Old Mission Dam, the stone structure tucked inside Mission Trails Regional Park, is getting fresh attention as one of San Diego County's oldest surviving engineering landmarks, according to Times of San Diego.

The dam and irrigation system were built along the San Diego River beginning around 1809 and completed in 1815. The project was designed to divert water to Mission San Diego de Alcala and included a stone diversion dam, a settling basin and a masonry aqueduct that carried water downstream.

Times of San Diego reported that Kumeyaay laborers, working under the direction of Franciscan missionaries, shaped stone and carved channels through rugged terrain to move water nearly three miles to the mission's fields and livestock.

For Santee readers, the story lands close to home because Mission Gorge and the San Diego River corridor remain part of daily East County life. The landmark sits in Mission Trails Regional Park, just west of Santee, where residents still hike, bike and walk through the same river landscape.

The dam was designated California Historical Landmark No. 52 in 1963. Times of San Diego credited the National Park Service, state historic preservation records, the City of San Diego, San Diego History Center collections and the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation as sources for the feature.