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<br />elimination of profits. All but one of the factories had closed by 1967 and all are
<br />presently closed.
<br />
<br />Although the "Rocky Ford" cantaloupe and sugar beet were largely responsible for
<br />development of the valley, other crops have proved to be adaptable to the area. Crops
<br />currently grown include corn, grain sorghum, alfalfa, soybean, dry bean, wheat, onions,
<br />tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, honeydew, cucumbers, cantaloupe, chilies, wine
<br />grapes, cabbage, apples, sweetcorn, raspberries, pumpkins, black-eyed peas, green
<br />beans, squash, cherries, plums, okra, barley, parsnips, winter turnips, garlic, and zinnia
<br />flowers for seed.
<br />
<br />Two seed companies remain as leaders in the development, culture, and marketing of
<br />curcurbit and other specialty seeds worldwide. Melon development continues as well.
<br />The "Rocky Sweet," a croSS between a cantaloupe and honeydew was grown
<br />commercially for the first time in 1985 and is steadily becoming a favorite for the melon
<br />connoisseur.
<br />
<br />Development of the water resource in the basin can be divided into four distinct,
<br />chronological, and progressive stages: 1. direct diversion development; 2. water
<br />storage; 3. trans-mountain diversion; and 4. development of groundwater.
<br />
<br />The earliest record of irrigation and farming in the basin is 1847. A settlement of
<br />French-Canadian hunters and their Indian wives were reported farming in the
<br />Greenhorn Valley. In the same year, an irrigation ditch was dug by the Bents, of Bents
<br />Fort, downstream of present day Trinidad on the Purgatoire River. In 1853 a report by
<br />Lieutenant Beckwith traveling with Gunnison's exploration party showed that six
<br />Mexican families were diverting water out of Greenhorn Creek. The earliest
<br />appropriation date in the basin is March 31, 1859, in the name of Hicklin Ditch on
<br />Greenhorn Creek.
<br />
<br />The first water right on the main-stem of the Arkansas was decreed in 1861; the last
<br />decreed in 1933. By the middle 1880's the main-stem and tributaries of the Arkansas
<br />were fully appropriated. Water right decrees later than 1887 are little more than flood
<br />rights providing water only during snow melt and after summer rainstorm events.
<br />Major irrigation development required large scale financing to enlarge the very early
<br />diversions. Most of the systems were constructed between 1874 and 1890.
<br />
<br />A tour of the Highline Breaks area by the NRCS Archaeologist produced no visible
<br />cultural resources for concern other than possible historic farmsteads. When a
<br />definite undertaking and a more defined area are selected, staff will survey those
<br />areas more intensively. This more intensive survey will produce a more reliable
<br />picture of the study area.
<br />
<br />The computer survey undertaken by the State Historic Preservation Office indicates
<br />the following: One canal in the area, the Catlin Consolidate Canal, is eligible for the
<br />National Register of Historic Places. Several other canals in the area are ineligible.
<br />They are the Rocky Ford Highline Canal - Northern Crossing, the Rocky Ford Highline
<br />Canal - Southern Crossing, and the Otero Canal. Other eligible cultural resources are
<br />a prehistoric burial, the Swink Bridge, and the Santa Fe Trail - Mountain Branch.
<br />
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