Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1897 — Great Day For Ditches. [ARTICLE]

Great Day For Ditches.

Haddick’s Hill Pond At, Last To Be Exterminated." Last Friday was probably the most decicive single days work in the drainage history of Jasper Co. Five ditches were established by the county commissioners, and three of them large and important ones. The Pinkamink ditch is the most important. Its lower end will be at the Parker bridge, and its upper near Pulaski Co. line. It will five miles long, and very wide and deep. It will drain thousands of acres in the Haddick’s or Pin! amink marsh, now undrained and practically worthless, besides affording a much better outlet than it now has to much of Mr. Gifford’s land, now partly drained though the Iroquois outlet. This will be a very valuable ditch, and a rather expensive one, as a good deal of rock cutting will be required, for a distance of three quarters of a mile.

Another important ditch established was the Stump Slough ditch, and still another the ditch in Hershman’s Slough, both wholly or mainly in Walker township. These three ditches together will drain about 10,000 acres, now good for nothing except an occassional crop of wild hay, and some pasture. These three ditches are all practically parts of B. J. Gifford’s great ditching enterprise, and he owns the greater part of the lands that will be most benefited, though many besides him will also derive benefit from them. It is believed that all these ditches will be completed during the coming year.