASIN 

WHERE THOUSANDS OF ACRES WERE FLOODED BECAUSE OF THE RECORD SNOWFALL AND RAINFLOODS IN 

THE REGION. APRIL 1969. 
A SNOWMELT STREAM BEGINS TO CARVE ITS WAY THROUGH A SHEER BLANKET 

OF WHITE. 

215 
discretion of whoever was in charge of each 

phase of the operation. The South Pacific Division supplied the umpires to keep score and 

determine how well the District achieved its 

goals. When it was all over, we had "saved" 

scores of lives and "prevented" millions in 

damages, and the District had worked out 

some of the bugs in the system. 

SNOW RESEARCH 

Another way to predict and thus protect 

against floods is to actually measure the 

amount of water stored in the vast snow-fields 

of the high Sierra. For many years this could 

only be accomplished by sending men into the 

mountains on foot. These unsung heroes would 

snowshoe and ski their way into the dangerous 

wilderness to survey the frozen resources of the 

coming spring. In 1945 the Corps of Engineers 

and the U.S. Weather Bureau set up the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory at Soda Springs 

near the 7,000-foot Donner Summit. The Sacramento District gave direct technical support 

to the lab in an effort to gain additional knowledge about snowmelt runoff. The data collected 

here was also supplemented by aerial photographs taken from light planes. 

In December 1953, Colonel Ely announced 

the details of an experiment to measure the 

water content of snow by using radioactive 

cobalt. The concept took shape at the Snow Lab 

near Donner Summit. The principle involved 

(Lambert's Law) is that the intensity of radiation from a radio-active element, after passing 

through an absorbing medium (snow), depends 

upon the original intensity of radiation and the 

thickness of the absorbing medium. Because 

water sets up the same resistance whether frozen or not, the reading that is taken is not concerned with the depth of snow, but only with 

the amount of water it contains. The experiment, the first of its kind anywhere in the 

world, moved out of the laboratory and into the 

mountains above Pine Flat and Isabella Dam 

sites. 

The system consisted of measuring the radiation through snow from radioactive cobalt 

buried in the ground (within a lead tube). Approximately fifteen feet directly above this, a 

216 

radiation detector was placed to receive and 

then transmit the data, through a chain of 

relay stations, to the engineers who then decoded the electronic signals. The Sacramento 

District worked for years with the Philco Corporation to develop the equipment necessary 

for the program. The technical barriers of the 

project were overcome with the use of transistors, which could operate continuously from 

batteries and which use relatively little power. 

From these efforts, the profiling snow gauge 

was developed - a device that records, in halfinch sections, the density of the pack from 

ground level to surface. Using isotopes, internal changes within the pack caused by wind, 

solar radiation and rain can be studied and 

translated into action that could eventually 

save lives and property. 

The man responsible for much of the research and new knowledge gained about snow 

was Glenn H. Castle, a Sacramento District 

hydrologist. It was he that built and installed 

the first of the Castle gauges at the snow research laboratory in 1959. The first such gauge 

is still operating at the lab. The latest devices 

to be placed in the Sierra to keep tabs on snow 

conditions are "snow pillows." Designed to replace the radioactive devices, the new 

mechanism consists of a rubber pillow about 

twelve feet in diameter, which is filled with 

400 gallons of denatured alcohol. The pillow is 

covered with wire netting and connected by 

hose to a riser pipe. The weight of the snow 

which accumulates on the pillow forces the 

fluid to rise in the pipe, in proportion to the 

weight of the water content of the snow. A 

float-operated telemark sends coded readings 

to receiving instruments at Isabella and Pine 

Flat Dam project offices. 

Three snow pillows were first installed above 

Pine Flat Dam in the Kings River watershed 

during 1966. From information transmitted to 

Pine Flat, the engineers were able to determine almost precisely the amount of water in 

the snow, the rate at which it was melting, and 

how fast it would come rolling down the mountains. Because of this initial success, pillows 

were placed in the Kern River watershed during October 1967. The devices were designed to 
• 

.. 

THE SHERMAN MOUNTAIN RADIO RELAY ANTENNA IN THE KERN RIVER BASIN 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 

MOUNT WHITNEY. ELEVATION HERE IS 10,000 FEET. THIS ANTENNA RELAYS SNOW WATER CONTENT 

INFORMA TION GATHERED FROM SNOW PILLOWS TO THE ISABELLA DAM RECEIVING STATION. 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo, 29 January 1969) 

~ 

J J 
YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SACRAMENTO RIVER ON THE LEFT AND THE SAN 

JOAQUIN ON THE RIGHT AND YOU'RE STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF SUISUN BAY. 

WITH THIS DELTA ADDITION TO THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS' WORKING MODEL OF 

SAN FRANCISCO BAY, PROBLEMS OF POLLUTION, WATER QUALITY. NA YIGATIO:\ 

AND OTHER ITEMS CAN BE STUDIED FOR SOLUTIONS LEAST HARMFUL TO THE 

ENVIRONMENT. 

218 
U.S. CONGRESSMAN HAROLD T. (BIZZ) JOHNSON (L.) HAS JUST ACCEPTED A CROME-PLATED AND 

INSCRIBED SHOVEL SYMBOLIC OF THE CONSTRUCTION START OF THE BUCHANAN DAM FROM COLONEL 

JAMES C. DONOVAN, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. LOOKING ON (L. TO R.) ARE: MADERA COUNTY 

SUPERVISOR HAROLD J. BALMAT; JUDGE H.V. EASTMAN, SECRETARY-MANAGER, CHOWCHILLA WATER 

DISTRICT; AND CHOWCHILLA MAYOR SAMUEL L. McCLAUGHRY. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo, 2 July 1971) 
measure water content up to 300 percent of 

normal, or 150 percent of the maximum of record, which is about 80 inches of water. In 

March 1969, Mr. Castle expressed concern 

about the record snow pack covering the high 

Sierra at that time. The water content of the 

snow had already reached 70 inches. Castle 

stated, "About ten more inches and the weight 

of the water will force the alcohol out the top of 

the riser pipe and we'll have to unpack our 

snowshoes and back packs and measure like in 

the old days." Since their installation, the snow 

pillow information, when coupled with other 

essential data, has been of vital importance to 

those responsible for flood control. 

Yet another unusual device is used by the 

Sacramento District in the design, construction and operation of flood control projects. Located at Sausalito is a scale model of San Francisco Bay and the Delta. 

HIDDEN AND BUCHANAN 

DAMS AND RESERVOIRS 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION 

From high in the air above the great Central 

Valley of California, the San Joaquin River 

appears as a giant shepherd's crook. On the 

inside of this watery hook, the final products of 

a long and difficult struggle are being realized. 

Buchanan and Hidden Dams, though authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1962, have 

been desired, needed and studied in one form or 

another for many years. Almost a century ago, 

a private company tried to build a reservoir 

near the old ghost town of Buchanan. During 

the 1880s, the graves of the early settlers who 

came to the valley as a part of the gold rush 

were excavated from the bottom land along the 

Chowchilla River. Soon men and mules were 

sculpturing the hillsides in a futile attempt to 

put up a dam. Until bulldozers obliterated 

them, the old abutment excavations were still 

there. 

The heritage of Hidden Dam also reaches 

back to those hazy days of a forgotten era. The 

dam itself sits almost on the very spot first settled in what has become Madera County. Here 

too, as they did at Folsom and other reservoirs, 

the engineers from Sacramento relocated the 

220 

lonely graves of those who had made their 

homes, as early as 1850, near Hensley Bridge 

in the Fresno River country. It was here that 

Major John Hensley and Sam and Edward 

Dennis discovered gold. Others learned of the 

find and quickly staked out sections of the 

river's edge in hopes of striking it rich. Major 

Jim Savage supplied their needs from his trading post and made more from his mercantile 

venture than did most of the miners from their 

prospecting. 

The first Corps of Engineers officer to 

traverse the region was John C. Fremont. 

Others came later to build forts and roads. Engineers from Sacramento have explored the 

area, in terms of flood control, since the late 

1920s. Further surveys of the Fresno and 

Chowchilla rivers were carried out under the 

authorizations of the "308" studies and the 

1936 Flood Control Act. Suspended because of 

the war and not funded for further study until 

the floods of 1955, the twin projects were finally authorized in 1962. The work was just 

about ready to go out to bid by 1966 but was 

shelved because of the lack of funds and low 

priority. Local people were not about to be put 

off again. They kept up their demands for flood 

control facilities on the rivers and in the end 

had their way. 

Buchanan Dam was the first of the pair to 

receive attention. On 2 July 1971, a very warm 

Friday, the District Engineer, Colonel James 

C. Donovan, participated in ground breaking 

ceremonies for relocation of a road, the first 

physical construction for the project. Among 

the almost 200 who cheered as the first dirt 

was turned with the chrome-plated shovel 

were descendants of those early settlers who 

lived, toiled and found their final resting 

places in the bottom lands of the Chowchilla 

River region. Also taking part in the ceremonies were Congressman Harold "Bizz" 

Johnson; Harold Balmat, Madera County 

Supervisor; Judge H.V. Eastman, SecretaryManager of the Chowchilla Water District, and 

several other dignitaries. In his address, Colonel Donovan detailed the benefits that would 

be forthcoming from the completed work. 

"Here's what we expect of the Buchanan proj-
r 

-.... ~ 

. - ~-

FLOOD SCENES OF CHOWCffiLLA COMMUNITY. NOVEMBER 19, 1950 

(Photos - Wessel's Studio, Chowchilla, Calif) 

221 
4 J.. ....... 

~ ___ __ 

, 

I 

COLONEL JAMES C. DONOVAN, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, U.S. ARMY 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS FROM A GROUP OF INTERESTED 

CITIZENS AT THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONIES FOR THE BUCHANAN DAM 

PROJECT HELD JULY 2ND, 1971. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

JUDGE H.V. EASTMAN, SECRETARY-MANAGER OF THE CHOWCHILLA (CAL.) 

WATER DISTRICT, ADDRESSES THE AUDIENCE GATHERED TO ATTEND THE 

GROUND BREAKING CEREMONIES FOR THE BUCHANAN DAM PROJECT. Jl UGE 

EASTMAN HAS LONG BEEN ONE OF THE MOST ARDENT SUPPORTERS OF THIS 

(AI" Y L", Ih oll!;",~ lI,(:er:; Photo) 

222 
BUCHANAN DAMSITE - 22 SEPTEMBER 1970 

223 
ect. It will provide flood protection to city and 

farm areas downstream from the lake, including Chowchilla. If the dam had been in place 

during the January 1969 flood, more than one 

million dollars in damages would have been 

prevented." 

In addition to its flood control capability, the 

dam and reservoir will achieve other important goals. Colonel Donovan pointed out that, 

"This project will also make available a new 

irrigation supply averaging 24,000 acre-feet of 

water per year. It will provide recreation areas 

with boat launching ramps and camping and 

picnic sites. The upper reaches of the lake will 

be devoted to improving the habitat for the 

abundant deer and quail in the area." 

The flood fighting capability of the dam and 

reservoir is being supplemented by 

downstream channel improvements. The main 

channel and adjoining sloughs are being 

cleared and leveed for this purpose. Moreover, 

local interests will be required to pay for irrigation service, which will be financially integrated into the Central Valley Project of the 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It is expected the 

entire project will be completed by mid-1975. 

On 3 May 1972, before a standing room only 

crowd, it was announced that the Perini Corporation of San Francisco was the low bidder for 

both construction jobs. At about the same time, 

Colonel Donovan appointed Louis Gerdin as 

resident engineer and Captain Robert Mentell 

as his assistant on both projects. 

Just a month and a half later, on 24 June 

1972, Colonel Donovan helped launch the construction of Hidden Dam at ceremonies held a 

few miles south of the little town of Raymond. 

The Fresno River has more than once spilled 

out of its channel and flooded the City of Madera. Speaking on this topic, the District Engineer expressed his delight in seeing a dam 

built to prevent floods, "instead of trying to 

rescue people off the tops of their houses." 

When completed, the dam, reservoir and channel improvements will provide a substantial 

degree of protection from floods to the City of 

Madera and the suburban, industrial and agricultural areas along the Fresno River. If a 

major flood should occur, it is estimated that 

224 

the project will prevent damages of some 

$15,300,000. At the same time Hidden Lake 

will make 23,800 acre-feet of water available 

for irrigation annually, and afford substantial 

recreation and fish and wildlife opportunities. 

Statistically, Buchanan Dam will be a 

rockfill barrier 205.5 feet high and 1,800 feet 

long (crest length). Its reservoir will have a 

gross capacity of 150,000 acre-feet. The project 

is located about sixteen miles northeast of 

Chowchilla. Hidden Dam will be an earthfill 

barrier 163 feet high and will have a crest 

length of 5,730 feet. Its reservoir will have a 

gross capacity of 90,000 acre-feet. Hidden Dam 

and Lake will be located about fifteen miles 

northeast of Madera. 

NEW MELONES 

In the very heart of the Mother Lode country, the Sacramento District is building one of 

the largest earthfil dams in the world: New 

Melones Dam. No area in the West is richer in 

folklore and genuine history than the foothill 

area lying between the towns of Angels Camp 

and Sonora. The river that bisects the tract 

was named for a mission-educated Indian chief 

who took the name Stanislaus, after a Polish 

saint. The New Melones Dam takes its name 

from the Spanish word for melon. Soon after 

Marshall made his historic find near Sutter's 

mill, Mexican miners found placer gold along 

the Stanislaus and its tributaries. Working the 

streams, they found gold nuggets shaped like 

melon seeds, which they would trade for 

supplies in the nearby camps and towns. Before long, the whole district was known as 

Melones, the place from which the melon seed 

gold comes. The little mining town of Melones. 

founded by these same Mexican miners in 

1848, got its name from the same source. Presently the town is a shambles of shacks and 

worn-out mining equipment hiding in the lush 

green grass and golden California poppies of a 

Sierra spring. 

The broken and rusty appliances are silent 

reminders of that long-ago time when the 

Melones-Carson Hill mining district was the 

most colorful and exciting in the shte. Those 

were the days when the Bill~' Mulh:;:1n gang 
NEW MELONES (ARTIST'S CONCEPT) 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
· of: ;1Jj~Mf!~ 

MELONES DAM (RIGHT CENTER) AND POWERHOUSE (LEFT CENTER, LEFT ABUTMENT) ARE SHOWN IN THIS 

AERIAL TAKEN IN DECEMBER 1955. OUTLINED IN BLACK ARE THE PROPOSED NEW MELONES DAM AND THE 

NEW POWERHOUSE WHICH WILL BE BUILT ACROSS THE STANISLAUS RIVER OPPOSITE THE OLD ONE. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo). 
RUGGED CANYON WALLS AND RUGGED MEN MATCH THEIR STRENGTH AT THE 

NEW MELONES DAM PROJECT NEAR SONORA, CALIFORNIA. THE SACRAMENTO 

DISTRICT, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, IS BUILDING THE DAM WHICH WILL 

BACK UP WATER FOR 26 MILES, INUNDATE THE OLD DAM, CREATE A SHORELINE 

OF OVER 100 MILES AND FORM A RESERVOIR POOL OF 2.4 MILLION ACRE-FEET. AN 

ACRE-FOOT OF WATER IS 325,851 GALLONS. THE DAM WILL RISE 625 FEET ABOVE 

THE STANISLAUS RIVER AND SPAN 1550 FEET OF IRON CANYON. AN OVERLOOK FOR 

THE CONVENIENCE OF PUBLIC VIEWING IS OPEN EVERY DAY AT THE DAMSITE. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

227 
jumped the claims of Jim Carson and John 

Hance. The Mulligan boys held the mines for 

nine months before the sheriff got them to 

leave. About a year later, the biggest mass of 

gold ever produced in California was taken 

from Carson Hill. It weight 195 pounds troy, 

which, calculated at today's (1973) prices, 

would be worth about $100,000. 

This is also the same area where Mark 

Twain shared a cabin with the Gillis brothers 

who worked some of the famous "pocket" gold 

mines on Jackass Hill. On the northwest slope 

of Jackass Hill, and a short distance from the 

restored Mark Twain cabin, is the Norwegian 

mine. This gold mine gained fame when the 

notorious outlaw Black Bart was caught as a 

result of a fracas involving a stagecoach carrying gold from the mine. Supposedly, he dropped 

his bandana while holding up the stage. Later 

it was used to trace him to San Francisco 

where he was arrested. 

To preserve, in a small way at least, the history, and perhaps a bit of the flavor of the area, 

the South San Joaquin and Oakdale Irrigation 

Districts named their dam on the Stanislaus 

River, Melones. The Sacramento District 

began planning flood control works on the 

Stanislaus as part of the "308" studies. Little 

further work was accomplished until the summer of 1937 when additional study was done 

under the authorization of the Flood Control 

Act of 1936. Finally, the project was authorized 

in the massive Flood Control Act of 1944 and 

then modified by the 1962 Act. As presently 

designated it will be the second highest 

earthfill dam in the United States. It is also the 

largest and most expensive single project yet to 

be undertaken by the Sacramento District. The 

Corps, in a concession to history, has in like 

manner named its facility New Melones. 

Under the direction of Colonels Turner and 

Mathe, District Engineers, Sacramento personnel began preliminary site-investigations 

during the early and mid-sixties. By the fall of 

1966, they were evaluating data obtained from 

the four long adits (tunnels) that had been dug 

into the mountain to determine the stability of 

the interior rock formation. A year later, scaling operations on the steep sides of Iron Can228 

yon were begun. This was a pretty tricky business. To begin with, Justin Moses and Harry 

Barz, both District employees, had to utilize 

mountain climbing techniques and equipment 

to suspend themselves next to the sheer mountain sides so that they could mark the unsafe 

areas. By the spring of 1968, the scaling work, 

largest operation of this type in California's 

history, had reached the half-way point. So 

that one may appreciate the danger and magnitude of this phase of the project, let us borrow 

from the District Information Bulletin of 5 

April 1968: 

Muscle, machines and powder have bared 

the north wall of Iron Canyon ... Scalers 

in bosun chairs hang precariously from 

life-saving ropes on the sheer 600 foot 

high wall while bulldozers appear to be 

glued to the near vertical cliffs. Jackhammers rip into the rock and powdermen gingerly place explosives for detonation. 

