Steamboat Ditch
Steamboat Ditch is a roughly 34-mile-long irrigation canal dug in the late 1870s by Chinese laborers. It begins at the Nevada and California state line and joins Steamboat Creek in south Reno. Geography. This irrigation canal and adjoining access road is relatively flat with a slight declining grade of about 1/660 from its origin. The vast majority of the ditch is open earth and flanked by various specious of vegetation. The access road or "trail" flanking the canal is predominately dirt. History. In 1877, the Truckee & Steamboat Irrigating Canal Company was organized to construct the Steamboat  Ditch (Townley 1983: 13 7-138). It would become the longest and most complicated ditch in the area, The total length of this ditch varies by descriptor it is either 33 miles to 34 miles long or as long as 48 miles in length (cf., Angel 1958:634; Townley 1983: 138). Townley (1983:138) notes the Truckee & Steamboat Springs Irrigation Canal Company hired 115 Chinese laborers, with European-American overseers, to build the ditch. According to the Territorial Enterprise (17 May 1878:2), the ditch company awarded the construction contract went to the Chinese firm Quong Yee Wo & Company of San Francisco, California , with a bid of $36,000. Other bidders included Chinese and European-American firms. (Territorial Enterprise 17 May 1878:2). A conflicting report states that the San Francisco-based firm Lung Chung & Company received the contract to construct the 33-mile Steamboat Ditch irrigation canal from Truckee into Reno. Initially, 115 men were employed, including approximately six European-American supervisors (Territorial Enterprise 24 August 1878:2). The following year, the number of men increased to between 150 and 200 Chinese, with additional workmen expected. Due to incidentals, projected construction costs increased to $40,000. By that time, construction had progressed 10 miles  from the ditch's head on the Truckee River. When completed, it was noted the ditch would terminate between Brown's Station and Steamboat Springs in the South Truckee Meadows (Territorial Enterprise 1 March 1879:2). Due to frozen ground in Verdi, the construction period was increased, and the contract period extended for additional two months to 1 August 1879. "This ditch is one of the largest and most important of the entire system of irrigation of Washoe County" (Territorial Enterprise 3 July 1879:3). Angel (1958:634) states the Steamboat Ditch was not completed until 1880, at a cost of more than  $50,000. Townley (1983:138), provides an estimated price of $40,000. He also notes the winter of 1878-1879 was particularly hard, requiring the use of dynamite in places. The Steamboat Canal was formally opened on July 1, 1880. In 1885, the Truckee & Steamboat Springs Irrigation Canal apparently got into trouble financially, forcing its holdings to be sold by auction to the highest bidder in 1886. For the sum of $15,750, which covered the amount due, John C. Hampton was granted the sale by J. T. Emmitt, Sheriff of Washoe County who conducted the auction on 10 February 1886 . Hampton served as the executor of C. P. Hubbell, deceased, in the case involving the Steamboat Ditch. It was heard in the Seventh Judicial District Court of Nevada, which ordered the sale. The plaintiff in the case was George M. Mapes. The other defendants, besides Hubbell, included J.P. Foulks. The ditch was described as beginning 4 miles south of Verdi at the border of California and Nevada, and continuing 31.25 miles to end approximately 2 miles from Steamboat Springs. All the water rights, privileges and easements of the ditch were included in the sale (Washoe County Records, Deeds Book 11  :398-400). Ownership. The canal and access road are of mixed ownership between private land owners, homeowners associations, public utilities, private corporations, state, city, county, and federal government. The Steamboat Canal & Irrigation Co. has an irrigation easement to transport water through the ditch during the growing season. Recreational use. Large sections of the access road have remained open since its inception and have come to act as a de facto trail and urban green space utilized by the public. It is frequently used by runners, walkers, bicycle riders, dog walkers and bird watchers on a daily basis. However, owners of  portions of the maintenance road have, for decades, prohibited public access to their private property. https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/67th1993/93minutes/S_GA_331.html Ecology. Observed species. Hundreds of plant and animal species have been observed along the Steamboat Ditch trail, with the ditch serving as a water source during the summer months when the ditch contains irrigation water, amid the inhospitable Nevada high desert in the Great Basin Desert environment.