The Allendale Colony and the East Fork Dam

According to “The Flint Creek Valley, Montana”, (Ivy Hooper Blood Hill, July 1962):“Some time in the early 1900’s Nathan Allen, a fur trader, purchased four thousand acres of land in the heart of the lower valley. His home place was the Colonel Morse Ranch, including the Coberly Station. He gave it the name of the Allendale ranch. It was bounded on the east by the McPhail Ranch (William Enman’s), on the south by the Thayer ranch (Wayne Hill’s) and Henderson’s, it extended west to include McCracken’s, Job Miller’s, Magnussen’s, and Hans Kofed’s then north to include Rye Hill (Wayne Hill’s pasture), Bradshaw’s, Walter Olson’s, Bill Orhmann’s Seth Bradshaw and Floyd Harris’s, then east to include Art Bowles’ and George Lacey’s, to the point of beginning. It did not include William Manley’s or Lewis Hill’s ranches or the airport.” 

In 1912 Allen sold this entire tract of land to the National Savings and Trust Company of Utah. Then it was sold to Utah Savings and Trust Company. Next it became the property of the Allendale Land Company and was divided and sold to the Utah people in 1915 and 1916. In the last transaction the name of Francis J. Allen was the successor to Nathan R. Allen. 

Ivy states, John Hill read an advertisement saying three cows could be pastured per acre of land and he went to see the area, certain that no land was that fertile. He was convinced and purchased in August 1915 the 90 acres that became the George Lacey place, the 60 acres to the west, across the railroad, the Art Bowles place, the 40 acres east of it and fifty acres north of the airport. A month later John Hill shipped cattle from Idaho but the family stayed in Logan, Utah until May 1, 1916. 

Prior to Hill’s move three Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saint families had already located on the Allendale property. They were the Frank Ashby family, the Thomas Measom family of Spanish Fork, Utah and the Robert Hawley family from Monroe, Utah. During the winter of 1915-1916 John Hill acting as the real estate agent for the Allendale Land Company, sold most of the remaining land to families from Cache Valley, Utah, totaling about twenty-five more families joining in the community life named the Utah Colony. 

Following are these families: 

John E. and Ivy Blood Hill and children: Armin, George and Wayne 

Sam and Elizabeth Gunnell 

William and Isabelle Leishman and children: Eva and Claud 

Herb and Christina Leishman 

William Leishman and his family came later (father of Herb) 

Hyrum and Scerene Hall 

Louis and Luetta Hall 

Fred Parker and later his bride Edna Maughn 

James and Maggie Parker and their family 

Reuben and Hazel Karren and Ted, Earl and Vida 

Karren and Reeder James and Rhoda Thorpe and children: Ada, James, George & Beth 

Job and Elizabeth Miller and children: Ilene and Heber 

John and Nettie Stuart and children: Alvin, Ruby, Phyllis, Jack, Rosalie, and Nettie 

Charles and Elizabeth Bradshaw and children: Louise, Margaret, and Charles Seth Bradshaw 

Elmer and Marguerite Kerr 

Irving and Elva Glenn and Margaret Leishman 

Joseph and Agnes Mitton and children: Fern, Vera, Lavon, Harold and Reed 

Floyd and Pearl Bailey 

Luther and Martha Hill and children: Afton, Vera, Martin and William 

James and Olga Ainsworth and children: Vonda, Utahna, and Glenn 

Newell and Kermit Leishman 

Rulon Cooper 

Ronald Hansen 

Smith Parker 

A ditch completed on the west side of the valley in 1915 was called Allendale Irrigation Company. In 1917 they enlarged it to carry all available water to the lower valley but the irrigation amount was not sufficient to supply all the ranches. Ivy Hill stated a group, starting in 1935, including John E. Hill worked with the State Water Conservation Board to establish the plans for East Fork Dam and the distribution canals. 

An article in the October 4, 1935 Philipsburg Mail stated: “Messages received by representatives of the various organizations throughout the county [state] the Flint Creek Irrigation Project has been approved by President Roosevelt and an appropriation of $500,000 ($275.000 a loan; $225,000 a grant) has been made to carry on the work.” The projects total allotment was for construction of a dam and reservoir on the East Fork of Rock Creek with canals and laterals for flood control and irrigation. It would employ three hundred men and store 25,000 acre feet of water for supplemental supply. Those from Granite county associated with “furthering the cause of the Flint Creek Irrigation project are the Philipsburg Rotary club, The Granite County Stockgrowers Association, James McGowan, Senator John R. Page, Representative Everett Doe and George M. Mungas.” And thus was the success of the Allendale Colony.