By night the canyon of the Stanislaus 

River echoes to the call of the coyote. By 

day the shrill shriek of the hawk is lost to 

the diesel engine, the air compressor, the 

airtrack drill, and the voice of man ... the 

dozer's tight switch-backs ... appear to be 

shoe laces holding the canyon's sides together. 

A balancing, fissured outcropping tumbles, gathering other rocks with it in a 

400-foot plunge to the riverbed. Dust rises 

with the canyon wind, obliterating the 

blue sky. Old Melones Dam upstream is 

curtained. 

No matter where anyone of the 50-man 

Morrison-Knudsen crew works, safety is 

the watchword. Thirty men of the work 

force have received Red Cross safety 

training. 

The sure-footed men of the hand-scaling 

crew move gracefully along the wall with 

uncanny skill. Carrying drill bits, jackhammers, safety ropes, and compressor 

hose, these men move as much by a sense 

of feel as by sight. 

A loose rock, a sprained ankle, sudden ac-
THE OLD POWERHOUSE WILL REMAIN WHEN THE NEW MELONES DAM RISES WHERE THE RIFFLES ARE 

APPARENT IN THE STANISLAUS RIVER NEAR SONORA, CALIFORNIA. THE EARTHFILL DAM WILL BE BUILT 

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. IT WILL RISE SOME 625 

FEET FROM THE STREAM BED AND SPAN ABOUT 1550 FEET OF THE CANYON. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
A POWDER MONKEY TAKES A BREATHER DURING A HARD DAY'S WORK AT THE 

NEW MELONES DAMSITE. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

230 
OUTLET (DOWNSTREAM) PORTAL OF THE DIVERSION TUNNEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT NEW MELONES 

DAM PROJECT. THIS TUNNEL WILL DIVERT STANISLAUS RIVER WATER AROUND THE DAM CONSTRUCTION 

SITE. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
rophobia, and imbalance are all hazards 

of the scaler's trade. He works by unwritten rules inherent in the job and is a 

member of an exclusive team. 

Sharing this prestige position are 

bulldozer operators who in handling their 

equipment along the edge of the precipice 

are considered to be the best in the business. On near vertical slopes, a "yo-yo" 

system is used with a cable attached to 

the bulldozer and an uphill winch offering 

some assistance. 

During the summer of 1970, work was begun 

on the huge twenty-six million dollar diversion 

and multipurpose tunnel. The work was completed by November 1973. Generally, work at 

the dam site proceeded quite well during the 

initial stages of construction, but during the 

week of 17 March 1972, in an almost unprecedented action involving federal projects under 

construction, the District Engineer, Colonel 

Donovan, announced that he would not call for 

bids until late in the summer so that District 

personnel could complete additional environmental studies of the area. Originally, bid invitations for the main dam were to be issued on 

15 March 1972. To explain his action, Colonel 

Donovan stated, "The New Melones project is 

unique in that it has been under construction 

since 1966 when we were not required to submit an Environmental Impact Statement. 

Times have changed, and I want to assure myself and the public that this District has done 

everything possible to comply with new 

policies and laws regarding the environment 

even though we are not legally required to do 

so." 

Earlier, the Colonel had prepared a draft EIS 

and sent it to all interested groups and agencies. By March some had replied, but not all. 

The District Engineer felt that "until these 

comments are received and our responses prepared, the final report cannot be completed." 

Among the first to submit remarks to the 

District were white-water boating enthusiasts, 

Sierra Clubbers and members of the Environmental Defense Fund. In the main, they were 

concerned with the elimination of a rapids area 

due to the lake filling and covering this reach 

232 

of the river upstream from the dam site. In 

response to this concern, the District, in cooperation with the South San Joaquin and Oakdale Irrigation Districts, undertook a rather 

unique experiment. On 20 May 1972, 350 

acre-feet of water was released from Goodwin 

Dam on the Stanislaus River to examine the 

feasibility of creating a four mile white water 

kayak run downstream from New Melones. 

(The 14,047,850 gallons of water was sent 

splashing down the near-dry canyon as part of 

the search to discover a substitute for the loss 

of several miles of rapids then being used by 

commercial rafting companies and kayakists.) 

In regards to this effort, Colonel Donovan remarked, "We are exhausting every possibility 

in our search for an alternative satisfactory to 

environmental, recreational, and boating interests." 

Late in May, final review of the extensive 

environmental impact statement was being 

completed. To supplement this lengthy document, Colonel Donovan, using some seventy 

slide photographs, briefed representatives of 

the valley's leading newspapers. Throughout 

his comprehensive presentation, the Colonel 

emphasized the environmental benefits which 

the public would enjoy as a result of the dam 

and lake. Examples of these are increased salmon and steelhead runs, canoeing, swimming, 

camping, cave exploring and just plain relaxing along the lake's 100-mile shoreline. In appearances on major network television newscasts, he again told of the special as well as the 

traditional benefits of the multi-use project. In 

defense of the value of the work, he said, "We 

pursued every environmental question, seeking alternatives. I feel very keenly about the 

loss of a few miles of beautiful white water upstream, but in the final consideration this loss 

is far outweighed by other benefits to a much 

greater number of people." 

It has been estimated that about 20,000 visitor days accrue because of white water river 

running. After the completion of the dam, it is 

expected that millions ofrecreationists will use 

the lake and campgrounds. 

The Environmental Defense Fund filed suit 

against the project on 8 June 1972, seeking in-
I 

~ 

~.' I 

LEFT TO RIGHT ARE RESIDENT ENGINEER JOE NELSON, COLONEL JAMES C. 

DONOVAN, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, 

AND CONGRESSMAN HAROLD T. (BIZZ) JOHNSON, (D., CAL.), INSPECTING THE 

DIVERSION TUNNEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THE CORPS' NEW MELONES DAM 

PROJECT ON THE STANISLAUS RIVER. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo, 11 January 1971) 

233 
junctive and declaratory relief. During the 

week of 21 July 1972, the New Melones Environmental Impact Statement reached the 

Council on Environmental Quality after moving through administration channels since the 

previous March. After considerable study, the 

Court found in favor of the Corps. Almost immediately, the EDF sought to stop project by 

filing with the appellate court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is what the situation is at present (Fall, 1973). 

Litigation notwithstanding, the District was 

given the go-ahead to call for bids. The situation remained touch and go throughout the 

summer and fall of 1972, but finally on Tuesday, October 10th, at two o'clock in the afternoon, bids for the main dam were opened. In 

the crowded and tense atmosphere, television 

lights adding to the heat of the throng, Michael 

Bakarich announced that the bid of 

$83,245,082, submitted by the joint venture of 

Guy F. Atkinson and Dravo Corporation, was 

lowest of the five tendered. Part of the tenseness of the occasion can no doubt be attributed 

to the fact that Judge Charles B. Renfrew had 

listened to arguments by counsel as late as 

6:00 P.M. the prior day. The judge decided to 

permit the opening of bids, providing the actual contract award not be made prior to 1 December 1972, and physical construction not be 

initiated prior to 5 March 1973. 

(Actual award of a contract to AtkinsonDravo was never made because that firm, after 

repeatedly extending the date for acceptance, 

finally withdrew its bid in October 1973 because of economic and other conditions beyond 

its control. Ironically, only a few weeks later 

the Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of the 

lower court and ruled that construction could 

proceed.) 

Many critics, both engineers and environmentalists, believe the Sacramento District's 

Environmental Impact Statement concerning 

New Melones is the most thorough document of 

its kind yet written. Even so, the District prepared additional data to support its position. 

Primarily, the supplemental study deals with 

the utilization of irrigation water in various 

service areas and how this utilization will af234 

fect the environment. 

The Public Affairs Office of the District, in 

July 1972, prepared as the sole item of its Information Bulletin an excellent summary of 

the EIS that was submitted to the Council on 

Environmental Quality. The following is a 

quotation from that summary: 

NEW MELONES ON BALANCE 

Whatever else may be said of the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, it has rarely if 

ever been accused of professional incompetence, never of dishonesty. In the case 

of the New Melones Dam and Lake Project, it has exceeded even its own high 

standards for thoroughness. It has 

painstakingly investigated every aspect 

of environmental detriment that has 

come to light, and continues to do so. 

Wherever possible, it has sought to 

ameliorate those losses which are the inevitable by-product of such a major water 

development. 

Lest it be implied, because of the emphasis on certain environmental losses, that 

the proposed project brings nothing but 

environmental havoc which must be 

mitigated, let the reader be assured the 

project's net benefits are substantial. 

Gains and losses are outlined briefly in 

the following summary; a comprehensive 

explanation of both may be found in the 

Environmental Impact Statement prepared on this subject by the Sacramento 

District. 

Consideration of all the evidence at hand 

has led the Corps to the conclusion that 

the environmental benefits of the New 

Melones project will exceed the environmental losses. What's more, the project 

will provide a variety of other benefits. 

FLOOD PROTECTION 

Principal among these is the flood protection the project will afford some 35,000 

acres of high developed agric. 'ltural land 

along Stanislaus River. Together with 

other projects on the lower San Joaquin 

and Tuolumne Rivers, it will aid materi-
DRILLING IN THE DIVERSION TUNNEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THE NEW 

MELONES DAM PROJECT IS DONE BY NINE AIR DRILLS MOUNTED ON A 

RUBBER-TIRED "JUMBO". AFTER THE HOLES ARE DRILLED IN THE TUNNEL FACE, 

THE JUMBO DRILL BACKS OUT OF THE TUNNEL, CHARGES ARE PLACED AND SET 

OFF, AND THEN THE "MUCKING", OR CLEARING, OPERATION IS PERFORMED BY 

TWO RUBBER-TIRED FRONT-END LOADERS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo, 4 March 1971) 
ally in reducing flood stages along the 

lower San Joaquin River and in the Delta. 

This, in turn, assists in protecting 

235,000 acres of intensively developed 

agricultural lands, military installations, 

and industrial and suburban areas near 

Stockton. 

The project will also provide a new irrigation supply of nearly 93 billion gallons a 

year to relieve present deficiencies and 

provide water to presently undeveloped 

lands. 

OTHER BENEFITS 

Its hydroelectric power plant will provide 

an annual increase of about 430 million 

kilowatt-hours of usable energy, enough 

to satisfy the electrical needs of a city of 

70,000 people. Such clean power has the 

added benefit of probably eliminating the 

need for construction of equivalent capacity in a fossil-fueled powerplant. 

OPERATIONAL 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

The New Melones Project, when completed, will be turned over to the Bureau 

of Reclamation for operation and maintenance and integration into the Central 

Valley Project (CVP). The Bureau will 

use the new water developed by the project in one or more of the following ways: 

(a) to serve the existing irrigation districts along the Stanislaus River, (b) to 

serve areas both north and south of the 

drainage of the Stanislaus, (c) to serve the 

southern San Joaquin Valley via the 

as-yet unbuilt East Side Canal, or, finally, (d) to satisfy water quality requirements in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Dept. of the Interior has 

the authority from Congress to explore all 

aspects of water supply use from the lake. 

A full evaluation of these aspects, to include the environmental effects in the 

several areas of water needs, will be made 

prior to initiating operation of the completed project. 

236 

FINE COOPERATION 

The Environmental Impact Statement 

explains fully the points contained in this 

summary. The closest cooperation has 

been achieved with environmental groups 

in the consideration of those aspects of the 

project. The two local Sierra Club groups 

(Y okut Wilderness Group in Modesto, and 

Mother Lode Chapter in Sacramento), 

working closely and harmoniously with 

the Corps, have withdrawn their earlier 

objections to the project although they 

have noted the loss of the whitewater 

boating area and urged that every effort 

be made toward full mitigation. They 

have expressed their belief that no additional irrigation water is needed in the 

southern San Joaquin Valley and have 

suggested that the conserved water supply from the New Melones Project be used 

to improve water quality in the 

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 

In summary, the Corps of Engineers, as a 

consequence of its exhaustive studies of 

the project, has determined that it should 

be completed expeditiously and the benefits therefrom, both environmental and 

economic, be made available to the public 

at the earliest time. 

No one can foretell when the next major 

flood will occur, but it is known that, had the 

project been finished prior to the Christmas 

flood of 1955, almost two million dollars in 

damages would have been prevented along the 

Stanislaus downstream from the existing dam. 

Another $1,600,000 in damages was suffered 

in the December 1964 flood. In 1967 the completed work would have prevented some 

three-quarters of a million dollars in flood 

damages. It is estimated that should a major 

flood come roaring out of the mountains south 

of Stockton some $4,400,000 worth of devastation will be prevented. 

New Melones, of course, is not an isolated 

project designed to work independentl v of 

other similar facilities. On the contrarv, ~hen 

completed it will act in unison with its' foothill 

partners to protect and serve the valll'Y and the 
COLONEL eRA WFORD YOUNG - SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER - JUNE 1966-

DECEMBER 1968 

237 
people who live there. Working in conjunction 

with projects on the Tuolumne and lower San 

Joaquin Rivers, New Melones will help prevent an estimated $46 million in damages 

EXPANSION JANUARY 1968 

238 

along the lower San Joaquin River and in the 

Delta. It is not terribly difficult to measure 

damage to land, homes, factories and roadways; not so with human suffering. 
In January 1968, the Sacramento District 

became the second largest district in the contiguous United States when about 104,000 

square miles of territory was transferred from 

the Los Angeles District. All of Utah, except 

the southwest corner, Colorado, from the continental divide west, the southwest corner of 

Wyoming, the northeast corner of Arizona and 

northwest corner of New Mexico became a part 

of the Sacramento District. At the time of the 

reorganization, General John Dillard, South 

Pacific Division Engineer, pointed out that, "It 

has become evermore evident that development here in the West offers new opportunities 

and challenges to engineering organizations 

working in the public interest." 

Colonel Crawford Young, Sacramento District Engineer, commenting on the increased 

responsibilities, stated that, "We are going to 

become more and more active in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, and as we do we will adjust to the increase in direct proportion to the 

needs." 

GREAT BASIN 

The Great Basin is an elevated, 188,000 

square mile arid mountain region between the 

Sierra Nevada Mountains on the west and the 

Wasatch Mountains on the east. The area includes most of Nevada and parts of Utah, Idaho 

and Wyoming. The chief rivers of the Great 

Basin include the Truckee, Carson, Walker, 

Humboldt, Sevier, Jordan and the Weber. Having no outlet to the sea, the rivers either drain 

into Pyramid Lake in Nevada, or the Great 

Salt Lake, in Utah, disappear into "sinks," or 

are completely used up for irrigation purposes. 

The first Corps of Engineers officer to be active in the Great Basin, the area between the 

Rockies and the Sierras, was John C. Fremont. 

Lewis and Clark had crossed the northern 

reaches of the area during 1805 and 1806, but 

it was the "Pathfinder", in the company of 

mountain men, soldiers and scientists, who 

explored, studied and publicized the region. 

The first to permanently settle the area were 

the Mormons under the brilliant leadership of 

Brigham Young. 

During the 1850s, Corps of Engineers ofCHAPTER IX 

EAST OF THE SIERRA 

ficers completed surveys for the transcontinental railroad. After the Civil War, Corps of Engineers survey parties endured the hostile climate of the region for 10 years to complete a 

series of topographical and geographical surveys and explorations west of the 100th meridian. The hazardous work was carried forward 

so, ". . That the physical structures of the 

waste and unknown lands along the untenanted mountain frontiers shall be brought to 

light and made known not only for the uses of 

the Government, but for all of the people and 

for all time." Through the efforts of these engineering officers, a wealth of previously unknown information was added to the bank of 

knowledge about the vast intermountain frontier. 

Much later, during the Second World War, 

the intermountain region played a significant 

role, especially for the training of pilots, repair 

of aircraft, and storing of war materiel. In addition, it served as the temporary home for 

thousands of Japanese-Americans sent there 

from the coast. Cattle from its huge ranches, 

food from its farms and precious minerals from 

its mines all aided the war effort. 

Typical of the early civil works projects 

undertaken by the Corps in the Great Basin is 

the flood control work along the Sevier River, 

south of Great Salt Lake. In the southwest 

corner of Utah, surrounded by high plateaus 

and even higher mountains, the Sevier River 

follows a horseshoe path of hundreds of miles 

and ends up nourishing the fields along its 

banks. It has been referred to as the "most used 

river in the world" because, except in the times 

of floods, every drop of water is diverted and 

put into fields until it's all used up. 

This ideal arrangement was interrupted by 

the natural laws that govern the behavior of 

all streams. The pioneer farmers, by diverting 

the water into irrigation canals and ditches by 

means of fixed barriers, caused the river to 

slow down and drop much of its silt load. Ranchers further aggravated the situation by grazing their cattle on the upper watershed, which 

tended to increase the volume of silt being carried into the river. In time, the bed of the 

Sevier had raised to the point where, in the 

239 
GUNNISON-FAYETTE DIVERSION STRUCTURE, SEVIER RIVER. 

240 
PERIOD, THIS AERIAL ILLUSTRATES WHAT 

WAS DONE TO THE JORDAN RIVER BETWEEN 

MILL CREEK AND 21ST SOUTH. THE OLD 

BANK-JUMPING BENDS HAVE BEEN 

STRAIGHTENED OUT SO THAT THE RIVER 

NOW APPROACHES THE CITY ON A 

CONTROLLED COURSE. PART OF IT WILL 

MEANDER THROUGH THE CITY, THE REST 

WILL GO DOWN THE SURPLUS CANAL. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
worst stretches, it was soaking the valley instead of draining it. Thereafter, even minor 

floods put the stream over its bank and onto 

the fields. Instead of planting row crops, the 

farmers used their fields for pastures. Eventually, the pastures became swamps. A Corps of 

Engineers study of the problem revealed that: 

" ... The streambed has been raised by 

sedimentation to the extent that minor 

floods inundate extensive areas of concentrated property values and local subsurface drainage has been so impaired as 

to necessitate progressive abandonment 

of contiguous crop land." 

