Guide to the Sevier County Drainage District #4 Records,
1918-1940

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Table of Contents
  Overview of the Collection
   
  Historical Note
   
  Content Description
   
Use of the Collection
   
Administrative Information
   
Detailed Description of the Collection

  Subjects

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Sevier County Drainage District no. 4 (Utah)
Title: Sevier County Drainage District #4 Records
Dates: 1918-1940 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 4 boxes (1 linear foot)
Collection Number: USU_COLL MSS 235
Summary: The collection is composed of two boxes of correspondence and two boxes of general files for the district.
Repository: Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives
Manuscript Collection

Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-3000
Phone: 435 797-2663
Fax: 435 797-2880
Email: scweb@usu.edu

Languages: Material in English 

Historical Note

A drainage district is a quasi-public agency with legal authority over the finance, design, installation, operation and maintenance of drains for drainage of farm lands. Under drainage district law, land ownership within the district is required for membership and participation in district activities. A majority of land owners in a given area must agree to the formation of a drainage district before the district can be formed. District taxation creates capital finances through the issue and sale of district bonds for drain installation and maintenance.

A board of three supervisors constitute the governing body of a drainage district. Supervisors are appointed by county commissioners, after nomination by landowners at an annual meeting or by a petition signed by landowners. A president, secretary and treasurer are elected by the district supervisor. In some cases, the offices of secretary and treasurer are filled by a single individual. According to the original petition papers for February and March of 1918, the original board of supervisors for Drainage District #4 were: George T. Holdaway (president), Alva Curtis (secretary) and Edwin Sorensen (treasurer), but in a document dated September 3, 1918, Alva Curtis resigned his position to work for the United States Government in a military occupation and Willard Richard Johnson Jr. was sworn in his place. Johnson served as secretary from 1918 until 1940, and was one of the original petitioners for Sevier Country Drainage District #4.

Drainage districts were first formed in Utah in the early 1900s as a reaction to the rising water table in several Utah counties. As the state's population grew, waterlogged land required reclamation for expanding agricultural practices and arid regions needed water for irrigation. Sevier County Drainage District #4 was established in 1918 and covered the general location of south east Aurora, about 1,000 acres, in central Utah. The contract for drain construction was made between Brown & Kleinschmidt, Drainage Engineers of Salt Lake City, and the Board of Supervisors, Sevier County Drainage District, on June 14, 1918. Like many drainage districts in Utah, District #4 occasionally suffered from poor management. Annual reports were not always submitted to the county commissioners and taxes were not always paid. In 1932, this latter problem led to the court case Sevier County Drainage District #4 vs. State of Utah and the State Land Board. Lack of technical expertise formed the main management dilemma of many district managers. Engineers constructed and over saw the implementation of drains, but once the groundwork was laid, drains were often neglected and subsequently clogged or damaged. During dry years in the 1920s and 1930s, some farmers in Sevier County opposed drainage of their land and deliberately clogged drains with soil, straw, manure and burlap, to raise the ground water level.

Content Description

The records of the Sevier County Drainage District #4 are contained in four boxes. The collection is composed of two boxes of correspondence and two boxes of general files for the district. The general files contain financial records from 1918-1940, as well as minutes from meetings, legal proceedings, and the original petition to organize the Sevier County District #4. The correspondence files are mainly letters to Willard Richard Johnson Jr., secretary of the Sevier County district from its creation in 1918 until 1940. also, included are letters from 1918-1928 addressed to the treasurer, Edwin Sorenson.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Restrictions on Use :  

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Sevier County Drainage District #4 Records must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation :  

Initial Citation: Sevier County Drainage District #4 Records USU_COLL MSS 235, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations:USU_COLL MSS 235, USUSCA.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

The collection is arranged in alphabetical order.

Processing Note :  

Processed in May of 1998

Acquisition Information :  

The papers in this collection were donated to Utah State University Special Collections and Archives by Utah State Archivist Jeff Johnson on May 7, 1997.

Custodial History :  

The papers in this collection were kept by Willard Richard Johnson, Jr., who served as secretary for Sevier County Drainage District #4 from 1918 to 1940. Johnson died in 1948 and his wife, Georgianna Cropper Johnson died in 1977 leaving his desk to their grandson Bradley Thomas Johnson. When Bradley was cleaning out the desk he found the papers for Sevier County Drainage District #4 and gave them to his brother Utah State Archivist Jeff Johnson.

