Bartlett Dam, Arizona: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

Summary

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) constructed Bartlett Dam on the Verde River from 1936 to 1939. The structure consists of the dam, the attached small valve/river outlet house, and the gated spillway. An auxiliary spillway built in the mid-1990s is non-contributing to the dam structure. Due to erratic stream flows, Bartlett Dam does not produce hydropower.

Bartlett Dam exhibits statewide significance under Criteria A and C in the areas of Politics/Government, Engineering, and Community Planning and Development. 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, Bartlett Dam is associated with the growth of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Under Criterion C, Bartlett Dam is a good example of the multiple arch, hollow-buttress method of dam construction, which was innovative at the time of construction and was Reclamation's first dam constructed using this approach.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1936 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