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A HISTORY OF IMPERIAL VALLEY 5
FOREW ARD AND ][NTRODUCT][ON
T
HE opportunity to set down in permanent form
the facts that concern Imperial Valley is a rare
opportunity and unique in a way. The localities
that have started at zero and have. reached a
population of 60,000 within a period of thirty years
within the confines of the United States may be numbered
upon the fingers of one hand. Imperial Valley
is one of these. While three decades do not
mean the span of a great length of time they do covet
the whole life of the community concerned in "The
First Thirty Years." We say the opportunity is
unique because seldom does it come within the
lifetime of a citizen to record the whole story of a
community's existence and to know that the events
recorded happened well within his own experience
Thirty years ago, in May, 1901, George Chaffey
turned the first water into the main canal and in
June it reached the floor of the Valley. With that
first trickle of water the planters started experimenting
for they all had to learn from first hand experience
what to grow and how to grow it. Previous
experience on the plains of Kansas, for instance, was
of little value. Theories were just theories until
experience proved them to be facts. With what pride
did those early experimenters exchange knowledge
gained in this great laboratory of nature where
water, soil and sunshine had to be mixed in the
proper manner!
So, in 1931, we pause to review the experiences of
the first thirty years. We pause to pay reverent respect
to the pioneers who had the hardihood to brave
the worst stretch of desert on the American continent
in an attempt to wrest happiness and prosperity
from its rough, forbidding surface. They had their
nerve-to use a modern expression. Still, they had
a wonderful time in those early days. Ask anyone
of them if he would exchange his experience with
that of any of the ease-loving lads of today and he
will tell you quickly. Most of them were young,
hardy and venturesome in 1901 and 1902. Many of
them were college men and women. Some arrived
on the desert with stiff collars and derby hatsbut
they did the quick change act and compromised
with the desert sun immediately. Many families
arrived with all their belongings on one wagon,
pitched their tents, boiled their beans and went to
work without further ado to reclaim a desert square
for their own.
The publisher believes that the reader will appreciate
the stories of these pioneers as they appear In
Chapters IV, V and VI. These stories furnish, better
than any other means, an intimate account of how
folks lived during the first ten years of the Valley's
existence.
There is a real thrill in the story that concerns
water. Many attempts have been made to tell this
story in the form of fiction but no creation of the
novelist's brain can compare with the plain, unvarnished
tale of this community's efforts to secure,
conserve and make sure of its water supply from the
Colorado river. Starting 'way back in 1849 when Dr.
Wozencraft visioned the watering of this waste almost
exactly as it came about; on through the years
that the idea possessed the very soul of that courageous
engineer, Charles Robinson Rockwood; on
through the exciting arrival of multitudes who came
in response to the news that George Chaffey sent out
-that water was flowing; on through the years that
the settlers battled with the wild river-finally being
forced to call upon the great railroad company and
the nation itself to save them from utter ruin; on
through the period of readjustment that followed
and through the final acquisition of the distributing
system in the name of the people themselves; on
through the years that taught them that the river
must be fully controlled by storing its water behind
concrete dams in the upper basin; on through the
years of uncertainty while the Valley's representatives
pleaded, with success after eight years, with the Congress
of the United States to undertake this job;
through to this very day in September, 1931, when
less than enough water in the fiver again proved the
necessity of storage-through it all there runs a story
full of thrills; full of triumphs and defeats; full of
bitterness and joy; full of tragedy mixed with very
little comedy-a story of a people's fight with the
elements of nature that has challenged the admiration
of not only the state and nation but also the
admiration of the world.
The bare facts concerning water as set down in
this history are inspiration enough for any man who
aspires to write.
A Valley stocked with such sturdy pioneers,
weeded down to the most courageous by the threats
of flood and drought, naturally fostered an independent
spirit. This spirit was expressed frequently
by mass meetings that frankly told the powers that
were that their way of doing things was not satisfactory.
Many have noted the fact that this independent
spirit is conducive to controversy and it is true
to this day. Imperial Valley's population can enter
into any political campaign or take up any controversial
subject with more vim and vigor than any
other community in the state. When they fight they
give their attention to the matter with keen enjoyment.
When they play they play just as hard, and
when they take a notion to change their public servants
or to approve their leaders they do so in no un-