LOIS HENRY: Historical glance at the Kern River | 1877
| Thursday, May 06 2010 02:45 PM
Miller and Haggin battled in court for nearly a decade over the Kern River. The fight established two main principles of California water law, riparian, which are attached to land along the water and appropriative, belonging to those who use the water away from its source. Miller, who had riparian rights, won in court but divided the river with Haggin privately in a settlement known as the Miller-Haggin Agreement.
James Ben Ali Haggin was a wealthy land speculator from San Francisco. He bought huge swaths of land in Kern County north of Bakersfield and through canals used Kern River water to create a farming empire.
Henry Miller, a German immigrant, also hailed from San Francisco and made his fortune in California land. He owned thousands of acres along the Kern River west of town where he ran a large cattle operation.
