A train drops visitors off near the newly constructed Laguna Diversion Dam.

During World War II, Adolph Hitler twisted the swastika, once a symbol of the power of nature, to symbolize horror for millions of people. So it may surprise many Arizonans to find a concrete dam and bridge spanning the Colorado River between California and Arizona decorated with many of the symbols. Officially known as the Laguna Diversion Dam and Laguna Bridge respectively, they were the first constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The swastikas, recessed an inch and a half into the concrete, were meant to last. The 47 swastikas that adorn the bridge range in size from eight to 18 square inches.
The completion of the Laguna Dam was grandly commemorated for two consecutive days. The Arizona Sun headlines proclaimed: “Thousands of visitors throng the streets. Yuma, beautifully garbed and in happiest mood extends joyful greeting and welcome to all.”
Festivities began on March 30, 1909, when about 1,200 people arrived on two trains from Tucson and Phoenix, ready for a grand celebration of the first bridge to cross the Colorado River, connecting Arizona and California. The third, a special train from Los Angeles, arrived at noon with 154 passengers. Guests enjoyed a free barbecue feast and a group of men and women rode out on horseback from the Yuma Airdome and joined in the fun by holding up the parade like old time gunfighters.
Part of the Phoenix contingent included the 25-member Industrial Band, regarded as the largest and the best in the Arizona Territory. Main, First and Second streets were decorated with patriotic colors. At noon on the first day, the people waited impatiently for the show to begin. A long line of floats began moving along the main streets. The float that won first prize belonged to the Yuma Heights fruit ranch, which produced a beautiful display of oranges and other mercantile products. Other prize winners included the Sanguinetti Department Store and the Yuma Valley Women’s Club. The Commercial Club of Phoenix provided free theater tickets, free lunches, free dances, and free train rides for those who wanted to visit Phoenix and Mesa.
No one commented on the swastikas, since prior to World War II the symbol served as the logo of the Bureau of Reclamation and was believed to bring good luck
In 1902, the Reclamations Act was passed by Congress. It provided for the reclamation of arid and semi-arid lands in certain states and territories by means of irrigations systems to be constructed by the U.S. government, under the auspices of the Department of Interior. The monies for these projects came from the sale of public lands.
Then in 1903, the United States Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation (then known as the U.S. Reclamation Service), recommended that a dam be constructed across the Colorado River between California and Arizona above Yuma. The dam would be the main feature of an irrigation system that diverted water to the desert below the dam on either side of the river. By building a powerhouse below the dam, the cost of irrigation water could be produced at considerable savings. The secretary of the Interior allotted $3 million for the Yuma Dam construction project.
After months of study, a contract was let to a private firm on July 6, 1905, and construction began two weeks later. The top layers of silt on the riverbed were scraped out to a depth of 25 feet across and 400 feet wide. Three concrete cores, 40 feet high and five feet wide, were poured across the river and a new mixture of earth and rock was dumped between the cores to make up the breast of the dam. The dam was then covered with 18 inches of concrete.
Mainly because of cost overruns, on Jan. 23, 1907, the work was assumed and completed by the federal government under the supervision of the engineers of the Reclamation Service. The following year, water diverted by the Laguna Diversion Dam irrigated thousands of Arizona and California acres.
Each masonry pier between the gates or flashboards on the Arizona side of the dam is topped with a 9-inch swastika. Upstream about 150 yards is the arched concrete bridge, built to provide easy access to the top of the dam. At the center of the arch, on both sides of the bridge, are the initials USRS (United States Reclamation Service). Fanning out from the initials on either side are 10 swastikas, the largest being 18 square inches.
In ancient times, the swastika was very common. With the ends of its crossbars bent to the right, the swastika was a symbol of the sun, fire and lighting for peoples from Scandinavia to India and China. Swastikas have also been used by various Indian tribes. Impassioned citizens actually attempted to destroy the swastikas on Laguna Dam during World War II, but guards were posted around the clock to protect the site.
When preliminary investigations were conducted at the Laguna Dam site, core samples revealed that it would not be feasible to build a conventional dam. For millenniums the Colorado River had deposited layers of alluvial deposits on the valley floor. Because of the depth of the silt, a design of a dam resting on silt was needed. Government engineers found the type of dam they were looking for on the Jumna River in India.
While in India, U.S. government representatives also learned of the story of the ancient Hindu god Indra, who at one time represented thunder, lighting and rain. Indra, who had four arms and was represented by the swastika, was believed to have the power to control water. The swastika became the logo for the U.S. Reclamation Service and was incorporated into the Reclamation flag, which featured a large swastika at its center with the U S R S letters in the four corners. It is not known how long the swastika was used by the service or precisely when the Reclamation Service dropped the symbol.
Sources: Arizona Sun March and April 1909, “Swastikas on the Colorado” by Walter Smoter Frank, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
— Jane Eppinga. Photos courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation, Yuma Arizona.