Reclamation History

Born in Syracuse, Nebraska in 1887, Page received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from University of Nebraska in 1908. In 1909, Page's first job for the USRS was as a topographer surveying canal sites in Colorado. He joined the Grand Junction, Colorado city engineer's office as an assistant in 1911. In 1925, he became superintendent of the Grand Valley Project. In 1930, Page went to work as office engineer and chief administrative assistant for the Boulder Canyon Project. By 1935, Page advanced to the head of the Engineering Division. The following year, Page filled the acting Commissioner vacancy, and assumed the Commissioner's office on January 25, 1937. Highlights of his term include President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Reclamation Project Act of 1939, and the first power generated at the Grand Coulee power plant. Page died in 1955. The town of Page, Arizona, near Glen Canyon Dam, memorializes the fifth man to lead Reclamation.

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