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17
Chapter 4: Early American Period
it and tried to mix it, it turned into a kind of
chalk.” She described the hubbub that
ensued when her brother-in-law dug a well on
J Street between 14th and 15th streets that
actually yielded sweet water. “People came for
blocks to carry water ... You could see them
going in all directions in the morning, carrying a
bucket of fresh water to drink.”
8
Water was 25
cents a bucket
— a private
in the U.S. Army earned
only $13 a month.
9
In spite of the dubious
water quality, the city’s early
water supply relied on
wells. The city looked
forward to the day when it
could i
mpound water from
the San Diego River, which
still offered the best quality.
In anticipation, the towns-
people began to protest against settlements
along the river because they interfered with this
potential permanent supply of good water. The
town trustees listened and they “resolved that
all permanent water within the li
mit of the City
be reserved for public use in general.”
10
In the early 1870s, the first private water
company was formed in the city of San Diego:
the San Diego Water Company. Under contract
to the city, it dug 12 wells in the San Diego
River, pumped the water to a 75,000-gallon
open reservoir in University Heights and piped
it downhill to individual homes. Soon after,
another well
was sunk in Pound Canyon near
11th Avenue and A Street and pumped to
two reservoirs.
11
These wells and reservoirs
seemed to provide an inex-
haustible supply of
water for
any city that
might be built.
12
“There is sufficient water to
meet the demands of the
population when San Diego
has grown to be a large city,”
the Chamber of
Commerce
pronounced. “The San Diego
Water Company has solved
the problem satisfactorily.
The wells are now completed and they are pre-
pared to supply good artesian water in unli
mited
supply.”
13
The city’s population had just passed
the 2,000 mark.
THE BACKCOUNTRY
CREATES ITS WATER SUPPLY
Meanwhile, another 2,000 people lived in the
backcountry, where cattle ranching remained the
MILESTONES IN THE EARLY AMERICAN DAYS
1848
End of the U.S.-Mexican War; California
(including San Diego) became a
U.S.
military province.
1850
California became the 31st state.
1854 Irrigated agriculture developed in the
San Pasqual Valley and elsewhere.
1862
First citrus crops planted
in San Diego County.
1867
Horton’s Addition founded at New Town.
1869 Irrigated landscaping for private homes
began; Ki
mball
Brothers Water Company
formed to build Sweetwater Dam and
Reservoir.
1870
Census figures showed the county
population at 4,324 with 2,300 in the
city of San Diego. San Diego Water
Company supplied water to the city.
Two women viewing Sweetwater Dam, 1895
The San Diego Historical
Society