Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1907-05-24
IT'S A GREAT THING
Some OF the Desirable Features
Idaho Irrigation Company.
June Opening OF $4,000 Acres VIII Be a
Notable Event In the History Of
Idaho---Fiow Land is to
Pc nevelored
Be Developed.

De DtfSiOVeu.
By authority If the state land
board, official publication OF which
is given elsewhere in the Journal.
the first opening OF Carey act land
under the Idaho Irrigation Com
pany's project is set Tor June oath.
The opening is to be held at Al
berta, this county, a new town that
will be the shipping point for most
of tke canal and dam constru ton
supplies The town site itself is to
be opened at the same time
AS is more or less well known,
the project is a storage reservoir
proposition. 1t is designed to res
ervoir the waters OF the Malad and
Big Wood rivers, storing the wat
ers behind an immense dam, 125
feet high, and forming a lake sew
eral miles in extent. This lake will
have enough water to irrigate the
entire tract for a year, if the river
were to dry up and blowaway. The
big dam is solely for storage pur
poses, the diversion dam being far
ther down the river. TO give some
idea OF the magnitude OF the dam,
it is estimated that the construc
ton will take well on to two years,
with large force II men and the
most modern machinery.
- IN f10ll
acres in the entire project. This is
mostly in Lincoln county. though
small portion lies in Blaine coun-
ty. There is a drainage basin OF
approxim tely 1900 square miles
of mountain range to supply the
project, some OF the highest noun
tain ranges in the state being in
cluded therein. The water supply
is ideal in that much of it is from
the north slope, wheie the snow
goes off slowly, giving the maxi
mum flow during the time OF The
year it i most needed.
There is no better soil in the
west than that to be found wtlir
the Idaho Irrigation company pro-
iect. The altitude is low enough
to make possible to gr.w almo t
any crop, excepting perhaps only
the most tender fruits. While the
upper end is considerably higher
than Shoshone, the lower or west
ern end runs down to $500 feet.
This whole project is mot init
mately part of Lincoln county.
Most of the land to be reclaimed is
in this county, as are the canals
and other works. The wat 5 to
be brought to within miles OF
Shoshone, while the whole tract
is more or less tributary to this
place. Alberta, the new town now
being opened up by the company,
is 15J miles from Shoshone. Most
of the co astruction supplies are to
be handled from there, for both the
canal and the dam, and the COM
pany offices will be located there.
But necessarily the traffic from the
greater part OF the land VIII come
down to the main line of the rail-
road. The west end OF the tract,
indeed, comes down across The rail-
road near Bliss, where there is about
10000 acres on the south side. All
this west end will be beyond the
reach OF Alberta
Alberta will start out with bright
The town lots are to be
opened for general sale on the oath,
though arrangements have been !
made for the earlier opening OF
business property for those ready
to star in business. Several enter
pr;sing men a d firms have already
started in to get ready for traa
C. r. Shaw, OF Boise, tn 5 week Sc
cured IA lots foE a lumber yard, to
be instslled at once.
An electric power plant is to be
Installed at Alberta, where the lit-i
tie Wood river has fall OF 30 ieet.
It will supply power for consiler
able manufacturing industries. The
expects to encourage and
,.toll;.I ,,,a,,,eaotsfrps Df gvQrv