Town people, especially in the Redmond 

area, were also suffering because of the worsening situation. Their basements were filling 

with water. The extensive tile drainage system, installed by the City of Redmond in 1922, 

in the sterile language of an official report, became "largely ineffective." A conservative 

statement indeed, when one considers the fact 

that the river often rose higher than the outlets. 

The passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936 

offered the residents of the Sevier River Valley 

a way out of their predicament. They brought 

the problem to the attention of Congress 

which, in turn, directed the Corps of Engineers 

to study and report on flood control aspects of 

the situation. During the late thirties, the Engineers accomplished their charge, but had to 

wait until the war was over before they could 

begin corrective work. 

Authorized in the Flood Control Act of 1944, 

the improvement was studied further in 1946 

and 1947. After meeting with local interests, a 

final plan was developed and work began in 

the summer of 1948. The majority of the work 

consisted of excavating the river bed so the 

Sevier would drain adjacent lands. New depths 

varied from two and a half to eight and a half 

feet below the former grade. Some 1,500,000 

cubic yards of accumulated muck was removed 

to provide a new channel with a bottom width 

of thirty-three feet, with a depth of between 

twelve and fifteen feet below the natural 

ground line. The excavated material was used 

to form continuous, uncompacted levees, which 

242 

solved the problem of what to do with the dirt, 

while providing an added measure of protection. At the same time, a pair of obstructive 

diversion dams were replaced by radial gated 

structures that raise the water level only when 

needed for irrigation. Now, when there is no 

demand for irrigation water, the gates are 

opened so that the river can flush itself out. 

The work was completed in the spring of 

1951 at a cost of $19 million and has been operated and maintained by local interests since 

that time. 

Moving north towards Salt Lake City, one 

comes upon three projects authorized by the 

Flood Control Act of 1946. The first, near the 

town of Spanish Fork near Utah Lake, when 

and if completed, will provide flood control 

along the lower thirteen miles of the Spanish 

Fork River. This will be accomplished by enlarging the channel and the construction of a 

levee on the right bank of the river at the town 

of Spanish Fork. 

Preconstruction planning was begun in 1955 

but discontinued because of lack of interest by 

the local residents. Actually, much of the flood 

problem in the area was alleviated by the 

emergency work completed following the 

spring floods of 1952. There being no demand 

for further work, the project has been classified 

"Deferred." 

About twenty-five miles southwest of Salt 

Lake City, near the town of Magna, is a stream 

called Little Valley Wash. The Corps of Engineers was authorized in 1946 to construct a 

channel that would extend the wash a little 

more than a mile so that it would empty into 

an existing debris basin. When and if completed, the project would afford flood protection 

to the town of Magna, Utah. No desire for its 

completion has been voiced by local residents: 

hence, the project has been classified "Inactive." No work has been done to date. 

The third project in the area, authorized in 

1946, is the Jordan River improvement. Once 

the planning was completed und public meetings held with local residents, work was initiated in January 1959. The work included (1) 

increa~ing the channel capacity of the Jordan 

River by excavation and levee constnJ.'tion, l2) 
LEVEE CONSTRUCTION AND CHANNEL IMPROVEMENT, JORDAN RIVER, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. SURPLUS 

CANAL REALIGNMENT AND NEW RAILROAD BRIDGE ON 1l.P. RAILROAD LINE, LOOKING SOUTHEAST. 

APRIL 1960 

(A rmy Corps of Engineers Photo) 
modifying the existing structure at the head of 

Surplus Canal, (3) the enlargement of Surplus 

Canal by excavation and levee construction, (4) 

modification of railroad and street bridges, and 

(5) modification of an irrigation diversion. 

By diverting the excess flows of the Jordan 

River to the Great Salt Lake, the project protects the western portion of Salt Lake City and 

the nearby suburbs. Altogether, about 5,800 

acres of residential, industrial, and commercial 

property is kept dry because of the million dollar plus improvement. Levee and channel work 

was completed in October and bridge modification finished in December 1960. 

Any new flood control plan for the Jordan 

River will be combined with the concept of a 

parkway along the lower stretch of the stream. 

It is certain that increased public concern for 

the environmental values of the river will be a 

major factor in the formation of a proposed 

project. 

In the summer of 1958, Congress passed 

Public Law 90-483 which authorized improvement to Weber River and its tributaries. Located north of the sprawling Hill Air Force 

Base, the river flows right through the City of 

Ogden, Utah. Efforts to control the stream 

have been an on-again, off-again endeavor. 

The original authorization expired in April 

1967 due to lack of required assurances of local 

cooperation. Then in 1968, the project was 

again authorized, but has had to be modified 

because Morgan County was unable to provide 

the necessary assurances for its portion of the 

work. As it stands now, the project calls for 

channel enlargement and bank revetment, 

modification to a railroad bridge, removal of 

two diversion dams near Ogden, selective 

clearing downstream from Plain City Dam to 

the confluence of the Ogden River, and general 

channel clearing and snagging at intermittent 

locations in Davis and Weber Counties. When 

finished, the project will supplement, and work 

in conjunction with, the Bureau of Reclamation's Weber Basin reservoirs. 

Preconstruction planning was started in the 

fall of 1960, but suspended less than two years 

later because Morgan County failed to make 

the needed assurances. Preconstruction plan244 

ning for the modified project was resumed in 

December 1971. Upon completion of the improvement, about 15,000 acres of agricultural 

land will be protected from the ravages of 

floods. Moreover, another 1,900 acres of urban 

developments within the city of Ogden will 

also avoid the ruination that accompanies a 

major flood. 

Based on comments received from local interests, it will be necessary for the project plan 

to be reformulated. A parkway plan proposed 

by local interests must be evaluated and determination made as to willingness of local interests to provide local cooperation requirements. Future course of planning on the project 

is pending a decision by local interests regarding the parkway plan and local cooperation. 

Far and away the biggest (most expensive) 

civil works project currently being planned by 

the Sacramento District within the Great 

Basin is Little Dell Dam and Lake. Authorized 

in 1960 and modified by the Flood Control Act 

of 1968, the $33 million dam and reservoir will 

be located in the hills on Dell Creek, eight 

miles east of Salt Lake City. The dam itself is 

designed to be an earthfill structure, and will 

store 30,000 acre-feet of water. While flood 

control is the major consideration, much 

needed municipal and industrial water 

supplies as well as recreation will be provided 

when the work is complete. Serious flood damage will be prevented in Salt Lake City and, at 

the same time, residents will be able to tap a 

new source during the dry months. 

Local interests will have substantial responsibilities in getting the job completed, and in 

operating and maintaining the facility once 

finished. For example, they must secure, without cost to the United States, all water rights 

necessary for operation of the project; maintain 

and operate the existing Mountain Dell Reservoir, located a mile and a half downstream on 

Parleys Creek in accordance with appropriate 

regulations; administer project land and water 

areas for recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement; and inform affected parties exactlY 

what the project will and Won l do. Furthe~, 

local interests are required to contribute the 

costs of lands, easements, rights-of-way and . ' 
THESE FIVE GATES CONTROL THE FLOW OF THE JORDAN RIVER THROUGH SALT LAKE CITY. THE 

NATURAL CHANNEL WILL FLOW AS ALWAYS, BUT ANYTHING IN EXCESS OF ITS CAPACITY WILL BE 

ROUTED DOWN THE SURPLUS CANAL. THE NEED FOR SUCH A CANAL IS PRETTY EVIDENT AS SALT LAKE 

RESIDENTS BUILT THE FIRST ONE IN 1885. TODA Y'S PROJECT SIMPLY INTRODUCES MUCH MORE CHANNEL 

CAPACITY AND MORE PRECISE CONTROL TO PROTECT A MUCH MORE DEVELOPED AREA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
-

FLOOD WATER FROM GLEASON CREEK FLOWING THROUGH ELY, NEVADA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

I 
I 

) 

I 

1 

;;"'nsH l.4 

( Tf" "-",.~~O'f 

\ ~YILLI 

I 

1/ 

LlGlND 

..-IIISTI.e ."0. L'.I O. 

.ISIIVOII 

20 

VICINITY MAP 

5CAl( I" .ll(S 

o 20 • D 

GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS 

SURVEYS FLOOO CONTROL 

N 

•• 

COLORADO RIVER & TRIBUTARIES 

ABOVE LEE FERRY, ARIZONA 

247 

SACRAMENTO DISTRICT 

SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION 

FEBRUARY 1973 
relocations allocated to flood control, either in 

cash or in kind. They also will be required to 

repay the portion of the fIrst cost allocated to 

water supply and to repay half the costs allocated to recreation and wildlife conservation. 

Although, local contributions will amount to 

over $16 million. Preconstruction planning 

was begun in the summer of 1970 and is scheduled for completion by the fall of 1974. 

About:fifty miles west of the Nevada-Utah 

border, in eastern Nevada, is the town of Ely. 

Running through the town is a stream called 

Gleason Creek, which in past years has caused 

the local residents considerable concern and 

damage when it goes out of its channel. To 

lower the level of anxiety and materially reduce flood damages in the city of Ely, the Sacramento District studied the situation and 

formulated plans to control Gleason Creek. To 

this end, a small dam and reservoir were authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act 

of 1960. In 1961, funds were provided for preconstruction planning, but detailed design 

studies were postponded until local interests 

guaranteed that their portion of the costs 

would be forthcoming upon request. On 8 February 1971, the City Council of Ely passed a 

resolution of intent to furnish the necessary 

assurances of local cooperation. Presently, preconstruction planning is scheduled for resumption in 1974. 

A hundred miles east of Pyramid Lake, near 

the city of Elko, Nevada, are sites for three 

flood control reservoirs authorized in May 

1950, to be built by the Corps of Engineers. The 

reservoirs would be created by earthfIll dams 

on the North and South Forks ofthe Humboldt 

River and on the Marys River. Together, the 

new lakes would have a storage capacity of 

250,000 acre-feet and would cost about $23 

million. The projects, when and if completed, 

would reduce flood flows along the Humboldt 

River and its tributaries, which cause damage 

to agricultural lands, improvements, utilities, 

transportation facilities, and urban, residential and commercial properties. Besides the 

flood control benefits, the lakes would provide 

improved irrigation supplies and offer increased opportunities for recreation and 

248 

wildlife conservation. 

The project was deferred in 1954 because 

local interests failed to give the required assurances of cooperation. In 1961, the city of 

Elko furnished enough data to allow a restudy 

which resulted in the work being restored to 

the "Active" category in 1964. If things go as 

planned, preconstruction planning will begin 

in 1973. 

UPPER COLORADO REGION 

The Upper Colorado Region comprises the 

drainage basin ofthe Colorado River above Lee 

Ferry, Arizona, and the Great Divide Basin in 

south-central Wyoming. Situated west of the 

Continental Divide, the region includes sections of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah 

and Wyoming. Bounded on the west by the 

Wasatch Mountain, and by those mountains 

that form the Continental Divide on the north 

and east, the area encompasses a total area of 

113,496 square miles. 

The first permanent settlement of the region 

was a small fort, built in 1832 by Antoine 

Robidou near the confluence of the Uinta and 

Duchesne Rivers. Soon thereafter, others settled the area and put up trading posts, which 

served as important supply depots for the 

Mormon pioneers in 1847, and later the 49'ers. 

Gold was discovered near Breckenridge, Colorado, in 1859; hence. much of the region's 

early history is deeply rooted in the mining 

industry. 

The first, and for many years the most, significant exploration of the area was completed 

by Major John Wesley Powell between 1869 

and 1875. Major Powell had served through the 

Civil War as an artillery officer. After the war, 

he worked as a college professor until he 

undertook the exploration of some 500 miles of 

the Colorado River system. During the late 

1880s, the Corps of Engineers conducted investigations having to do with the possibility of 

navigation on the Green River. 

Because of the remoteness ofthe area and its 

relatively sparse population, however, little 

federal work was completed in the Upper Colorado River Basin until well into the twentieth 

century. Present Corps of Engineers civil 
works efforts in the area stem from studies 

completed in the early 1930s. In a 1934 report 

to Congress, it was said of the Colorado River 

that, "There is no river in the United States 

where there is a greater need for conservation 

of the destructive floods and the application of 

these waters to beneficial use, both for irrigation and domestic and industrial needs." 

During the 1930s, Corps of Engineers activities in the Upper Colorado Region were 

under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles District. From April 1942, to October 1943, the 

area became the responsibility of the shortlived Salt Lake District, but was subsequently 

returned to the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles 

District. Since 1968, the region has been under 

the jurisdiction of the Sacramento District. 

Water resource development problems in the 

region involve flood control, water conservation, water importation, and recreation. Currently the Sacramento District is studying the 

overall flood control and related water resource 

problems so that a plan can be developed to 

solve the problems both on a local and regional 

basis. 

Annual flood damages averaged $2.8 million 

in 1965. If current projections hold true, flood 

damages will increase to over $10 million per 

year by 2020, ifno additional flood control programs are completed. It is believed that flood 

damages can be reduced considerably through 

an integrated program of flood forecasting, 

flood plain management and the building of 

reservoirs and levees, and by improving existing channels. Corps of Engineers projects will 

be designed to function with and act as integral 

units of the overall water resource developments in the Colorado River Basin. 

In addition to those projects that will be 

studied, planned and constructed in the years 

to come, emergency situations often arise that 

can't be put off for another day, but must be 

acted upon immediately. This aspect of the 

District's responsibility was mentioned earlier 

in relation to Central Valley areas, but it 

applies to the Upper Colorado River Basin as 

well. 

Two recent examples of this type of work 

come to mind, both of which occurred in Wyoming. In May of 1972, the little town of Daniel, 

located in southern Wyoming, was threatened 

by the fast rising Prairie Creek. Francis 

McGregor, Utah Resident Engineer, supervised $50,000 worth of work which contained 

the waters of Green River and kept Prairie 

Creek from flooding. Sixteen pieces of heavy 

equipment were used to build the levee embankment that saved the town. 

Early in June of 1972, flood fighters were 

hard at it near Cokeville, Lincoln County, 

Wyoming. Here, too, Francis McGregor was in 

charge of the emergency levee work. Within 

only a few days, almost 2,000 feet of a threefoot high dike had been placed along the banks 

of Smith's Fork to keep the stream in its channel. Except for spilling on agricultural land, 

the work was completely successful. 

Wrested from the wilderness by Mormons, 

miners, cattlemen and farmers, the Great 

Basin and the Upper Colorado River Basin 

have become rich and prosperous regions. In 

much of the area, mining and agriculture still 

rank as the leading industries, but manufacturing, food processing and tourism are rapidly 

gaining in importance. In Utah, for instance, 

manufacturing has become the state's major 

industry. To support the work of the Corps of 

Engineers and other governmental agencies, 

many of the nation's largest aerospace firms 

have built plants and located research 

facilities within the Great Basin. Hence, there 

can be no doubt that the region is on the move, 

and that the Sacramento District will play a 

continually expanding role in its development. 

It is indeed sad that General Dillard won't see 

the "opportunities and challenges to engineering" being brought to fruition, which he wisely 

foresaw back in 1968 when the area was transferred to the Sacramento District. The general 

gave his life in Vietnam. 

The people of the region do see and appreciate the work undertaken on their behalf 

by the Sacramento District. A brief letter from 

the Town Clerk of Telluride, Colorado, sums up 

the feelings of many: 

Mayor Betty McPhee, the Board of Trustees and the people of the Town of Telluride wish to thank the Department of 

249 
the Army, Corps of Engineers, for your 

assistance to the Town of Telluride since 

the Cornet Creek flood. 

Your efforts on behalf of the town are 

greatly appreciated, and the work done 

through your efforts now gives the people 

of Telluride a feeling of security due to 

the deepening and widening of Cornet 

Creek. 

With sincere appreciation. 

LAND, LEISURE AND LETTERS 

LAND 

It is entirely proper to dedicate this chapter 

to Creed B. Card. Until his untimely death in 

the fall of 1971, Mr. Card was a soft-spoken, 

dedicated civil servant, who had spent the last 

seventeen years of his life as Chief of the District's Real Estate Division. He came to the 

District in 1954 when the Real Estate Division 

consisted of only a handful of specialists. By 

the end of 1970, Mr. Card and his staff of sixty 

were administering about 4.6 million acres of 

federal land, including seventy-eight Army installations, 113 Air Force bases, eight Atomic 

Energy Commission facilities and other miscellaneous pieces of government property. Altogether, the District's Real Estate Division, in 

the fall of 1971, was involved with more than 

240 installations. 

As of September 1972, it was estimated that 

the value of the real estate under the administrative jurisdiction of the District's Real Estate 

Division was approximately half a billion dollars. In addition to the four and a half million 

acres of installations, the Division also administered 1,103 post offices, 1,382 military 

and 149 civilian in- and out-lease contracts. 

Generally, one thinks of the Real Estate Division in terms of its traditional chores of appraising and acquiring land for new projects or 

for the expansion of existing facilities. But it 

also handles the leasing of privately owned 

land for government use; disposes of surplus 

lands and improvements: out-leases federal 

land and facilities for local public and private 

usage; checks to see that government-owned or 

leased land and facilities are being properly 

MAIN STRAIGHT A WAY OF LAGUNA SECA ROAD RACING COURSE. 

(Author Photos) 

250 
used; and insures that those who have contractual rights in land or facilities under Real Estate control are complying with the terms of 

the contract. 

