Show J. J 1 r U LETS LET'S fi GUARD WHAT IS LEFT lj 1 ll A Est it r By W W. Earl Rhinehart h rt District Conservationist se v Soil Conservation Service 1 I i vet I L Ii A Antimony 1 tsoo I Hen Henderson erson I Alter After settlements along the 6 the Sevier Valley Valle south south Font ForK of or b lx L ere 5 here ere founded and anu dairies ranch- ranch farms etc established the the thet began investigating t territories to the east ini int in- in I the tho East Fork of the t i ti Setter Sevier River l The meadow l lands above 1 Kingston I Gorge known as Grass 3 3 Valley Ile were i investigated as II early as 1673 1 73 This area and adjoining range lange lands lauds were pas pas- j 9 lures tures being used by the Kanarie Kanari Kanar i ie fra Ta Cooperative Herd Cattler Cattlemen Cattle Cattle- r 1875 chose t e men roen from Beaver Deaver in C te this area as a ranch and brought t I in 1000 head lead of cattle and families I horses horses three Thirty i 1 were enrolled at Marion Ward Vard I post office office- Coroto in 1877 1 Attention was given gi to thet the t isolated settlement in 1880 when I Antimony Antim nr was discovered int in t f Coroto Canyon About people people peo peo- pie were employed by the mines mine mills and smelters during the theM M boom years of or 83 1380 1906 07 and 1916 17 In recognition of the mining interests the town Kas Iras renamed Antimony in 1921 I I The town to itself excluding the increased population during boom years rears rose from in 1880 to in 1940 The entire arable strip between Kingston Can Canyon Canon on and the Black Canyon Canon I of the tho Sevier SeUer is treated as one unit because all irrigation water comes from one source Because t of this the townsite is one of off the time largest in Utah Incorporated f 11 ia a 19 1934 it covers ers an area 15 I Jules long and rive five to seven sE idles uiles 2000 acres of land are aro irrigated from frons Antimony Creek and aud the East Fork of the ier evier River Interest in conservation farmIng farmIng farm farm- Ing started in this area in 1946 under technical cal supervision on of oC Soil Conservation Service Ser technicians technicians technicians tech tech- assigned to the Upper Sevier Soil Conservation Dis Dis- and Henderson two other settlements along the East Fork of the Sevier River did not follow In the footsteps of Antimony They both experienced prosperity and disaster The mouth of Sweetwater Creek in 1876 Widtsoe was the site of a ranch In n 1902 it became the permanent home of three families The broad Sevier Valley at this point was used for grazing lands With the possibility possibility possibility pos pos- of an increased population population population tion of farming people the of 40 acres was broken up into city lots and named Winder VInder in 1910 This townsite was again enlarged in 1912 and the name changed to I Widtsoe in 1915 The 1916 records records rec rec- show two hotels four stores a three-room three school house and anda a culinary water system supplying supply supply- ing fug water to each home With a population recorded as the residents cultivated dI dry farms and small irrigated tracts It was said sad that There are acres of or cleared land and every oven square miles of the Valley Valley Valley Val Val- ley has good soil I CIL The Tho large laige areas of or fertile soil above Black Canyon Canon on either side of or the East Fork of the Sevier River niver are easy to vate However there are only eleven inches of oC rainfall at this foot elevation a short growing season eason and n a s scarcity of surface water for irrigation The first settlers of the valley believed that the area was unsuited unsuited unsuited un- un suited for large scale irrigation farming but that through extensive dry dIJ farming supplemented by stock raising they could provide a satisfactory 11 living ving At this time between 1880 and 1890 1590 they took up small farms in iii the more choice chorce location loca loca- tion With the enlarged Homestead Home Home- Homestead stead Act of 1919 coupled by bythe bythe bythe the high prices of farm produce a definite increase in numbers of or farms was noted between 1910 and 1920 Tho rapid increase was noted during the good goodyears goodyears goodyears years between 1 lam 1919 19 and 1922 yet et a decrease took place during during during dur dur- ing the thc three no crop years between 1923 and 1926 Tho The town or of Henderson was founded during the period when agricultural prospects were vere the best Jest It attained a population of 01 81 In 1926 W. W y E. E Holt took the leadership in financing the rehabilitation rehabilitation re re- re- re habilitation and development of the valley He attempted to tomake tomake make maite all water in the valley alley available a for a common community community community com com- use Pino Pine Lake water which before was a source of irrigation water to Cannonville was purchased acre feet of of water rights Individually Individual individual- ly purchase dams were built ditches dug buildings and corralls corralls corralls cor- cor ralls constructed a n grist milland mill mm milland and creamery built at Osiris From the newspapers at this tiros tirns we find that people rushed in fields were plowed and buildings constructed b by the 1 score Estimates for tho the population population lation of or Widtsoe were given at 1200 but because many prospective prospective pro pro- settlers make short stops tho the maximum population outside of or Widtsoe did not exceed Because experience had shown that tho the amount of surface water ha had been over estimated rainfall rainfall rain rainfall rain rain- fall was unreliable frost might come month of or the year and th there ro was not enough feed eed i ifor for livestock H hopes for the tho valley valley val val- alley ley development soon faded The AAA jn in 1935 reported that 44 families were living in a district where seven families could gain gaina a living by farming Six different different different dif dif- dif dif- ferent federal agencies through detailed investigations revealed that the land was for agriculture of or an any kind The USDA recommended that the tho land landbo landbo bo be purchased by the government and tho the settlers moved to more favorable areas Today we find Widtsoe a town of vacant houses with one ono exception ex ex- foundations foundations mark the theold theold theold old town of Henderson farms Henderson-farms farms are all overgrown with weeds I Four our families now live jive lve at the mouth of Sweetwater Horse Birch and Ranch Creeks The abandoned lands are not adminIstered administered administered admin admin- b by the Forest Service The water rights were purchased by the State Fish and Game Commission |