EPISODE · Jun 4, 2026 · 2 MIN
Irrigation
from StaniStory: Change and Continuity in Stanislaus County · host McHenry Museum and Historical Society of Modesto, California
Read by Mary Ann Sanders, damned rivers create man-made lakes as sources of water for irrigated canals to bring snow-melt from the Sierra mountains to otherwise-dry land throughout Stanislaus County.In fact, the residents of Modesto got together to elect Christopher Columbus "C.C." Wright to the California Assembly for him to enact the unanimously-passed landmark Wright Act of 1887. This legislation allowed for the creation of locally-controlled water districts across the state. As a result, the two oldest of such districts in California are both local to the county: Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District.Beginning in the 1920s, the water powered through the dams was began to also be used to create electricity!
What this episode covers
Read by Mary Ann Sanders, damned rivers create man-made lakes as sources of water for irrigated canals to bring snow-melt from the Sierra mountains to otherwise-dry land throughout Stanislaus County.In fact, the residents of Modesto got together to elect Christopher Columbus "C.C." Wright to the California Assembly for him to enact the unanimously-passed landmark Wright Act of 1887. This legislation allowed for the creation of locally-controlled water districts across the state. As a result, the two oldest of such districts in California are both local to the county: Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District.Beginning in the 1920s, the water powered through the dams was began to also be used to create electricity!
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Irrigation
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