Few, if any, other divisions experience such 

diversity of situations as does Real Estate. On 

a given day, its representatives may be discussing the relative safety of Athena and Pershing 

missiles with tribal councils of the Navajo Indians, concerned as they are that one of the 

missiles may falter and drop from the sky as it 

passes over their land. The next day may find 

other real estate people delicately arranging 

the emotion-fraught removal and relocation of 

the remains of departed relatives from the path 

of an imminent District project. At other times, 

Real Estate personnel are leasing grazing land 

to ranchers, renting a parking space to an 

Army recruiter or buying a dam site for the 

government. The variety of its day-to-day operations is seemingly endless, and requires the 

full time efforts of the sixty-plus members of 

the Real Estate staff. 

Whenever feasible, and compatible with the 

needs of those it serves, the office also develops 

secondary uses for flood control projects and 

military installations so as to bring additional 

revenue to the federal government while serving the primary needs of the government. For 

example, some 142,000 acres ofland at Hunter 

Liggett Military Reservation are leased for 

cattle grazing. Perhaps one of the more unusual leases administered by Real Estate is 

that with the Sports Car Racing Association of 

the Monterey Peninsula, (SCRAMP). The racing enthusiasts lease the Laguna Seca road 

racing course, located at Fort Ord. The arrangements are handled by the Sacramento 

District. The mission of the office is to get the 

best possible deal for the government, based on 

fair market value . This kind of economyminded real estate management system not 

only produces income for the U.S. Treasury, 

but also conserves Army funds which would 

otherwise be required to maintain the property. 

PETER REVSON, WORLD FAMOUS RACE DRIVER, LISTENS INTENTLY AS AN 

ASSISTANT POINTS TO A WIDE RACING TIRE. IN THE BACKGROUND TIMERS AWAIT 

THE START OF THE NEXT RACE AT LAGUNA SECA. 

(Author Photos) 

251 
Another rather unusual situation, handled 

by the Real Estate office, involves the compensation to persons who must leave their homes 

or jobs during those times when the Army conducts missile tests in a remote section of Utah. 

The government believes that it is appropriate 

to evacuate the area in which the missile(s) 

will travel. Most of the time, the people are 

required to leave the area for no more than a 

few hours, and there is always ample warning. 

While the vast majority of real estate transactions are handled reasonably and peacefully, 

on occasion "gun totin', irate oldtimers" have 

been known to take potshots at the real estate 

boys. Mr. Card once remarked that, "It isn't 

always easy to convince the landowner that 

we're serving him." He went on to tell the following story: 

A few years ago, the District was purchasing land to extend McClellan Air Force 

Base. As Lee Jacobson, Chief of the Acquisition Branch, approached an old 

shanty located on land needed for the new 

work, he found himself face to face with a 

rather unhappy landowner. He could tell 

he was unhappy, and not in the mood to 

discuss selling his property, from the look 

on his face and the sawed-off shotgun he 

held in his hands. Jacobson's suspicions 

were absolutely confirmed when the fellow packing the gun ordered him off the 

place. Lee didn't feel it would be wise to 

argue the point and left in a hurry. Later 

on, the deal was settled through friendlier 

negotiations. 

The Constitution permits the government to 

acquire private land needed for government 

use. It also requires that private parties be 

justly compensated. If the landowner and the 

Corps' representative can't agree on the fair 

market value of a piece of property, both have 

legal recourse. If a settlement can't be worked 

out by negotiations, then the federal courts 

will determine a fair price. 

Since the Sacramento District handles real 

estate activities for the San Francisco District, 

real estate boundaries do not coincide with the 

District\ civil and military boundaries. 

252 

LEISURE 

The attitudes held by Americans concerning 

recreational activities form an important aspect of our value system. Very early in our history it was commonly remarked that "all work 

and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Today in 

the United States, and especially in the West, 

an expanding population with more leisure 

time, more money to spend, and increased mobility, continues to demand additional opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. Hence, the 

clamor for outdoor recreation has grown each 

year until it has become necessary in many 

areas to make reservations, often months in 

advance, for the use of particular camp sites. 

The Sacramento District's civil works program of developing and conserving the water 

resources of the West contributes to the region's outdoor recreational opportunities. 

Morevover, outdoor recreation facilities are 

recognized by the District as tangible and important functions of water resources development. Accordingly, consideration is given to 

the requirements and potentialities for recreation whenever projects are being planned. 

Congress long ago recognized the recreational possibilities of Corps of Engineers 

water resource development projects. In the 

Flood Control Act of 1944 (as amended), the 

nation's lawmakers authorized the Corps to 

participate in recreational development. 

Under Section 4 of the Act, the Corps of Engineers could construct, operate, and maintain 

public park and recreational facilities at water 

resource development projects under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army. The 

1965 Federal Water Project Recreation Act 

was passed to "provide uniform policies with 

respect to recreation and fish and wildlife benefits and costs of Federal multi-purpose water 

resource projects. .. " 

The intent of Congress is clear: "That it is the 

policy of Congress and the intent of this Act that 

(a) in investigating and planning any Federal ... 

water resource project, full con~ideration shall 

be given to the opportunities, if any, which the 

project affords for outdoor recreation and for fish 

and wildlife enhancement. ." The legislation is 
SWAPPING TALL TALES IN THE DAWN LIGHT ARE THREE FISHERMEN ON THE SHORES OF LAKE ISABELLA 

NEAR BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA. THIS SACRAMENTO DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, FACULTY 

COMES UNDER THE NATIONAL RECREATION LAND SYSTEM AND IS EXTREMELY POPULAR WITH 

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo 
-." -'-- ~ 

FAMILY CAMPING AT NEW HOGAN DAM AND LAKE NEAR STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 

_.::- .. - " .... ........ -. . -. ... 

- .... "";. ... --
I 

988 

., 

- CfIlIlCE O 

SAILING AT BLACK BUTTE LAKE NEAR ORLAND, CALIFORNIA. 

(Army Corps 0/ Enf.{ineers Photo) 

/ 

7' 
particularly significant because through it, the 

federal government assumes responsibility for 

major recreational development, as long as local 

interests provide the necessary assurances. Generally speaking, recreation development is completed through cooperative arrangements by the 

Corps of Engineers and non-federal public agencies, and when appropriate, by private interests 

on a concessionaire basis. 

During the Depression years, residents of 

the District were primarily concerned with 

securing the basics of life. The first half of the 

forties was spent producing the war materials 

for the arsenals of democracy. With the postwar boom in national development and attempts to escape the reality of possible nuclear 

war, residents of the District and the rest of the 

country turned to the great outdoors to refresh 

their collective spirits. In other words, the average person's total requirements for selfrenewal could not be met with a steady diet of 

Milton Berle, Hopalong Cassidy, Howdy 

Doody, or even the Kinsey Report. 

In a country where a man considers it a part 

of his birthright to go camping, the need for 

outdoor recreational development is obvious. 

After the war, the Sacramento District began 

to build as never before. Into the plans went 

designs for campgrounds, boat ramps, picnic 

areas, and conservation facilities. Presently, 

recreational opportunities are being provided 

as rapidly as possible, but still the demand at 

Corps of Engineers projects for space continues 

to exceed the capacity of the available 

facilities. By 1962, more than 4 million people 

a year were visiting the 13 Corps operated reservoirs within California. In 1972, more than 

a million visited the Sacramento District's 

Lake Isabella alone. 

Since 1961, the Sacramento District has actively participated with various federal and 

state agencies engaged in Delta recreation 

planning. For a time, Colonel Turner was an 

ex-officio member of the "Sacramento River 

and Delta Recreation Study Committee." Mr. 

George Weddell was a member of the staff 

committee of the organization, and then continued to represent the District as a member of 

256 

the Resources Agency Interdepartmental 

Committee for Delta Recreation Planning. In 

addition, the District has participated in the 

development of the recreational master plan 

for the Delta, and has made studies of recreational potential, existing patterns of use, and 

forecasts of future recreational needs. Examples of some of the studies made are: Pilot 

Levee Maintenance Test Sites; San Francisco 

Bay to Stockton Navigation Study; Sacramento River Bank Protection Project; Delta 

Recreation Study; Flood Control and N avigation Studies. In view of the increasing interest 

in outdoor recreation, boating, and use of the 

inland waterways, the District sees the eventual need for a master recreation plan for the 

rivers extending from Red Bluff through the 

Delta all the way to the upper San Joaquin 

Valley. 

Recreation, the important by-product of the 

District's civil works program, is a prime 

example of the use of land and water to get the 

full benefits from resources development projects. The Sacramento District has a continuing 

program aimed at improving and expanding 

recreation areas. As funds are available, improvements will be made where they are most 

needed. 

LETTERS 

In August 1970, Congress passed the Postal 

Reorganization Act (P.L. 91-375), which removed the Post Office Department from the 

Federal establishment and converted it into a 

quasi-government corporation: The U. S. 

Postal Service. Under the new organization, 

the Postal Service was to be self-sustaining. No 

longer would it be a dependent of the federal 

government; it would finance its own operations from its own receipts and revenues. To 

assist the new organization in making the 

transition, the Postal Service was authorized 

to budget up to $2 billion annually for the construction of new facilities, as opposed to the 

historical $80 million usually appropriated by 

the Congress. . 

The. massive. increase in design and constructlOn potentIal dictated that a new th d 

fl' d' me 0 o p anmng, eSlgn and construction be ef-
RECREATION BARGES RESTING AT ENGLEBRIGHT LAKE. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
ANNUAL VISITATION AS REPORTED TO OCE 

PROJECT 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 

Black Butte 107,600 155,820 

Englebright 39,300 46,700 49,300 55,600 103,200 131,970 

Isabella 782,200 606,000 716,700 724,800 1,246,600 1,312,530 

New Hogan 39,600 103,400 248,880 

North Fork 40,300 40,100 43,000 42,500 39,600 38,130 

Pine Flat 345,400 412,500 471,200 528,600 663,200 491,050 

Success 80,600 342,400 586,800 603,200 568,050 

Terminus 116,100 199,900 368,400 455,370 

TOTAL 1,207,200 1,185,900 1,738,700 2,177,800 3,235,200 3,401,800 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1966 1967 1968 

Black Butte 213,390 179,740 148,770 

Englebright 125,370 108,500 101,220 

Isabella 1,429,890 1,604,850 1,673,270 

New Hogan 344,210 300,530 343,220 

North Fork 38,600 22,850 26,430 

Pine Flat 589,240 592,270 523,800 

Success 565,990 400,960 490,430 

Terminus 396,600 215,410 328,870 

TOTAL 3,703,290 3,425,110 3,636,010 

fected. After considering several alternatives, 

Winton Blount, Postmaster General, chose to 

enter into agreements with the Chief of Engineers, Lieutenant General Frederick J. 

Clarke, whereby the Corps of Engineers would 

accomplish the design and construction of new 

postal facilities. In addition, the Corps agreed 

to handle real estate activities for the Postal 

Service, including acquisition, lease servicing 

and disposal of postal properties. 

In a statement to The Daily Pacific Builder, 

Colonel Donovan outlined a few of the ramifications of the real estate responsibilities: 

Because of the types of land required in 

the Postal Services program, our real estate land acquisition program problems 

have increased. For example, a threeblock area of land consisting of homes, 

businessf." and two large rental units is 

being aUJlJi r 80 at the Oakland Post Office 

1969 1970 1971 1972 

136,940 156,390 232,300 222,290 

114,170 117,500 92,340 125,710 

1,381,110 1,558,315 1,455,447 1,147,001 

294,180 254,900 321,090 259,380 

25,000 

565,700 609,000 628,220 610,080 

533,300 627,450 549,890 514,206 

300,590 344,240 382,660 313,420 

3,350,990 3,667,795 3,661,947 3,192,081 

Site. Because of the age of the neighborhood and the low average income of 

the residents, the benefits available to 

them under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 

Policies Act of 1970 are being used to the 

fullest extent. We are employing the services of the local Redevelopment Agency 

to assist displaced persons and businesses 

in locating and buying suitable replacement property. 

A year later, in the fall of 1971, the Sacramento District was assigned missions to administer and supervise postal real estate activities for both the San Francisco and Sacramento Districts, to accomplish de~ign and 

construction of all major faciliti\~s in North 

Pacific and South Pacific DiYisions, and to 

supervise construction of all posta! projects 

within the San Francis(() and Sacramento nis258 
COLONEL GEORGE B. FINK - SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, U.S. ARMY 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, 1968-1970. 

259 
tricts. Only two weeks later, the District post 

office program reached a milestone with the 

announcement of invitation for bids to construct a U.S. Post Office and Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Fresno. This project had 

added significance because it was the first 

District-influenced design of a post office. The 

other post office projects acquired earlier were 

in mid-construction and thus had been designed by other agencies. 

To complete successfully this expanded design responsibility, a Postal Facilities Branch 

was activated within the Engineering Division. At first the workload of the new branch 

consisted primarily of reviewing contract plans 

prepared by design consultants retained by 

lessors. This was necessary because nearly all 

postal facilities under design at that time were 

to be privately owned but leased by the Postal 

Service. 

The Sacramento District's postal program 

was expected to total more than fifty million 

dollars in new construction each year, and 

cover eight western states in its design responsibility. Actually, the District's post office construction boundaries paralleled its military 

boundaries in California, Nevada and Utah. 

Further, it was expected that three types of 

post offices would be constructed by the District: Regional, preferential mail and bulk 

mail. Regional facilities are rather small and 

are meant to serve local areas. A preferential 

mail post office is one that handles first, second 

and third class mail, and generally costs between $4 million and $10 million to build. The 

largest of all are the bulk mail post offices, 

which handle only packages and cost from $30 

million to $40 million. Commenting on the 

newly acquired mission, Roan Aicklen, head of 

the new branch said: 

In my opinion, it is the single most important program the Corps has undertaken 

in many years. We are upgrading over 

3,000 existing small post offices in the 

states of California, Nevada, Arizona and 

Utah and will soon design three of the 

twenty-one nationwide bulk mail handhng facilities and twenty preferential 

260 

mail centers. The District will be doing 

some construction work, too. We will 

build the $30 million San Francisco bulk 

facility that has just been announced 

(January, 1972) to be located in 

Richmond ... 

Just as in planning dams and reservoirs, 

post office construction planning required the 

District to assess the environmental effects of 

all new work. If the construction would adversely affect the human environment significantly, then an environmental impact statement would have to be prepared, a major task 

in itself. 

By the fall of 1972, the Postal Facilities 

Branch had attained a strength of twentyeight people and was operating at an annual 

work placement rate of about $125 million. 

Obviously the new branch, with assistance 

from the District's real estate, construction and 

support organizations, could accommodate any 

imaginable program that the U.S. Postal Service would be likely to authorize. 

Mr. Aicklen had barely gotten acclimated to 

his new position and set up the new branch 

when, on 5 February 1973, the District received word from OCE that the Executive 

Branch, Office of Management and Budget. 

had issued instructions to the Department of 

the Army to terminate Army involvement in 

the postal facilities program. The dissolution of 

the partnership was to be accomplished in two 

phases. First, all real estate action and all design and construction projects of less than 

50,000 square feet were to be transferred to the 

Western Regional Headquarters of the U.s. 

Postal Service by the end of June 1973, with a 

commensurate reduction in District staffing. 

Secondly, an additional twelve months were 

granted to terminate all further postal activities, with a reduction in District personnel 

in support of this work to zero. What promised 

to be a challenging and rew;1rding assignment 

for the District was, in reallly, ended before it 

began. No doubt, the postal Cacilities' real estate. design and construction program was the 

shortest-lived major program e,'er 1 ssigned to 

the Sacramento District. 
Partnership Projects: 

The Sacramento District covers a large part 

of the Western United States. Hence, it would 

be presumptuous to assume that the Corps of 

Engineers could alone meet all of the water 

resource needs of the manifold interests residing within its boundaries. The immense task of 

water resource development is shared by many 

federal, state and local agencies working together to plan and build projects that will complement each other. Even before the turn of the 

century, the Corps of Engineers cooperated 

with state and private interests to clean up the 

rivers and improve navigation. During the 

1920s and 1930s, the Sacramento District 

worked with the State of California and the 

Federal Power Commission to prepare the 

"308" studies, improve irrigation and navigation, and to bring flood control to the Central 

Valley. It will be remembered that the massive 

Central Valley Project was originally planned 

as a state development, then assigned to the 

Corps of Engineers, and finally through presidential intervention, awarded to the Bureau of 

Reclamation. 

The Corps assisted the Bureau in planning 

the individual facilities of the Central Valley 

Project by sharing its studies and scientific 

data collected over many years. Since the second world war, the Sacramento District has 

contributed funds to five major federal dam 

and reservoir projects within the state. An 

overview of each will demonstrate that cooperation is essential if the needs of all are to be 

met. 

Tuolumne River Reservoirs Project: 

Mountainous Tuolumne County is a 

backpacker's paradise. Part of Yosemite National Park lies within the County, and hundreds of miles of streams and several reservoirs 

offer the recreationist fishing, boating and 

water skiing. The Tuolumne River watershed 

has been developed extensively by the City and 

County of San Francisco and the Turlock and 

Modesto Irrigation Districts. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Lake Lloyd and Lake Eleanor store 

water that is used to generate power. Then the 

CHAPTER X 

PARTNERSHIP, PLANNING 

& PREVIEWS 

water is conducted 175 miles by aqueduct to 

San Francisco. 

The Sacramento District was authorized by 

the Flood Control Act of 1944 to participate in 

reservoir construction on the Tuolumne River. 

The first phase of this development was the 

construction of Cherry Valley Reservoir, which 

was completed in 1957. In return for the flood 

protection provided by the facility, the federal 

government contributed $9 million to the first 

cost of construction. 

Southwest of Cherry Valley Reservoir is the 

New Don Pedro Dam and Reservoir, which 

represents the final phase in the joint effort to 

develop the Tuolumne River for irrigation, 

power, domestic supply and flood control. The 

$75 million project is located about thirty miles 

east of Modesto in the foothills of the Sierra 

Nevada Mountains. Of the total storage capacity of 2,030,000 acre-feet, 340,000 acre-feet is 

utilized for flood control. The Corps of Engineers has compensated the local agencies for 

this by contributing more than five and onehalf million dollars to the project. The contract 

for New Don Pedro was awarded in the fall of 

1967. Closure was accomplished on 2 

November 1970, and the complex became operationally complete for flood control purposes 

during 1971. 

