Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Sevier County Drainage District #4 records, 1918-1940
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Sevier County Drainage District #4 records
- Dates
- 1918-1940 (inclusive)19181940
- Quantity
- 4 boxes, (1 linear feet)
- Collection Number
- UUS_COLL MSS 235
- Summary
- The collection is composed of two boxes of correspondence and two boxes of general files for the district.
- Repository
-
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
A drainage district is a quasi-public agency with legal authority over the finance, design, installation, operation, and maintenance of drains for drainage of farmlands. Under drainage district law, land ownership within the district is required for membership and participation in district activities. A majority of land owners in a given area must agree to the formation of a drainage district before the district can be formed. District taxation creates capital finances through the issue and sale of district bonds for drain installation and maintenance.
A board of three supervisors constitute the governing body of a drainage district. Supervisors are appointed by county commissioners after nomination by landowners at an annual meeting or by a petition signed by landowners. A president, secretary, and treasurer are elected by the district supervisor. In some cases, the offices of secretary and treasurer are filled by a single individual. According to the original petition papers for February and March of 1918, the original board of supervisors for Drainage District #4 were: George T. Holdaway (president), Alva Curtis (secretary), and Edwin Sorensen (treasurer), but in a document dated September 3, 1918, Alva Curtis resigned his position to work for the United States government in a military occupation and Willard Richard Johnson Jr. was sworn in his place. Johnson served as secretary from 1918 until 1940, and he was one of the original petitioners for Sevier Country Drainage District #4.
Drainage districts were first formed in Utah in the early 1900s as a reaction to the rising water table in several Utah counties. As the state's population grew, waterlogged land required reclamation for expanding agricultural practices and arid regions needed water for irrigation. Sevier County Drainage District #4 was established in 1918 and covered the general location of southeast Aurora, about 1,000 acres, in central Utah. The contract for drain construction was made between Brown & Kleinschmidt, drainage engineers of Salt Lake City, and the Board of Supervisors, Sevier County Drainage District on June 14, 1918. Like many drainage districts in Utah, District #4 occasionally suffered from poor management. Annual reports were not always submitted to the county commissioners and taxes were not always paid. In 1932 this latter problem led to the court case Sevier County Drainage District #4 vs. State of Utah and the State Land Board. Lack of technical expertise formed the main management dilemma of many district managers. Engineers constructed and oversaw the implementation of drains, but once the groundwork was laid, drains were often neglected and subsequently clogged or damaged. During dry years in the 1920s and 1930s, some farmers in Sevier County opposed drainage of their land and deliberately clogged drains with soil, straw, manure, and burlap to raise the groundwater level.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The records of the Sevier County Drainage District #4 are contained in four boxes. The collection is composed of two boxes of correspondence and two boxes of general files for the district. The general files contain financial records from 1918-1940, as well as minutes from meetings, legal proceedings, and the original petition to organize the Sevier County District #4. The correspondence files are mainly letters to Willard Richard Johnson Jr., secretary of the Sevier County district from its creation in 1918 until 1940. Also included are letters from 1918-1928 addressed to the treasurer, Edwin Sorenson.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Sevier County Drainage District #4 records must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives manuscript curator and/or the Special Collections and Archives department head.
Preferred Citation
Initial Citation: Sevier County Drainage District #4 records USU_COLL MSS 235, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations: USU_COLL MSS 235, USUSCA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in alphabetical order.
Processing Note
Processed in May of 1998.
Acquisition Information
The papers in this collection were donated to Utah State University Special Collections and Archives by Utah State archivist Jeff Johnson on May 7, 1997.
