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JUNE 1984
Volume 10, Number 6
by N.F. Hockemeyer*
HISTORY OF THE BESSEMER DITCH
BESSEMER DITCH INCORPORATED IN 1888
Capital Stock Increased | Bids: Construction of Ditch | Stockholders Bankruptcy | CF&I land Sold | Flood of 1921 | Financing Flood Damage | Fatal Accident | Board Elections | The Deluge | President's Proclamation
Taken from the Arkansas Valley Journal, October and November, 1983. Condensed and submitted by Jack Caulfield.
Although the Bessemer Irrigating Ditch Company holds some water rights dating back to the 1860s, incorporation papers were first filed at the county clerk's office in Pueblo on May 31, 1888. The incorporators and board members were A.H. Danforth, W. L. Graham, and J. B. Orman. The other two board members were M. N. Megrue and William Crook. Orman was named president, Crook, vice president, and Graham, treasurer. J. A. Writer was designated secretary. Capital stock of the company was set at $200,000 with 20,000 shares at $10 per share to be issued. Although the incorporation papers do not mention it, Colorado Coal and Iron, predecessor to the CF&I Steel Mills, was the holder of 10,000 of those shares.
Because of the disastrous flood of 1921 nearly all of the early records, engineering plans and blueprints were swept away when the office of the company at South Union and B Street was washed away. Consequently, some of the early history of the company is difficult to pinpoint accurately. From Irrigation Era magazine we believe that it is possible that the Colorado Coal and Iron may have started this ditch prior to the organization of the Bessemer Ditch Company. We do know that during the first year of operation meetings of the company were held in the offices of the Colorado Coal and Iron Company.
Surviving the flood of 1921 were the minutes of the first meeting held February 2, 1889, and subsequent meetings through July 1889. Following the election of officers, the by-laws were spelled out listing in detail the duties of each officer and especially the duties of the as yet unnamed superintendent. There was no amount of water allocated to each stockholder but rather the superintendent was charged with dividing equally the amount of available water in the system. He was also charged with determining that the water delivered was actually used to irrigate cultivated lands and that it was not wasted or misappropriated. Stockholders were entitled to subscribe to “the proportionate share of the common stock of the company which may be issued, as the lands owned by such stockholders shall proportionately bear to the entire amount of land susceptible of irrigation from said main ditch and laterals, and owned by said stockholders of the company…”
At a special meeting of the stockholders called for May 2, 1889, major stockholders were as follows: Colorado Coal & Iron (10,000 shares); W.L. Graham (600); M.N. Megrue (160); A.S. Dodge (80); J.A. Writer (189); Robert Grant (1,000); T.N. Carlile (1,500); John Dougherty (490); Orman & Crook (1,440); H.J. Fitch (10). John Dougherty was named as the "attorney in fact" for the Colorado Coal and Iron and the above shareholders were the "holders of the whole of the capital stock of said “company." Apparently 3,931 shares had not yet been issued, The purpose of the special meeting was to consider the adoption of amendments to the by-laws, including spelling out the purpose for which the company was founded and apparently to tighten up the rules for dispensing water so that none would fall into the hands of non-stockholders.
CAPITAL STOCK TO BE INCREASED
One of the by-laws called for the increase of the capital stock to 30,000 shares for $10 each for a total of $300,000. Another called for the increase in the number of directors from five to seven. All of the proposed amendments carried without a dissenting vote.
Following this meeting the next special meeting on May 20, 1889, was called for the purpose of authorizing the selling of bonds in the amount of $200,000 bearing seven percent interest for the purpose of constructing the canal. This meeting was also, apparently the first annual meeting as Orman and Writer submitted their resignations and an election was held. At this time, John Dougherty was elected president; Orman was named vice president; H.J. Fitch, secretary; and Graham was retained as treasurer.
Another item of business was that each stockholder was to grant the company a strip of land 100 feet wide, measuring 50 feet on each side of the center of the proposed ditch. Each stockholder was then required to issue a quit claim deed to the Bessemer Ditch Company of all lands to be irrigated. This was necessary so that such land could form the necessary collateral for the bonds that were to be issued. It was further ordered that such lands be released whenever the stockholder fully paid for the amount of shared he had subscribed for.
