The Wright Irrigation Act authorized the establishment of irrigation districts by more than 50 people or a majority of landowners, thereby giving irrigation districts the power to overcome riparian rights by condemnation and the doctrine of beneficial use. This act dismantled the monopoly held over water rights by large landowners. By 1915, there were 57 irrigation districts in California, watering 29.2 percent of the acreage. The water rights established at this time are still called “pre-1914 water rights.”

1887-96

The Howard-Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago began advertising land in the Fair Oaks area for sale. The area was promoted as the “Sunset Colony.” One advertisement listed its many virtues – “no saloons, grand scenery, moral and well-to-do people, flowers that bloomed perpetually, perennial fruits and vegetables, no frosts or blizzards and the best fruit region in the world.”

Early 1890s

Some 6,000 acres of land near the American River was purchased, subdivided into small tracts, and then named “Fair Oaks.”

November 1895

The first train arrived with 150 colonists, who quickly began to develop groves of oranges, olives and almond trees.

1895

Crawford W. Clarke and Frederick Cox sold 8,000 acres of land, including what is now Fair Oaks, to C.H. Howard and James W. Wilson, agreeing to supply water as part of the sale.

1896

C.H. Howard had the J.D. Hooker firm secure water pipelines for the colony.

1896-1916

Successors of the Howard Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago brought prospective buyers from the East Coast and Midwest to purchase property in the Fair Oaks region.

1897

The Clarke group won a landmark court case against the “Sacramento Electric Power Light Company,” firmly establishing water rights for Fair Oaks.

1915

“North Fork Ditch Company” filed an application with the state authorities for the adjustment of rates, a move contrary to the settlers’ understanding that they would receive water in perpetuity from the company at a rate of $3 per acre, per year. This rate adjustment led to the angry residents forming the “Fair Oaks Water Takers Association.” The Association assumed the obligations of retail water demands, deliveries, and pipeline work.

March 17, 1916

The “California Railroad Commission,” which had jurisdiction over water rates, found that no evidence existed that Clarke or the North Fork Ditch Company had ever used water rights to further the sale of lands. Commissioners did find, however, a pattern of uneven bill collection by the company, and ordered that all customers be assessed the same rate.

1917

The voters of Fair Oaks created a tax district and elected three directors — Chairman Sam E. Mack, a farmer, J.E. Adams, a lumber dealer, and Joseph Broadley, a contractor.

March 26, 1917

The “Fair Oaks Irrigation District” began. The district purchased water from the North Fork Ditch Company to irrigate about 4,000 acres where a wide variety of fruits, nuts and vegetables were grown.

July 1, 1918

A bond in the amount of $200,000 was issued to finance the District’s original water works.

February 6, 1919

The Fair Oaks Irrigation District purchased its underlying water distribution system for $62,000.

1940

The first groundwater well was drilled, with the second well drilled in 1943 for added water system reliability.

1952

The number of Board Members changed from three to five, elected for four-year terms from geographical divisions of the district.

1954

The Folsom Dam on the American River was completed and the North Fork Ditch Company’s water rights were transferred to the newly created “San Juan Suburban Water District,” which is now known as the “San Juan Water District.”

July 10, 1979

By this time, nearly all of the significant agricultural land in the District had been replaced with low-density, residential development. In response, the Board of Directors passed a resolution declaring the term “Irrigation District” no longer described the actual functions performed by the District; and that it would be best described from then on as the “Fair Oaks Water District.”