The Tuolumne River Reservoirs Project is a 

significant and integral part of the design for 

flood control on the lower San Joaquin River 

and its tributaries. Substantial protection is 

provided to the City of Modesto, to several 

rural communities, and to thousands of acres of 

rich farm lands in the northern San Joaquin 

Valley and Delta. It has been estimated that 

several million dollars in damages would have 

been prevented had the reservoirs been operational during the floods of 1955, 1958, 1964 and 

1967. 

Oroville: 

On 27 November 1962, Colonel Herbert N. 

Turner, Sacramento District Engineer, presented a check of $13,950,000 to William E. 

Warne, Director of the State Department of 

Water Resources. The U.S. Government check 

was the first installment of the federal gov261 
SHASTA DAM, KEY UNIT OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT. 

(Bureau of R eclamation Photo) 
NEW DON PEDRO DAM - 15 NOVEMBER 1970 
ARRIVING AT OROVILLE FOR THE OROVILLE DAM DEDICATION CEREMONIES ARE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF 

ENGINEERS REPRESENTATIVES (FROM L. TO R.) COLONEL RA YMOND W. DE LANCEY, DEPUTY SOUTH 

PACIFIC DIVISION ENGINEER; LT. COLONEL LEWIS A. PICK, JR., ASS'T DIRECTOR FOR CIVIL WORKS, OCE; 

MAJOR GENERAL FREDERICK J. CLARKE, DEPUTY CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, OCE; COLONEL CRAWFORD 

YOUNG, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER; AND BRIG. GENERAL ARTHUR H. FRYE, JR., (USA RET.) 4 MAY 

68. 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
OROVILLE DAM 

(State of California Department of Water Resources Photo) 
ernment's contribution for flood control features of Oroville Dam and Reservoir, key unit 

of the State Water Project, the largest single 

water resource development program undertaken in the United States. Colonel Turner 

presented the check to the state at a ceremony 

attended by members of Congress and other 

high ranking officials. 

Early in 1962, President Kennedy approved 

the federal contribution to the project for 22 

percent of the actual construction cost of the 

dam. Based on an estimated cost of 

$300,398,000, the federal contribution 

amounted to $66,000,000. Annual payments 

were made throughout the construction phase. 

The main dam contract was awarded in August 1962, and closure accomplished five years 

later on 6 October 1967. The State of California 

sponsored dedication ceremonies for the project 

on 4 May 1968, and by the summer of 1968, all 

power units went on line. 

Oroville Dam is a massive rock and earthfill 

structure. In fact, the 770 foot high barrier is 

the highest dam of its kind in the country, and 

creates a 3,538,000 acre-foot reservoir which is 

used for flood control, irrigation, water supply 

and hydroelectric power generation. Located 

on the Feather River about four miles northeast of Oroville, the project has greatly reduced 

the danger of flooding to the towns of Oroville, 

Marysville, Yuba City, and many other 

smaller communities in the flood plain. 

Moreover, about 283,000 acres of highly developed agricultural land and vital highway and 

rail lines are protected as well. To those who 

remember the Christmas floods of 1955, the 

dam stands as a monument to victims of rivers 

gone mad. 

Camanche and New Exchequer: 

The Flood Control Act of 1960 authorized 

federal participation in a pair of multipurpose 

reservoirs within the Sacramento District. 

Camanche Dam and Reservoir is located on the 

Mokelumne River about twenty miles northeast of Stockton. The project was built and is 

operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility 

District. The barrier is a rockfill structure with 

an impervious earth core, 171 feet high, and 

266 

having a total crest length of 19,250 feet. The 

main dam, together with half a dozen dikes, 

creates a reservoir of 431,500 acre-feet which is 

used for flood control and domestic water supply and recreation. 

President Kennedy approved a federal contribution of more than $10 million for the project on 9 March 1962. Contracts were let and 

construction got underway in the spring of 

1962. Closure was achieved in November 1963, 

and the facility declared operationally complete in the spring of 1964. 

The residents of Lodi and Woodbridge can, 

since its completion, breathe easier with one 

less thing to worry about. During just one 

flood, that of December 1964, the project prevented damages amounting to $1,600,000. Unfortunately, it wa$n't in place sooner for, had it 

been built only a dozen years earlier, an estimated two million dollars in damages would 

have been prevented. 

New Exchequer Dam is unique in that the 

original gravity arch structure was incorporated into the upstream toe of the new dam. 

The project was built on the Merced River by 

the Merced Irrigation District just after its 

northern neighbor, Camanche, had been 

placed across the Mokelumne River. New Exchequer, a rockfill dam with a reinforced concrete upstream face, was started in 1964 and 

completed in 1966. 

Federal interest in the project, of course, is 

the flood protection the new facility provides. 

To cover the cost of the portion dedicated to 

this purpose, a contribution in excess of 

$10,500,000 was made by the government, 

about 38 percent of the cost of the dam. Flood 

control operation of the facility affords a substantial measure of protection to many towns 

and villages, and some 50,000 acres of land devoted to agricultural use within the Merced 

River flood plain. The project also helps meet 

the urgent need for additional irrigation water, 

while its powerplant generates hydroelectric 

power to light the farms and run the factories 

of the valley. 

The new dam has increased the size of the 

reservoir from 281,000 acre-feet to over a million acre-feet. And, to the benefits of irrigation 
BULLARDS BAR DAM - 5 JUNE 1968 

(Army Corps of Engineers Photo) 
water and power are added flood control and 

general recreation. The flood control portion of 

the new facility amounts to 400,000 acre-feet. 

New Bullards Bar: 

The most recent major partnership project 

completed within the perimeters of the Sacramento District is the New Bullards Bar Dam 

and Reservoir, located on the North Yuba 

River about thirty miles northeast of Marysville. Working in conjunction with the massive 

Oroville barrier, the two dams protect one of 

the most often flooded regions of the state. For 

almost a century, the Yuba country had suffered the consequences of man's carelessness. 

Not many years ago, even a moderate 

rainstorm would swell the debris-choked Yuba 

River to overflowing. Untold sums were spent 

on levees, but often the water-logged dikes 

would give way in the face of the raging river. 

The Flood Control Act of 1965 authorized 

federal participation in the construction of the 

New Bullards Bar project. Federal contributions to date have been in excess of $13 million. Constructed by the Yuba County Water 

Agency, the project consists of a 645 foot high 

concrete arch dam which creates a reservoir of 

930,000 acre-feet. In addition to flood control, 

the project stores water for irrigation, power 

generation, recreation, fish and wildlife conservation and related purposes. The reservation for flood control alone is 170,000 acre-feet. 

Regardless of who builds a project and who 

pays a portion of the costs for contracted services, the system of cooperation serves all the 

people and eliminates the duplication of 

facilities. Moreover, the public can be sure that 

everyone is paying his fair share for services 

rendered. Finally, it would be unreal to believe 

that there won't always be competition among 

governmental and private agencies for construction work. For that matter, people don't 

always agree on what should be built and who 

should pay for it. Nevertheless, by working together for the good of all concerned, good results are sure to transpire. 

PLANNING 

The Corps of Engineers never initiates an 

in vestig;:d-ic'i1 or a project, but only prepares 

268 

reports and constructs projects as directed by 

Congress. For example, let's assume for a moment that you reside in a community that is 

frequently inundated by a stream that passes 

through the area. Having suffered the ravages 

of floods long enough, you and your neighbors 

decide to do something about the situation. The 

local Congressman is called in to hear your 

complaints. He feels that your cause is just. 

Two courses of action are now open to him: He 

may request the Senate or House Committee 

on Public Works to authorize a review of any 

previous studies that are available to determine whether any modifications should be 

made to existing reports. If a review report is 

appropriate, a resolution will be adopted authorizing the Corps of Engineers to make the 

review. On the other hand, if no previous surveys have been done in your area, the Congressman may introduce a bill in Congress to 

authorize the desired investigation. If passed, 

the legislation becomes an authorization for 

the investigation. 

Once authorized, the Chief of Engineers assigns the work to the appropriate Division Engineer, who, in turn, directs the District Engineer to accomplish the task. Working closely 

with other federal, state and local agencies, 

personnel from the District begin the required 

engineering and economic investigations. Public meetings are held to determine the feelings 

of the local people as to the scope and type of 

project desired. After careful consideration of 

these views and the data prepared by professionals in the field, the District Engineer 

draws up a plan of improvements that he 

deems best suited to correct the problem. Estimates of benefits and costs are prepared, and 

the degree of local cooperation determined. Because some people of the communitv may fail 

to agree that the proposed plan is the be·st alternative, the District Engineer solicits opinions from all factions. Local acceptance and 

economic justification are prime ingredients in 

a favorable report by the District Engineer. 

I~ recent years, the possible effect upon the 

enVIronment has assumed a prominent position in the hierarchy values that ultimately 
BULLARDS BAR DAM - JUNE 1969 
determine whether or not a project will be constructed. Since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, the Corps is 

required to study all possible alternatives involved in a given project. Moreover, an Environmental Impact Statement must be prepared that examines the possible effects the 

work will have on environment. Once all of 

this has been completed, the entire plan of improvement is reviewed by the Division Engineer, Chief of Engineers, the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, the Secretary 

of the Army and the Bureau of the Budget. All 

the while, public notices keep interested parties informed so that they may make their feeling known and/or submit any new data. In addition, the House and Senate Committees on 

Public Works may decide to hold hearings on 

the plan with a view toward formulating legislation to authorize the improvement. Passage 

of the legislation constitutes authorization of 

the project, but does not authorize funds for the 

work to be done. Subsequent acts are necessary 

to provide money to get the job done. Assuming 

that your neighbors agree with you, and the 

work is authorized, it must be built in accordance with the authorizing acts and all other 

laws that are applicable, at a rate determined 

by the appropriation of funds. 

The Flood Control Act of 1970 provides us 

with two actual examples of projects that are 

presently in various stages of planning. The 

larger is the Cottonwood Creek Project located 

northwest of Red Bluff, California. The plan of 

improvement consists of a pair of multipurpose reservoirs to be constructed on the 

main stem and on the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek, mid-way between the cities of Red 

Bluff and Redding. The larger of the two, 

known as Dutch Gulch Dam would extend a 

little over four miles, attain a maximum 

height of 268 feet, and create a 1,100,000 acrefoot reservoir. The Tehama embankment, including both the main dam and a dike, would 

be more than six and a half miles long, reach a 

maximum height of 238 feet and hold back 

about 900,000 acre-feet of water. Together, the 

reservoirs would store about 2,000,000 acrefeet of pater for flood control, irrigation, 

270 

municipal and industrial water supply, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. Eight 

thousand acres of agricultural lands along Cottonwood Creek would be protected from floods. 

By reducing the flood flows of the Sacramento 

River, the dams would add materially to the 

protection of some 440,000 additional acres of 

farm and orchard lands in the Colusa and 

Butte Basins. The project also illustrates an 

example of Corps of Engineers cooperative efforts with local agencies in that part of the 

development is designed to provide municipal 

and industrial water supplies and new water 

for irrigation. 

The other project authorized by the 1970 

Flood Control Act involves the enlargement of 

four existing dams, the construction of three 

new reservoirs, and more than fifty-two miles 

of levee improvements in Merced and Mariposa 

Counties, California. Planning on a limited 

scale has been underway to enlarge Bear, 

Burns, Owens and Mariposa Dams, projects 

previously discussed. The new work being considered consists of constructing Castle Lake on 

Canal Creek, Haystack Mountain Dam on 

Black Rascal Creek, and Marguerite Dam on 

Deadman-Dutchman Creeks. When and if 

completed, these seven small projects will store 

126,700 acre-feet of water for flood control, irrigation and/or recreation. None of the work 

has been started to date, but preconstruction 

planning began in Fiscal Year 1973. Here, too, 

is an example of federal and local cooperation. 

For services received, local agencies will be required to pay a portion of the first costs and the 

annual expenses of the project. In addition, 

local interests will have definite responsibilities regarding the settling of claims for 

water rights pertaining to the establishment 

and use of a permanent pool for recreation and 

fish and wildlife purposes. 

Cottonwood Creek and the Merced County 

Streams Projects are, of course, only two of 

several examples that might be cited to illustrate the types of facilities currentl~· receiying 

consideration by the Sacramento District. 

Each is unique and must be considered in 

terms of the particular circumstances and 

needs of the area in which it is located. On the 
other hand, they are similar in that they share 

a common heritage of uniform procedures and 

precise studies prepared by men of unquestionable integrity, who are dedicated to protecting people as well as the environment. 

Obviously, water resource development 

planning is a highly complex business. The 

Sacramento District doesn't assume the entire 

responsibility. Coordination and cooperation 

with numerous other agencies is essential. 

Planning on a regional basis is coordinated 

with the six federal agencies and nine of the 

southwestern states of the Pacific Southwest 

Inter-Agency Committee on Water Resources. 

Meetings are held at regular times throughout 

the year so that each member agency can share 

its plans and coordinate its efforts with the 

other members. 

In California, the most significant coordination of water resource development planning is 

done by the California State-Federal InterAgency Group. This body is composed of representatives of the Corps of Engineers, the 

Bureau of Reclamation, the Soil Conservation 

Service, and the California Department of 

Water Resources. Often referred to as the 

"Four Agency Group," it meets quarterly to 

coordinate the projects of member agencies. 

Because people have for years "built their 

homes in the rivers," that is, on lands that are 

subject to periodic flooding, there is an urgent 

need for flood hazard data. So that flood-prone 

regions can be intelligently managed, the Sacramento District, at the request of the various 

states and other local agencies, has completed 

several flood plain studies within the civil 

works boundaries of the District. Hopefully, 

the finished studies, and those currently 

underway, will guide the development of flood 

plain areas so that future flood damages will be 

reduced. 

The Sacramento District, and the Corps in 

general, received authorization to prepare 

these studies through Section 206 of the 1960 

Flood Control Act and by the amendments 

made to the Act in 1966. Part A of the Section 

states: 

In recognition of the increasing use and 

development of the flood plains of the rivfor information on flood hazards to serYe 

as a guide to such development, and as a 

basis for avoiding future flood hazards by 

regulation of use by States and political 

sub-divisions thereof, and to assure that 

Federal departments and agencies may 

take proper cognizance of flood hazards, 

the Secretary of the Army. through the 

Chief of Engineers, is hereby authorized 

to compile and disseminate information 

on floods and flood damages, including 

identification of areas subject to inundation by floods of various magnitudes and 

frequencies, and general criteria for 

guidance of Federal and non-Federal interests and agencies in the use of flood 

plain areas; and to provide advice to other 

Federal agencies and local interests for 

their use in planning to ameliorate the 

flood hazards. Surveys and guides will be 

made for States and political subdivisions 

thereof only upon the request of a State or 

a political subdivision thereof, and upon 

approval by the Chief of Engineers, and 

such information and advice provided 

them only upon such request and approval. 

Once again we can see that the Corps of Engineers does not decide which projects (or 

areas) to study, but is restricted by the requests initiated by others. 

HYDROLOGIC 

ENGINEERING CENTER 

N ever satisfied with past accomplishments, 

the Corps of Engineers constantly seeks to improve its planning and engineering techniques 

and procedures. On Friday, 10 July 1964, Chief 

of Engineers Lieutenant General W.K. Wilson, 

Jr., announced the establishment of the Corps 

of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center 

at Sacramento. Colonel Robert Mathe, District 

Engineer, appointed Leo R. Beard, a nationally 

known hydrologic engineer on the staff of the 

Sacramento District, to head up the six man 

staff originally assigned to the Center. The decision to establish the Center resulted from 

three considerations: 

1. The need to accelerate the improve271 
ment of hydrologic engineering techniques, and to train engineers in more efficient applications of these techniques. 

The Center will serve as a pool of talent 

which can guide and supplement staff 

specialists in Corps' Division and District 

offices, and help train additional specialists. 

2. The need to take full advantage of 

modern computer techniques for simulating and studying water phenomena that 

may occur under differing sets of circumstances that must be accurately taken 

into account in planning, designing and 

operating systems offacilities for the control and utilization of streamflow. This 

includes factors such as forecasting 

streamflow, floods, the quantity and quality of water available at specified times 

and places, the effects of depletion of 

streamflow under various possible alternative situations of patterns of rainfall 

and snowmelt, or man-made influences 

affecting water, and the kinds, design and 

location of optimum water development 

facilities. 

3. The need to foster technological progress in hydrologic engineering through 

research, including better methods of 

computing flood and low-flow probabilities, improved techniques of evaluating and comparing the effects of potential 

developments and changes in river basins 

that would affect their water resource 

characteristics, etc. 

During its brief history, HEC has grown in 

size and in the scope of its mission. In the beginning, the Center inaugurated a program of 

adapting traditional hydrologic engineering 

techniques to computers, and of training and 

helping the new generation of Corps personnel 

in those traditional techniques. Over the years, 

efforts have been directed toward adapting the 

latest mathematical procedures, such as systems analysis and stochastic processes, to the 

increasingly complex problems encountered in 

the field. 

272 

In the early seventies, public concern for the 

preservation and enhancement of the country's 

natural resources has warranted a major reorientation of the Center's mission. Presently, 

additional emphasis is being placed on developing hydrologic engineering techniques necessary for evaluating the environmental effects of changes in water regimes. 

In light ofthis, much of the traditional training has been relegated to the universities, allowing the Center to concentrate its training in 

the newer areas such as stochastic hydrology, 

flood plain management, hydrologic systems 

analysis and water quality management. 

Moreover, the Center maintains an extensive program for the exchange of information 

with universities and other organizations in 

order to take advantage of advances made by 

others to avoid duplication of effort. Not only 

Corps personnel but representatives of other 

federal, state and private agencies attend formal courses to learn about such things as 

"Ground Water Hydrology," "River 

Hydraulics" and "Reservoir System Analysis." 

