Local hero Henley Hedge

Within a few days of his arrival here, Hedge was hired by Buffalo Jones to resurvey and serve as engineer of construction for the Amazon Irrigation Ditch. Hedge designed the first headgates to divert water from the Arkansas River, and the original 300-or-more-foot flume across the rugged Sand Creek west of Lakin was considered one of Hedge’s “masterpieces.” By December of 1890, water was turned into the ditch and was making its way to Scott County at a rate of five miles per day.

Buffalo Jones knew there could be no better man to operate the canal than the man who engineered it, and Hedge proudly accepted Jones’ offer to be Superintendent of the Amazon. The 26-year-old Hedge began patrolling the ditch with a light team of horses, good spring wagon, some shovels and forks, and a hand-forged weed or trash hook. This was no small task considering the canal was the longest one built in southwest Kansas and originated in Kearny County, traveled through parts of Finney County to Scott County, then came back into Finney County and ended at the Gray County line. Returning to Lakin every night after a day’s work was not a viable option, so Hedge often sought refuge with Mr. and Mrs. Hans Eskelund who lived north of Deerfield and about 20 miles from Lakin. Hans, an experienced blacksmith, had helped construct the Amazon ditch, headgates and diversion dam, and his farm was the first to receive water from the canal in 1890.

About this time, a writer by the name of John H. Whitson had come from the East and settled in northern Finney County near the now extinct community of Terryton. According to the late Foster Eskelund, Hans’ son, the writer was intrigued by the large irrigation ditch and had observed Hedge while on patrol. Whitson was inspired to write “The Young Ditch Rider” which first appeared as a serial in “Young People’s Weekly” and then as a book in 1898. Although Whitson used pseudonyms like Golden City for Garden City and Dr. Sarine for notable Finney County physician Dr. Andrew Sabine, the references to this area are undeniable. It is unknown how much of lead character Harry Purcell’s adventures were actually based on Henley Hedge’s experiences, but Whitson was clearly not the only one who admired Hedge. Area newspapers frequently sang Henley’s praises. “The Amazon has the most complete method of securing water of any of our great canals, and the work represents the engineering ability of H.E. Hedge, its superintendent. The Amazon is yearly extending its great water privileges and increasing its number of consumers, and this year many farmers have had reason to congratulate its efficient superintendent on the great value of this canal.”

According to Foster Eskelund, “Pokey” loved his job as ditch rider as it was somewhat tranquil, and it gave him much pleasure to watch the water flowing in the large canal he had masterminded. Hedge liked all the farmers along the ditch, and he once told Foster that the good people in Ohio could not compare with the old pioneers of Kearny and Finney Counties. In July of 1895, Henley married Mary Minnie Logan, the daughter of a Civil War veteran. The ditch rider then began managing the Amazon in such a way that he could spend most nights at home with his bride.

As head surveyor for the construction of Lake McKinney, Hedge was given the honor of opening the gates to allow water to fill the lake. On February 12, 1907, it was his act of heroism that saved the life of Fred Frost. Hedge was following Frost, civil engineer John Phillips, and rodman Harry Beckett at the newly constructed lake when it was being filled. Certain that they knew where the road was and that the water was shallow, the three men decided to cross instead of going around. Frost turned the team of mules into the water, and Hedge watched as one of the mules slipped off the road bed into deeper water, pulling the other mule and wagon in after him. Hedge leapt from his buggy into the icy water, cut the mules free and managed to pull Frost to safety. Beckett was nowhere to be seen, but Henley could see Phillips. Because he was too far to reach, Henley made his way to dry land and secured a pole then pushed back into the water to rescue Phillips, but the young man refused to take hold of the pole extended to him. Hedge worked in the freezing water for a full hour trying to locate Phillips and Beckett to no avail. “Then someone had the forethought to get him some dry clothes and he worked until 10 o’clock at night when he went home to assure Mrs. Hedge that he was safe.”

Henley worked in the irrigation industry until about 1932, leaving the Amazon in 1904 and taking charge of the South Side Company’s land and ditches. He continued to work in engineering as well. Because of his accurate knowledge of land surveys, he also played a prominent role in the growth of the gas and oil industry in western Kansas. His friends estimated that “Pokey” had done more surveying during his 60+ years of living in Kearny County than all the five or six other surveyors that operated here during the same years. He was very much in demand for his knowledge of the early records and was said to be the type of man who ‘mentally recorded’ all the corners, intersections, and points that were needed. Preceded by his wife in death, Henley Ellsworth Hedge died at the home of their daughter in Washington, D.C. on May 11, 1950. His body was brought back to Lakin and interred at the Lakin Cemetery. Presbyterian minister W.E. Dysart delivered the eulogy at Henley’s funeral, calling Hedge a trailblazer and the builder of foundations. Dysart gave Hedge much credit for the prosperity of Kearny County.

SOURCES: Information provided by the late Foster Eskelund and the Hedge Family; Kansas Historical Society; Diggin’ Up Bones by Betty Barnes; History of Kearny County Kansas Vol. 1; archives of The Evening Telegram, Lakin Independent, Advocate, Investigator and Lakin Index; and Museum archives.