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.

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

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.

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.

Preferred Citation

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

Processing

Materials were inserted in acid-free folders and stored in acid-free boxes. Metal fasteners were removed and replaced with plastic clips.

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.

Related Material

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

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.

Series Descriptions

Series I 
Bound volumes  1870-1996 and undated

Series II 
Papers  1976-1995

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.

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.

Inventory

Series I 
Bound volumes 

Series II 
Papers