BIDS LET FOR CONSTRUCTION OF DITCH
At a special meeting June 19, 1889, bids for the construction of the canal were opened. Two companies submitted joint bids: Orman & Crook and Carlile and Company. Remember, these parties were all members of the board. In view of present costs, it was interesting to note that the bid for grading stated in cubic yards was: for earth,0.5 cents, for shale, 15 cents; for loose rock, 30 cents; and for solid rock, 80 cents. These figures were accepted as presented and the president instructed to have the necessary contracts drawn up. At this meeting J. S. Greene, an employee of the state, was hired at a salary of $2,000 per annum as consulting engineer. At the same time, Joseph Simons of New York,was employed to take charge of the engineering work of the ditch for a flat fee of $10,000, which was also to include the fee for Greene’s services. At the end of July 1889, president Dougherty returned from a trip to New York and immediately inspected the work that had been started on the headgate and first portion of the ditch. He found the ·work to be in his judgment of inferior quality and the materials used to be below standard. Chief engineer Simons was castigated for contracting for lumber at a cost in excess of what could be obtained locally through the Colorado Coal and Iron. Simons was further charged with approving the use of substandard material.
A general office for the company was established in the Southern Hotel. Two rooms were rented at a fee of $20 per month, with instructions to all engineers to consolidate all their work and papers in that office. Two days later the board met and voted unanimously to discharge Simons. Unfortunately, this is the last of the minutes preserved from the flood of 1921 and what happened thereafter is sketchy to say the least.
Apparently the ditch was completed with J. S. Greene in charge, although this is pure speculation. We do know that Greene designed and built a wooden siphon under the St. Charles River which at that time was the longest wooden siphon or flume in use anywhere in the United States. (This siphon was used until 1976 when The Pueblo Star-Journal reported that the antique redwood structure was being replaced with a 66 inch reinforced concrete pipe at an estimated cost of $212,000.) A reservoir was constructed in 1891 just south of the present site of Vineland but was abandoned a number of years later because of excess seepage.
MAJOR STOCKHOLDERS TAKES BANKRUPTCY
In about 1893,the Colorado Coal and Iron Company fell on hard times and went into receivership. A New York firm bought all of the ditch rights and irrigated lands of the defunct firm and the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation (CF&I) was born. CF&I sold their land and water rights in the Bessemer Ditch and constructed their own ditch, They have water rights dating prior to 1894 of 118 c.f.s. and its ditch from the Arkansas is completely outside the city limits. The Bessemer, on the other hand, winds its way through the south and west part of the city for some five miles creating problems that most ditches do not have. The canal of 43 miles, with its headgate on the river at "or about Meadows Station on the line of the D&RG Railroad on the south bank of the river,” terminates in the Huerfano River. It appears that when the Colorado and Iron went under, it took the Bessemer Ditch Company along with it, probably because of the earlier action of the board requiring quit claim deeds for all land irrigated and for which capitol stock was not paid in full.
A new company, the Bessemer Irrigating Ditch Company, filed incorporation papers July 24, 1894, stating as its purpose the acquisition of all rights, franchises, laterals and other property lately owned by the Bessemer Ditch Company which had been foreclosed by unnamed holders of the first mortgage bonds. Only W.L. Graham and Jas. B. Orman of the original board were named in the new filing. The capital stock was stated as 200,000 with 20,000 shares to be issued at $10 per share. Other directors were O.M. Ladd, C.K. McHarg, Henry Page, and Robert Grant, who was designated as the president. In February 1895, the company filed a certificate stating that all stock had been issued and payment made by the transfer of property from the old company in the amount of $199,742.11 and cash of $257.89.
At that time, it was the practice to charter corporations for only 20 years. When the renewal of the Bessemer was filed in 1914, Robert Grant was still named as president and C. K. McHarg as secretary, indicating that the new company operated smoothly for its first twenty years.
CF&I LAND SOLD IN SMALL PLOTS
The Colorado Coal and Iron Company owned large quantities of land, much of which as on the St. Charles Mesa. When CF&I took over, much of this land was put on the market. Sales were handled by the Suburban Land and Investment Company. It is not clear whether this was a subsidiary of CF&I or their agent. Irrigation Era reported, "The bulk of this land lies east of Pueblo, extending for a distance of twenty miles in that direction. The Suburban Land and Investment Company of Pueblo owns the largest amount of this land, nearly all of that on the market at very reasonable terms. Keen Bros. of Pueblo are also heavily interested, having in the neighborhood of 3,000 acres not unsold. The canal becomes property of the farmers when all water rights are sold."
The article went on to name some of the farmers under the Bessemer. One was Robert Grant, the president of the Bessemer and also a vice-president of the Mercantile National Bank. Grant had 2,700 acres fourteen miles east of Pueblo. A part of his land was for the Excelsior Canal.
