The Uncompahgre Valley: (Images of America)

Settlers of European heritage arrived in the Uncompahgre River Valley after the Ute tribe was ordered to reservation lands in Utah by the federal government in 1881. The pioneers staked out properties and established covenants. The Uncompahgre River carried the usual annual melt from the San Juan Mountains through today's Ouray, Montrose, and Delta Counties toward its confluence with the Colorado River near Grand Junction. But the settlers' crops required more water than the river or irrigation ditches could bring. Engineers assessed the failed farms and abandoned villages in the wake of the Uncompahgre Valley's over-settlement and looked east of Montrose to the Black Canyon, cut by the nearby Gunnison River. They drilled the Gunnison Tunnel to bring the snowcap melt from the Continental Divide's western slopes to the Uncompahgre Valley, creating one of the Rocky Mountain region's most fertile valleys. The tunnel, completed in 1909, was the biggest irrigation project up to that time.

About the Author :
Authors Theajo "Tj" Davis and Royal C. "Whitey" Huff Sr. selected these vintage images to depict the heritage of ranching and farming life throughout the Uncompahgre Valley. Many descendents of the early settlers lent knowledge and photographs to visualize for the 21st century what the early settlers saw.

Review :
Title: Huff, Davis will sign copies of newly published pictorial history Author: Pat Sunderland Publisher: Delta County Independent Date: 6/17/10 Whitey Huff Sr. and Theajo "Tj" Davis have collaborated on a pictorial history of the Uncompahgre Valley. They will be signing copies of their book, "The Uncompahgre Valley," from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at the Delta Museum. Huff was born and raised in North Delta less than a half mile from the Ute Council Tree. He graduated from Delta High School, then went to work as a trapper for the game and fish department. He played basketball on high school and town teams. For most of his life, Whitey has been involved in the construction industry. He has been compiling bits of history and jotting down his recollections for a number of years. Although the world of publishing was "totally foreign" to him, he forged ahead with the help of Tj Davis. The former director of the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce, Davis met Huff a few weeks after she moved to Delta in 2008. Through his stories and photographs, she gained an appreciation for the history of the area. "As time passed, I suggested we write a book using all the wonderful old photographs Whitey and his friends and associates owned from times past," she says in the introductory pages of the book. "The 84-year-old Whitey was up to the project." Arcadia Publishing produces an Images of America series, which features archival photographs that represent the people and the events that helped shape the community. While she was living in Florida, Davis learned about Arcadia Publishing from a woman who had written "Around and About Palm Harbor." "The Uncompahgre Valley" is one of the latest books in the Images of America series. The book retails for $21.99 and is available at local retailers, online bookstores, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadia publishing.com or (888) 313-2665. Featured on the cover of "The Uncompahgre Valley" is a peach-packing crew at the Paonia Excelsior Ranch, taken in 1912 or 1913. A donation from Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Miller, this photo is one of several from the archives of the Delta County Historical Society. The other photos came from a variety of sources, including Whitey Huff's personal collection, other Uncompahgre Valley residents and the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association. "The Uncompahgre Valley and the Gunnison Tunnel: A Description of Scenery" by Barton Walter Marsh was the foundation for the introduction and text of the book. The four chapters of the book are titled "Gunnison Tunnel," "Valley Agricultural Riches," "Canneries, Packinghouses and the Sugar Beet Industry," and "Pride, Prizes and Celebrations." Those chapters chronicle the development of the Uncompahgre Valley, from 1881 when the Utes were removed to a reservation, to the effort early settlers made to divert water from the Gunnison and Uncompahgre rivers to irrigate their crops.