Beginning in 1862, settlers dug canals by hand to bring water from the Provo River to the dry land known as Provo Bench. Their work transformed the rocky, sagebrush-covered landscape into productive orchards and helped make the future city of Orem possible.
The Story
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Why It Matters
Orem's early growth depended on water. The canals dug across Provo Bench turned land that had been difficult to farm into thousands of acres of productive orchards and fields. They helped create the agricultural economy for which early Orem became famous and demonstrate how cooperation, irrigation, and enormous amounts of manual labor allowed pioneer communities to thrive in Utah's dry climate.
What Happened Here
People Connected to This Place
Did You Know?
Before becoming Orem, much of the area was known as Provo Bench.
Early settlers sometimes hauled water from the Provo River in barrels to water their fruit trees.
Construction of the Provo Bench Canal began in 1862.
Workers built the canal using mules, homemade tools, and manual labor.
Some settlers worked on the canal to fulfill a road-ditch tax requiring adult males to labor on public roads or ditches.
The completed canal was approximately two feet deep and six feet wide.
The canal initially supplied water to about 2,000 acres.
It was later enlarged to irrigate approximately 4,000 acres.
The marker states that irrigated land increased in value from about $1.25 to $2.00 per acre.
Additional canals and ditches eventually created an irrigation network across Provo Bench.
Irrigation helped transform the area from sagebrush and rocky ground into a community famous for fruit production.
Orem was incorporated as a city in 1919.
DUP Marker #575 was erected in 2015.
The Historical Marker
Absence of water was an obstacle to the early growth and development of the level, elevated ground north of Provo known as Provo Bench. Landowners found the area’s rocky soil suitable for growing fruit trees. However, watering the trees required hauling water in barrels from the nearby Provo River. At the request of Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the river was studied by Jesse Fox, surveyor general of the Utah Territory. He found the river full and free of claims and reported that the water was available for the taking upon the settlers’ terms. Believing canals would make cultivation and colonization of the bench feasible, landowners formed the Provo Bench irrigation Company and began construction on the Provo Bench Canal in 1862. The canal started at the mouth of Provo Canyon, ran southwest along the east edge of the bench, and ended just above 400 South in Orem. With mules and homemade tools, workers excavated a furrow from the river toward the bench. As water filled the furrow and soaked the ground, workers widened and deepened the canal and directedPaid Advertisement it further toward the bench. Building the canal was an arduous task and every settler pitched in. Some men worked in payment of their road-ditch tax, which required every male over eighteen to work on public roads or ditches. Completed in the mid-1860s, the canal was 2 feel deep and 6 feet wide and carried water to 2,000 acres of parched land. Soon afterward, the canal was enlarged to irrigate 4,000 acres, increasing the value of the land from $1.25 to $2.00 per acre. Construction of other ditches began, and eventually a network of canals and ditches watered the Provo Bench. Water, good soil, and hard work transformed the bench from a desolate sagebrush and rock prairie to a thriving community renowned for its fruit production. The City of Orem was incorporated on the bench in 1919. Erected 2015 by Daughters of Utah Pioneers; Utah Orem North Center DUP Company. (Marker Number 575.) Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of Utah Pioneers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1862. Location. 40° 18.74′ N, Early Orem Canals Marker image. Click for full size. Photographed by Jason Voigt, May 10, 2023 2. Early Orem Canals Marker full shot 111° 40.188′ W. Marker is in Orem, Utah, in Utah County. It is in Orchard North. It is at the intersection of East 800 North (Utah Route 52) and North 1100 East Street, on the right when traveling west on East 800 North. Marker is located off the Murdock Canal Trail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1093 E 800 N, Orem UT 84097, United States of America. Touch for directions. Regionally, this marker is in the Wasatch Frontand in Greater Provo. It is also in the American Mountain West and on the Colorado Plateau.Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexico’s Alta California. Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: World War II P.O.W. Camp (approx. 0.4 miles away); Olmstead Power Plant (approx. 0.8 miles away); Let There Be Light (approx. 0.9 miles away); Former Pleasant Grove Canning Co. (approx. 1.8 miles away); Cordner Pioneer Home (approx. 2 miles away); Orem Railroad Depot Early Orem Canals Marker image. Click for full size. Photographed by Jason Voigt, May 10, 2023 3. Early Orem Canals Marker Marker is located off the Murdock Canal Trail. (approx. 2 miles away); Utah’s Largest Indian Battle was Called the “Battle of Provo River.” (approx. 2.1 miles away); First Orem Chapel (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orem. Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 19, 2023, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 750 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 19, 2023, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
Verbatim marker inscription from the source organization.
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Address
800 North 1100 East (on Murdock Trail)
Sources & Attribution
International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers historical marker list
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