American Falls Canal and Power Company records, 1894-1923

The American Falls Canal & Power Company was formed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1896 to take advantage of government land made available by the passage of the Carey Land Act in 1892 and by the subsequent passage of the Idaho Irrigation District Law in 1895. These laws allowed individuals to purchase land at 15 cents per acre with the stipulation that they had irrigation water available. The American Falls Canal & Power Company contracted with the state of Idaho to provide irrigation water at the rate of $15 dollars per share in the Blackfoot, Idaho area. To build this canal, it was originally estimated that the cost would run about $325,000 dollars. The funding for this project came from the Utah Mortgage & Loan Company of Logan, Utah.

With the development of irrigation canals in the Blackfoot area, it became profitable to establish other canal and land companies to work hand in hand with the American Falls Canal & Power Company (six of these companies were from Utah). The American Falls Canal & Power Company operated for 18 years until February 27, 1914, when the company filed for bankruptcy.