Rocky Ford enterprise., 1915-03-19
FULFILLMENT OF SENATOR SWlNK'S
ENDEAVORS Being REALIZED

snns1nlsslsl1lssl1llslD11 lD1111sssIDsB1slssssslpnDsD
the struggles of her noble companion
as a pioneer empire builder.
While persistent effort on the part
OF Senator Swink had resulted in the
beginning of an irrigation canal in
1873. progress had been slow. Eager
to prove the truth or fallacy of his
belief. Senator Swink planted small
garden tract, planting a large variety
OF seed; and, in his ingenious way.
dug well near the tract. surrounded
the well with barrels, from each bar
rel dug small bitches leading to the
various parts of the garden; the wat
er drawn from the well, warmed by
the sun in the barrels. and then dis
tributed through the bitches from the
barrels provided the necessary irriga-
tion. To the surprise of the senator,
himself, there was an abundant yield
of all seed sown, and in his own
words, especially the vine varieties"
Thus what may seem a crude expert
ment was the inception of agriculture
at Rocky Ford.
In its early history, our state pro-
claimed its vast stores of mineral
wealth, and the majority of the early
settlers were in search of gold, or
ambitious of Developing an extensive
stock industry. Irrigation, was, there
fore, even in the northern part OF the
state in its infancy; and when Sena-
tor Swink and his three associates
undertook the construction OF the
Rocky Ford ditch. in 1873. there
were not more than two bitches oper-
ating in the lower Arkansas valley,
that oprtion eastward from Pueblo to
the state line, the largest having ca
pacity of only 20 cubic feet Of water
per second of time. With the build
ing OF the Rocky Ford ditch in 1873
and 1874, with capacity of liz cubic
feet per second of time, modern irri-
CATION was inaugurated and George
w. Swink was heralded as the great
est reclamationist of southern Colo
RADIO.
One by one were developed large
irrigation projects, the Catlin, the
Rocky Ford High Line, the Fort
Lyon, the Holbrook, the Amity, the
Lamar, and numerous others; and to-
day there are in operation in irriga-
tion division No. 2, embracing the
Arkansas river and its tributaries
frsfIvf -cadville to the state line. APP
|proximately 5000 independent irriga-
lion systems, varying in capacity from
| cubic foot to 1000 cubic feet per
second of time, making arabic ap-
proximatcly one million acres Of land,
Welding livelihood, through the
production of hay. grain, sugar beets.
melons and fruits. to populace oi
fifty or sixty thousand.
1t is interesting to note that at the
time of the original incorporation OF
many of the older bitches the face
value OF the stock was from ten to nj
teen dollars per share; while. today,
the market value OF the same stock is
from sixty to one hundred dollars per
share, with not a share for sale!
With the same singleness OF pur-
pose that Senator Swink planted his
experimental garden and constructed
the Rocky Ford ditch, we find him in
his years of effort to perfect mar.
ketable cantaloupe; in his years oi
service as Father Mayor oil Rocky
Ford: as member of the first Board
of County Commissioners OF Otero
county; as state senator for two terms
from the 23rd district. ever fighting
for protective irrigation legislation
and the general good OF the Arkan-
sas valley
To the persistent efforts OF the Sem
ator is due the sugar beet industry,
for it was he who made possible its
financial success. After a hard but
hopeless fight before the state legis-
lature for an appropriation with which
to buy beet seed for the purpose OF
conducting an experiment to ascertain
the possibility of the sugar beet in
our soil, the Senator used his own
money to purchase seed from Ger
many: he distributed it among the
farmers; in the fall he made the sugar
tests, and laid his findings before the
sugar magnates of the country; and,
eventually, through his convincing Ell
forts, capital became interested. and
today the Lower Arkansas Valley
possesses six sugar factories with an
annal output of two hundred and hf-
ty thousand tons of sugar per year.
After years of careful observation
as constructor, director. manager
and stockholder in several different ir-
rigation canals in the valley, Senator
Swink realized that the demand Tor
water supply would make the conser-
vation of flood waters not only essen
tial. but absolutely necessary. Year
by wear. uncounseled and unaided, he
made a, careful study of the drainage
area of the Apishapa river; and he be-
came convinced that the construction
of a storage system OF magnitude
could provide water for that vast
stretch of rich prairie land directly
southwest of Rocky Ford. 81
In his quiet way he bought up old
water rights in the Apishapa,, ac-
quiring every available foot OF direct
irrigation priority that could be pur,,
chased. The employment OF skilled
engineers corroboratcd the Senator'S
personal Investigations and in the
year 1902, he began construction oil
the largest one man irrigation pro,
ject in the state, the Swink Ditch and
Reservoir system.
Carefully he outlined every detail,