Oliver Wozencraft (1814-1887), a physician, 49er gold seeker and Indian agent, was one of the earliest Euro-Americans to propose using the Colorado River for large scale irrigation of the California desert.

In the 1850s, Wozencraft became obsessed with the idea of making the desert bloom with irrigated agriculture and he persuaded the California Legislature to back his dream. State lawmakers asked Congress to give California vast tracts of desert land in southeastern California, then promised the land to Wozencraft if he could develop and build an irrigation system.

To fund his project, Wozencraft lobbied Congress repeatedly but without success to authorize his irrigation project. He died in 1887 in Washington, D.C., as Congress considered another bill in support of the project.

Updated June 2026.