The Serrano people dug the canal in 1819 to provide water from Mill Creek for their farms east of the city.

The canal's water became a highly desirable resource in the area; it fueled a local agricultural boom and was the subject of several legal disputes over water rights in the 1800s.

[1][2][5] The canal now carries drainage water and storm runoff out of the city; it is the oldest irrigation canal in California which is still in use and the oldest civil engineering project in Southern California.

[3] The city, along with several other local groups, is building a trail and greenway alongside the canal.

This article about a property in San Bernardino County, California on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.