In 1849, near where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers now join - the area was all swamp.  At low tide the land was above water, and at high tide it was under water four to six feet, depending on the season.  This area contained a thousand miles of rivers.

Adoniram Judson and a man named Upham saw where this swampland, now known as the Delta could be reclaimed by building a levee to keep the water out at high tide.  In 1870, with the help of hired hands, with wheel-barrows and two hourse scrapers they built a levee and reclaimed approximately 6,000 acres of land lying at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.  Sherman Island was the first island in the Delta to be reclaimed land.  

By 1930 the entire Delta was reclaimed.  The levees permit intensive farming; the crops include pears, apples, tomatoes, grain, corn, beans, soy beans, and an abundance of asparagus.

Eventually Adoniram sold out to Upham; Proudly, Upham's descendant's still thrive on Sherman Island today.