When it was established, HEC was located in 

the Federal Building at 650 Capitol Mall, Sacramento. In January of 1969, the Center was 

moved to Davis, near the campus and technical 

facilities of the University of California. By 

1971, the original staff of six had increased to 

twenty-six. In addition to its regular staff, 

eighteen personnel from various Corps offices, 

members of seven other federal agencies, eight 

universities and four private organizations 

gave lectures at the Center during Fiscal Year 

1971. That same year, fourteen foreign visitors, from India, Korea, Venezuela, Taiwan, 

Iran and Poland, came to the facility. Meanwhile, HEC members visited England, Brazil, 

Iran and Yugoslavia in official capacities. 

On 30 June 1972, the very able Leo R. Beard 

retired from the directorship of the Center 

after guiding the facility for more than eight 

years. George Weddell, Chief of Engineering 

Division, served as acting Director until 10 

September 1972, when Bill Eichert became the 

new Director of HEC. Prior to his elevation, 

Mr. Eichert served as Assistant Director and 

Chief, Training and Methods Branch, HEC. 
AUTOMATIC DATA 

PROCESSING CENTER 

An important planning facility used in the 

Sacramento District is the Automatic Data 

Processing Center. The ADP program has 

evolved over a period of some 17 years. The 

initial interest in the potential use of Automatic Data Processing in the Sacramento District 

originated, for the most part, in the Engineering Division during the mid-1950s. It was 

hoped that the use of computers would relieve 

engineers and technicians of burden so' me computations. Mter an extensive feasibility study 

utilizing contracted computer services, it was 

concluded that it would be advantageous to secure a computer to aid in the preparation of 

engineering-scientific type computations. In 

the spring of 1964, a small scale unit (IBM 

1620) was installed in the District office under 

the operational control of the Engineering Division. 

On 19 September 1965, the ADP Center was 

officially established as an element of the Advisory and Administrative Staff of the District. 

The establishment of the ADP Center was a 

result of an OCE directive on organization, 

recognizing a greater emphasis on the role of 

data processing in the Corps of Engineers. In 

May 1970, a larger computer was purchased 

and installed in theADP Center. The following 

month, the IBM 1620 was released. Future 

plans call for the replacement of the GE-225 

during 1978. 

PREVIEWS 

There can be no doubt that the nation's 

awakening interest in the environment has, 

and will continue to exert, a powerful impact 

upon future projects undertaken by the Corps 

of Engineers. Little does it matter whether the 

planning involves a massive framework study 

or survey for a small local project. Of prime 

consideration will be the possible effects upon 

the natural condition of the area. The delay in 

construction of the New Melones project is an 

excellent example of the pressures that can be 

brought to bear by even a small group of individuals. 

A recent example of the District's effort to 

enhance the local environment is the experimental planting of trees and shurbs on the 

waterside of levees at selected bank protection 

sites along the Sacramento River. Normally, 

trees tend to be a danger to the strength of 

levees because when they topple into the rivers, they leave a large hole in the bank which 

is easily eroded. 

Colonel Donovan stated that, "With our earlier experimental planting sites at Monument 

Bend and Elkhorn Ferry we've proved that it 

can be done, but the cost is quite high. That's 

because each tree and shrub there was individually planted. If we can get the same excellent results through seeding. we can apply the 

process to other denuded reaches of levees at a 

far more reasonable cost." 

The District's careful planning of the Cottonwood Creek reservoirs is yet another example of the increased awareness of environmental considerations. In a letter to General Fink 

in 1970, the conservation-minded Sierra Club 

declared that: 

. .. development provides very substantial 

benefits for flood control with a minimal 

impact on the anadromous fishery and 

other natural resources of the Cottonwood 

Basin. Contrary to the often held view of 

water developers and agricultural water 

users, the Sierra Club does not per se oppose all dams. Whenever, as in the present case of the Dutch Gulch and Tehama 

Dams, the flood control and water yield 

benefits outweigh minor encroachments 

on natural resources - then the Sierra 

Club can offer to support water development projects. 

Much of the District's present concern for 

environmental protection springs from those 

days of the late sixties when General Fink 

(then Colonel) was Sacramento District Engineer. In a speech to the Audubon Society on 

21 November 1969, he emphasized the role 

conservation groups could play in preauthorization planning of Corps projects. Reflecting the new spirit of cooperation between 

the Corps and conservation groups was an article in The Observer, a publication of the Sacramento Audubon Society, which noted the: 

273 
COLONEL JAMES C. DONOVAN, SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER -1970 -1973 

274 
· .. rapport developing between our Society and the . . . Corps has continued to 

expand with preliminary discussions regarding the Cache Creek Basin from 

Clear Lake through the Capay Valley to 

Woodland, and the Bear River drainage 

basin southeast of Marysville. We have 

been asked to review the ecological implications of proposed flood control projects. 

Not long after he was appointed Division 

Engineer, Pacific Ocean Division, General 

Fink was awarded the Second Oak Leaf Cluster to his Legion of Merit in ceremonies at Fort 

Armstrong, Honolulu, Hawaii. While making 

the presentation, General Clarke, Chief of Engineers, remarked: 

Learning to live with ecology and conservationists is vitally important to the 

Corps. Colonel Fink contributed immeasurably to the public's understanding 

and appreciation of the Corps' role in 

ecology while he was Sacramento District 

Engineer ... 

On a national scale, General Clarke established a six-member Environmental Advisory 

Board in the spring of 1970. In announcing the 

formation of the board, the General stated 

that, "The Corps has recently taken a number 

of positive steps in organization, staffing, research and policy toward taking environmental considerations formally and fully into account in our activities." He went on to stress 

the important contribution the board could 

make toward mutual understanding and confidence between the Corps and both the general 

public and the conservation community. 

In July 1970, OCE announced revisions to 

regulations pertaining to permits for work on 

navigable waterways. The changes required 

that greater emphasis be given to environmental values in evaluating permit applications. 

From that point on, evaluations would be 

based on such factors as conservation, aesthetics, water supply, flood damage prevention, 

fish and wildlife and "in general the needs and 

welfare of the people." The new directive reemphasized that the Corps was no longer concerned merely with the consequences to navigation. 

Recently, Russell E. Train, Chairman of the 

President's Council on Environmental Quality, 

complimented the Corps by stating, "I would 

like to express our pleasure at the progress 

made by the Corps of Engineers in its responsiveness to the environmental goals being fostered by the Council." 

Smog, urban sprawl, oil spills and a host of 

ill-conceived ventures have carried the "ecological crisis" into the awareness of most residents 

of the Sacramento District. Concerned legislators and citizens have responded by demands 

for clean air, pure water, and improvement in 

the quality of life in general. Some act from 

honest motives, while others cloak their selfish 

schemes in emotional but empty platitudes. 

There can be no doubt that industrial expansion, pollution and resource exploitation have 

extracted a heavy toll from the natural environment. In years past, the Corps of Engineers 

itself has been attacked and referred to as "The 

Diligent Destroyers." 

Historically, no other single group has done 

more for the cause of conservation than the 

Corps of Engineers. An excellent example of 

this was (and is) their control of hydraulic mining in California. While other selfish interests 

raped the landscape and spoiled the streams, 

the Corps effectively controlled the former and 

cleaned up the latter. Before and since, it has 

been in the forefront of efforts to expand public 

concern for the environment. It seems reasonable to assume that the philosophy developed 

over the years, and so extensively implemented to date, will continue in the future. 

Regardless of what the nature of new work, 

whether preventing floods, or planning urban 

renewal, the Corps in general and the Sacramento District specifically will not stray 

from the path nor fail to meet the high goals 

they have set for themselves. 

275 
COL()r~~L .' R.E1!)~RI{;K G. ROCKWELL, JR., SACRAMENTO DISTRICT ENGINEER, US 

ARMY COR"~ OF::<:NGJNEERS. 

276 
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Billington, Ray Allen Westward Expansion. New York: 

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Bosworth, Allan R. America's Concentration Camps, New 

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Caughey, John Walton. California. Englewood Cliffs 

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Cleland, Robert Class, From Wilderness to Empire. New 

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Cosmas, Graham A. An Army for Empire: The U.S. Army 

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Dana, Richard Henry. Two Years Before the Mast. New 

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DeVoto, Bernard. The Year of Decision, 1846, Boston: 

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Ellis, W.T. Memories, My Seventy-Two Years in the 

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Goetzmann, William H. Army Exploration in the American West, 1803-1863. New Haven: Yale University 

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Grabhorn, Jane, ed. Pioneers of Sacramento. San Francisco: The Colt Press, 1953. 

Graebner, Norman A. (ed.l The Cold War, Boston: D.C. 

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Hagwood, Joseph J. Jr. "From North Bloomfield to North 

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Historical Sketch of the Corps of Engineers U.S. Army. 

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Huntington, Samuel P. The Soldier and the State: The 

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Ingersoll, L.D. A History of the War Department of the 

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Jackson, William Turrentine. Wagon Roads West. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 

1952. 

Jewell, Harold W. "Development of Governmental Restraints on Hydraulic Mining In California" Unpublished Master's thesis, Sacramento State College, 

1955. 

Jewett, Henry C., "History of the Corps of Engineers to 

1915", The Military Engineer, XXXVIII, 1946. 

Johnson, Reuben J. "Water Resources Development in 

the South Pacific Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers." Southwest Builder and Contractor, May 

1966. 

Kelley, Robert L. Gold Vs. Grain (The Hydraulic Mining 

controversy in California's Sacramento Valley). Glendale, California: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1959. 

Lesley, Lewis B. Uncle Sam's Camels. The Journal of 

MH. Stacy Supplemented by the Report of Edward F. 

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Lewis, Oscar, The War in the West 1861-1865, Garden 

City, New York: Double Day and Company, 1961. 

Mather Armed Forces Directory Service (Pub.) San Francisco, California (N.D.). 

"Notes and Comments," Southwest Builder and Contractor, Vol. 100, December 18, 1942. 

Payne, Robert. The Canal Builders. New York: The 

Macmillan Company, 1959. 

Pomeroy, Earl. The Pacific Slope, New York: Alfred A. 

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Salitore, Edward, ed. California, Past, Present, Future. 

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Shannon, David A. Twentieth Century America, Chicago: 

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Shulman, Marshall D. Beyond the Cold War. New Haven 

and London: Yale University Press, 1966. 

279 
Snell, John L. (ed.) The Outbreak of the Second World 

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Southwest Builder and Contractor, December 18, 1942. 

Entire issue deals with reorganization of South Pacific 

(Pacific) Division for military purposes. 

Thompson, Paul W. The United States Army in War and 

Peace. New York: Putnam, 1937. 

Walters, RC.S. Dam Geology. Washington D.C.: Butterworth Inc., 1969. 

Weigley, Russell F. History of the United States Army. 

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967. 

Welcome to Beale Air Force Base. Riverside, California: 

National Military Publications (N.D.). 

Whitney, J.D. The Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra 

Nevada in California. Cambridge: John Wilson and 

Son., 1880. 

Newspapers 

Alta California. March 23, 1856. 

Deseret News. January 1947 through December 1952. 

Grass Valley Daily Morning Union. September 30,1876; 

February 8, 1893; June 23, 1893; June 20, 1895. 

Mining and Industrial News. November 15, 1939. 

Mining and Scientific Press. September 7, 1878; 

November 22, 1879; July 17, 1882; July 1, 1882; July 

29, 1882; July 26, 1884; November 29, 1884; September 1, 1883; March 7, 1885. 

Oakland Tribune. January 4, 1959. 

Sacramento Bee. January 1, 1929 through August 1, 

1945. 

Sacramento Union. January 1, 1878 through May 30, 

1883 - January 1, 1929 through August 1, 1945. 

The Salt Lake Tribune. January 1947 through December 

1953. 

Western Construction News. July 1938 through September 1942. 

Speeches 

"Activities of the Corps in the Colorado River Basin" by 

Brig. General A.H. Frye, Jr., Division Engineer, 

South Pacific Division, before the 19th Annual Meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association, 

Las Vegas, Nevada, December 6-7,1962. 

"Role of the Corps of Engineers in Western Water Development" by Lt. General E. C. Itschner, Chief of Engineers, at the National Reclamation Association, 

Bakersfield, California, November 16, 1960. 

"Space - A Challenge to the Military Engineer" by Brig. 

General Arthur H. Frye, Jr., Division Engineer, South 

Pacific Division, to Fort Ord Post, Society of American 

Military Engineers, 1962. 

"Statement of Objectives, Aims and Accomplishments of 

the Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee" by 

Brig. General William F. Cassidy, Division Engineer, 

before the 58-2 Meeting at Reno, Nevada, of the 

PSIAC, June 12, 1958. 

"The Army Engineers' Contributions to American Defense and Advancement" by Major General E.C. 

Itschner, Chief of Engineers, at Annual Dinner of 

Washington Newcomer Society, Washington, D.C., 

April 3. 1959. 

280 

"Too Late to Save Our National Water Resources?" by 

Major General E.C. Itschner, Chief of Engineers, before the Ohio Natural Resources Conferences, Columbus, Ohio, January 16, 1957. 

"Water Planning by the State" by Brig. General William 

F. Cassidy, Division Engineer, South Pacific Division, before the National Reclamation Association, 

Phoenix, Arizona, November 8, 1957. 

Letters to the Author From: (Date Received) 

1. Barsdale, Ray (retired SPK) December 1971 

2. Coombs, James (retired SPK) December 1971 

3. English, Claude (retired SPK) March/April 1972 

4. Gomez, Amalio (retired SPK) January 1972 

5. Gorman, Clyde (retired SPK) December 1971 

6. Hazzard, Virgil W. - Deputy Base Civil EngineerTravis A.F.E., Calif. August 1971 

7. Morley, Robert (Retired SPK) February 1972 

8. Morton, Marion (Retired SPK) March 1972 

9. Thompson, Ronald (Retired SPK) December 1971 

10. Rich, Henry (Retired SPK) February 1972 

11. Waddock, Frank L. (Retired SPK) December 1971 

Interviews: 

Employees of the Sacramento District: U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers. 

1. Aicklen, Roan - Chief, Technical Engineering 

Branch 

2. Donovan, Colonel James C. - District Engineer, 

October 1970 - July 1973. 

3. Fink, Colonel George B. - District Engineer, January 1969 - October 1970. 

4. Greenstein, Carl - Chief, Public Affairs Office. 

5. Guthrie, Patrick - Chief, Geology and Concrete 

Section. 

6. Henson, Lynn E. - Chief, Operations Branch. 

7. Johnson, Oscar - Chief, Budget and Report Section, Military Design Branch. 

8. Mathews, John - Chief, Management Branch. 

9. Probasco, G.W. - Chief, Construction-Operations 

Division. 

10. Rivera, George - Chief. Office of Administrative 

Services. 

11. Ross, Jack - Chief, Planning and Control Branch. 

12. Simmons, Robert - Outdoor Recreation Planner. 

13. Weddell, George - Chief, Engineering Division. 

Sacramento District Personnel: Retired 

1. English, Claude 

2. Gomez, Amalio 

3. Gorman, Clyde 

4. Hart, O. Haven 

5. Kahiona, Sam 

6. Kochis, Frank 

7. McGee, Henderson 

8. Rich, Henry 

Other: 

Davis, William N. - California State Archi. ,'8 Office. 
Abbott, Lieutenant H.L.: 4 

