Guide to the Records of the Godfrey Ditch Company

Prepared by Patricia J. Rettig


Colorado State University Water Resources Archive
Morgan Library, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1019 USA


A joint effort of the University Libraries and the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute


Copyright 2006; 2008 Colorado State University. All rights reserved.
Colorado State University logo
Finding aid encoded in EAD Version 2002 by Patricia J. Rettig, 2006.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Collection Summary

Restrictions

Index Terms

History

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Administrative Information

Related Material

Series Descriptions

Inventory


Collection Summary

Creator: Godfrey Ditch Company
Title: Records of the Godfrey Ditch Company
Dates: 1870-1996
Quantity: 0.75 linear feet
Identification: WGOD
Abstract: The Section No. 3 Ditch Company was incorporated in March 1870 in Weld County. The company constructed its ditch to divert water from the South Platte River for agriculture, milling and dairying purposes. In 1910, it was reincorporated as the Godfrey Ditch Company. The collection contains the minute books of both companies, which span the years 1870 to 1986. Also included are account ledgers and stock registers, as well as some legal documents and historical information.
Contact Information: Water Resources Archive
Archives and Special Collections
Morgan Library
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1019 USA
Phone: 970-491-1844
Fax: 970-491-1195
Email: specialcollections@library.colostate.edu
URL: http://lib.colostate.edu/archives/water/

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.

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Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Colorado State University Libraries online catalog. Researchers seeking materials about related subjects, persons, organizations or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Subjects:
Ditches--Colorado.
Water utilities--Colorado.
Water-supply--Colorado.
Organizations:
Section No. 3 Ditch Company.
Godfrey Ditch Company.
Places:
Weld County (Colo.)

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History

One of the many ditch companies founded to make the lands of the Colorado Territory productive by moving water, the Section No. 3 Ditch Company was incorporated in March 1870 in Weld County. Specifically, the company's ditch "has its headgate in the South Platte River in the southeast quarter of section 3, township 4 north, range 66 west, and extends thence in a northeasterly direction." The company constructed its ditch to divert water for agriculture, milling and dairying purposes. Its founding officers were Lewis Allen, Allen R. Godfrey and Charles E. Miller.

In 1910, the Section No. 3 Ditch Company was reincorporated as the Godfrey Ditch Company, at which time its shares of stock increased from 20 to 100. The officers elected upon reincorporation were Walter T. Sylvester, C. B. Norris and B. K. Hanbury. The company became a member of the Consolidated Ditches Company in 1940 as part of a contract with Denver related to use of the South Platte River water. In the 1980s, as litigation relating to the contract began, the company decided not to rejoin Consolidated.

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Scope and Contents

The Records of the Godfrey Ditch Company consists of documents dated 1870 to 1996. Most significant are the minute books, which span the years 1870 to 1986 and record the business conducted at the annual stockholder and special meetings. Also included are account ledgers and stock registers, as well as some legal documents and historical information.

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Arrangement

Materials in the collection were arranged as two series in two boxes:

Series I: Bound volumes, 1870-1996 and undated
Series II: Papers, 1976-1995

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Records of the Godfrey Ditch Company, Water Resources Archive, Colorado State University.

Acquisition

The Records of the Godfrey Ditch Company was donated to the Water Resources Archive in March 2006 by the current officers of the company, Charles W. Sylvester, Jr., Glenn Werning and Jerry L. Loeffler.

Processing

Processing was completed in November 2006. Materials were inserted in acid-free folders and stored in acid-free boxes. Metal fasteners were removed and replaced with plastic clips.

Online Materials

The minute books have been scanned and are available on the Water Resources Archive website. In the electronic version of this document, they appear as links in context. Note that blank pages were not scanned.

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Related Material

Related Material

The Water Resources Archive also holds the Records of the Iliff and Platte Valley Ditch Company.

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Series Descriptions

Series I: Bound volumes, 1870-1996 and undated (0.6 linear feet)

This series of bound volumes is divided into two categories: minutes and finances. The former consists of the minute books of the Section No. 3 Ditch Company and the Godfrey Ditch Company from 1870 through 1986. In these are recorded the business of the organization, from officer elections to ditch maintenance issues. One of the volumes also contains stock register entries as well as the certificate of incorporation and by-laws. The second category of finances encompasses the ledger books of the organizations, documenting stock transactions. Materials are arranged chronologically in each category.

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Series II: Papers, 1976-1995 (0.15 linear feet)

This series consists mostly of documents related to the Consolidated Ditches Company court case that took place in the 1980s. The case, number 81CW405 in District Court, Water Division No. 1, related to a 1940 contract between Denver and fifteen ditch companies diverting water out of the South Platte River. The series also contains a copy of the company's by-laws, some financial information and a brief history of the organization. Arrangement is alphabetical by folder title.

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Inventory

Note: Estimated pagination is preceded by an "e."

Series I: Bound volumes

Box Folder
1 Minutes.
1 1 Section No. 3 Ditch Company, Secretary's book. 1870-1910. 1 bound volume VIEW
1 2 Section No. 3 Ditch Company, Secretary's book -- loose papers. 1877, 1950. 2pp.
1 3 Combined record book. 1910-1924. 1 bound volume VIEW
Includes certificates of incorporation, by-laws, stock register and transfer records.
1 4 Combined record book -- loose papers. 1899-1927, undated. 7pp.
Includes deed of water rights from Section No. 3 Ditch Company to Godfrey Ditch Company.
1 5 Record. 1926-1986. 1 bound volume VIEW
1 Finances.
1 6 Section No. 3 Ditch Co. ledger. 1870-1909. 1 bound volume
1 7 Treasurer's book. 1905-1936. 1 bound volume
1 8 Stock register. 1919-1959. 1 bound volume
2 1 Account book. 1937-1996. 1 bound volume

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Series II: Papers

Box Folder
2 2 By-laws. 1995. 11pp.
2 3 Consolidated Ditches Company -- case no. 81CW405 in District Court, Water Division no. 1, Colorado. 1982-1988. e100pp.
2 4 Consolidated Ditches Company -- case no. 81CW405 in District Court, Water Division no. 1, Colorado. 1991. e40pp.
2 5 Financial information. 1994. 2pp.
2 6 Historical background. 1976. e30pp.

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