The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-05-28
State News Of Interest
LARGE TRACT RECLAIMED.
Waters of Belle Fourche to Be Turned
Into 1oO, 900 Acres Near Deadwood.

waters or 6eNc fourCne 10 DC iuTUoo
Into 100, 900 Acres Near Deadwood.
The engineers Of the government
reclamation service are about to turn
the water into the irrigation bitches
In the Belle Fourchs valley, Just north
of the Black Hill district In South
| Dakota, not far from Deadwood, and
the famous mining town Of Lead.
1t is the greatest irrigation project
| the government has ever undertaken
near a large center of population, for
!. = only thirty miles from the gold
mining district of the Black Hills
country and is within an easy drive
Of large communities in every direc.
ton. When completed the canals will
supply 10O, 900 acres of land that has
| hitherto peer unfit for cultivation be.
cause II could not be watered. or
| this area So 900 acres are public land,
As, 900 acres belong to private individu,
| ais. and 5000 acres to the State Of
South Dakota.
A large part of the land has already
been taken up. There are at least 500
families already settled on the tract
reached by the irrigation bitches, but
| 1000 more farms can be opened when
| the distributing system is completed
and ready for operation in 1909 and
| 1910. The first section of the south
| canal is completed. and water Will be
| furnished to about 5000 acres OF land
from 1t in a few days.
The first section of the north canal
has also been completed and Will fur.
nish water for the irrigation OF a
| similar area within a few weeks.
This water comes from the Belle
| Fourche river, where n Of the high
| est earthen dams in the world has
been built twelve miles northeast OF
| the town Of Belle Fourche to create
a reservoir with a water area of about
| 5000 acres. The cubic contents OF
| the dam are about one-half the size OF
| the pyramid of Cheops, and the reser-
voir is the largest body OF water in
| South Dakota. The dam Is 115 feet
| high and $500 feet long at the top,
| and supplies two conduits, called the
north and south canals. These main
| canals will feed a system OF about 125
| miles of lateral canals and about a
thousand miles of bitches, which will
| reach the Belle Fourche valley, on
both sides of the river for about thir-
teen miles, extending eastward from
the town about forty miles.
The project was authorized in 1904;
the surveys were made the same year,
and contracts for construction were
signed in April, 1905. Work has been
carried on very rapidly ard without
interruption, and the record is one of
| the most gratifying in the history of
| the reclamation service. Settlers be-
| gan to take up land as soon as the
| plans Of the government became
known, and in 1904, even before the
surveys were made, the private LAM
owners in the valley organized in the
Belle Fourche water users association
and subscribed $3,400,000 for the
stock.
The government found itself hap,
| PLY situated as to water supply. 1t is
entirely what engineers call a gray
| ity" proposition. There is an abun,
| dance of water for even more land
than is available, and the cost to set,
tiers is only $50 an acre for perpetual
water rights and a clear title. The
land itself costs only the filing fee.
and the payments are arranged in an
nual installments of SO each without
interest. Private land owners are
selling their farms for from SO to
$25 per acre above the government
price.