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Yuma Siphon exhibit opens Wednesday
Commemorative coins depicting a three-dimensional image of the siphon's interior on one side and an Arizona Centennial image on the other are still available for purchase, said Ann Walker, public relations specialist at the Yuma Visitors Bureau.
The coins are modeled after a silver medallion created in 1912 by prominent Yuma merchant E.F. Sanguinetti depicting the siphon, the year and his name.
Sanguinetti's grandson, Bruce Gwynn, recently brought one of the historic coins to a meeting of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area board of directors. The Heritage Area decided the 100th birthday of the state and the siphon were worthy of a new medallion.
The cost of the limited edition silver medallions is $250 each, including a display case. Orders may be placed at Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park during business hours, or call 783-4771.
The commemorative medallion also will be cast in brass in an unnumbered edition, to be sold for $25 each. The brass coins will be on sale at the Territorial Prison and at the Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park.
Net proceeds from the sale of both the limited edition silver medallions and the brass medallions will to help pay for the new exhibit on the engineering and construction of the Yuma Siphon.
The community is invited to celebrate Arizona's statehood Wednesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony signifying the grand opening of the Yuma Siphon Irrigation Project historical exhibits.
Through a partnership between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Yuma Quartermaster Depot, educational exhibits were created to chronicle the history of the Yuma Siphon, which is still in use today.
The Yuma Siphon was first used 100 years ago on June, 29, 1912, in an effort to help fuel the growth of agriculture in the Yuma Valley. The tunnel was built under the river to pump water from the All American Canal on the California side to the Arizona side. The water is then distributed to the Yuma Valley through canals.
Today, this engineering marvel still works exactly as it did in 1912, bringing water to 50,000 acres of rich farmland and helping to make Yuma the winter vegetable capital of the nation.
In reference to the historical exhibits, Doug Hendrix, external coordination manager with the Bureau of Reclamation in Yuma, said, “It's a step back in time and it just kind of really shows what went into putting the original water infrastructure in place that helped bring water into the farming areas and into the city itself back around the time when Arizona became a state in 1912.”
Hendrix added that historical photos, murals, old newspapers and original diver suits used to inspect the Yuma siphon when it was constructed will be available for viewing.
“We also have a flat-screen TV ... with a historical video that has been prepared and there's a whole back room with a photo mural of legacy pictures of irrigation projects being built in or around the Yuma area, including Laguna Dam.”
Speakers for the ribbon-cutting event include Kara Finkler, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, and Reclamation area manager Jennifer McCloskey. Representatives from the National Park Service, Arizona State Parks, the city of Yuma, and the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area will also be participating as they are key partners in the project.
The event will begin at 1 p.m. at Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park, U.S. Reclamation Service Historic Office building, 201 N. 4th Ave.
Guided tours of the exhibits will be available to the public.
Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSSarahWomer or on Twitter at @YSSarahWomer.
