Smith's Irrigation Ditch
Smith's Irrigation Ditch | |
 Smith's Ditch in Washington Park | |
   | |
| Location | Washington Park, Denver, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°42′1″N 104°58′13″W / 39.70028°N 104.97028°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1865 |
| Built by | John W. Smith |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000555[1] |
| CSRHP No. | 5DV.181.3 |
| Added to NRHP | October 8, 1976 |
Smith's Irrigation Ditch, originally the Big Ditch and also known as the City Ditch, is a historic ditch primarily visible in Washington Park, Denver, Colorado. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
Denver's first irrigation canal, it was surveyed and built during 1860 to 1867, as an open unlined ditch 3 feet (0.91 m) wide at its bottom, steep sides, and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide at the top. It was dug using horse-drawn plows and scrapers, in addition to manual labor.[2]
It runs from the Chatfield Dam through 15 miles (24 km) of Englewood, Colorado, with Englewood taking some of its municipal water supply from it. Denver's Water Department takes control at Harvard Gulch near S. Downing St. and East Harvard Avenue and runs it through an enclosed pipeline, now, for about 8 miles (13 km) to Washington Park, where it remains as an open channel. It sustains trees, flowers, grass there.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b Denver Board of Water Commissioners (December 22, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Smith's Irrigation Ditch / The City Ditch". National Park Service. Retrieved September 18, 2018. With accompanying two photos from 1975