National Register of Historic Places

Coolidge Dam

San Carlos, Gila County, Arizona
Listed
October 29, 1981
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
81000135

About this property

The Coolidge Dam is a reinforced concrete multiple dome and buttress dam 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Globe, Arizona on the Gila River. Built between 1924 and 1928, the Coolidge Dam was part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. Coolidge Dam was named after the 30th US president, Calvin Coolidge and was dedicated by President Coolidge on 4 March 1930. The design and construction engineer was Herman Neuffer, who oversaw much of the construction undertaken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) during the 1920s in Arizona and New Mexico. Coolidge Dam impounds San Carlos Lake on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The project irrigates 100,000 acres (40,000 ha). Since the water is impounded so it can be released when farmers need it, San Carlos Lake is often at a low level except in wet periods. When former President Coolidge dedicated the dam in 1930, the dam had not begun to fill. Humorist Will Rogers looked at the grass in the lake bed, and said, "If this were my lake, I'd mow it."

Location

San Carlos, Gila County, Arizona
33.17429, -110.52797

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTAGRICULTUREENGINEERINGARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Gila Pueblo
Industrial
19.1 mi
Winkelman Bridge
Industrial
19.3 mi
Pinal Ranger Station
Civil War
19.9 mi
Besh-Ba-Gowah
Listed
20.1 mi
US Post Office and Courthouse-Globe Main
Industrial
20.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Coolidge Dam listed on the National Register?

Coolidge Dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 29, 1981.

What type of historic resource is Coolidge Dam?

Coolidge Dam is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Coolidge Dam?

The period of significance for Coolidge Dam is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Coolidge Dam?

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