Ables, J.H.: 117 

Abraham, Relocation Center at: 65 

Acheson, Dean: 83 

Ackerman, Major A.B.: 46 

Acts of Congress: 

o£1882 - 109; 

of1889 -109; 

of 1893 - 45; 

of 1894 - 109; 

of 1899 - 109; 

of 1912 - 109; 

of 1927 - 109; 

of1935 -109; 

of 1940 -109; 

of 1944 -194 

Adams, Don: XI 

Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA): 96 

Agriculture, Department of: 38 

Aicklen, Roan: XI, 101, 260 

Air Force: 88, 89, 92, 102 

Air Research and Development Command: 91 

Air Transport Command: 68 

Alaskan Earthquake: 104 

Alcatraz: 2 

Alexander, Barton: 136 

Alice: 11 

Allen Auxiliary Field: 71 

Almaden AFS: 96, 98 

American River: 36, 44, 45, 48, 50, 148, 149, 152, 

158,197,198 

Anders, William: 96 

Andrus-Brannan Island: 212 

Angel Island: 2 

Ansell, Marcella: 46 

Antiaircraft missile program: 88 

Armed Forces missile program: 89 

Armons Research Foundation: 77 

Armstrong, Neil: 96, 97 

Army Air Corps: 62, 63, 65, 71, 72, 76 

Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM): 101 

Arnold, General Henry H. (Hap): 68,72 

Arzig, Ada A: 46 

Asay, Laura: XI 

Athena missile: 251 

Athlone Auxiliary Field: 71 

Atlas: 21 

Auburn, City of: 50 

Auburn, hospital at: 68 

Audubon Society: 273 

Automatic Data Processing Center (ADP): 273 

Automatic Teletypewriter Switching Center: 92, 94 

Bache, Major Hartman: 5 

Bakarich, Michael: 234 

Bakersfield, City of: 144 

Ballico Auxiliary Field: 71 

INDEX 

Balmat, HaroldJ.: 219, 220 

Balsam, Arthur M.: 46 

barge canal lock: 118 

Barrish, Jack: 40 

Barsdale, Ray: XI 

Barton, AM.: 54,57 

Barz, Harry: 228 

Bates, John A: 46 

Battle of Bunker Hill: V 

Battle of the Bulge: 132 

Beale AFB: 89, 91, 99, 101 

Beale, Edward Fitzgerald: 88 

Bear: 21,22 

Bear Creek Project: 40 

Bear Dam and Reservoir: 161,270 

Beard, Leo R.: 271, 272 

Bear River: 48, 50 

Bedwell, Lynn A: 82 

Behrens, Carl A.: 46, 82 

Beinhauer, William: 82 

Benefit-Cost Ratio: 38, 152 

Benicia: 4 

Benicia Arsenal: 86, 96 

Bennett, Helen: XI 

Bennett, Paul: 82 

Bercut-Richards Warehouse: 67 

Berkeley, University of California at: 40 

Big Dry Creek Dam: 40, 194, 197 

Biggs, Congressman: 9 

Black Bart: 228 

Blackburn, Earl: 128 

Blackburn, Robert: 128 

Black Butte Dam: 40, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182,255 

Blackmer, Edward W.: 46, 82 

Blount, Winton: 258 

"Bluelight": 101 

Borman, Frank: 96 

Brinley Building: X 

Brown, F.R.: 117 

Brown, Ralph B.: 82 

Browne, Ross E.: 45 

Brule, Elmo A: 46, 82, 157, 158 

Bryte Yard: X 

Buchanan Dam: 219, 220, 222, 223 

Buckeye Hill: 7 

Buckhorn Wash, Utah: 83 

Bueler, Josephine: 46 

Bullards Bar Dam: 267, 269 

Bulls Head Point Shoal: 38 

Bums Dam: 161, 163,270 

Bushnell, Utah, hospital at: 76 

Byron Hot Springs, interrogation center at: 68 

Cache Slough: 19 

Calaveras: 55 

Calaveras River: 182, 186,205 

California Debris Commission: IX, 11, 18, 19,23,26, 

45,48,50,128 

281 
California Department of Water Resources: 271 

California Disaster Office: 91 

California Fruit Building: IX 

California State-Federal Inter-Agency Group: 271 

California, State of: 23, 26, 32, 52, 118, 136, 144, 

152,182,194,197,261,265,266 

Calvin, Bill: 129 

Camanche Dam: 266 

Caminetti Act: 9,11,48 

Camp Beale: 66, 88 

Campbell Auxiliary Field: 71 

Camp Kohler: 65, 67 

Camp Roberts: 99 

Camp Stoneman: 65, 66 

Cape Canaveral (Kennedy): 92 

Capital: 11 

Card, Creed B.: 101, 250 

Carlton, Colonel Paul: 89 

Carnahan, Bert R: 82 

Carnegie Institute of Technology: 83 

Carson, Jim: 228 

Cash, Johnny: 148 

Cassidy, Major General William: 178 

Cassidy, W.C.: 117 

Castle AFB: 98 

castle gauges: 216 

Castle, Glenn H.: 102,216 

Castle Lake: 270 

Central Sierra Snow Laboratory: 216 

Central Valley Project: IX, 31, 32, 33, 49, 136, 152, 

224,236,261,262 

Chabot, Anthony: 7 

Chambers, Lieutenant Colonel L.B.: 40, 42, 46,54, 

57,144 

Cherry Valley Reservoir: 261 

Chico Army Air Field: 71,118 

Chowchilla River: 220 

Christian, Francis G.: 46, 82 

Choate, James F.: 82 

Christy, Bill: 113 

Churchill, Winston S.: 46 

Civil Defense: 104 

Civil War: 2, 5 

Clark, Bill: 118 

Clark, Colonel: 71 

Clarke, Major General Frederick J.: 258, 264, 275 

Clunie Hotel: VII, IX, 19 

Codd, Ashton R: 46 

Coffey, Walter M.: 32,49 

Coleman, Jessie: 46 

Collins, Michael: 96 

Colonna, Lieutenant Colonel John: 72 

Colorado School of Mines: 77 

Colwell, Ira J.: 46 

Concord Army Air Field: 71 

Continental Congress: VI 

Continental railroad: 2 

Cook, Robert: 40 

Coombs, James: VII, XI, 64, 77 

282 

Cordano, Chester: 46 

Cordeman, Major General: 92 

Corps of Engineers Ballistic Missile Construction 

Office (CEBMCO): 92, 94 

Cottonwood Creek Dam: 270, 273 

Cox, Liske, Lionakis & Beaumont: 107 

Crofts, AA: 46 

Curry, Congressman Charles: 26, 53 

Daguerre Point Dam: 15 

Dahneke, Erwin G.: 46, 82 

Daily Pacific Builder, The: 258 

Daniels, William R: 46, 82 

Darby, Frank A: 82 

Daveler, Walter J.: 82 

Davidson, George: 136 

Davis, Jefferson: 5 

Deakyne, Colonel: 31,32 

Defense Depot Ogden: 99 

Defense Depot Tracy: 98, 99 

Deitrick, Colonel Carroll H.: 67 

De Lancey, Colonel Raymond W.: 264 

Delano Army Airdrome: 71 

Dell Creek: 244 

Delta: 21 

Delta King: 66 

Delta Queen: 66 

Dennis, Sam and Edward: 220 

Denver University: 77 

Deseret Depot: 76 

Dewante, Randolph: 40 

Dewey, Admiral: 6 

DeWitt, Lieutenant General John L.: 64 

Dillard, General John: 239, 249 

District office: IX; first - VII; first official- IX· 

Sacramento - VII ' 

Doc Savage: 41 

Dog Bar Dam: 50 

Donnelly, Walter V.: 82 

Donovan, Colonel James C.: XI. 108, 129,200,212. 

219,220,222,224,232,233,273,274 

Donovan, Michael J.: 46, 82 

Doolittle, Lieutenant Colonel James H.: 70 

Doughty Cut: 41 

Douglass, Robert B.: 82 

Douer: 38 

Downey, Senator: 152 

Doyle, town of: 67 

Doyle, William: 40, 102, 186 

Dravo Corporation: 234 

Drinkwater, Captain J.G.: 33, 36, 52. 115 

Dudley, Arthur: 68 

Dudley, DeWitt A: 46 

Dugway Proving Ground - Utah: 75, 76 83 94 l)~ 99 ' , "c. 

Dunlap Auxiliar:v Field: 71 

Dutch Gulch Dam: 270 

Eastman, Judge H.V.: 214, 219, 220, ::,_),~ 
Edmonds, Kate: 161 

Egenhoff, Rowland L.: 46, 82 

Eichert, Bill: 272 

81st and 96th Infantry Division: 67 

Eisenhower, President Dwight: 172 

El Cerrito: 94 

Ellmaker, Harlan D.: 46, 82 

Elmes, Kenneth C.: 82 

Ely, Colonel William L.: 87,160,212,216 

Ely, Strode L.: 46 

Emergency Work: 205 

Emerson, Lieutenant Colonel T.H.: 30, 35 

Empire Cut: 41 

Engineering Research Associates of Arlington 

Virginia: 77 

Engle, Senator Clair: 120, 152, 158 

Englebright, Congressman Harry: 48, 50 

English, Claude A.J. ("Jack"): XI, 64, 73, 89, 92, 93, 

104 

"Enola Gay": 132 

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF): 232, 234 

Ephrata, Washington: 73,74 

Etcheverry, Professor B.A.: 40 

Ethington, Robin Darlene: 128 

Eureka: 94 

Executive Order No. 9066: 64 

Fabian-Bell Canal: 41 

Fader, Fred: 91 

Fairchild AFB: 108 

Fairfield: 94 

Fairfield-Suisun Airport: 71, 76 

Fall, M.: 35 

Fallout Shelter: 99 

Farley, Milton: 46, 82 

Farmington Dam: 40, 164, 165, 166 

Farrell, William: 102 

Fat's, Frank: X 

Feather River Project: 11,27, 115,266 

Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse: X 

Federal Power Commission: 27, 261 

Federal Water Project Recreation Act: 252 

Fink, General George B.: XI, 104,209,259,273,275 

Fisher, Opal E.: 46 

Flood Control Act: 

of1917 - 26; 

of June 22,1936 - 38, 40, 41,136,144,152,172, 

242; 

of1941 197; 

of 1944 -132,136,145,152,172,178,191,228, 

242,252,261; 

of1946 - 242; 

of 1954 -197; 

of1960-200,205,228,266,271; 

of1962 -190, 220; 

of 1970 - 270 

floods of: 

1861-62 - 23,125,172; 

1875 - 125, 172; 

1879 -172; 

1905 -172; 

1955-128,160,163,178,194,197,205,212,236, 

261,266; 

1958 - 194,205,261: 

1963 -160; 

1964 - 160, 194,236,261; 

1966 - 145, 175, 194; 

1969 - 146, 17.3 

Folsom, Captain Joseph: 148 

Folsom Dam: 32, 40, 94,118,147,148,149,150,152, 

153,155,156,158,160,161,170,197 

"Folsom Formula": 152 

Fomosa Auxiliary Field: 71 

Foote, A.D.: 17 

Fort Armstrong: 275 

Fort Baker: 96 

Fort Barry: 96 

Fort Douglas: 76 

Fort Huachuca: 99 

Fort Lawton: 108 

Fort Lewis: 99, 108 

Fort Mason: 2, 96 

FortOrd:96,98,99,104,251 

Fort Point: 2 

Fort Winfield Scott: 2 

Foster, Irving R.: 82 

Four Agency Group: 271 

Fourth Air Force: 73,74 

Fourth Air Service Air Command: 71 

Frank, Claire: 46 

Franklin Auxiliary Field: 71 

Franks Tract: 212 

Fraser, James B.: 82 

Fremont Channel: 20 

Fremont, Lieutenant John C.: 1, 144, 145, 170,220, 

239 

Fresno, Army induction station at: 68 

Fresno River: 220, 224 

Fresno Veterans Hospital: 104 

Frey, Frank E.: 23, 24 

Friant Dam: 33,194 

Frye, Brigadier General Arthur: 182 

Gallaway, A.R.: 54 

Garcia Bend: 205 

Gardner Field: 71 

Geandrot, Alfred: 40 

Gerdin, Louis: 224 

Gerhart, William B.: 82 

Gilbert, Karl Grove: 45 

Gillis brothers: 228 

Gleason Creek: 246, 248 

gold mining: 6 

Golden Gate National Cemetery: 96, 99 

Goldsmith, William: 46 

Gomez, Amalio: X, XI, 40, 186 

Goodall, G.E.: 46 

Gordon, Rose: 46 

283 
Gorlinski, Colonel Joseph S.: X, 81, 82, 83,142,149, 

152 

Gorman, Clyde: XI, 186 

Grace, Lieutenant Colonel: 160 

Graham, General Jackson: 186 

Granite Peak: 76 

Grant (Division Engineer): X 

Grant Line Canal: 41 

Grant, President Ulysses S.: 136 

Grant Report: 26 

Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce: 182 

Great Basin: 239 

Greene, Curtis: 46, 82 

Green River, Utah: 98 

Greenstein, Carl: XI, 186 

Gridley, Major General Richard: V 

Griffin, Ralph G.: 82 

Grunsky, C.E.: 52 

Gum Tree Station: 128 

Guthrie, Pat: XI 

Guy F. Atkinson: 234 

Halleck, Lieutenant H.W.: 1 

Hamilton AFB: 96, 98 

Hamilton, Mr. (Saloonkeeper): 145 

Hammer Field Army Air Base: 71 

Hance, John: 228 

Harbor prince: 120 

Harris, Major W.E.: 46, 50 

Harrison, President William Henry: 9 

Harrold, J.C.: 117 

Harry L. Englebright Dam: 43,50,257 

Hart, Orville Haven: X, XI, 46, 68, 82, 160,208 

Haug, Colonel C.C.: 85 

Haystack Mountain Dam: 270 

Helen Hensley: 11 

Helm Auxiliary Field: 71 

Hensley, Major John: 220 

Henson, Lynn: XI 

Hercules: 21 

Heyenbruch, William: 102 

Hidden Dam: 220, 224 

Hill AFB: 94, 98, 99, 106, 244 

Hill Air Force Range: 98 

Hill, Major Bruce: 40 

Hiroshima: 76 

Hogan, Walter: 182, 186 

Hogback Island: 200, 204 

Holy, H.H.: 170 

Honey Lake Valley: 67 

Hoover, Ora S.: 46 

Hoover, President Herbert E.: 59 

"Hornet," Aircraft Carrier: 70 

Horton, Donald: 160 

Houde, Les: XI 

House Document 308: 27, 38 

House Document 630, 76th Congress: 136 

Howe, General: V 

Hribernik .. hllir.: 211 

284 

Hudgens, E.W.: 128 

Humboldt River: 248 

Humboldt Valley: 1 

Hunter, Colonel Robert C.: X, 61, 63, 72, 73, 74 

Hunter Liggett Military Reservation: 98,99,251 

Hunt, Wanda: XI 

Huron Auxiliary Field: 71 

Hyatt, Edward: 54, 152 

hydraulic mining: 7, 9,11,32,44,45,50,109,275 

Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC): 271, 272 

Ickes, Harold L.: 33, 136 

Iland, Jo: 67 

Indian Auxiliary Field: 71 

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM): 92, 101, 

102 

Isabella Dam: 40,140,141,144,145,146,161,166, 

175,216,253,254 

Isleton: 129,212 

Jackson, Colonel Thomas H.: X, 19,50,52-54,57-59, 

120,200 

"Jackson Report": 19,20 

Jacobson, Lee: 252 

Japanese Americans: 64, 239 

Japanese induction center: 65 

John F. Baldwin Ship Channel: 120 

Johns, Colonel Dwight: 137, 142, 149 

Johnson, Congressman Harold T. (Bizz): 203,219, 

220,233 

Johnson, Horace: 160 

Johnson, Oscar: XI 

Johnson, Senator Hiram: 52,68 

Jones, Percy L.: 82 

Jordan River: 241,242,244,245 

Judah, Theodore: 148 

Julia: 11 

Kahiona, Sam: XI, 35, 38, 39, 66 

Kanzler, Ellsworth: 91 

Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District: 172 

Kaweah River: 166, 170, 175 

Kennedy, President John F.: 96, 98, 266 

Kern Auxiliary Field: 71 

Kern, Edward M.: 145 

Kern River: 141, 142, 144, 145, 166, 172,216 

Kernville: 145 

Keys, Richard: 145 

Kingman, Colonel John J.: 57 

Kingsbury Auxiliary Field: 71 

Kings River: 132, 135, 136, 137, 140, 166, 172,216 

Kirkwood Auxiliarv Field: 71 

Klamath: 96 . 

Knight, Governor Goodwin: 92, 158 

Kochis, Frank: X, XI, 117 

Korean conflict: 86, 118, 161, 186, 191 

Kroh, James H. Jr.: 46, 82 

Kuchel, Senator Thomas: 120, 158 

Kull, Arden: 91 
Lacey, Lesley D.: 46 

Laguna Seca Road Racing Course: 250, 251 

Lake Clementine: 50 

Lake Kaweah: 171, 172 

Lake Washington: 115 

Land: 250 

Lane, E.W.: IX 

Latham Slough: 41 

Lathrop Army Service Forces Depot: 67 

Lathrop Engineer Depot: 67 

Lathrop Holding and Reconsignment Depot: 67 

Lee, Arnold: 186 

Le Fohn, Marv: XI 

Leidsdorff, William Alexander: 148 

Lein, Olaf: 91 

Leisure: 252 

Lemoore Army Air Field: 71 

Leslie, Stanley: 82 

Letterman General Hospital: 99, 101, 103, 104, 105 

Letters: 256 

Lewis and Clark: 239 

Lime Point: 2 

Lincoln Auxiliary Field: 71 

Lint, William E.: 35, 82 

Lippmann, Walter: 64 

Livermore, H.G.: 152 

Live Oak: 200, 205 

Little Dell Dam and Lake: 244 

Little Rock Hospital: 96 

Little Valley Wash: 242 

Llopis, Victoriano A.: 46, 82 

Lockheed SR-71: 100, 101 

Loop, Lieutenant Colonel: 117 

Los Angeles County Flood Control Project: 57 

Lower San Joaquin River and Tributaries Project: 

