Smith Canal Task Force

Stockton was founded in 1849 by Charles Weber. Stockton was a center of activity for gold mining activities of the 1800's. Until 1890, the City was approximately four square miles.

JC Smith was a prominent landowner who moved from Indiana to Stockton in 1852. He was married Harriet Boone (reported to be a relative of Daniel Boone).

Mr. Smith's land flooded annually after the City of Stockton built the North Street Canal to channel floodwaters from Mormon Slough and Calaveras River away from the center of the City. The Canal did not lead out into the Delta, but was excavated west to the city limits and turned down into a smaller ditch. Effectively, this spread the floodwater onto Mr. Smith's land, flooding his crops.

In December of 1880, Mr. Smith sued the City of Stockton in for $2,000 damages. He won a modest settlement for loss of crops and used that money to begin planning a canal to send the water off his land and through to the Delta. Of course, the development of the Canal would then allow Mr. Smith to subdivide his land.

In 1887, The State of California enacted Chapter XCIII to provide for the construction and maintenance of an open canal along North Street for sanitary and drainage purposes. $40,000 was appropriated to the Insane Asylum for the construction and maintenance of those levees and embankments. In 1889 The Board of Directors for the State Asylum reported an open canal will be built (Smith Canal) to discharge stormwater and sewage from the Hospital to the Delta so as to improve relationships with local asylum neighbors offended by hospital sewage.

The Smith Canal was identified on a City/County survey map of 1894 although the exact completion date is not clearly documented in maps from the 1890's.

In 1915, the City of Stockton filled in the North Street Canal to replace the open canal with underground pipes but left the Smith's Extension to the North Street Canal open to the Delta.