L.M. Winsor photograph collection, 1915-1963

Luther M. Winsor, born in Hebron, Utah on January 21, 1884, spent his whole life working with water, irrigation, and flood control. With his experience and expertise he was appointed to governmental positions on both the state and national level as well as serving as a specialist to private companies. The bulk of his work with irrigation and flood control kept him in Utah, but he also studied and developed water programs in Chile, Iran, Canada, and much of the western United States.

His early life in Hebron, Washington County, consisted of learning first-hand about irrigation, masonry, and railroad surveying. In 1904 he registered at Utah Agricultural College (now Utah State University) in Logan. From the outset of his education he focused on irrigation. He not only attended college, but he also gained valuable field experience by working under the State Engineer in Logan measuring water levels in canals and studying water use in crop production with an appointment from the United States Division of Irrigation Investigations. In 1911 he became the first person in Utah to receive a degree in Irrigation Engineering. In 1926 Winsor earned a Master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Winsor held numerous positions, most of which were concerned with irrigation and flood control. Shortly after he received his degree, Winsor became the first County Agent in the West and served posts in the Uintah Basin and in Colorado. In 1913 he served as the Irrigation Specialist, a position he held for more than 20 years, for the state of Utah. It was in this capacity that he assisted in analyzing floods and developed the barrier system of flood control, in which debris is channeled away from flood waters.

Besides assisting in many flood control projects in Utah, in 1918 Winsor was called upon by the American Smelting and Refining Company to investigate irrigation and, as a result, increase food production for the company's copper mine camp in northern Chile. He would also assist the company on future projects in Garfield, Utah and Black Lake, Quebec. Winsor felt his most significant work, however, was in Iran (under appointment from the President of the United States) serving as Director General at the Ministry of Agriculture. Winsor spent almost five years in the 1940s in the Middle East.

Winsor published extensively about the many projects he assisted on or developed. On January 18, 1968 he passed away. His groundbreaking work set standards for flood control and irrigation not only in Utah, but throughout the West.