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Water Department Building
The Stillwater Water Department building represents the gradual development of municipal infrastructure in Stillwater as the town grew from an early settlement to an established city. _x000D_ _x000D_ The one and a half story building, constructed in 1891, offers a relatively unusual mixture of architectural styles. Classical Revival touches are found in the broad arched entranceway and windows and a porthole light in the upper gable. The midroof cupola provides an almost whimsical reference to the utilitarian, almost agricultural influences found on what was, at the time of construction, the relative edge of town. The folded roofline over the gable end also gives the building a cottage-like appearance. A shed-roofed extension to the north maintains the window forms, and the building rises to a full two stories with a hipped roof in the rear. _x000D_ _x000D_ It was not uncommon to find distinguished or unusual architecture for buildings related to water functions in cities, especially as developments in water supply represented progress in city development. In Stillwater`s case, the Water Department building is located on a site associated with the development of local water systems as early as 1880, when local leaders and investors from St. Louis incorporated the Stillwater Water Company, receiving a thirty-year contract to provide service to the city. This model, with city services provided by private concerns, was typical for the era. The purpose of the business was comprehensive, as stated in the company`s articles of incorporation: _x000D_ _x000D_ "The nature of its business shall be the construction, maintenance and operation of water works to supply the City of Stillwater and its inhabitants and others with water for fire or domestic uses, and also for waterpower purposes. The business to include the laying of mains and pipes, building reservoirs and tanks, placing and using pumps, plumbing and all business pertaining in any way to the supplying the city of Stillwater and its inhabitants with water for fire purposes, domestic or other general uses." _x000D_ _x000D_ The size of this undertaking was suggested by the newspaper add that followed on the heels of the company`s incorporation, in which 100 men were sought for street work for the company for $1.50 a day. (St. Paul Daily Globe, July 8, 1880). _x000D_ _x000D_ The Water Company`s system was developed under the direction of the company`s soon-to-be superintendent, H. H. Harrison, who was involved in a large number of such constructions across the country. Harrison came to Stillwater in 1880 following the development of the waterworks system in Hannibal, MO., as an engineer with Fruin (also Fruin-Bambrick) and Company, whose members were investors in the Stillwater concern. According to the 1888 Manual of American Waterworks, the construction engineer of the original systems also included W.H. Sears. Harrison went on to a long and profitable career in waterworks and pumping station development, designing systems in at least ten Minnesota cities and several more throughout the Midwest. These included the Cloquet pumping station and the 1890 Owatonna Water Works pumping station, a cottage-style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. _x000D_ _x000D_ The site of the original Water Company office and small initial pumphouse was determined in part by one of the city`s major sources of the water. McKusick`s spring flowed from the bluff west of Fourth Street between Myrtle and Mulberry. Additionally, early maps indicate a waterway named McKusick`s creek (likely fed by these springs as well as the lake) also flowed down the bluff eastward toward town and just to the south of the initial waterworks office building on this site, terminating at a small pumphouse on the eastern front of the lot. Water from the lake flowed by gravity to the lower parts of town, with the pumping systems used to supply spring water to homes on the hill. _x000D_ _x000D_ By 1891, plans were underway for a larger pumping station, with the foundation shown on the Sanborn map from that year. The station was constructed with a pipe shop in the northern third of the building, coal and wood stored in the rear section of the building with office space above in the second story, an office in the front, southeast corner, and two Smedley compound steam pumps with a 1,000,000 gallon per day pumping capacity centered in the building. _x000D_ _x000D_ However, as the use of and demand for water increased, the source of the water soon became the focus on a major and long-term controversy, resulting in years of lawsuits even as the Water Company continued to develop the city`s water infrastructure. _x000D_ _x000D_ Pipes which led from the springs to the pumphouse (a block apart) crossed land owned by H. C. Farmer, who owned a livery on an adjacent lot, and Horace Voligny, proprietor of the Keystone House. These men objected both to the presence of the pipes, and, even when these were moved, to the use of the water itself. A pitched battle ensued, as Farmer in particular attempted to plug the water company pipes and to steer all of the spring`s water away from the city collection pipes and cisterns directly into the sewer system. _x000D_ _x000D_ As lawsuits continued, the water of McKusick`s lake, considered as an alterative source above the springs, was evaluated and found unsuitable on several occasions through the years due to "vegetable matter" and other contamination. A great public outcry ensued in 1901 when water from the lake was "tested" in the pipes and allowed to continue through the entire city system, a situation which also bolstered the Water Company`s claim that access to the springs was essential for the city. In 1902 and 1903, Farmer made various attempts to excavate on his property in order to divert water from the springs away from the city supply, with some speculation that he was attempting to blackmail the water company into some form of compensation. _x000D_ _x000D_ The exact end of the controversy is currently unclear, and may have been rendered moot by the drilling of a 600` well along the bluff. While some information suggests that this occurred after exploratory drilling for gas occurred on the same site in 1888, the artisan well first appears on Sanborn maps after 1910. The incorporation of the well into the city system may have corresponded to the city`s purchase of the waterworks in 1911, whereby news accounts hinted that the private company`s profits had been less than desired. _x000D_ _x000D_ In 1917, the pumps at the Third Street station were electrified. By 1925, water from McKusick Lake was no longer allowed to be used in the city system due extremely unhealthy conditions, and a series of new wells were dug throughout the city at the rate of about one or two per decade to accommodate increasing demand. In 1999, an eleventh well was drilled and a reservoir constructed in the western part of the city, which now supplies over half of the city water. The Third Street Pumping Station continues to supply the city with water from the artisan well along the bluff.
