Last updated: March 16, 2021
Place
Johnson Creek Flume
NPS/Grant-Kohrs Ranch
Quick Facts
Location:
Deer Lodge, MT
Significance:
Historical Structure
Designation:
National Historic Site
Amenities
3 listed
Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot
The earliest Montana ranchers found an abundance of wide-open land for grazing their cattle but finding a reliable source of water was much more difficult in the arid west. The necessity of needing an abundant water supply became even more apparent soon after the hard winter of 1886-87, as ranchers began irrigating hundreds of acres of land for hay production.
The first irrigation system on the ranch was built by Johnny Grant in the early 1860’s. This system used water from the Clark Fork River and several smaller springs to provide enough water for his cattle and crops. In 1866, Conrad Kohrs purchase the property from Grant and soon began making improvements and expansions to the ranch’s irrigation system.
To avoid conflicts, a new type of water usage right known as “first in time, first in right,” was established to regulate Montana’s most valuable commodity. Under this type of appropriation, the first person to claim a water source and put it to a “beneficial use” could control it.
One of the earliest water rights on the ranch was established in 1885 and is associated with the Kohrs-Manning Ditch. This ditch carries water from the Clark Fork River and Cottonwood Creek. The ditch is privately owned, but the National Park Service has the right to use a share of the water for irrigation and livestock purposes in exchange for allowing the ditch to flow through the entire length of the ranch.
This unique structure in front of you is an 84 x 10 x 3-foot wooden flume that carries the Kohrs-Manning Ditch water over the top of Johnson Creek, which is a natural occurring water way. Over the years this flume has undergone several repairs and replacements to ensure continuous operations. These types of flumes have been used on the ranch for well over a century. The first wooden flume on the ranch was built by Conrad Kohrs sometime around 1880 and diverted water from Johnson Creek near the Main Ranch House to irrigate the lawn, lilac bushes, and Augusta Kohrs Victorian Garden on the south side of the house.
Today, the historic flood irrigating system of Grant-Kohrs Ranch is composed of several miles of earthen ditches, diversion dams, flumes, and culverts that follow the natural slope of the land. This allows gravity to direct thousands of gallons of life-giving water to plants and animals throughout approximately 782 acres of land throughout the ranch.
The first irrigation system on the ranch was built by Johnny Grant in the early 1860’s. This system used water from the Clark Fork River and several smaller springs to provide enough water for his cattle and crops. In 1866, Conrad Kohrs purchase the property from Grant and soon began making improvements and expansions to the ranch’s irrigation system.
To avoid conflicts, a new type of water usage right known as “first in time, first in right,” was established to regulate Montana’s most valuable commodity. Under this type of appropriation, the first person to claim a water source and put it to a “beneficial use” could control it.
One of the earliest water rights on the ranch was established in 1885 and is associated with the Kohrs-Manning Ditch. This ditch carries water from the Clark Fork River and Cottonwood Creek. The ditch is privately owned, but the National Park Service has the right to use a share of the water for irrigation and livestock purposes in exchange for allowing the ditch to flow through the entire length of the ranch.
This unique structure in front of you is an 84 x 10 x 3-foot wooden flume that carries the Kohrs-Manning Ditch water over the top of Johnson Creek, which is a natural occurring water way. Over the years this flume has undergone several repairs and replacements to ensure continuous operations. These types of flumes have been used on the ranch for well over a century. The first wooden flume on the ranch was built by Conrad Kohrs sometime around 1880 and diverted water from Johnson Creek near the Main Ranch House to irrigate the lawn, lilac bushes, and Augusta Kohrs Victorian Garden on the south side of the house.
Today, the historic flood irrigating system of Grant-Kohrs Ranch is composed of several miles of earthen ditches, diversion dams, flumes, and culverts that follow the natural slope of the land. This allows gravity to direct thousands of gallons of life-giving water to plants and animals throughout approximately 782 acres of land throughout the ranch.