The Dam War at Prescott
Employees of a milling company take matters into their own hands to destroy an obstruction on the mill race.
Three employees of the Northern Pacific Mill Company at Prescott were arrested today for blowing up a dam with giant powder. The dam obstructed the mill race of the Northern Pacific Mill Company and was used to furnish power to Laylen Bros.' chop mill. During the late high water, part of the dam went out, and the Northern Pacific Mill Company determined to get rid of the rest of it. A restraining order against its reconstruction was obtained in the superior court, and shortly afterwards the remaining portion of the dam was blown out with giant powder. The men doing the work were arrested, but promptly gave bond.
“The men doing the work were arrested, but promptly gave bond.”
Conflicts over water rights and infrastructure have defined the American West for over a century. While this 1894 dispute involved literal sticks of dynamite, modern Washington still grapples with complex litigation over river health, dam removal, and the allocation of water resources.
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