{"nrhp_refnum":"92000696","name":"Franklin Canal","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Roughly, S of the Texas and Pacific--Southern Pacific RR tracks from western El Paso to Fabens","address_restricted":false,"city":"El Paso","county":"El Paso County","state":"TX","lat":31.63270510050006,"lon":-106.3240301647365,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-06-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 30.5-mile irrigation canal running from the International Diversion Dam in El Paso, Texas, east to near Fabens in southeast El Paso County. The nominated portions are two segments of 1 1/4 and 27 3/4 miles, with the canal in use since 1889 and upgraded in 1914-1916.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the canal supplied irrigation water to agriculture in El Paso and eastern El Paso County for over a century, succeeding where earlier river dams failed. It also prompted the International Treaty of 1906-1907 between the United States and Mexico, leading to a joint system of diversion dams and canals along the Rio Grande.","narrative":"Running about 30 miles from downtown El Paso to the farmland near Fabens, the Franklin Canal carries Rio Grande water to fields in El Paso County. Built between 1889 and 1891 by the El Paso Irrigation Company, it succeeded after decades of failed attempts to irrigate the valley with river dams that floods destroyed. The federal Reclamation Service bought it in 1913 and spent $263,000 on upgrades in 1914-1916, adding concrete lining in places and many bridges. Its early success drew so much water that Mexico protested, which led to the 1906 treaty requiring the United States to deliver 60,000 acre-feet yearly to Ciudad Juarez. That agreement led to the Mexican Diversion Dam, later the American Diversion Dam and the All American Canal, and other international works downstream. Two segments are nominated, the canal's earthen and concrete-lined channel with a maximum capacity of 325 cubic feet per second.","period_of_significance":"1889-1941","architect_builder":"El Paso Irrigation Co.","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and still used to distribute irrigation water; it irrigates approximately 17,000 acres.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.703397-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/41/9718/40971841/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/92000696.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000696/a6466647f4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000696/a6466647f4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"National Park Service","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin_Canal.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">National Park Service</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin_Canal.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"97000885","name":"El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/el-paso-county-water-improvement-district-no-1-97000885/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971841","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Canal_(Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5491337"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/el-paso-county/franklin-canal-92000696/"}