THE DANIELS CREEK WATER STORY

        In those early days, all the waters of Daniels Creek were used by Charleston residents as I will later explain.
        The settlers of Charleston were the first to use the water of Daniels Creek and they claimed most all of it. Daniel Creek Stream divided at, or near, the lower end of the old Henry Nelson farm. The one stream that went almost straight west ran down through Charleston, running through the lands owned by John Pollard, William Bancroft,
        William Winterton and Samuel Richmond, it being homesteaded by Emanuel Richmond, later known as the Simmons, Smith and Price farm. This stream was called Dry Creek. The Other stream always kept the name of Daniels Creek. After its division from Dry Creek it ran in a north westerly direction going down through what was later the George Simmons farm and near where he built his house and barn. It went through the edge of Isaac Brown’s farm, then through the William Winterton homestead. The old channel had been filled in and now instead of Daniel Creek, there stands sheds and corrals of Heber R. Winterton built by Moroni Winterton, the barns and corrals of Valeo J. Winterton built by William Winterton his father. After the old channel reaches where the old main road crossed Daniels creek just about six or eight rods north of the William Winterton last home, the route is still marked by the stumps of many large cottonwood trees and the old channel has never all been filled. It was from this stream that father first irrigated when he moved to his homestead land. When the Charleston upper canal was built there was a large waste gate put in to allow the overflow waters to pass through it if the canal would not carry it all. I speak of this waste water gate because of my personal knowledge of conditions at that time and I have personally irrigated with the over-flow water of Daniel Creek, and I have done my share to help fill up the old channel when it was no longer needed. I have seen large streams of water in Daniel Creek, in the springtime. When people started to homestead land higher up on Daniel Creek then known as Buysville, they wanted the waters of Daniel Creek. So, in order to procure the right to the use of the waters of Daniel Creek, some of the Daniel people helped to build the Charleston Upper Canal. The old gentlemen, George Noakes, Sr. was the engineer on this project and he surveyed the route and got his grade by pouring water in a gun barrel. The canal was very crooked because there is no cut or fill which will be found in all later built canals.
        In the late published book entitled "Under Wasatch Skies" p. 25, we read, "Edward Buys was the first settler on the creek (Daniel Creek) where the present settlement now is." It was Edward Buys that purchased from my father, William Winterton, his right to the use of the waters of Daniel Creek. He paid for it by working on the Charleston Upper Canal. The old Walker farm, but later known as the Fowers farm where Uncle John and father farmed the year of 1869, was irrigated by water from Daniels Creek. My father, William Winterton was one of the most interested parties in building the Charleston Upper Canal and he did much work with pick and shovel.