Michael Welsh

A Mission in the Desert: Albuquerque District, 1935-1985

Abstract : The accomplishments of the Albuquerque District, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers encompass 50 years of accelerating growth in the American Southwest. For the Albuquerque District, it all began in 1935. But for the Army Engineers, it all began much earlier - more than a century ago when the U. S. Topographical Engineers began to probe the region. This important era of Engineer exploration and mapping provided information for future expansion into the Southwest during and after the War with Mexico in 1846. The early data was also useful in gaining later Congressional support for railroad construction, which was the first major step in the development of the region by the United States. When the Army Engineers came into New Mexico in 1935 to construct its first project near Tucumcari, the Engineers began to develop a knowledge of the political, climatic, cultural, and economic uniqueness of the region, and the Albuquerque District has subsequently developed an expertise in the needs and realities of the land and its inhabitants. The contributions of the District are woven into the fabric of expansion whereby the Southwest has entered the mainstream of national development. In this history of the Albuquerque District and of the early engineer explorers, the thoughts, writings, and theories of many Army personnel have been collected. The contributions of the Army Engineers began with Lieutenant Zebulon Pikes explorations of the southern Rockies in 1806, and were followed by Major Stephen Longs journey along the Rocky Mountain Front Range in 1819 and 1820. Surveys by engineers Abert and Peck in New Mexico in 1847 were succeeded by additional surveys by Lieutenant George Wheeler in the 1870s. The present Districts origins began as the Tucumcari (later Conchas) District during the construction of Conchas Dam and then the name was changed to the Caddoa District during the construction of John Martin Dam and Reservoir in Colorado.