The System of the River: Francis Newlands and the Improbable Quest to Irrigate the West

The System of the River: Francis Newlands and the Improbable Quest to Irrigate the West
June 2019
Author(s)
Bill Lilley
Publisher
Stanford University's Bill Lane Center for the American West
Publication Documents

A new study detailing the life and policy contributions of Francis G. Newlands, one of the most important historical figures in the development of water use in the western United States. This exploration of Newlands' life and legacy by historian William Lilley III examines Newlands' contributions to early 19th century federal law, which initiated the vast irrigation system that waters the western United States to this day.