Delphus E. Carpenter (1877–1951) was the Commissioner of Interstate Streams for the State of Colorado at a time when Western States' water rights were becoming a legal battleground, and became the primary driver behind the Colorado River Compact of 1922.[1][2]
Delphus E. Carpenter | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Member of the Colorado Senate from the 7th district | |
| In office January 6, 1909 – January 1, 1913 | |
| Preceded by | William E. Clayton |
| Succeeded by | Hubert Reynolds |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 May 1877 Greeley, Colorado, US |
| Died | 27 February 1951 (aged 73) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Michaela (née Hogarty) |
| Profession | Lawyer, State Commissioner |
Carpenter was raised on an irrigated farm in northern Colorado, where water was a precious resource. In 1899 after graduation from the University of Denver Law School, he went into practice in his hometown, serving community water-related legal needs. From 1909–1913, Carpenter served as a state senator representing his home district.[2] Carpenter was the first native-born Coloradan elected to the state senate, and he served as a Republican.[3] When the Greeley-Poudre Irrigation District constructed a tunnel to divert water from Wyoming's Laramie River, Carpenter became lead counsel in the Wyoming vs. Colorado lawsuit that resulted, twice arguing the case before the U.S. Supreme Court. As the issue of water as a state resource grew, Carpenter conceived the idea of the legal compact as an out-of-court solution to the West's water conflicts,[2] invoking the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution.[4] The interstate water compacts Carpenter helped develop, particularly the 1922 Colorado River Compact, without which Hoover Dam would not have been built, form an enduring legacy.[4][5][6]
A book about Carpenter's life and career was published in 2003.[7] His papers have been preserved at Colorado State University's Morgan Library in Fort Collins, Colorado.[8]
Personal
editCarpenter was born May 13, 1877. He was a first generation descendant of original settlers of the 1870 Union Colony of Colorado.[1] Carpenter married Michaela Hogarty in 1901.[2] He suffered from Parkinson's disease, which eventually left him bedridden from 1933[2] until his death on February 27, 1951.
References
edit- ^ a b Justice Greg Hobbs: From Water Battles To Peace Treaties: Colorado's Water Compacts With Other States, Excerpt from a draft of the Citizen's Guide to Colorado's Interstate Compacts, Colorado Foundation for Water Education (January 2010), http://www.judges.org/dividingthewaters/news/docs/CO-Compacts.pdf Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Colorado State University Archives and Special Collections: Carpenter and the Compacts, http://lib.colostate.edu/archives/water/compacts/carpenter.html, modified: 2011-08-30.
- ^ admin (2015-02-17). "Delph E. Carpenter". coloradoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- ^ a b Ryan J. Carey: Business History Review of Silver Fox of the Rockies: Delphus E. Carpenter and Western Water Compacts. By Daniel Tyler (foreword by Donald J. Pisani). Norman: Oklahoma University Press, 2003. xxi + 392 pp. Maps, photographs, figures, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth, $34.95. ISBN 0-8061-3515-8, http://www.hbs.edu/bhr/archives/bookreviews/78/rcarey_spring2004.pdf, Spring 2004.
- ^ Donald Worster: Rivers of Empire, Water, Aridity & The Growth of The American West, Random House, Inc., New York, 1985, p. 209. ISBN 0-19-507806-3, ISBN 978-0-19-507806-0.
- ^ James Earl Sherow: Watering the Valley, Development along the High Plains Arkansas River, 1870-1950, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans., 1990, pp. 226-227. ISBN 978-0-7006-0440-1, ISBN 0-7006-0440-5.
- ^ Daniel Tyler: Silver Fox of the Rockies: Delphus E. Carpenter and Western Water Compacts, Norman, Okla.: Oklahoma University Press, 2003, xxi + 392 pp., maps, photographs, figures, notes, bibliography, index; cloth, $34.95; ISBN 0-8061-3515-8.
- ^ Jane Barber: A Celebration of the Papers of Delph E. Carpenter & Family, http://lib.colostate.edu/develop/events/2005/carpenter/, Modified: 2011-04-18.