DeWeese-Dye Ditch and Reservoir Company
P O Box 759, Canon City, CO 81215-0759
History of DeWeese Ditch and Reservoir
Dall DeWeese and C.R.C. Dye incorporated the DeWeese-Dye Ditch and
Reservoir Company to bring water from Grape Creek to the Lincoln
Park property they owned and were planning on developing called
“Fruitland”. They proceeded to construct the ditch.
They soon realized there was not enough water in Grape Creek to
maintain irrigation in the late summer and fall. In 1902 they
started
construction
on a dam north east of Westcliffe Colorado which was to be called Lake
DeWeese. During the 1930’s there were two six foot additions to
the top of the dam to enlarge the lake and store more water. The
work was done with prison labor from the state prison in Canon City.
In the mid 1990’s the State Engineer condemned the top twelve
feet of the dam and was going to 
restrict
storage to the level of the original dam. The decision was
made by the shareholders to borrow money to reconstruct the top
twelve feet of the dam and the work was completed in 1999. The
project was estimated to cost $850,000 and ultimately cost 1.2
million.
The company continues to make improvements to the system as funds allow and currently provides irrigation water to about seven hundred and thirty five share holders.
To view more photos on the building, addition and reconstruction of the dam, visit our Photo Gallery.