California Development Company
Encyclopedia
The California Development Company was formed in 1896 as a replacement for the defunct Colorado River Irrigation Company
, which had been started a few years earlier for the purpose of planning an irrigation
system for the lower Colorado Desert
in California
. The rich, silty soil of the area was found to be suitable for agriculture
, but wells tapping groundwater
brought up an inadequate supply of water for such a hot, arid region. The California Development Company took over the project of diverting Colorado River
water into the Coachella
and Imperial Valleys in the Salton Sink
, a dry lake bed which today contains the Salton Sea
, hoping to turn the desert green with agricultural fields. The first canals were being constructed by 1900 under the guidance of chief engineer George Chaffey
.
The Imperial Canal
was completed within two years. It received water from the Colorado River, which, by the time it had flowed to the Imperial Valley, contained massive amounts of silt
. The Imperial Canal filled with silt at an alarming pace. Attempts to create a diversion around the silt blockages led to disaster, when winter flooding in 1905 tumbled the diversion canal. The whole of the Colorado River poured into the Salton Sink, forming the Salton Sea
. The area was a scene of flood for two years until the canal breach was mended. As the waters dried up the Salton Sea was reduced in size, but it is still the largest lake in California.
The California Development Company was financially strained by this point, and in fact relied upon a financial loan and physical assistance from Southern Pacific Railroad to mend the broken canal. Ultimately, this "financial assistance" resulted in the Southern Pacific Company obtaining a legal judgment against the California Development Company entered in the Superior Court of California in and for the County of Los Angeles on December 30, 1909, in the amount of $1,279,865.77, an enormous sum at the time. A legal judgment had already been entered against the California Development Company in favor of the New Liverpool Salt Company on January 10, 1908, in the amount of $458,246.23, with interest to accrue from that date, to compensate the salt company for the value of its destroyed property, basing its claim upon the alleged negligent action of the California Development Company in cutting the bank of the Colorado River and thus permitting the flow of water into the former Salton Sink destroying its lands.
The costs of the broken structure, as well as from lawsuit
s over the disaster, made the California Development Company a lost cause. The project of irrigating the valley was assumed by the new Imperial Irrigation District
in 1911.
An expansive recounting of the rise and fall of the California Development Company appears in a lengthy legal decision issued by the Supreme Court of California on October 9, 1915, entitled Title Insurance and Trust Company v. California Development Company, Southern Pacific Company, New Liverpool Salt Company, Boaz Duncan, W. H. Holabird, 171 Cal. 173, 173-222, 152 P. 542, 542-563 (1915). There are no less than eight judicial decisions involving this case that were published by the California Supreme Court between March 13, 1911, and February 13, 1919.
Colorado River Irrigation Company
The Colorado River Irrigation Company was incorporated in Colorado on January 7, 1892 for the purpose of irrigating "lands contiguous to the Colorado River." The company founders claimed to be able to irrigate , with of that being in San Diego County, California and the remainder in Baja...
, which had been started a few years earlier for the purpose of planning an irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
system for the lower Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The rich, silty soil of the area was found to be suitable for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, but wells tapping groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
brought up an inadequate supply of water for such a hot, arid region. The California Development Company took over the project of diverting Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
water into the Coachella
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
and Imperial Valleys in the Salton Sink
Salton Sink
The Salton Sink is a geographic sink in the Coachella and Imperial valleys of southeastern California. It is in the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion...
, a dry lake bed which today contains the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
, hoping to turn the desert green with agricultural fields. The first canals were being constructed by 1900 under the guidance of chief engineer George Chaffey
George Chaffey
George Chaffey was a Canadian–born engineer who with his brother William developed large parts of Southern California, including what became the community of Etiwanda and cities of Ontario, and Upland...
.
The Imperial Canal
Alamo Canal
The Alamo Canal was a long waterway that connected the Colorado River to the head of the Alamo River. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation to the Imperial Valley. A small portion of the canal was located in the United States but the majority of the canal was located in Mexico...
was completed within two years. It received water from the Colorado River, which, by the time it had flowed to the Imperial Valley, contained massive amounts of silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
. The Imperial Canal filled with silt at an alarming pace. Attempts to create a diversion around the silt blockages led to disaster, when winter flooding in 1905 tumbled the diversion canal. The whole of the Colorado River poured into the Salton Sink, forming the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
. The area was a scene of flood for two years until the canal breach was mended. As the waters dried up the Salton Sea was reduced in size, but it is still the largest lake in California.
The California Development Company was financially strained by this point, and in fact relied upon a financial loan and physical assistance from Southern Pacific Railroad to mend the broken canal. Ultimately, this "financial assistance" resulted in the Southern Pacific Company obtaining a legal judgment against the California Development Company entered in the Superior Court of California in and for the County of Los Angeles on December 30, 1909, in the amount of $1,279,865.77, an enormous sum at the time. A legal judgment had already been entered against the California Development Company in favor of the New Liverpool Salt Company on January 10, 1908, in the amount of $458,246.23, with interest to accrue from that date, to compensate the salt company for the value of its destroyed property, basing its claim upon the alleged negligent action of the California Development Company in cutting the bank of the Colorado River and thus permitting the flow of water into the former Salton Sink destroying its lands.
The costs of the broken structure, as well as from lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s over the disaster, made the California Development Company a lost cause. The project of irrigating the valley was assumed by the new Imperial Irrigation District
Imperial Irrigation District
The Imperial Irrigation District was formed in 1911 under the California Irrigation District Act to acquire the properties of the bankrupt California Development Company and its Mexican subsidiary. The IID had acquired 13 mutual water companies, which had developed and operated distribution canals...
in 1911.
An expansive recounting of the rise and fall of the California Development Company appears in a lengthy legal decision issued by the Supreme Court of California on October 9, 1915, entitled Title Insurance and Trust Company v. California Development Company, Southern Pacific Company, New Liverpool Salt Company, Boaz Duncan, W. H. Holabird, 171 Cal. 173, 173-222, 152 P. 542, 542-563 (1915). There are no less than eight judicial decisions involving this case that were published by the California Supreme Court between March 13, 1911, and February 13, 1919.
See also
- Alamo CanalAlamo CanalThe Alamo Canal was a long waterway that connected the Colorado River to the head of the Alamo River. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation to the Imperial Valley. A small portion of the canal was located in the United States but the majority of the canal was located in Mexico...
- Colorado RiverColorado RiverThe Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
- Imperial Land CompanyImperial Land CompanyThe Imperial Land Company was a land colonization company incorporated in California in March, 1900 for the purpose of encouraging settlement of the Imperial Valley thus providing customers for the California Development Company...
- Imperial ValleyImperial ValleyThe Imperial Valley is an agricultural area of Southern California's Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, centered around the city of El Centro. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously. The Valley is bordered between the...
- Salton SeaSalton SeaThe Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
- Salton SinkSalton SinkThe Salton Sink is a geographic sink in the Coachella and Imperial valleys of southeastern California. It is in the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion...