Stewart Mountain Dam: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

Author(s): Jim Bailey

Year: 2017

Summary

Stewart Mountain Dam, constructed between 1928 and 1930, was the third dam built by the Salt River Valley Valley Water Users' Association (Association) in its aggressive, and privately-funded, hydroelectric expansion program. In 1936, the Bureau of Reclamation modified the spillway discharge channel, reconditioned hoisting equipment for the radial gates, and installed individual gate operating motors. Stewart Mountain Dam consists of the dam, the left abutment spillway, and the powerhouse. The right abutment spillway and the generator house are non-contributing to the dam complex.

Stewart Mountain 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, Stewart Mountain 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, Stewart Mountain 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.

Cite this Record

Stewart Mountain Dam: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Jim Bailey. 2017 ( tDAR id: 453896) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8453896

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1928 to 1936 (Period of Significance)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -111.561; min lat: 33.545 ; max long: -111.49; max lat: 33.588 ;

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

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
FINAL-2017-Stewart-Mountain-Dam-NRHP-Nomination-Signed.pdf 8.58mb Jul 24, 2019 Jul 24, 2019 8:43:43 AM Public
Stewart Mountain Dam National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, signed August 7, 2017.