The canal is 28.4 miles (45.7 km) long with a capacity of 325 cubic feet per second (9.2 m3/s).

The Franklin Irrigation Company completed the canal in 1891 at a cost of $150,000.

In 1912, the U.S. Reclamation Service purchased the canal, and it became a key part of the Rio Grande Project.

The work included repairing the diversion dam, enlarging the heading of the canal, and lining a portion of the channel with concrete.

This article about a property in Texas on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.