Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SILVER COUNTERWEIGHT

Date Range From

1950

Date Range To

1990

Materials

STEEL

No. Pieces

1

Height

2.5

Length

15.4

Width

14.5

Description

SILVER METAL WEIGHT ABOUT THE SIZE OF AN INDEX FINGER. THIS WEIGHT HAS A SMALL METAL LOOP AT THE TOP WHICH IS ATTACHED TO A LONG THIN METAL WIRE THAT HAS EQUALLY INTERSPERSED SMALL BALLS. AT THE END OF THIS WIRE, THERE IS A HOOK. THE WIRE IS TAPED TOGETHER WITH DUCT TAPE AT TWO PLACES TO KEEP IT IN A LOOP.

Subjects

BUILDING COMPONENT

Historical Association

AGRICULTURE

History

USED BY THE ST. MARY RIVER IRRIGATION DISTRICT. IN 2008, UNIVERSITY STUDENT AND GALT PROGRAM STAFF MEMBER DYLAN JOHNSON PARTICIPATED IN A UOFL APPLIED STUDIES PROGRAM, CONDUCTING RESEARCH WORK ON ST. MARY’S IRRIGATION DISTRICT (SMRID) OBJECTS DONATED TO THE GALT IN 2001. THE OBJECTS WERE ACQUIRED AS PART OF A GALT IRRIGATION EXHIBIT (STREAMS IN THE DESERT) IN 2000 AND WERE SEVERELY UNDER DOCUMENTED. JOHNSON CONSULTED WITH FORMER AND PRESENT ST. MARY’S IRRIGATION DISTRICT STAFF MEMBERS AS PART OF HIS RESEARCH. THE INFORMATION BELOW IS EXTRACTED FROM INTERVIEW(S) CONDUCTED BY JOHNSON. TO DETERMINE WHICH INTERVIEWS ARE RELEVANT TO THIS ARTIFACT, PLEASE REFER TO THE ARTIFACTS’ PERMANENT FILE (20010036001-11) AND THE RESEARCH PAPER’S REFERENCES. THIS WAS LIKELY GIVEN BY THE GOVERNMENT TO THE SMRD (THE CROWN OPERATED IRRIGATION DISTRICT) FOR USE RECORDING WATER LEVELS. THE STEVENS COMPANY BEGAN AROUND 1911 AND THEIR RECORDERS BEGAN TO BE USED A BIT LATER BY THE SMRD IN THE 1930S. THE RECORDER HAD SEVERAL COMPONENTS TO IT, INCLUDING P20010036005, P20010036002 AND P20010036004 WHICH, REPRESENTS THE CLOCK WEIGHT, THE FLOAT AND THE STEVENS' RECORDER. THE FLOAT SAT IN A RECORDING WELL (AKA CULVERT) THAT WAS JUST OFF THE CANAL STREAM AND WOULD RISE AND FALL WITH THE WATER LEVEL. THE INFORMATION THE FLOAT RECEIVED ABOUT WATER LEVELS WAS TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE SILVER COUNTERWEIGHT TO THE RECORDER BOX. THIS WAS DONE BY THE COUNTERWEIGHT BEING WRAPPED AROUND THE WHEEL SYSTEM ON THE FRONT OF THE BOX (THE BEADS ON THE COUNTERWEIGHT PREVENTED THE LINE FROM SLIPPING DUE TO AN INCREASE IN WATER KEEPING IT ON THE WHEEL AS THEY WOULD FIT INTO HOLES INSIDE OF IT), AS THE FLOAT ROSE AND FELL THE WHEEL WOULD BE PULLED ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER AND WOULD BE RECORDED BY THE PEN AND GRAPH. THE FUNCTION OF THE CLOCK WEIGHT WAS TO OPERATE THE TIME/WATER VELOCITY RATIO ON THE GRAPH WHICH WAS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FLOW OF THE WHOLE CANAL. IT WOULD PULL THE GRAPH ALONG (WEIGHED ABOUT 8-10 LBS) TO PROJECT THE TIME SEGMENT OF THE RATIO. EACH OF THESE COMPONENTS WOULD HAVE COME INTO USE AT DIFFERENT TIMES BUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM AS WE SEE IT TODAY WOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED BEFORE THE 1960S. THE GRAPH, THEREFORE, RECORDED WATER LEVELS AND CAN BE READ IN THIS MANNER: EACH SOLID LINE VERTICALLY REPRESENTED ½ FOOT IN THE WATER LEVEL WHILE EACH INDIVIDUAL LATERAL LINE REPRESENT 1 HOUR (USUALLY THE GRAPH RECORDED AT 24 HOUR INTERVALS). THESE WOULD BE RECORDED AND BACKED UP BY CALCULATIONS THAT THE WATER SUPERVISORS WOULD MAKE AND THE WATER LEVEL-TIME RATION WOULD BE USED TO CALCULATE WATER VELOCITY. THE WHOLE SYSTEM WAS LOCATED AT “MIDDLE COULEE” (AS LABELED ON THE BOX) WHICH IS A SITE LOCATED NEAR DEVIL’S COULEE. IT IS NORTH OF RAYMOND, WEST OF WARNER IN AN AREA CALLED THE RIDGE RESERVOIR.

Catalogue Number

P20010036003

Acquisition Date

2001-10

Collection

Museum

Less detail