Builders of Stapleton Canal

In the area now known as Franklin and Marble Front, east of present day Caldwell, and on the south side of the Boise River, early pioneer farmers D.P. Dodd, C.F. Madden, and John Thomas were also irrigating their land from small ditches and sloughs.

The summer of 1865 saw the completion of a canal that had its origin near the present Ada-Canyon County line. John Stapleton and associates built the Stapleton Canal and aquired a water right of 3,748 inches under a 4-inch pressure.

As more settlers moved into the area, yearly enlargements were made. By 1870 fifty different water rights from the Boise River were recognized, practically all for irrigation.

Charles Madden's life was typical of many of the settlers. His adventures included crossing the plains by ox team to the California gold rush of 1849...

...following gold discoveries to Oregon--in 1861 was among the first to reach Florence, Idaho (then Washington Territory) on the Boise Basin, and finally settling in the Franklin area.