Mormon Flat Dam, Arizona: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

Summary

Mormon Flat Dam, constructed between 1923 and 1925, was the first dam built by the Salt River Valley Valley Water Users' Association (Association) in its aggressive, and privately-funded, hydroelectric expansion program. In 1938, the Bureau of Reclamation constructed a new gatehouse superstructure and spillway discharge channel to improve efficiency during major flood events. Mormon Flat Dam consists of the dam, spillway, and its attached powerhouse. The 1971 reversible pump turbine facility is non-contributing to the dam complex.

Mormon Flat Dam exhibits statewide significance under Criterion A in the areas of Politics/Government, Community Planning and Development, and Engineering. Under Criterion A it is associated with the evolution of the Salt River Project, one of the first five federally-sponsored western water projects authorized under the National Reclamation Act of 1902. Under Politics/Government and Community Planning and Development, Mormon Flat Dam is associated with the growth of the Phoenix metropolitan area and reflects the Association's increasing influence and power as they attempted to privately build hydroelectric facilities to meet increased demand and consumption in the Salt River Valley. Under Engineering, Mormon Flat Dam is a good example of a radius thin-arch concrete dam design, that represents a departure from the more traditionally massive curved gravity design used for Roosevelt Dam.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission, Salt River Project

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1923 to 1939 (Period of Significance)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office

Collaborator(s): Salt River Project

Sponsor(s): USDI Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office

Submitted To(s): USDI, National Park Service

File Information