FLOOD OF 1921 DESTROYS OFFICE
As previously noted, the flood of 1921 washed away most of the early records of the company. Records from January 1920, although water-smeared, were preserved. At that time the board of directors were Robert Grant, George D. Scott, C. K. McHarg, Lewis H. Barnum, P. M. Keen, Samuel Taylor and H. L. Graham. Graham was one of the original incorporators and Grant was also a major shareholder in 1889. McHarg was named as a director when the company was reorganized in 1894. In 1920, N.B. Richie was the superintendent and attorney J.W. Preston of the firm of Devine & Preston was the legal counsel.
Nothing much out of the regular routine occurred in 1920 except that 400 shares of the company stock were sold at a price of $125 a share. How the stock was acquired is not stated in the minutes available, but sale was limited to 50 shares to any one individual and four lots of 25 shares and six of 50 shares were quickly sold on January 15, 1920. At this time the office of the company was located in a building at South Union and B Streets in Pueblo. The minutes of June 7, 1920 noted that the rental agency had increased the rent by $5 per month for that part of the building occupied by Bessemer Ditch.
In July 1920, the matter of the overhaul of the St. Charles siphon was taken up. This siphon was the original one designed and constructed by J.S. Greene at the time the ditch was constructed. Parts of it had never been overhauled and redwood staves to repair breaks had to be obtained. The quotations for the 440 feet of repair, in addition to material on hand, was $8.35 per lineal foot or $3,674 plus bands and malleable iron shoes making the grand total for material $9,424. It was stated that after more than 25 years the redwood material originally used was still in good condition. This siphon was repaired a number of times and finally replaced in 1976.
The June 9, 1921 meeting was called to consider repairs to the ditch due to the flood of June 3 to 5. The meeting was held in the Thatcher Building because the flood had inundated the old office building to a depth of almost seven feet and all furniture, desks, partitions and filing cabinets were swept away into a pile at the rear of the building and covered with twelve to eighteen inches of mud. Only a few records in the safe were intact with the rest completely destroyed. The superintendent was authorized to hire bridge carpenters at a rate of $1 to $1.25 per hour, teams and drivers at 80 cents an hour and unskilled labor at 43 cents per hour.
In his report of damages to the board, Superintendent Richie reported that the headgate had been closed on June 3 when the threat of a storm was imminent. In trying to reach the headgate, he was caught between West Goodnight Creek and Boggs Creek and forced to abandon his car. He flagged a freight train above a wash-out and spent the night there helping to rescue other stranded persons. He was unable to return to his home until the afternoon of the fourth and unable to reach the headgate until the seventh when he found the headgate keeper F. Rantschler and family safe after being trapped there for the duration of the flood.
FINANCING FLOOD DAMAGE REPAIR A PROBLEM
Work on repairing the flood damage took up most of the summer months. Work was slowed because few farmers with teams applied for work and the going rate was increased to $1.50 for men if the “latter does not conflict with military order, or 43 cents per hour for 11 hours on 9 hours actual work as the railroads are reported to be doing." In other words, men could receive $4.73 for a nine-hour work day.
It was also necessary to obtain feed for the horses. Alfalfa hay was contracted for at the rate of $16 per ton. It was to be retailed to the teams' owners at 70¢ a bale. At first there was a shortage of teams; suddenly toward the end of the month all the teams that could be used were placed. It was reported that there were over 75 teams at work with slips and a clam shell excavator was hired at the rate of $75 a day plus unnamed expenses. The work of rebuilding the ditch proceeded rapidly. The company's goal was to be able to turn river water back into the ditch by July 15. A steam shovel was also made available, freed from cleaning streets, and its cost was $150 per day including a crew. Use of the shovel was estimated to save 10 or 12 teams with slips for work elsewhere.
The payroll for June totaled over $10,000 and ways and means to meet the costs of rebuilding the ditch were discussed. It was estimated that $88,500 would be required to complete the repairs. The Federal Farm Loan Bank of Wichita offered a total of $259,009 for repair work of all ditches in the Arkansas Valley. Loans Here to be made at 7% secured by demand notes and first mortgages on all company property. Because the demand for funds far exceeded the $250,000 to be made available, and because the board objected to the "onerous terms" demanded by the bank, other sources of funds were sought. The Pueblo Savings and Trust Company headed by Governor Adams agreed to make a $75,000 load at the 7% rate. Since this amount exceeded the bank’s loan limit, part of the loan would be channeled through other lending institutions. Consequently, bearer notes in the amount of $1,000 were printed payable at the rate of 15 notes per year starting in September, 1922.
