Minidoka Dam and Lake in Southern Idaho
June 1, 2, & 3rd, 2007. We are in Burley/Heyburn, Idaho on the Snake River. We are staying in Heyburn Riverside City RV-Park 679-8158 full hookups $21 in a very nice RV-Park located on the Snake River next to the Heyburn-Burley Chamber of Commerce Tourist Information Center and a city park (US-30 on the northeast side of the Snake River Bridge.)
Minidoka Dam on the Snake River in Southern Idaho near Burley & Heyburn
As the United States expanded steadily westward, the desert of Idaho beckoned to creative minds. It was dry, dusty, and isolated, but some eager settlers believed the desert could be farmed. Only water and adventuresome farmers were needed to forge the way. In 1902, Congress passed the Reclamation Act, which opened the tap, and a new age of federal irrigation projects began. The U.S. Reclamation Service, the forerunner of the Bureau of Reclamation, helped the dream come true. The Reclamation Act of 1902 enabled the government to develop large reclamation projects, such as the Minidoka Project. Settlers received water for farming and repaid the cost of the project in a series of yearly payments. At the end of their term, the settlers would receive the land title and water right. Irrigation projects were constructed by the Reclamation Service. Minidoka Dam is a zoned earthfill dam 86-feet high creating Lake Walcott with an active storage capacity of 95,200 acre-feet of water. In 1904, the Secretary of the Interior authorized the Minidoka Project and the U.S. Reclamation Service began construction of Minidoka Dam. Within three years, water was delivered to the first irrigated farms. Construction of the dam was challenging. The area was isolated and all the materials were hauled by horse teams from the rail line at Minidoka, about 6-miles away. Difficult working conditions let to frequent labor and management disputes. During construction lived in a contractor's camp located on the north side of the current dam. The Reclamation Service knew that potential energy was locked inside the flowing water. To harness that energy, they built a hydroelectric powerplant at Minidoka Dam. Today, the plant stands as a symbol of early hydroelectric technology and its effect on the development of the region. The Minidoka power plant was featured in brochures that lured settlers to the area. The availability of electricity was the pride of settlers. Rupert was one of the earliest towns to be electrified, and displayed its streetlamps like a badge of honor. The thoroughly modern "Electric High School" was the first public building in the United States to be powered completely by electricity. ------ Now chew on that a small town in rural southern Idaho holds claim to having the "first" public building powered by electricity and it was the high school. Today, much of the electricity generated at the plant is used to pump water to irrigate lands on higher ground. Surplus power is sold to the local power company.
Settlement resulting from Minidoka Dam and Lake
In 1904, prospective homesteaders began to flood into the area. For two and a half years, the rush continued until the good land was claimed. By 1919, there was a local population of 17,000. As homesteaders settled, little town sprung up practically overnight. Rupert, Heyburn, and Acacia were designed and platted by the Reclamation Service for the new settlers. One homesteader remembered: "eight months after, the site of Rupert was nothing but the sagebursh...there was a population of 400. Daylight to dark was filled with the incessant sound of hammering..."
Irrigation canal flowing off Minidoka Dam irrigation project
This is one of the irrigation canals flowing off the Minidoka Dam irrigation project as it looks today. Once the Minidoka Dam was completed, the region underwent a metamorphosis. Land that had been resistant to modern development was opened to settlement. A flood of eager settlers was lured by the availability of irrigated farmland. The early years were filled with hardships, but those sturdy enough to persevere, soon reaped their rewards. By 1915 the Reclamation Service Report boasted that "1915 was the most prosperous one that the farmers of the Project have ever experienced. Nearly all crops yielded a bountiful harvest and the prices have been good and often high...As a result of this prosperity, the banks of the Project were overloaded with money.
Rapids & Russian Olive trees below the Minidoka Dam & Lake on the Snake River in southern Idaho near Burley and Heyburn
Rapids below Minidoka Dam & Power plant on the Snake River.
Rapids below the Minidoka Dam & Lake on the Snake River near Burley & Heyburn, in southern Idaho
Rapids on the Snake River below the Minidoka Dam near Burley & Heyburn, Idaho.
Cliff swallows congregated near their nesting site on a bridge over a Minidoka Irrigation Canal west of Burley & Heyburn, Idaho
Cliff swallows fill the sky over one of the bridges over an irrigation canal west of Burley & Heyburn in southern Idaho.
Lava Rocks lining irrigation canal from Minidoka Dam and Lake
Lava rocks like these line many if not most of the irrigation canals.
Sage brush and lava rock surrounding Minidoka Dam and Lake
Even if the government gave me 160-acres of this land I would not be confident that I could grow enough on it to feed my family. It looks like sage brush and lava rocks to me. But who am I!
Sage brush and lava rock surrounding Minidoka Dam and Lake in southern Idaho near Burley and Heyburn
It seems to me that winning a lottery and winning 160-acres of this would be like getting a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking. How does one haul off all this lava rock to make the area ready to plow?
Where did the lava rocks go on this land irrigated by Minidoka Dam and Lake?
Land like that shown above can be made to look like this with a LOT of work and plenty of water. I really have to wonder where all the lava rocks are that used to cover this beautiful farm land west of Burley & Heyburn, Idaho.
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Mike & Joyce Hendrix
Mike & Joyce Hendrix who we are We hope you liked this page. If you do you might be interested in some of our other Travel Adventures: Mike & Joyce Hendrix's home page Travel Adventures by Year ** Travel Adventures by State ** Plants ** Marine-Boats ** Geology ** Exciting Drives ** Cute Signs ** RV Subjects ** Miscellaneous Subjects
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