187:, an organization created to advance the area's political and commercial interests as well as market its agricultural products. He was elected its President soon after its inception and served until his death in 1905. In this capacity, he published pamphlets and monthly journals to educate existing residents and attract new ones, as well as promote potential valley projects. Proposals championed by Green in the Association's early days (despite a dearth of funds at the time) were the Orland Project with its
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116:, he concentrated on representing his local area. Largely self-taught (as a youth, he received no formal education beyond the old backwoods field school), he was interested in practical education. His view of editorship was that a newspaperman should teach his community social responsibilities and educate men to live happily together.
247:. Green lived there for the remainder of his entire life. The cottage still stands, restored to its 1880 state, although there was a battle to do so. The county had wanted to demolish the home for a parking lot, but the owner refused, instead selling it to Richard E. Patton, a retired judge, who initiated the restoration.
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Over the next several years, Green held a number of different jobs, such as hotel keeper, joint founder of a bakery, selling fresh vegetables and writing magazine articles. He married his first wife
Josephine Davis in 1862, and they had a daughter (Lucy) in 1864. Josephine died in 1881, and Green was
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In 1899, Green was the elected first president of The
Central and Northern California Press Association. He saw it as an opportunity to discuss problems common to newspaper editors, and to broaden their horizons beyond just their localities. He also saw it as means to resist advertisers who sought
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150:. In June 1863, the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company incorporated with Green as its president. In 1864 he became County Surveyor, and he was President and Superintendent of the Stony Creek Canal Company formed in October 1881.
127:. On June 1, 1865 he wrote, "There could be such a thing as a Republic in this country without slavery, but there can never be such a thing as a Republic in America without the acknowledgement of States Rights."
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In 1888, Green broke ground on the 61-mile (98 km) Central
Irrigation District canal and he organized the Sacramento Valley Development Corporation to attract settlers for the soon to be irrigated land.
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articles putting them in favorable light in return for vague promises of future business, in addition to local bodies that demanded free newspaper space for material they were required to publish by law.
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at the age of 17 on
October 10, 1849, although he never tried his hand at gold mining. His uncle, C.D. Semple, purchased 8,875 acres (35.92 km) of land from
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remarried ten years later to Sally Morgan whom he had met at an irrigation meeting there a few years before in
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Because of droughts that affected the region in the 1850s, he was a tireless promoter of irrigating the
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tree on the west bank of the
Sacramento River, he posted the first water notice, stating that 500,000
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It is therefore not surprising that Green became known as the "father of irrigation" in
California.
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of possible reservoir sites, the first study of water storage problems in the valley.
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President (Mayor) of the Board of
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The Green family moved into this cottage on July 10, 1868, across from the
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In addition to the above, Green also served in a number of public posts:
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Ninth Annual Report of the
Reclamation Service, 1909-1910
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On
September 26, 1863, he and a partner purchased the
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19th-century
American newspaper publishers (people)
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629:People of California in the American Civil War
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261:California Newspaper Association Hall of Fame
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222:U.S. Surveyor General for California (1892)
134:For his efforts, Green is enshrined in the
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185:Sacramento Valley Development Association
305:History of Sacramento County, California
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138:'s California Newspaper Hall of Fame.
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33:– July 2, 1905) was a California
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163:California Historical Landmark
47:United States Surveyor General
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282:William Semple Green Memorial
251:References and external links
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153:On December 18, 1883, on an
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413:Treasurers of California
245:Colusa County Courthouse
230:California State Library
302:G. Walter Reed (1923).
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179:Later years
608:Categories
524:Richardson
107:Colusa Sun
569:Angelides
499:Rackliffe
469:Estudillo
39:steamboat
514:Williams
494:McDonald
484:Oullahan
285:Archived
269:Archived
43:surveyor
31:Kentucky
574:Lockyer
549:Whitney
529:Johnson
519:Roberts
479:January
459:Coronel
454:Pacheco
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539:Priest
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509:Reeves
489:Herold
449:Ashley
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559:Brown
554:Hayes
544:Unruh
504:Green
464:Baehr
434:Bates
424:Roman
564:Fong
474:Well
314:ISBN
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