ARIZONA, USA — The Arizona Memory Project has teamed up with Salt River Project to unveil an incredible look back in time.
Nearly 2,000 photographs taken by U.S. Reclamation Service photographer Walter J. Lubken show life in the Salt River Valley in the last years before Arizona became State 48.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Casi 2,000 fotografías de Arizona de principios del sigo XX acaban de ponerse a disposición del público
"Lubken's images of irrigation, agriculture, and scenery offer an unparalleled glimpse into life in the Salt River Valley in the early Twentieth Century," said SRP Research Archives & Heritage Department Senior Historical Analyst Jodi Moon.
Most of the photos were taken from 1900 to 1911 so you can see what the Valley looked like before its agricultural expanses were developed with buildings and towns, the earliest days after Roosevelt Dam's completion and a little snapshot of the lives of Arizonans.
Walter J. Lubken’s Photographs of the Salt River Valley
Lubken was an official photographer for the United States Reclamation Service from 1903 to 1917. His work focused on irrigation projects across the American West during his active years. Lubken eventually hung up his camera and went back to a quiet career as a dry goods store clerk.
While in Arizona, Lubken captured the construction of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam and other irrigation projects up and down the Salt River. He also spent much of his time photographing the agriculture and lifestyle of people in the area at the turn of the 20th Century.
You can find the nearly 2,000 photograph collection on the Arizona Memory Project's website here.
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