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Resident to be honored for McCoy waterwheel restoration

McCoy resident John Comer will be honored with the Nimon-Walker award on Sunday at the Avon Library.
Raymond A. Bleesz | Special to the Daily |

Nimon-Walker Award

When: Sunday, May 1

Where: Avon Public Library

Time: 2 p.m.

Details: Honoring John Comer for his work in restoring the McCoy waterwheel.

Entertainment: “An Evening with Teddy Roosevelt,” theatrical performance by Cooter Overcash.

Hosts: Eagle Valley Library District and Eagle County Historical Society. Free, open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

AVON — There is no question about McCoy resident John Comer’s commitment to preserving local history. Comer, 84, has restored the landmark waterwheel on his ranch three times since 1976, with the most recent restoration last year. If spring run-off on the Colorado River cooperates, the waterwheel, undoubtedly one of the county’s most prominent historic landmarks, should be around for a while longer.

The Eagle Valley Library District and Eagle County Historical Society will honor Comer with the Nimon-Walker Award on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Avon Public Library. The award, established in 2001, recognizes individuals and families who have helped preserve the history of Eagle County.

Comer, a retired lawyer, became the custodian of the waterwheel in 1969 when he purchased the 250-acre Water Wheel Ranch. Ranchers desperate to deliver irrigation water to their fields built the original wheel in 1923. Although the Colorado River flows adjacent to the land, there was not enough drop to gravity-feed water into irrigation ditches. The 48-foot diameter waterwheel was the solution to the problem.



However, time and high water wreak havoc on wooden waterwheels. Comer first restored the waterwheel in 1976, using grant money from the state and tapping into the historic knowledge and present day construction skills of his rancher neighbors. The wheel restoration process was repeated in 1993, after a huge log tore up the structure. Trouble came again in the form of a tree trunk during run-off in the spring of 2014, requiring Comer and his helpers to rebuild the wheel a third time.

“I just couldn’t live with it,” he says of the damaged wheel.

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“I think anybody who drives Highway 131 and catches a glimpse of that magnificent waterwheel just south of McCoy probably experiences a moment of appreciation for this bit of local history,” said Eagle County Historical Society President Kathy Heicher.

The Nimon-Walker Award presentation will also feature local actor Cooter Overcash in his one-man show, “An Evening with Teddy Roosevelt.” Overcash will share insights on the famous president and reveal Roosevelt’s connection to Eagle County history.

The Nimon-Walker event is free and open to the public. For more information go to evld.org or eaglecountyhistoricalsociety.com.


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