Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-10-21
Mud LAKE IS DOOMED
Big Prairie Swamp Is to Be
Converted Into Finest
Farming Land
DRAINAGE DITCH TO COST $4,000
Much Money Has Been Spent in For
NOR Attempts to Drain This Lake,
Resulting Only in Failure, But the
Present Enterprise Seems Assured of
SUGGESTIVE Plans.
Special to Times Republiec-

i
| Webster City. Oct. 21.-Old Mud
Lake is to go for sure next spring
and in it's place will be one of the fin
est farms in the state, which means
/ in the United States. Already a
large amount of money has been spen,
on this big prairie swamp. in the at
tempt to convert it into farming land
| ID. A. Kent, the former owner. spent
| $4,000 in building a big ditch for the
purpose of draining the lake, but the
ditch was found to be wholly made
quate for the purpose in wet years.
Since then Mr.. Kent has sold the lake
bed to the Rand estate of Burlington,
who are the present owners.
Since the first of last May. Engineer
f. e. Fox. of this city, has been at
work surveying the lake and the ter
ritory which drains into the lake. 1t
has been big job but has just been
completed. To make the necessary
survey 1t was necessary to run over
seventy-five miles of levels and to drive
over $50 miles of territory in looking up
the various sub districts of the main
district.
The report of Mr.. Fox. which has
just been filed with the county audi
tor. is an exceedingly interesting one
as the contemplated ditch is far ahead
of anything in this vicinity and will
cost a large amount of money. 1t Is
especially interesting on account Of the
fact that the contemplated ditch will
put out of existence for all time a land
mark familiar to many thousands or
people One effort to drain the ditch
has proved a failure but there is no
chance for this one to do likewise. The
petition on which the order to make the
report was made was signed by u. A.
Kent and over $50 of the legal voters
Of the county.
Mud Lake, or as 1t is sometimes
called. Lake Cairo and Kent's Lake,
In itself contains about LOGO acres of
land and is the basin of 1885 acres
of land in the vicinity. This water
shed is ten miles wide on the south
end, sixteen miles long north and
south and drains portions of Blairs-
burg, Liberty. Independence, Hamil-
ton, Lyon and Clear Lake townships.
1t drains all the town of kamrar and
the north part of the town of Jewell
Junction.
The main ditch starts at the North
western stone bridge at Jewell June
ton and runs in a general northwest
erly direction to the northwest side
of the lake and is about six and one
half miles long. The main ditch has
four laterals in the lake which run to
the edge of the lake to connect with
the various bitches that now discharge
into the lake. The main ditch has
a bottom width Of 33 feet at the outlet
and runs to nine feet bottom width at
the upper end.
The lateral bitches have a bottom
width of four feet. The main ditch
viii have water velocity OF two and
six -tenths miles per hour and will dis
charge at Its outlet S.240.000 gallons of
water per hour. The distance around
the territory to be drained, following
the water divide, is fifty miles.
The estimated cost of the ditch IS
s56,700 The benefit to be gained by
this monster drain can not easily be