published by B. F. Bowen & Co., Inc., Chapter X. pages 146-149

Transcribed and submitted by Alvin Poole February 26, 2019

   Perhaps no one factor has contributed to the recent advanc of farming land, and the unusual prosperity that marks the agricultural interests of this country, so much as has the construction  of the great drainage system that has been launched and is niw completed.  It was at first believed to be a visionary scheme upon the part of a few interested citizens.  It was counted too great an expense to be afforded in this day and generation..  Every farmer and business man in the county knew that the county contianed tens of thousands of acres of the richest land to be found on the face of the earth which was not bringing in enough per acre to pay the taxes annually.  Everyone admitted that if water could be turned into ditches and speedily carried from this flat swampy land, no fairer, richer soil could be found than that within the "Kingdon of Harrison," yet they saw no possible way to thwart the natural current of crooked rivers and open up the flat lands between these streams.  Lands of this character were to be found in all the northern and central sections of the country.

The Soldier river, the Boyer river and others were valleys of unsurpassed fertility, but about two out of every five years (ometimes more frequently), the valleys were covered by waters from these streams, which were so meandering in their course from north to south, to the Missouri river into which nthey naturally fell, that is was impossible to sow and reap and cut the native grass crops that, in dry seasons, were a great source of wealth to the owners.  Agitation, science, experiment and "lots of high taxes"had to be made to serve as forerunners of the great system that now is looked upon with general public favor and pride.  While there is always some expense that comes to the landowner who is not especially benefited by such gigantic internal improvements, in Harrison county and the adjoining territory, has been benefited to a greater extent than was his original thought.  None would care to have thousands of acres of waste land, full of ponds and swamps and lakes, standing in numerous portions of this county, as was the condition beforethese water-ways were opened up.  In the case of the main ditches --the Boyer and Soldier rivers have been lessened from thirty to fiftty per cent in their lengths.  Where the waters of the Boyer used to run forty miles, these straigh-cut canals have reduced the stream to about one half that distance, and where the Soldier river ran rampant, overflowing tousands of acres of crops and hay-land, the waters are now coveyed by a short-cut ditch, directly into the Missouri river, while in places, the old river bed is cultivated, or at least, is dry enough for agriculturural purposes.

This country has profited by the system begun years before in Monona county.  Lakes and morasses have been drained into these big ditches, and now one may see corn growing in a soil that would rival the valley of the famouse old Nile.  Again, as a sanitary means, these drainage ditches have bean the means of lessening the malaria, and cutting short the mosquito crop, whihc in earlier days was such a pest as cannot be described by one not having to fight the winged pests both by day and by night.  The landscape scene is all changed, the green scum of pond and swamp, the stagnant pool in the iver and creek, have all disappeared since these drainage ditches habe been excavated.  And still the work goes forward, and this year more such improvements are being contracted for by the county authorities.

It was abot 1903 that the first great channels were cut in this county, the Monona-Harrison section.  The veteran civil engineer, J. S. Wattles, of Missouri Valley, was the first man in charge of the work, and was succeeded by a Mills county expert drainage engineer, Seth Dean.  These expert civil engineers have produced a system not excelled in all Iowa.  There are now eight seperate drainage districts in this county, with a total mileage of ninety-thre miles of open ditches, or canals, which have cost the county and its citizen tax-payers the sum of six hundred forty-eight thousand three hundred eighty-nine dollares and eighty cents. Others are being made, but not of such great mileage.  The subjoined tables show in detail the facts concerning the various drainage districts, and they may be relied upon as substaintially correct, for the figures have been carefully compiled by that highly efficient county auditor.  Mr. Albertson, who has consulted the records, as well as the field notes of the engineers in charge.  While this is no sense an official report, it contains such facts as were asked by the author and will serve the purpose of giving general information to the readers concerning a great modern internal improvement: 

DRAINAGE DISTRICTS

     Upper Boyer Section--Length of ditch in miles, 19.53; width of right of way in feet, 150; bottom width of ditch in feet, 20:  side slopes of channel 1/2 ' to 1'; mean cut in feet 12; rate of fall in feet per mile, 3.3"; area in acres taxed, 10.895; mean rate, $10.71; 34 miles of railroad track taxed, $19,153.00; 20 miles of county road taxed, $1,641.02.  Total cost, $130,709.35.

     Latta Section--Length of ditch in miles, 2.96; width of right of way in feet, 150; bottom width of ditch in feet, 20; side slopes of ditch, 1' to 1'; mean cut in feet, 12; rate of fall in feet per mile, 3; area in acres taxed, 1,621; 6 1/4 miles of railroad track taxed, $7,000.00; 1 mile of county road taxed, $100.00; mean rate, $10.90.  Total cost, $36,776.94.

     Boyer Sub-Section--Length of ditch in miles, 6.42; width of right of way in feet, 150; bottom width of ditch in feet, 30; wide slopes of ditch , 1' to 1'; mean cut in feet 9; rate of fall per mile in feet, 2.35; area in acres taxed, 6,883; 13 1/4 miles of railroad track taxed, $12,000.00; 6 1/2 miles of county road taxed, $800.00; mean rate per acre, $8.01.  Total cost, including 22,000 feet of lateral ditches, $71,375.91.

     Wilson Sub-Section--Length of open ditch in miles, 5.05; width of bottom of ditch from 4 to 6 feet; width of right of way in feet, 50, 60 and 80; 7 lateral branches consisting of 30,000 feet of tile drain from 10 to 24 inches in diameter and 34,700 feet of open ditches; area in acres taxed, 6,024; mean rate, $6.29; railroad track taxed, $500.00; county road taxed, $1,500.00.  Total cost $40,248.05.

     Monona-Harrison Section--Length of ditch in miles, 4.4; width of right of way in feet, 150; area in acres taxed, 6.753; mean rate per acre, $6.52; railroad tax, $83.04; county road tax, $2,311.28,.  Total cost, $46,392.13.

     Soldier Valley Section--Length of main ditch in miles, 6.66; bottom width of ditch in feet, 40 and 35; side slopes of ditch, 1' to 1' width of right of way in feet, 200.

     Spooner Ditch--Length of ditch in miles, 9.20; bottom width of ditch in feet, 12 and 16; width of right of way in feet, 50.

     East Soldier Ditch--Length of ditch in miles, 4.35; bottom width of ditch in feet, 8; side slopes of ditch 1' to 1'; width of right of way in feet, 50.

     West Soldier Ditch--Length of ditch in miles, 2.50; bottom width of ditch in feet, 6; side slopes of ditch, 1' to 1'; width of right of way, 50.

     Nelson Ditch--:ength of ditch in miles, 2.25; width of right of way in feet, 50; bottom width of ditch in feet, 8; side slopes of ditch, 1' to 1'.

     Burcham Ditch--Length of ditch in miles, 5; bottom width of ditch in feet, 6; side slopes of ditch, 1'to 1'; width of right of way in feet, 70.

     Pratt Lake Ditch--4,000 feet of 12 tile; 4000 feet of open ditch; bottom width of ditch in feet, 3; side slopes of ditch in feet, 1'to 1'; area in acres taxed, entire district, 29,000; railroad track taxed, $6,300.00; county road taxed, $2,332.31; land taxed, $106,631.33; town lots taxed, $2,497.99; mean rate per acre, $3.63.  Total cost, $119,543.63.

     Harrison-Pottawattamie Section--Boyer Cut-Off No. 1.  Length of ditch in miles, 1.54; bottom width of ditch in feet, 45; side slopes of ditch, 1'to 1'; width of right of way in feet, 200.  Allen Creek Ditch:  Length of ditch in miles 12.62; side slopes of ditch 1' to 1'; bottom width of ditch in feet, 16: mean cut in feet, 7; rate of fall in feet per mile, 1.88 width of right of way in feet, 100.  Willow Creek Ditch:  Length of ditch in miles, 7.86; bottom width of ditch in feet, 18; side slopes of ditch 1' to 1'; rate of  fall in feet per mile, 1.88; mean cut in feet, 9; width of right of way in feet, 150; mean rate per acre 3.93.  Total cost, $189,147.29.

     Coc Sub-district--Consists of 11,800 feet of tile; drain from 8, 10,12, 14, 18 and 24 inches in diameter; average cost per acre, $8.32; area in acres taxed, 625.  Total assessment, $5,198.50.

Te average cost per acre of lands in the several districts amounts to $6.98.  The total number of acres in districts is 60,800.