In the mid 1800's Chief Kamiakin recognized the shortcomings of his beloved land. The area near the Ahtanum Mission lacked the necessary water to grow his crops. He diverted some water from the Ahtanum Creek into a ditch to irrigate a small patch of corn. His visionary practice of irrigation was the first step in developing the rich agricultural producing valley that exists today.

As pioneers came into the Yakima Basin, the magic of irrigating this rich soil soon made the Yakima Basin crop production famous, and its people prosperous. It did not take long for our government to realize that infrastructure would be the key to the success for the western movement of people towards this new land.