A Brief History of Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company In 1894, the U.S. Congress passed the Carey Act. This law, also known as the 'Desert Lands Act' ceded federal
lands to the western states, and ultimately delivered patents to federal
lands into private ownership. The law's stated purpose was reclamation of
desert lands in the western U.S. It provided that the states would be
responsible for putting water, settlers, and farms on the Federal lands segregated from the public domain. There was no money in either the
state or federal coffers for this act, in fact the original act of 1894
provided only $1000 in federal money for the entire enterprise. A few
entrepreneurs of the time formed construction companies to build canal
systems and entered into contracts with the states. In fact there were
three separate contracts: one between the federal government and the states,
one between the states and the construction companies, and one between
the construction companies and the settlers or 'entrymen'. The companies
would construct the canals, make maps of land to be segregated, and sell
shares of the Company's water right based on segregated acres and available
water. Purchasers of Company stock used the stocks to apply for patent
to the segregated acreage. Once all the contracts were satisfied the whole
works were turned over to the shareholders that were required by the contract
to establish an operating company. Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company was the first such "Carey Act
Company" in Idaho. The original construction company, The American
Falls Canal and Power Company, entered into a contract with the State of
Idaho and began construction on what is now Aberdeen-Springfield Canal
in 1901. The Company was granted a natural flow water right for 1,200
cfs from the Snake River below Firth with a priority date of February 6, 1895 (the actual date construction began on the river diversion gates). The Company
itself obtained patent to all of Section 33, Township 5 South, Range 31
East Boise Meridian (640 acres or 1 square mile) and subdivided the parcel
into residential, commercial, farm, and industrial lots and blocks. These
lots were then sold to individuals through a lottery. A lottery ticket
cost $50 and guaranteed a one-way ticket to Aberdeen on the Oregon Short-line
RR and a lot in the town of Aberdeen. Some of the lots were supposed to
have buildings on them, e.g. a general store, a hay mill, a sugar factory,
and a hotel. The American Falls Canal and Power Company went bankrupt in 1905 due
to cost overruns and a holding company, the American Falls Canal Security
Company, took over and completed the canal construction. In 1910, the
contract with the state was completed and the project was turned over
to the Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company. The original segregation was
for 57,241.9 acres of which 50,948.16 were patented under the original
Carey Act. The original estimated cost was $252,000 and the actual cost
was $886,000. A total of 75,000 shares of stock were authorized and about
58,000 shares sold for $40 per share. A Board of Directors was elected
and provisions made in the Articles of Incorporation and Company By-Laws
to establish the operations of the company. The assessments that shareholders
pay each year are collected to operate and maintain the system to bring
water from the Snake River below Firth and deliver it to all the currently irrigated lands within the system. Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company
operates and maintains 190 miles of main and lateral canals and delivers
water to more than 62,000 acres each year. Every year on average we divert
325,000 AF from the river, deliver about 115,000 AF, spill about 30,000
AF, and lose about 180,000 to transmission loss.
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