At a special meeting of the stockholders September 13, 1921 an assessment of $3.75 per share was voted to meet the repayment of the indebtedness.
SUPERINTENDENT HAS FATAL ACCIDENT
A note of sadness was injected into the 1932 annual meeting when it was reported that longtime president Robert Grant had passed away in California during the past year. Then in February, superintendent V.N. “Pole” Richie was accidentally killed on the job. He had served as superintendent for thirteen years and his efforts had been mainly responsible for rebuilding of the Bessemer after the 1921 flood. George F. Cowdery, Jr., was employed as superintendent bur resigned after three months. H.W. Harris was then named to the post but he quit after three years. The board then hired A. N. Dallimore at a salary of $175 per month on September 16, 1935. This began a reign that lasted until January 1, 1974, when William Mullen, the current superintendent-secretary-treasurer was employed. Dallimore continued to serve as secretary-treasurer, a position he had assumed in 1942 along with his duties of superintendent, until April 1974 when he retired.
The search for more water continued over the years. A good working relationship existed with the CF&I steel mill. In most recent years the mill had a surplus of water in its Sugar Loaf reservoir in Lake County. At one time in 1925 the Bessemer board contemplated buying that property for $250,000 and in fact the stockholders authorized the purchase. However, it did not materialize and the Bessemer continued to purchase surplus water from the Sugar Loaf almost yearly. It was also able to purchase surplus water from the city of Pueblo's Clear Creek Reservoir.
MOST BOARD ELECTIONS ROUTINE
Over the years the makeup of the board remained very constant. There were few contests at election time and most directors served as long as they wished. Twenty and thirty year service was not unusual. All seven directors were elected yearly under the cumulative system of voting. Although this was according to the by-laws, it was not spelled out in the articles of incorporation. A special meeting was called in 1948 to amend the articles to allow for cumulative voting.
At most annual meetings only seven directors were nominated. Changes occurred only when a director resigned or died in office. This pattern was broken in 1964 when ten nominees were selected. Sixteen-year president W. I. Sanford, who had been on the board since 1924, was defeated, as was incumbent Charles Pullara. Pete A. Pisciotta and James L. Aldred were elected as newcomers. At the next annual meeting Ray Hartman, who had served for 38 years, announced he was not a candidate for reelection. Hartman and Sanford were both given plaques for their many years of service to the company.
During the 1970s work on the improvement of the ditch was carried out in Cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service. A grant was received from the Four Corners Regional Bank for Cooperatives. These improvements included replacing all the still existing wooden flumes with steel and concrete.
Currently the ditch serves some 950 stockholders who receive from two to three acre feet of irrigation water each year depending on the available supply. In 1982, William Hitzing, who had served on the board since 1947 and as president since 1964, retired from the board. Pete A. Pisciotta was named president. He has served on the board since 1964. Other members and their dates if service are Orval Hartman, 1965; Thomas Richardson, 1967; Carl G. Genova, 1970; Artie Hartman, 1976; Cecil Mullens, 1980; and Earl Asbury, 1982.
DRIFTWOOD FROM THE DELUGE
(The following is condensed from writings by two of the six reporters sent by The Denver Post to cover "The Great Pueblo Flood" of June 3, 1921. The impressions of Meredith Davis and Frank E. White, dramatic editor of The Post, were printed in a special souvenir edition of a defunct newspaper called “The Great Divide". It was dated June 12, 1921, nine days after the catastrophic high waters had passed through Pueblo.)
PROCLAMATION OF THE PRESIDENT ON THE PUEBLO FLOOD
June 7, 1921
Overwhelming disaster has come upon the people of Pueblo and the surrounding district. Realization of their suffering now and in the days to come prompts me to issue an urgent request to all whose sympathies are awakened to assist the labors of the American Red Cross which has quickly organized to cope with the first great need and will stand by until homes and home life can be re-established
Contributions may be sent at once through the office of any chapter or directly to Red Cross headquarters at Washington for use in the stricken territory.
(Signed) Warren G. Harding
It was Friday evening June 3, 1921 that the siren shrieked its first flood warning to the citizens of Pueblo. A might·y rush of water had been started by cloud bursts on the Arkansas and Fountain Rivers. That night was a veritable hell of lashing rain, of roaring foaming waters, of fires that raged as if in very defiance of the elements to quench them. It was the debauch if the Arkansas and the Fountain out on a terrible orgy of destruction. And the Arkansas, because it was the bigger of the two and because it coursed through the vital part of the city, had cut the heart of Pueblo in twain at the first wicked stroke.
