Pioneer Canal Builders of Bingham County

This monument was erected to honor the early pioneers by whose diligent labor the canals were built, bringing life giving water from the rivers to this sagebrush plain, thus converting it into a beautiful valley, which would become the Potato Capital of the World!

Most of the 400 miles of canals were dug in the wintertime using hand plows and slip scrapers, drawn by horses. Early pioneers reported they used four crews; one for shoveling snow, one for blasting frozen ground, another for hand plows and lastly a crew for slip scrapers. They worked for either shares of the water or time slips. The local merchants honored the time slips and reported that they were more common for trade than “money”.

The first water from the People’s canal reached Moreland in 1898 and the end of the canal by 1901. This canal is still a model of their hard work and inspiration. We summarize our gratitude for these pioneers by using the immortal words of President Abraham Lincoln who said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it will never forget what they did here!”

Sons of Utah Pioneers historic marker #282, erected by the Grove City Chapterof Sons of Utah Pioneers at 130 NW Main, Blackfoot, Idaho.