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Edwin B. Leigh sends Theodore Roosevelt an advance copy of a relief map of the area surrounding the Panama Canal construction.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-12
On March 18, 1911, Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the dedication of Roosevelt Dam. Providing irrigation for the Salt River Valley area of the territory of Arizona, the dam is largely the result of Roosevelt’s reclamation efforts while President. On driveway along the top of the dam, Roosevelt, officials, and crowd look intently over the side of the dam. Roosevelt has probably just pushed the electric switch opening the sluice gates on the dam’s northern slope. Long shot of Roosevelt addressing crowd, with the following officials identified behind him on the platform: Richard E. Sloan, territorial Governor of Arizona; Louis C. Hill, engineer in charge of dam construction; and Benjamin A. Fowler, president of the National Irrigation Congress.
Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound
1911-03-18
President Roosevelt informs George W. Goethals that he plans to send William H. Taft to visit the Panama Canal zone early in 1909, along with several engineers, to investigate the matter of the Gatun dam. Many rumors currently exist in opposition to the construction of the Gatun dam, but Roosevelt tells Goethals that he is not beholden to anything but completing the canal in the safest and best manner. Roosevelt additionally tells Goethals that he would like to send a man named William Stickney to Panama to work on the canal, and asks if there is a position where Stickney might be able to show his merits.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-13
President Roosevelt outlines for Attorney General Moody the tension between those in the state of Colorado who favor the construction of the Moffatt Railroad at the expense of dams, and those along the lower Colorado River who insist that the dams are vital to their well-being. The railroad owners and investors insist that the railroad cannot be built without great expense if the dam in question is built, though the Reclamation Services says that it can. Roosevelt asks Moody to contact Gifford Pinchot and Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock on the matter at once.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-10-09
James H. McClintock is glad that Theodore Roosevelt will be able to come dedicate the dam in Maricopa County, as he helped make its construction possible. McClintock shares his memory of the beginning of the construction of the dam, and how he and several others were involved with surveying locations and providing a recommendation. While the remaining members of the “Arizona squadron” of the Rough Riders will be in attendance, McClintock laments how their numbers have dwindled.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-01
President-Elect Taft catches up with President Roosevelt on a variety of topics. Taft notes that he has never worried about a dam being constructed as part of the Panama Canal, and believes that canal engineer Lindon W. Bates is an “accomplished liar.” He is also happy to hear that Roosevelt is in contact with German Emperor William II, and plans to meet with Senator Philander C. Knox soon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-07
Cassius E. Gillette believes that the construction of the Gatun dam is the appropriate way of proceeding with the construction of the Panama canal, and comments on the construction of the canal in general. Gillette suggests the names of several engineers to President Roosevelt as candidates to accompany President-Elect William H. Taft to visit the canal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-17
John Ripley Freeman has spoken to a number of people about the Panama Canal who are sure that it will ultimately be built as a sea-level canal, but Freeman does not believe this will be the case. The current slipping at Gatun has done nothing to shake Freeman’s confidence in this, and he has communicated as such to Senator Kittredge, who he met by chance recently. Freeman sends Taft a copy of a book relating to the work of the New York State Water Supply Commission which references a pair of earth dams that he was formerly involved with.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-19
W. J. Curtis has heard of President-elect Taft’s upcoming trip to examine the Panama Canal, and recommends Hugh L. Cooper as an experienced hydraulic engineer who he feels would be of great service if he were to accompany Taft on this journey. Curtis vouches for both Cooper’s experience and character, and says that if Taft is interested in receiving a second opinion, he believes the Engineering Department of the Army will confirm his view of Cooper.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-22
Chief Engineer John F. Stevens informs President Roosevelt that he will sail with the first ship and will have all the data regarding the Catun dams and locks.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-04
Photograph of a trestle bridge over the Chagres River, Panama, showing the construction of a dam that is part of the Panama Canal project. Five men sit in a canoe near the bridge, one of whom is possibly William L. Sibert, member of the Panama Canal Commission.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09
This film depicts Theodore Roosevelt’s commitment to the reclamation of desert land and his belief that natural resources exist for the public benefit. Included are close-up views of Frederick Haynes Newell, first director of the U.S. Reclamation Service and Gifford Pinchot, first chief forester and leader of the conservation movement in the U.S.; both influenced Roosevelt’s thinking and action on conservation. Roosevelt fought successfully for the passage of the Reclamation Act of 1902, which authorized the creation of the reclamation service. In 1906 work on the Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River in Arizona began and was completed in 1911. Film consists of views of desert area, including many varieties of cactus; construction of the dam; the completed dam, hydroelectric plant, reservoir, and irrigation system. Scenes of fields and orchards, sheep and cattle grazing, men clearing, plowing, and harvesting fields with various types of farm equipment, and scenes of crops of wheat, alfalfa, and melons, all represent the benefits brought to the Salt River Valley area by the availability of water.
At the formal dedication of the dam on March 18, 1911, Roosevelt presses an electric switch opening sluice gates, and speaks and shakes hands with workers. Behind him on the platform are, left to right: a woman who may be Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt; a bald man who is probably Louis C. Hill, supervising engineer of the project; an unidentified man; Benjamin A. Fowler, president of the National Irrigation Congress; another unidentified man; Richard E. Sloan, territorial Governor of Arizona; and a man who is probably John P. Orme, president of the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association.
Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound
Grant Prince Marsh, a “lifelong navigator of western rivers,” requests President Roosevelt’s help to prevent a dam being built near Glendive, Montana. The dam is being built for a private company, the Water Users’ Association, and will prevent future navigation of the Yellowstone River.
State Historical Society of North Dakota
1907-11-21