Water Department Building
The Stillwater Water Department building represents the gradual development of municipal infrastructure in Stillwater as the town grew from an early settlement to an established city. _x000D_ _x000D_ The one and a half story building, constructed in 1891, offers a relatively unusual mixture of architectural styles. Classical Revival touches are found in the broad arched entranceway and windows and a porthole light in the upper gable. The midroof cupola provides an almost whimsical reference to the utilitarian, almost agricultural influences found on what was, at the time of construction, the relative edge of town. The folded roofline over the gable end also gives the building a cottage-like appearance. A shed-roofed extension to the north maintains the window forms, and the building rises to a full two stories with a hipped roof in the rear. _x000D_ _x000D_ It was not uncommon to find distinguished or unusual architecture for buildings related to water functions in cities, especially as developments in water supply represented progress in city development. In Stillwater`s case, the Water Department building is located on a site associated with the development of local water systems as early as 1880, when local leaders and investors from St. Louis incorporated the Stillwater Water Company, receiving a thirty-year contract to provide service to the city. This model, with city services provided by private concerns, was typical for the era. The purpose of the business was comprehensive, as stated in the company`s articles of incorporation: _x000D_ _x000D_ "The nature of its business shall be the construction, maintenance and operation of water works to supply the City of Stillwater and its inhabitants and others with water for fire or domestic uses, and also for waterpower purposes. The business to include the laying of mains and pipes, building reservoirs and tanks, placing and using pumps, plumbing and all business pertaining in any way to the supplying the city of Stillwater and its inhabitants with water for fire purposes, domestic or other general uses." _x000D_ _x000D_ The size of this undertaking was suggested by the newspaper add that followed on the heels of the company`s incorporation, in which 100 men were sought for street work for the company for $1.50 a day. (St. Paul Daily Globe, July 8, 1880). _x000D_ _x000D_ The Water Company`s system was developed under the direction of the company`s soon-to-be superintendent, H. H. Harrison, who was involved in a large number of such constructions across the country. Harrison came to Stillwater in 1880 following the development of the waterworks system in Hannibal, MO., as an engineer with Fruin (also Fruin-Bambrick) and Company, whose members were investors in the Stillwater concern. According to the 1888 Manual of American Waterworks, the construction engineer of the original systems also included W.H. Sears. Harrison went on to a long and profitable career in waterworks and pumping station development, designing systems in at least ten Minnesota cities and several more throughout the Midwest. These included the Cloquet pumping station and the 1890 Owatonna Water Works pumping station, a cottage-style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. _x000D_ _x000D_ The site of the original Water Company office and small initial pumphouse was determined in part by one of the city`s major sources of the water. McKusick`s spring flowed from the bluff west of Fourth Street between Myrtle and Mulberry. Additionally, early maps indicate a waterway named McKusick`s creek (likely fed by these springs as well as the lake) also flowed down the bluff eastward toward town and just to the south of the initial waterworks office building on this site, terminating at a small pumphouse on the eastern front of the lot. Water from the lake flowed by gravity to the lower parts of town, with the pumping systems used to supply spring water to homes on the hill. _x000D_ _x000D_ By 1891, plans were underway for a larger pumping station, with the foundation shown on the Sanborn map from that year. The station was constructed with a pipe shop in the northern third of the building, coal and wood stored in the rear section of the building with office space above in the second story, an office in the front, southeast corner, and two Smedley compound steam pumps with a 1,000,000 gallon per day pumping capacity centered in the building. _x000D_ _x000D_ However, as the use of and demand for water increased, the source of the water soon became the focus on a major and long-term controversy, resulting in years of lawsuits even as the Water Company continued to develop the city`s water infrastructure. _x000D_ _x000D_ Pipes which led from the springs to the pumphouse (a block apart) crossed land owned by H. C. Farmer, who owned a livery on an adjacent lot, and Horace Voligny, proprietor of the Keystone House. These men objected both to the presence of the pipes, and, even when these were moved, to the use of the water itself. A pitched battle ensued, as Farmer in particular attempted to plug the water company pipes and to steer all of the spring`s water away from the city collection pipes and cisterns directly into the sewer system. _x000D_ _x000D_ As lawsuits continued, the water of McKusick`s lake, considered as an alterative source above the springs, was evaluated and found unsuitable on several occasions through the years due to "vegetable matter" and other contamination. A great public outcry ensued in 1901 when water from the lake was "tested" in the pipes and allowed to continue through the entire city system, a situation which also bolstered the Water Company`s claim that access to the springs was essential for the city. In 1902 and 1903, Farmer made various attempts to excavate on his property in order to divert water from the springs away from the city supply, with some speculation that he was attempting to blackmail the water company into some form of compensation. _x000D_ _x000D_ The exact end of the controversy is currently unclear, and may have been rendered moot by the drilling of a 600` well along the bluff. While some information suggests that this occurred after exploratory drilling for gas occurred on the same site in 1888, the artisan well first appears on Sanborn maps after 1910. The incorporation of the well into the city system may have corresponded to the city`s purchase of the waterworks in 1911, whereby news accounts hinted that the private company`s profits had been less than desired. _x000D_ _x000D_ In 1917, the pumps at the Third Street station were electrified. By 1925, water from McKusick Lake was no longer allowed to be used in the city system due extremely unhealthy conditions, and a series of new wells were dug throughout the city at the rate of about one or two per decade to accommodate increasing demand. In 1999, an eleventh well was drilled and a reservoir constructed in the western part of the city, which now supplies over half of the city water. The Third Street Pumping Station continues to supply the city with water from the artisan well along the bluff.
Posted Date
Sep 27, 2021
Source Name
Heirloom Homes and Landmark
