Reclamation History

 

Wilbur A. Dexheimer, Commissioner,
Bureau of Reclamation, 1953-1959.

Born in Denver in 1901, Dexheimer graduated from Colorado State University in 1926 with a degree in Civil and Irrigation Engineering. The Bureau of Reclamation hired Dexheimer as an engineer in 1928. Dexheimer was involved with Yakima, Shasta and Hoover projects between 1929 and 1942. Dexheimer held the rank of Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He returned to Reclamation in 1947 to serve six years as Assistant Chief Construction Engineer in the Denver office. During his term, Reclamation obtained congressional approval for Trinity River Division of the Central Valley Project. Congress also passed the Colorado River Storage Project and Small Reclamation Projects Act of 1956.

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