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The vote that changed Manteca: SSJID formed 100 years ago today to deliver water, prosperity

Posted by: Maven on May 11, 2009 at 6:22 am

From the Manteca Bulletin:

Manteca was anything but a prosperous bustling community back in early 1909. Area farmers were struggling to produce dry land farm corps. Wheat and water melon yields were strong at first but with each successive year the sandy plains produced less and less. The Manteca town site had just a handful of homes with a couple of stores. It was a mere wide spot on the road and a rail stop for fledgling dairies.

There had been several previous attempts to bring water from the Stanislaus River to Manteca via private ventures but none got very far off the ground either due to squabbles or farmers refusing to spend money to buy water convinced it wouldn’t be that beneficial.

The first system to actually bring water to the South County was established by the San Joaquin Water Company formed by H.W. Cowell and N.S. Harrold. They put in a series of ditches covering 47 miles from the Stanislaus near Knights Ferry to the center of Manteca in 1895. The main conveyance – the Tulloch Ditch – was completed in 1905 and provided water to just 3,000 acres.

Read more from the Manteca Bulletin by clicking here.

May 11, 2009 · Filed Under Agriculture, History

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