Custodial History
The papers in this collection were kept by Willard Richard Johnson, Jr., who served as secretary for Sevier County Drainage District #4 from 1918 to 1940. Johnson died in 1948 and his wife, Georgianna Cropper Johnson, died in 1977, leaving his desk to their grandson, Bradley Thomas Johnson. When Bradley was cleaning out the desk, he found the papers for Sevier County Drainage District #4 and gave them to his brother, Utah State archivist Jeff Johnson.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
General Files, 1918-1937Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
A - C |
1918-1932 | ||
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 1 | Article XV, list of stockholders, their residence, shares, paid and unpaid portions |
undated |
1 | 2 | Audit accounts of county treasurer's office |
undated |
1 | 3 | Auditor's tax deed |
1927 May 28 |
1 | 4 | Aurora townsite – statistics on members |
undated |
1 | 5 | Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina |
1918-1920 |
1 | 6 | Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina |
1922-1924 |
1 | 7 | Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina |
1925-1926 |
1 | 8 | Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina |
1927-1929 |
1 | 9 | Blank check receipt book |
undated |
1 | 10 | Bonds, $500 |
undated |
1 | 11 | Cancelled checks, First State Bank of Salina |
1919-1923 |
1 | 12 | Chase National Bank receipts of cancelled coupons |
1919-1931 |
1 | 13 | Contract between Brown & Kleinschmidt, Drainage Engineers of Salt Lake City, and the Board of Supervisors of the Sevier County Drainage District #4 |
1918 June 14 |
1 | 14 | Court case, Sevier County Drainage District #4 v. State of Utah and the State Land Board |
1932 June 2 |
D - T |
1918-1934 | ||
Box | Folder | ||
2 | 1 | Drainage district general maps |
1919 June 1 |
2 | 2 | Financial records |
1919-1931 |
2 | 3 | Fiscal report of Drainage District #4 |
1930 -1931 |
2 | 4 | Hours worked by employees |
undated |
2 | 5 | Interest coupons |
undated |
2 | 6 | Legal notices |
1918-1937 |
2 | 7 | Levying assessment |
1918 |
2 | 8 | List of voters-owners |
1919 August 8 |
2 | 9 | Meeting minutes |
1918-1940 |
2 | 10 | Minutes for meeting of Board of Supervisors |
1937 December 21 |
2 | 11 | Monthly estimates |
1919 January - May |
2 | 12 | Petition to become Sevier County Drainage District #4 |
1918 February |
2 | 13 | Receipts, First State Bank of Salina |
1919-1929 |
2 | 14 | Receipts from Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Company, Marine National Bank, The Sevier Valley Call, State Bank of Sevier, W.R. Johnson, and John Arneson Lumber Company |
1918-1928 |
2 | 15 | Reconstruction finance corporation, government document |
1934 August |
2 | 16 | Resolutions made in board meetings |
1918-1940 |
2 | 17 | The Salina Sun receipt |
undated |
2 | 18 | Salt Lake Tribune proof of publication |
1918 May 12 |
2 | 19 | Savings bank book, First State Bank of Salina |
1924 June 12 |
2 | 20 | Seventy-second Congress, H.R. 4650 – To provide relief of farmers in any state by the making of loans to drainage districts |
undated |
2 | 21 | Statement of Warrants issued to Treasurer, Assessor, Their Deputies and Assistants, for services rendered |
1925 June 1 - 1926 June 1 |
2 | 22 | Treasurer's payment receipt book |
undated |
2 | 23 | Treasurer's payment receipts |
undated |
Correspondence, 1918-1940Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
1918-1931 |
undated | ||
Box | Folder | ||
3 | 1 | Correspondence |
1918 |
3 | 2 | Correspondence |
1919 |
3 | 3 | Correspondence |
1920 |
3 | 4 | Correspondence |
1921 |
3 | 5 | Correspondence |
1922 |
3 | 6 | Correspondence |
1923 |
3 | 7 | Correspondence |
1924 |
3 | 8 | Correspondence |
1925 |
3 | 9 | Correspondence |
1926 |
3 | 10 | Correspondence |
1927 |
3 | 11 | Correspondence |
1928 |
3 | 12 | Correspondence |
1930 |
3 | 13 | Correspondence |
1931 |
Untitled |
1932-1940 | ||
Box | Folder | ||
4 | 1 | Correspondence |
1932 |
4 | 2 | Correspondence |
1933 |
4 | 3 | Correspondence |
1934 |
4 | 4 | Correspondence |
1935 |
4 | 5 | Correspondence |
1936 |
4 | 6 | Correspondence |
1937 |
4 | 7 | Correspondence |
1938 |
4 | 8 | Correspondence |
1939 |
4 | 9 | Correspondence |
1940 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Agriculture--Utah--Sevier County.
- Drainage--Utah--Sevier County.