This video is a condensed version of Meridian Historian Lila Hill’s “Settlers Make the Desert Bloom” presentation of how Meridian was settled and how irrigation served as the backbone for our community.

Lila compiled this history and presented her full-hour long lecture annually for many years and the Meridian Historic Preservation Commission made a recording of Lila’s presentation to save for our records and Jacy Jones created this abridged recording with the PowerPoint slides for ease of use to share with local educators. Lila Hill and the other members of the Meridian Historical Society have a great wealth of knowledge about Meridian’s history. They spent decades curating, compiling, and preserving Meridian’s history through records and artifacts.

In 2021 the Historical Society transferred their collection of records, documents, and artifacts to the Meridian Library. You can visit the History Center to see the collection and visit https://www.mld.org/resources/history for more information on the History Center.