Salem Irrigation and Canal Company business records, 1907-1978

Series

Identifier: MSS 1494 Series 4

Staff Only

Scope and Contents note

Series contains business records, schedules, letters and memorandums from 1907 to 1978 which outline activities of the Salem Irrigation and Canal Company and the Strawberry Water Project.

Dates

Other: 1907-1978

Creator

Salem Irrigation and Canal Company (creator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access note

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use note

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Salem Irrigation and Canal Company records must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Administrative History

From the Collection:

The Salem Irrigation and Canal Company (est. 1878) is an irrigation company in Utah.

In 1865 the citizens of Salem, Utah, decided to follow the example of the people of Spanish Fork who had earlier organized an irrigation company to take water out of the Spanish Fork River. They wanted to increase the agricultural capability of the area east of the existing Salem pond, which, due to the natural slope of the land, had been impossible to irrigate. Lyman Curtis and two of his brothers made a survey for the canal from the Spanish Fork River to the Payson hill in the fall of 1865. Preparatory work was done that fall, but the actual construction required the three years from 1866 through 1869. Water for irrigation was turned into the canal in the summer of 1869.

In 1878 the company incorporated under the name of "Salem Irrigation Canal Company" and issued 2208 shares of water stock. In 1954 there were 315 stockholders. Management of the company is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, with other subordinate officers as appointed by the board. The Salem Irrigation and Canal Company is currently located in Salem, Utah.