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by Lydia Ovitz (Powell), 1966, Senior, Eagle Pass High School, Eagle Pass, Texas
Patrick Walker Thomson was born in a Scottish village a few miles from the capitol of Aberdeenshire on April 4, 1854. When 20 years old he was lured to Texas by cotton, wool, and other prospects. He tried Angora goats and sheep and in time held some 70,000 sheep. Among Texas stockmen, Patrick stood high, a man respected by all.
The value of sheep declined at a fearful pace during the Cleveland administration and the price of wool fell from twenty cents to seven cents per pound. But, instead of going under, as so many ranchers did at this time, Patrick conceived the idea of irrigating his 16,000 acres of land by a huge gravity canal from and to the Rio Grande. For this project he repeatedly visited Europe and twice he was to the point of perfecting organizations with ample capital when first, the financial crisis of 1893, and later the Boer War, frustrated all attempts at funding. In this irrigation project, he had the friendly counsel of Professor Wallace of Edinburg University, who in 1899, wrote in a report submitted to the Rio Grande Land Development Company, Ltd. "I paid a visit to the United States of America with the object of examining the tract of land which it is proposed to irrigate in Maverick County, Texas...." Professor Wallace was a man of world-wide eminence in irrigation work in the Orient and continued to write, in the same report, "I have every confidence that it (the canal) will become pleasingly remunerative to shareholder and farmer alike, and be a development of an arid district and sequentially beneficial to the country."
But despite this and another favorable report by U.S. Assistant Engineer F. B. Maltby, the endeavor was still regarded as a "fad" in Texas.
Disappointed but not dejected, Patrick went ahead and made a blueprint of his construction plans for the proposed canal, waiting for the day when finances would enable him to make his dream a reality. In 1910, the local paper carried the obituary of Patrick Walker Thomson; and the gravity irrigation canal was nothing but a paper dream.
But, in February of 1930, banner headlines on the front page of the local newspaper proclaimed:
LEGISLATURE VALIDATES IRRIGAION PROJECT
Since December of 1927, when the first bond issue of $4,800,000 was passed by the voters and then validated by the district court in 1928, the residents of Maverick County had been struggling for the construction of the canal and power project. The dream had not died.
"The validation of our irrigation and power project by the State Legislature," stated the local newspaper, "comes as a point of justice to a long, arduous, and determined fight for a worthy cause, and wins a battle that only strong and true men would stick to."
When the idea of the canal was revived, a body of engineers made a preliminary survey of the proposed site, and reported that the canal was not only impractical, but impossible; and they proposed to fight against its construction. "Our Board of Directors," noted the local newspaper, "supported by the faith and loyalty of the community, brought an engineer to the district, and after a very painstaking survey and investigation, he pronounced the canal practical and feasible." The fight was on.
The issue was taken to Washington D.C. where, "We Won Again," said the local newspaper. And with that victory, plus the Texas Legislature's seal of approval, the canal was becoming a reality. The canal was begun in 1930 and completed two years later.
The canal was dedicated in February 1932, Governor Ross Sterling gave a speech, Indians danced, and a great parade was held; and on April 12, 1932, at 2:00 p.m. one of the three penstocks at the huge hydro-electric plant was opened to set a large dynamo to whirring, creating electricity for Eagle Pass and its sister city across the border, Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.
The canal was built, all the work, sweat, and tears were past. The bitter fights with Texas and Washington paid off. The dream was a reality.
Late in 1932, there came a crushing blow. While a hard rain and lightening storm was in progress, water opened the first major breach in the canal. By the flickering light of the lightening, engineers watched the surging water gradually eat away the sustaining wall. This was the height of the depression and money for reconstruction was not to be had. By scraping up money here and there, the canal was finally repaired in 1938, six years later.
The canal is a monument to Patrick Walker Thomson and the men who followed in his footsteps. It serves as an example of determination, perseverance, and just plain "hard work."