Codell | Cresson
| Damar | Motor
| Palco | Plainville
| Stockton | Webster
| Webster Dam | Woodston
| Zurich | Rooks
County Courthouse
Homesteading In Rooks County
Webster Dam
Settlement in Rooks and Osborne Counties
began in 1869 and by 1880 their population was more than 20,000.
Favorable precipitation in the 1880's resulted in good crop yields
but the following years were interspersed with years of extreme
drought. Prolonged droughts in the 1930's emphasized the need
for a program to stabilize agriculture by storing destructive
flood waters for irrigation.
The Bureau of Reclamation initiated
investigations in the area in 1939 and the Webster Unit was authorized
as a part of the Missouri River Basin Project by the Flood Control
Acts of 1944 and 1946. Webster Dam construction began in November
1952. The plan for irrigation was presented in a definite plan
report which was approved in February 1957. Construction started
on the Woodston Diversion Dam and the Osborne Canal in July 1957.
Organization of Webster Irrigation
District No. 4 was completed in February 1957. A repayment contract
with the United States was signed by the District in April 1957.
For more information on Webster Dam,
click here.
Sources
Information from Roger Hrabe,
Rooks County Economic Development Director
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