West Cache Irrigation Company papers, 1898-2004

Founded at Trenton, Utah, on September 26, 1898, the West Cache Irrigation Company (WCIC) anticipated taking water from Bear River near Riverdale, Idaho, and conveying it through a canal to irrigate lands on the west side of the river, primarily in the Utah portion of Cache Valley. The company began under the leadership of Charles G. Wood, who served as the company's first secretary-treasurer. Other functionaries included M.W. Butler, as president; and Parley Merrill, George W. Adams, William Bingham and Joseph Wood, as directors.

The company's board authorized the issue of 2,500 shares valued at $10 each, obtained a 20-year bond loan for $40,000 through the Utah Mortgage and Loan Company in Logan, Utah, and secured the necessary 100-foot rights-of-way to construct the over 25 mile-long main canal to Trenton. The company employed Washington Jenkins of Ogden, Utah, as field engineer.

Work on the canal progressed slowly, requiring the construction of three flumes to bridge the expanse over Battle Creek, Deep Creek and Weston Creek before ever entering Utah. The original estimation of $50,000 was soon dwarfed as the company was forced to float an additional $20,000 loan after construction reached Weston, Idaho.

Once entering Utah, four camps: William Dopp's at the railroad siding, Cannon Station (present-day Cornish), B.F. Bingham's in northern Trenton, and B.Y. Benson's in southern Trenton, worked simultaneously to construct the canal through the Trenton Flats. Water was turned into the canal on March 25, 1905, which brought water as far as the southern point of Trenton Precinct.

At this point, the canal divided, with one branch heading southeast to Alto (present-day Amalga) and the other branch heading southwest to Newton. Although construction commenced immediately in 1905 on these branches, financial constraints delayed completion until 1909. Furthermore, many stockholders were forced to mortgage their farms to pay for assessments on their canal company stock. Many, in fact, were forced to sell their stock, so that by 1910 a preponderance of WCIC stock reverted to the control of 25 individuals who reincorporated as a private company under the name of Trenton Irrigation Company. Farmers, many of whom had been involved with the project since its inception, were now forced to rent water from this cartel, often at exorbitant rates. Others simply reverted to dry farming.

Although farmers resented this monopoly, the interests then controlling the waters of the West Cache soon found their dominion unprofitable. In 1912, farmers took advantage of Utah's liberal irrigation district laws, formed the Cache Valley Irrigation District, and secured a $40,000 loan to purchase the water rights and rights-of-way from the agreeable Trenton Irrigation District. In 1923, the district was dissolved and the company was again reorganized as a stock company under its original name, the West Cache Irrigation Company.

Ultimately, construction costs for the canal approached $500,000. Albeit the figure far exceeded the original estimate, the West Cache Canal made possible the development of a thriving agriculture on Cache Valley's west side. The West Cache Canal (its main stem, two branches, and numerous laterals) extends to a length of nearly 60 miles. It delivers between 33,000 and 40,000 acre-feet of water to nearly 20,000 acres of land. More information on the origins of the WCIC can be found in A.J. Simmonds, "Water for the Big Range," Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 3 (Summer 1971), pp. 224-237.