Historic American Engineering Record: Waddell Dam, Maricopa County, Arizona
Creators: name: Introcaso, David M.
Publisher: name: Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service
Year: 1988
Subjects: subject: Pleasant Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79886/pleasant-dam
subject: Waddell Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79885/waddell-dam
subject: Arizona (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/335/arizona-state-territory
subject: Frog Tanks, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79888/frog-tanks-az
subject: Humbug Creek Diversion Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79887/humbug-creek-diversion-dam
subject: Frog Tanks Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79890/frog-tanks-dam
subject: Maricopa Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79889/maricopa-dam
subject: Phoenix, AZ
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/76695/phoenix-az
subject: Lake Pleasant
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/79703/lake-pleasant
subject: Maricopa (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3900/maricopa-county
subject: Agua Fria River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/224/agua-fria-river
subject: Bradshaw Mountains
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/77922/bradshaw-mountains
subject: 04013 (Fips Code)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3908/04013-fips-code
subject: Yavapai (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3909/yavapai-county
subject: 19th Century
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5536/19th-century
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5728/historic
subject: 20th Century
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/4/20th-century
subject: 1920s
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/2870/1920s
subject: 1890s
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/6120/1890s
subject: 1930s
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/3980/1930s
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Pleasant Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/23972/pleasant-dam
subject: Waddell Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/7815/waddell-dam
subject: Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/272/resource-extraction-production-transportation-structure-or-features
subject: Agricultural or Herding
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/273/agricultural-or-herding
subject: Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/818/canal
subject: Canal or Canal Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/275/canal-or-canal-feature
subject: Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/518/dam
subject: Water Control Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/279/water-control-feature
subject: Building Materials
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/8/building-materials
subject: Concrete
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/188/concrete
subject: George Beardsley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150223/george-beardsley
subject: Peckham and James
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150224/peckham-and-james
subject: MWD
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150221/mwd
subject: HAER
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/28432/haer
subject: Robert "Jerry" Jones
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150222/robert-jerry-jones
subject: George L. Davenport
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150227/george-l-davenport
subject: Southwest Cotton Company
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150228/southwest-cotton-company
subject: Ralph S. James
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150225/ralph-s-james
subject: Agua Fria Construction Company
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150226/agua-fria-construction-company
subject: MWD v. Southwest Cotton Company
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150229/mwd-v-southwest-cotton-company
subject: Charles E. Griggs
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150230/charles-e-griggs
subject: Henry Beardsley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150212/henry-beardsley
subject: Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/995/dam
subject: Camp Dyer
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150215/camp-dyer
subject: Agua Fria Water and Land Company
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150216/agua-fria-water-and-land-company
subject: Legal History
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/114472/legal-history
subject: William Beardsley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150213/william-beardsley
subject: Storage Dam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150214/storage-dam
subject: Donald Ware Waddell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150219/donald-ware-waddell
subject: Central Arizona Project
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/28426/central-arizona-project
subject: Maricopa County Municipal Water Conservation District Number One
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150220/maricopa-county-municipal-water-conservation-district-number-one
subject: Robert Beardsley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150217/robert-beardsley
subject: Carl Pleasant
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150218/carl-pleasant
subject: Historic Background Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/18/historic-background-research

description: Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AZ-11 presents a written historical summary and relevant historical documentation about the construction and use of Waddell Dam, which was the only water storage dam successfully built by private interests in central Arizona. Sponsored by the Phoenix Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation, this HAER documentation was undertaken as mitigation for the construction of New Waddell Dam as part of the Central Arizona Project, and the submersion of the original Waddell Dam under the waters of Lake Pleasant. Waddell Dam, formerly Pleasant Dam, comprised the key structure of the Agua Fria Project, storing water from the Agua Fria River for use by local water users. Initially conceived in 1888, the Agua Fria Project was plagued by financial issues from its inception and Waddell Dam was not completed until 1927. Upon completion it was the largest multiple arch dam in the world. This HAER report focuses on the historical significance of Waddell Dam and on its technological nature and features. It discusses 1) the beginning of interest in the Agua Fria Project; 2) issues with water development in Arizona during the end of the nineteenth century; 3) dam technology, with special attention focusing on multiple arch dam design; 4) the design and construction of the Waddell Dam; 5) problems that arose after construction was completed; 6) changes in water usage in central Arizona; and 7) the role the Agua Fria Project played in central Arizona economic growth. The report contains a narrative description, drawings, maps, and historic photographs of Waddell Dam.