Detailed Description of the Collection

General Files, 1918-1937
2 boxes, 37 folders
Container(s)
Description
Dates
A - C 1918-1932
Box
Folder
1 1 Article XV, list of stockholders, their residence, shares, paid and unpaid portions Undated
1 2 Audit accounts of county treasurer's office Undated
1 3 Auditor's tax deed 1927 May 28
1 4 Aurora townsite – statistics on members Undated
1 5 Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina 1918-1920
1 6 Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina 1922-1924
1 7 Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina 1925-1926
1 8 Bank statements with cancelled checks – First State Bank of Salina 1927-1929
1 9 Blank check receipt book Undated
1 10 Bonds, $500 Undated
1 11 Cancelled checks, First State Bank of Salina 1919-1923
1 12 Chase National Bank receipts of cancelled coupons 1919-1931
1 13 Contract between Brown & Kleinschmidt, Drainage Engineers of Salt Lake City, and the Board of Supervisors of the Sevier County Drainage District #4 1918 June 14
1 14 Court case, Sevier County Drainage District #4 v. State of Utah and the State Land Board 1932 June 2
D - T 1918-1934
Box
Folder
2 1 Drainage district general maps 1919 June 1
2 2 Financial records 1919-1931
2 3 Fiscal report of Drainage District #4 1930 -1931
2 4 Hours worked by employees Undated
2 5 Interest coupons Undated
2 6 Legal notices 1918-1937
2 7 Levying assessment 1918
2 8 List of voters-owners 1919 August 8
2 9 Meeting minutes 1918-1940
2 10 Minutes for meeting of Board of Supervisors 1937 December 21
2 11 Monthly estimates 1919 January - May
2 12 Petition to become Sevier County Drainage District #4 1918 February
2 13 Receipts, First State Bank of Salina 1919-1929
2 14 Receipts from Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Company, Marine National Bank, The Sevier Valley Call, State Bank of Sevier, W.R. Johnson, and John Arneson Lumber Company 1918-1928
2 15 Reconstruction finance corporation, government document 1934 August
2 16 Resolutions made in board meetings 1918-1940
2 17 The Salina Sun receipt Undated
2 18 Salt Lake Tribune proof of publication 1918 May 12
2 19 Savings bank book, First State Bank of Salina 1924 June 12
2 20 Seventy-second Congress, H.R. 4650 – To provide relief of farmers in any state by the making of loans to drainage districts Undated
2 21 Statement of Warrants issued to Treasurer, Assessor, Their Deputies and Assistants, for services rendered 1925 June 1 - December 1 and 1926 June1
2 22 Treasurer's payment receipt book Unated
2 23 Treasurer's payment receipts Undated

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Correspondence, 1918-1940
2 boxes, 22 folders
Container(s)
Description
Dates
1918-1931
Box
Folder
3 1 Correspondence 1918
3 2 Correspondence 1919
3 3 Correspondence 1920
3 4 Correspondence 1921
3 5 Correspondence 1922
3 6 Correspondence 1923
3 7 Correspondence 1924
3 8 Correspondence 1925
3 9 Correspondence 1926
3 10 Correspondence 1927
3 11 Correspondence 1928
3 12 Correspondence 1930
3 13 Correspondence 1931
1932-1940
Box
Folder
4 1 Correspondence 1932
4 2 Correspondence 1933
4 3 Correspondence 1934
4 4 Correspondence 1935
4 5 Correspondence 1936
4 6 Correspondence 1937
4 7 Correspondence 1938
4 8 Correspondence 1939
4 9 Correspondence 1940

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Subjects

    • Corporate Names :
    • Sevier County Drainage District no. 4 (Utah)
    • Subject Terms :
    • Agriculture--Utah--Sevier County.
    • Drainage--Utah--Sevier County.
    • Personal Names :
    • Johnson, Willard Richard--Correspondence.
    • Sorenson, Edwin--Correspondence.

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    Finding aid/Register created by Cynthia Lleyson
    ©2011