Brush Creek Valley Homesteads and Ditch Claimants

Description

"Brush Creek Valley, Township 5 South, Range 84 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, the area at hte mouth of Breek Creek between the Eagle River and the railroad tracks and west of Brush Creek. Ditch is Lower Rule, Priority #137, Spring in 1884 by H.E. Rule. The ditches are located by right bank or left bank and this is determined by facing downstream. This is supposed to be the original settlers of the Brush Creek Valley." Ditch digging and irrigation were crucial for the first ranchers and homesteading families in the valley. Satellite maps can be used to verify locations and names of ditches today and most are still visible, if not in use. Some ditches have become routes for hiking and biking trails. Brush Creek Valley was a ranching area to some of the first homesteaders in the Eagle area. Water law and rights have become evermore important with growing populations, community needs, and parceled ranches. This document begins with the first claimants in 1884.