Barton S. Alexander - California Years - Irrigation and Land Reclamation

Irrigation and Land Reclamation

Following his return to California, Col. Alexander was appointed president of a board appointed by the U.S. Congress to study the potential of irrigating the San Joaquin Valley, Tulare Valley, and Sacramento Valley. The board, which became known as the Alexander Commission, conducted a survey of the California Central Valley throughout the summer and fall of 1873. The Commission's report declared that large-scale irrigation was possible and that much land could be reclaimed from the swamps around the Sacramento River. The report was not initially acted upon, but was the first professional survey of the valley and set the stage for further development.

In 1874 and 1875, Alexander was assigned to a board examining the problem of keeping the Mississippi River Delta from silting up and becoming an impediment to ship traffic. During the course of his tenure on the board, he traveled to Europe in order to examine European solutions to the problem. At the end of 1875, Alexander was asked by the state government of California to examine a proposed irrigation project in the San Joaquin Valley. Busy with other projects, Alexander appointed an associate, William Hammond Hall, to head the project.

Alexander died in San Francisco, California, on December 15, 1878, at the age of 59. He was buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery.