The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 25, July 1921 - April, 1922 Page: 124
306 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Southwester, Historical Quarterly
and had its site near the present Mill Bridge. The canal was in
about fifteen feet of cutting for a considerable distance before it
emerged near the surface of the ground. Its route approximately
ran along Garden and Roosevelt Streets, thence to- the Concepci6n
Mission and its lands. This was the largest of the old acequias
and tradition has it that the padres used a boat for transportation
on its waters to and from the mission and for the work of main-
taining the canal. It was abandoned in 1869 after 140 years of
service.
The San Pedro ditch was commenced in 1738 to furnish water
for the Villa Capital de San Fernando as well as for irrigation.
It was some six feet wide and two feet deep, four miles long, and
irrigated about 400 acres of land. Its headgate was at San Pedro
Springs and its course was about that of North Flores Street, west
side of Main Plaza, and thence along the divide between the river
and San Pedro Creek. Its admirable location down this ridge
left it free from the cross-drainage that was a never-ending source
of trouble for the other ditches. The discerning engineer who con-
ceived the project saw the great advantage that this acequia would
possess in being able to water lands on both sides. All the other
San Antonio canals, for the greater part of their length, were dug
along the sides of hills or slopes. The San Pedro acequia, more-
over, is of romantic interest, in that it was the benevolent pro-
vider for the Canary Islanders, that small nucleus of people about
which the modern city of San Antonio has grown.
The Alamo Madre ditch was dug between the dates 1718 and
1744. It took water from the San Antonio River above Bracken-
ridge Park, skirted along the hills of River Avenue, eventually
crossing the Concepci6n ditch near South Alamo and Garden
Streets. Its length is placed at six miles and it irrigated 900
acres of land belonging to the Alamo. Mission. When the East
Texas Missions at Los Adaes were abolished the converts were
brought to San Antonio and given plots of ground along the
Alamo Madre.
The Upper Labor aceqguia was started in 1776. Its headworks
were also at the head of the river. From there it ran along Jones
Avenue, around Tobin Hill, crossing Main Avenue between Maple
and Camden Streets, and emptied into the San Pedro Creek at
Laurel Street. The Upper Labor canal commanded some 600124
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 25, July 1921 - April, 1922, periodical, 1922; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101082/m1/130/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.