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2017-11-25 10.42.11

The Camp W.G. Williams historical masonry ditch is a concrete and rock-lined irrigation ditch system constructed for the Utah National Guard by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression.  As such, a federal appropriation of $22,155 was utilized, many Utahns were provided with jobs, and the cantonment area was improved.  The project, originally proposed to the WPA in December of 1938, was completed by 1940.  The masonry ditch was designed and constructed to irrigate newly planted trees along the camp avenues as well as enhance camp aesthetics.  The stone was obtained from a local quarry located west of the cantonment area in the military reservation.  The stone and mortar workmanship is characteristic of many WPA projects.   All in all, the masonry ditch is credited as the first federally funded “curb and gutter” project in the United States.  To this day, the preserved portion of the ditch contains architectural landscape significance for its association with the WPA and early Camp W.G. Williams improvement.

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