by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
Jeanine and Kevin Butler
nammy@montanasky.com
Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s Note: This is a followup story to The Ashley Creek Ditch, originally published here in February 2023. That article tells the story of the establishment of the irrigation ditch and its importance to valley farmers and families in the early 1900s.

The original Ashley Creek Ditch is no longer in existence as a contiguous waterway. Most of the ditch has been plowed under, paved, built on, or otherwise reclaimed from its original purpose. But there are a couple of remnants of the waterway still around. Pat Jaquith (with permission of the current property owners) was able to locate some sections and take a few photos. We are not disclosing the exact location of the ditch as parts of it are on private property.

The sections of the ditch in these photos shows that it once had concrete sides at least along some sections, although it also used natural banks to channel the water. Depth along this stretch of the waterway was 3 – 4 feet, but the leaf cover and eroded soil covering the floor makes it seem much shallower. The bottom of the ditch was likely never paved or lined. There currently are downed trees along parts of the ditch, and in some places the clearing seems to have stopped and the ditch becomes unwalkable.

There are indications that the ditch was once intended to be cleared for a walking/biking path. There are old markers on some sections that suggest that there was a bike easement implemented or at least proposed at some point. It is unknown if the ditch was ever used for this purpose, and there are homes along parts of it in this area so it’s not publicly accessible.

There is also a bit of a remaining section of the ditch that can be seen looking north from West Valley Drive where it passes under the roadway near Sendero Drive. Again, the ditch passes through private property and we do not endorse accessing it without permission.

Jeanine Buettner remembers the ditch when it was in operation, and recalls that it was much smaller when it passed in front of the Spring Creek Cemetery on West Vally compared to the photos above.

We are not aware of any other remaining parts of Ashley Creek Ditch. If you have any memories of it that you can share, please let us know.