40 

Lucas, Walter: 209 

Lundquist, Roy E.: 46 

Lynd, Major General: 73, 74 

Lyons, Edward: 102 

McArthur, Maurine: 46 

McCall, Dr.: 161 

McChord AFB: 108 

McClatchy Building: X 

McClaughry, Mayor Samuel L.: 219 

McClellan AFB: 65, 68, 69, 70, 72, 76, 86, 91, 98, 99, 

252 

McCollam, Colonel Albert E.: 90,172 

McConnachrie, Donald G.: 82 

McCormick, John W.: 82 

McFall, Congressman John J.: 186 

McGee, Henderson: X, XI, 32, 46, 72, 77, 82, 83 

McGregor, Francis W.: 77, 249 

McKim: 109 

McKinsey, Ellis: 129 

McLeod Lake: 20 

McPhee, Mayor Betty: 249 

McQueen, Paul: 211 

Macaraig, Domingo T.: 82 

MacArthur, General Douglas: 72,86 

MacDonnell, Brigadier General Robert G.: 118, 172, 

178,182 

Madera: 96 

Maidu: 109 

Malakoff Diggings: 10 

Mallon, Devere: 178 

Malmstrom AFB: 108 

Mann, Elsie M.: 46, 82 

Mann, Horace: 46, 82 

Manzanar, Relocation Center at: 65 

Mare Island Strait Project: 120 

Marguerite Dam: 270 

Mariposa Auxiliary Field: 71 

Mariposa Dam: 161, 162, 163, 270 

Markham, General E.B.: 54, 57, 59 

Marks, Colonel E.H.: 137 

Marshall, General George C.: 68 

Marshall, James: 6,109,148,224 

Marshall, Robert B.: 32 

Martis Creek Dam: 190, 191 

Marx, Charles: 170 

Marysville Army Air Field: 71 

Marysville, city of: 50 

Marys River: 248 

Mathe, Colonel Robert E.: X, 186,210,228,271 

Mather AFB: 68, 71, 72, 76, 86, 91, 98, 99,101,104, 

106,107 

Matheson, MajorJ.R.D.: 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 

Mathews, John: XI 

Maxwell, Katherine A.: 46, 82 

Mead, Dr. Elwood: 33 

Mehrten, Dave: 170 

Mendell, Colonel C.H.: 11 

Mendell, George: 136 

Mentell, Captain Robert: 224 

Merced Army Air Field: 71 

Merced Auxiliary Field: 71, 76 

Merced County Stream Group Project: 40, 161,270 

Merced Irrigation District: 266 

Merced Municipal Field: 71 

Merced River: 194, 266 

Merrill, O.C.: 27 

Merritt, Ralph L.: 46 

Metcalf, Edward V.: 46, 82 

Middle Creek Improvement Project: 200 

Middle River: 41, 115 

Middletown Radar Station: 99 

Miles, Ollie: 145 

Mill, E.C.: 140 

Mill Valley AFS: 96 

Minter Field: 71 

Minuteman II Engineering Test Facility at Hill 

AFB: 101 

missile research and development programs: 88 

missile silos: 91 

Mississippi River Commission: 57 

"Missouri," Battleship: 132 

285 
Modesto: 96 

Modesto Auxiliary Field: 71 

Modesto, hospital at: 68 

Mokelumne River: 266 

Mollison, George S.: 82 

Monson, Richard F.: 82 

Monterey: 1 

Moreton, Harold: 102 

Morley, Robert R: VI, XI, 82 

Mormon Slough Project: 205 

Morrison-Knudsen: 77 

Morris, Colonel Howard A.: 91, 178, 181,202 

Morris, Thomas B.: 82 

Morton, Joyal R: 82 

Morton, Marion: VII, XI, 63 

"Mose Andross": 175 

Moses, Justin: 228 

Moss, Congressman John: 120, 158 

Mountain Dell Reservoir: 244 

Mountain Home: 108 

Mulligan, Billy: 224 

Mull, Lee: XI 

Murphy, T.E.: 117 

Murray Auxiliary Field: 71 

Murray, Congressman: 158 

Murray, Franklin W.: 46 

Myers, Ansel J.: 186,203 

Nagasaki: 76 

Naiole, Sam: 35 

Nascimiento, Manuel F.: 82 

National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA): 96 

National Environmental Policy Act: 270 

Natoma Company: 148 

Navajo Indians: 251 

Nelson, Joe: 91, 95, 96, 233 

Nelson, Julius: 82 

New Bullards Bar Dam: 267, 268, 269 

New Don Pedro Dam: 261, 263 

New Exchequer Dam: 266 

New Hogan Dam: 40,182,183,185,187,205,254 

New Jerusalem Auxiliary Field: 71 

Newman, Jack L.: 46 

New Melones Dam: 40, 224-236, 238, 273 

Newton, Eskdale: 46 

New World: 11 

Nicolaus Building: IX 

Nike: 88, 101 

Nike Ajax: 88 

Nike Hercules: 88 

Nike sites: 98 

Nike Zeus: 88 

Nixon, President Richard M.: 102 

Norboe, Paul M.: 52 

Norris, Frank: 175 

North Fork Dam: 44, 50 

North Yuba River: 268 

Np;v" }1tl v etic>: 1f)9 

286 

Oakland Army Base: 96, 98 

Observer, The: 273 

Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP): 212 

Ogden Arsenal: 76 

Oildale Army Airdrome: 71 

Old River: 41, 115 

Olsen, Olaf 0.: 82 

Omnibus Bill of 1956: 172 

"Operation Splash": 212 

Orland Auxiliary Field: 71 

Oroville Army Air Field: 71 

Oroville Dam: 32, 261, 264, 265, 266 

Oulicky, Mildred: XI 

Owens Dam: 161,270 

Pacific Coast Board of Engineers: 1 

Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Committee on 

Water Resources: 271 

Pacific Wagon Road Office: 5 

Panttaja, Toivo: 40 

"Papoose": 114 

Parker Auxiliary Field: 71 

Parker reservoir: 32 

Partnership Projects: 261 

Patton, General George: 67, 132 

Pearl Harbor: 41,59,62,63,68, 70, 72,106,131 

Pennell, James A.: 82 

Perini Corporation: 191,224 

Perry, Commodore: 132 

Pershing missile: 251 

Peter Kiewit Sons' Company: 91 

Peterson, H.F.: 117 

Philco Corporation: 216 

Pick, Colonel Lewis A. Jr.: 264 

Pieretti, Frank: 104 

Pillsbury, Brigadier General George B.: 54, 57 

Pine Flat Dam: 40, 132-140, 161, 166, 175,216 

Pioneer No.2: 11 

Pittsburg, detention camp at: 68 

Planning: 268 

Plath, H.O.: 83 

Plaza Building: IX 

Plummer, Alice: 46 

Plunkett, Benjamin R: 46 

Point Arena: 96 

Pond Auxiliary Field: 71 

Porter, James: 72 

Porterville Army Air Field: 71 

Port of Sacramento: 120, 122 

Port of Stockton: 13 

Postal Reorganization Act: 256 

Postal Service: 256, 258, 260 

Postmaster General: 5 

Post Office Building: IX. 63 

Powell, Major John Weslev: 248 

Presidio of Monterey: 96,98,99 

Presidio of San Francisco: 96, 98, 99 

Prince, Harry J.: 46 
Probasco, G.W. (Bud): XI, 91 

profiling snow gauge: 216 

Public Law No.: 

356 -152; 

409 - 38, 90, 244; 

483 - 91; 

606 - 99,206,212 

Public Works Advisory Committee on Allotments: 

33 

Putah: 110 

Quartermaster Corps: 6, 62, 63, 68 

Raezler, August E.: 82 

Rampton, Governor Calvin: 101 

Rand Construction Company: 145 

Reclamation, Bureau of: IX, 32, 33, 136, 152, 186, 

197,224,261,262,271 . 

Reclamation District No. 17, Dec. 1950: 193 

Red Bluff AFS: 98 

Redding Army Air Field: 71 

Renfrew, Judge Charles B.: 234 

Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute: 77 

Reno Army Air Field: 63 

Revson, Peter: 251 

Rhodes, Colonel Lester F.: 78, 137 

Ricci, George F.: 46, 82 

Rice, ~. William H.: 46 

Rice, William H.: 46 

Rich, Henry M.: IX, XI, 27, 28, 46, 48, 63, 66, 82 

Richmond Harbor Project: 120 

Rio Vista: 19, 23, 96 

Rio Vista bridge: 118 

Rivera, George: XI 

River and Harbor Act: 

of1875 - 109; 

of1919 - 38; 

of 1927 - 27, 38, 40; 

of1930 -38; 

of1935 - 33, 37, 38, 50; 

of1946-115 

Riverside Hotel, Reno: 189 

Robertson, Robert: 46 

Robidou, Antoine: 248 

Robinson, Harold: 91 

Rockwell Air Depot: 68 

Rockwell, Colonel Frederick G.: I, 276 

Roderick (Secretary of Army): 158 

Ronayne, John: 209 

Roosevelt, Colonel Theodore: 6 

Roosevelt, President Franklin D.: 33, 59, 64, 136 

Rose, James L.: 149 

Ross, Jack: XI 

Royce, Josiah: 175 

Ruck-A-Chucky Dam: 48 

Sacramento: 19,21,23,66 

Sacramento Air Depot <McClellan AFB): 68, 70, 71 

Sacramento, Army induction station at: 68 

Sacramento Bank Protection Project: 200 

Sacramento Bee: 52, 53, 57, 130 

Sacramento Bypass: 194 

Sacramento Chamber of Commerce: 50 52 53 57 115 ' , , , 

Sacramento City Council: 52 

Sacramento, city of: VII, 115, 160 

Sacramento County: 99 

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors: 52 

Sacramento deep water ship channel: 45,52, 114, 

115,116,118,119,121 

Sacramento Engineer District: IX 

Sacramento Flood Control Project: 57 

Sacramento ~unicipal Airport: 71 

Sacramento River: VII, 11, 26, 31, 37,51, 192 

Sacramento River and :\lajor and Minor Tributaries 

Project: 40, 191 

Sacramento River Bank Protection Project: 203 

Sacramento River Debris Control Project: 50 

Sacramento River Flood Control Project: 18,27,33 

63,200,208 ' 

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: 31 

Sacramento-San Joaquin River Flood Control 

Project: 57 

Sacramento (Army) Signal Depot: X. 67, 99 

Sacramento Test Facilitv: 96 

Sacramento Union: 57 . 

Sacramento Vallev: 4 

Sacramento Weir:'26, 192 

Sacramento-Yolo Port District: 118 

Safeguard: 102 

Saline water, intrusion of: 31 

Salt Lake: 1 

Salt Lake City: 94 

Salt Lake City Army Air Base: 76 

Salt Lake City District: 76 

Samuel, Myer: 46 

San Francisco: 1 

San Francisco Bay, Model of: 218, 220 

San Francisco Defense Area: 96, 98 

San Francisco Engineer District: IX 

San Francisco, First District: 6 

San Francisco, Second District: 6, 20, 26, 27 

San Francisco, Third District: 20 

San Francisco Harbor Project: 120 

San Francisco National Cemetery: 96 

San Joaquin: 19,21,23,66 

San Joaquin River: 11,31,41,51 

San Joaquin River Deep Water ~ avigation Channel 

to Stockton: 18 

San Joaquin River-Stockton Channel navigation 

project: 115, 120 

San Joaquin River-Stockton Deep Water Channel 

Project: 36 

San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta: 41 

San Joaquin Valley: 1,4,31 

San Jose: 94 

San Pablo Bay Project: 120 

287 
Santa Cruz: 94 

Santa Rosa: 94 

SaturnS-IV-B: 96 

Sauer, Colonel Robert: 101 

Savage, Major Jim: 220 

Sawyer Decision: 9, 125 

Scampini Building: X 

Schulman, Victor: 102 

Seal Island: 38 

Seaman, A.J.: 181 

Seattle Defense Area: 108 

Section 14,1946 Flood Control Act: 206 

Section 208, 1954 Flood Control Act: 206 

Seizure: 21 

Semi-Tropic Auxiliary Field: 71 

Senate Resolution 142: 52 

Senator Hotel: 91 

Sentinel: 101 

Sevier River: 1.40,239,240 

Shannon, David: 59 

Sharp, Warren: 102 

Sharpe Army Depot: 86, 96, 98, 99 

Shasta Dam (Kennett): 32, 33, 37,262 

Shearer, William: 46 

Sherman Island: 131,213 

Sherman, William G.: 82 

Sherrard, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph: 92 

Showman, Arthur C.: 82 

Sierra Army Depot: 98, 99 

Sierra Club: 273 

Sierra Ordnance Depot: 67, 86 

Silas B. Hays General Hospital: 104, 107 

Simmons, Bob: XI 

Sitka: 109 

Sixth Army: 106 

Sixth Army Signal Corps: 94 

Smith, Hershal L.: 46 

Smith, Lewis T.: 46 

Smithsonian Institution: 161 

snow research: 216 

Soil Conservation Service: 271 

Solvig, Arne: 82 

South, Wesley: 120 

Spaatz, Colonel Carl: 68 

Spain, war with: 5 

Spalding, C. Gordon: 46,110 

Spanish Fork River: 242 

Spaulding, Willis C.: 46, 82 

Speir, Oswald: 46 

Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey 

Peninsula (SCRAMP): 251 

Stanford Research Institute: 77 

Stanislaus River: 196,224,226-229,231-234,236 

Stanley, Owen G.: VIII, X 32, 33, 46 

Stanley, Owen G. Jr.: 46 

State Fairgrounds: 67 

State Reclamation Board: 23, 53, 54.194,204 

State '\Vater Plan: 32, 136 

St8te" ,j v uject: 266 

288 

Stead AFB: 63 

Steamboat Slough: 23, 200 

Stecker, William: 40 

Stewart, B.: 35 

Stewart, James D.: 45 

Stockton Air Base: 72 

Stockton Channel Project: 20, 33, 54, 56, 120 

Stockton, city of: 20 

Stockton Deep Water Channel: 27 

Stockton, detention camp of: 68 

Stockton Field: 71 

Stockton General Depot: 67 

Stockton Ordnance Motor Base: 67 

Stockton turning basin: 115 

Stockton Quartermaster Motor Depot: 67 

Stone, W.G.: 53, 57, 120 

Stooks, Maland M.: 82 

Stowell, Ralph: 40 

Strategic Air Command: 86 

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks \SALT): 102 

Success Dam: 40,166,170.172.174-176 

Sugg, Ernest A.: 82 

Suisun Bay: 19 

Suisun Bay Channel: 38 

Suisun Bay Channel Project: 35, 120 

Sunnyvale: 96, 98 

Sunnyvale Test Center Interim Expansion: 99 

South Basin Bypass: 26, 194 

Sutter, John: 109, 148 

Sutter, John Jr.: 109 

Sutter's Fort: 1, 170 

Sutterville: 109 

Sweeney, Major Charles \Y.: 76 

Sweet, Max: 186 

Sykes, Ro:, K.: 46 

Table Mountain Reservoir (Iron Canyon) Project: 40 

Tackle: 21 

Tagus Ranch, detention camp at: 68 

Talley, John: 128 

Taylor, Major General, Chief of Engineers: 27 

Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel C .R.: 120, 186 

Tehama Dam: 270 

Templeton, Herman: 170 

Terminus Dam: 40,166,167,169,170,171,172,175 

Terminus-Success Flood Control Dams Association: 

172 

13th Armored Division: 66, 67 

Thomas, William T.: 46 

Thompson, Farold: 102 

Thompson, Ronald (Tomm~'): Y \.1. 186 

Thor: 21 

Thorp, Hale: 170 

"308" studies: IX, 35, 40,128. 10. '~O, 208 

Thurston, Henry E.: 46 

Tibbetts, Colonel Paul W. Jr.: 76 

Tiffany, J.B.: 117 

Tisdale Bypass: 194 

Titan Ballistic Missile Site near Beale AFB: 8~ 
Titan Intercontinental Ballistic :"1issile: 89, 92. 94 

Tofsrud, Harold: 82 

Tonopah Army Airfield: 73 

Tonopah Building and Gunnery Range: 73, 74 

Tooele Army Depot: 99 

Tooele Ordnance Depot: 76 

Topographical Corps: 4 

Tracy: 86 

Tracy Auxiliary Field: 71 

Tracy Sub-Depot: 67 

Train, Russell E.: 275 

Tra\is AFB: 86, 91, 94, 98 

Truckee River: 197 

Truman, President Harry S.: 83, 152 

Tulare Valley: 4 

Tule Lake, Relocation Center at: 65 

Tule River: 166,170,174 

Tuolumne River: 196,238,261 

Tuolumne River Reservoirs Project: 40, 261 

Turner, Colonel Herbert ~.: 92, 96, 120, 178.182, 

207,228,256,261,266 

Turner Cut: 41 

Twain, Mark: 228 

Two Rock Ranch Station: 96, 98 

Udall, Stewart: 118 

Umatilla Army Depot: 99 

Underground Explosion Tests: 89, 91-92 

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act of 1970: 258 

Union Army: 2 

Unser, Professor Robert: 45 

Cpper Colorado River Basin: 248, 249 

Upper Lake: 199,201 

U.S. Armed Forces Special Weapons Project: 77 

Upper ~arrows Dam: 50 

e.S. Bureau of:"lines: 77 

e.S. Army Camel Corps: 88 

'(;.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey: 77 

e.S. Geological Survey: 77 

U.S. Ordnance Department: 77 

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce: 115 

U.S. Weather Bureau: 216 

CtahLake: 1 

"L'"teev, ~ikonar A.: 46 

Vallejo: 96 

Vandenberg AFB: 92 

Verjbitsky, Paul J.: 46 

Veterans Administration: 104 

Vietnam: 102 

Vina Auxiliary Field: 71 

Virginia Company: 148 

Visalia Army Air Field: 71 

von Braun, Dr. Wernher: 96 

von Gelden, Otto: 45 

Waddock, FrankL.: VII, 73 

Wadsworth, Henry Hayes: 18, 19 

Walker Lake: 1 

Wall, Lester: 46 

Walnut Creek: 205, 206, 208, 209 

War Assets Administration: 76, 88 

Warne, William E.: 261 

War Relocation Authority: 65 

Warren, Governor Earl: 137.138,152 

Washington, General George: V 

Waterways Experiment Station at \Ticksburg, 

:'lississi ppi: 118 

"Water Witch": 175 

Weber River: 244 

Weddell, George: XI, 256, 272 

Weeshoff, Gerard: 40 

Weller, John B.: 4 

Wendover AF'B: 96 

Wendover Bombing Range: 76 

West Auxiliarv Field: 71 

Whiskey Slough: 41 

White Sands Missile Range: 99 

Wilcox, John A.: 170 

Wilcox, Origen: 170 

Wilcox, Sardis: 170 

Wilder, Colonel Alvin D.: X, 129, 159, 160 

William Land Park: 115 

Williamson, :'lajor RS.: 2.6 

Williams, Rex: 102 

Willson, Lola-Merne: 46 

Wilson, George T.: 82 

Wilson, Lieutenant General W.K. Jr.: 271 

Winter, Frances H.: 186 

Winter, Pamela: 186 

Wint€Ys-Davis Flight Strip: 71 

Witt, Hiram: 188 

Wood, Captain W.A. Jr.: 32. 36 

World War I: 21, 26, 40,52,57.104 

World War II: 29,41,50.62,64,65,68,94,102,104, 

106,115,239,261 

Wright Building: IX, 63 

Yakima Firing Center: 108 

Yallalee, William: 40 

Yerba Buena (San Francisco): 1 

Yerba Buena Shoals: 57 

Yolo Bypass: 26, 122,192,194 

Yolo County Board of Supervisors: 52 

Young, Brigham: 239 

Young, Colonel Crawford: X, 101,208,237,239,264 

Yaung, Vance L.: 46 

Yuba: 22 

Yuba City: 126-129 

Yuba County Water Agency: 268 

Yuba River: 10,23,43,45,48,50,268 

Zimmerman, Arnold: 40 

289 

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Hagwood, Joseph J. UG23

CoEuaitmeiit to excellence

history of the Sacrament Distri

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