The
Helix Water District has a colorful history dating back
to 1885 - just 37 years after gold was discovered in California
- when the San Diego Flume Company built Cuyamaca Dam,
a diverting dam on the San Diego River, and thirty-three
and a half miles of wooden flume to bring water from the
San Diego River to the thirsty people of San Diego County.
Subsequently
the Flume Company was sold to the Cuyamaca Water Company.
In 1913 - the same year Henry Ford introduced the assembly
line to manufacturing - the La Mesa, Lemon Grove and
Spring Valley Irrigation District was organized. It
comprised 14,794 acres of land, of which over eighty
percent was farm land. It was in 1926 - the year before
Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris - that
the District purchased the Cuyamaca Water Company and
became an operating water agency.
To
learn more about the history of Helix Water District
and how it fits in with the larger historical picture,
click on a "decade" from the index at right.
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