Morris Hans Knudsen (July 16, 1862 - November 15, 1943) and Harry W. Morrison teamed up to exploit business opportunities introduced by the National Reclamation Act of 1902. The U.S. government was subsidizing projects to irrigate vast tracts of desert. Knudsen, a native of Denmark, moved to Idaho with his wife in 1905. He became well known for his skill using horses and basic scrapers to haul dirt. Morrison, a native of Illinois, moved to Idaho in 1904 as a concrete superintendent for water reclamation projects. Harry Morrison (1885–1971) met Morris Knudsen (1862–1943) while working on the construction of the New York Canal in southwestern Idaho. Morrison was a 20 year-old concrete superintendent for the Reclamation Service; Knudsen was a forty-something Nebraska farmer (and Danish immigrant) with a team of horses and a Fresno scraper. Their first venture together was in 1912, on a pump plant in nearby Grand View, for $14,000. They lost money but gained experience. In 1914 MK earned some revenue when they constructed the Three-Mile Falls Dam in Oregon. For several years the firm built irrigation canals, logging roads, and railways. They incorporated in 1923, the year gross revenues topped $1 million. MK reached a significant milestone with its joint venture in the construction of Hoover Dam
Morris Knudsen House saved: http://www.scrippsmedia.com/kivitv/news/Historic-Boise-home-saved-242305171.html
Morris Knudsen House saved: http://www.scrippsmedia.com/kivitv/news/Historic-Boise-home-saved-242305171.html