VALOR
Mill Creek Zanja
Redlands, United States
Spanish missionaries introduced the principle of irrigation in San Bernardino Valley, thus opening the way to settlement. Franciscan Fathers engineered, and Indians dug, this first ditch (or "zanja") in 1819-20. In historical sequence the zanja supported the San Bernardino Asistencia, Rancho San Bernardino, pioneer ranches, orchards, and Redlands' domestic water supply.