It is up on top of the "East Hill", one of two elevations that defined the early city. Also known as "Catholic Hill" it is where the big church was in the early days.
Ah, those early days. It was a city of lumber jacks and sawmills. A city built on and almost entirely of, wood. A city lit by kerosene lamps.....
Obviously things burned down with alarming frequency.
So circa 1880 it was decided that a water tower was needed. I'm assuming that this was mainly for fire fighting although those thirsty, rowdy lumberjacks maybe drank water. Once in a great while.
Construction took five years, and a "Birdseye" view of the city from the mid 1880's shows it standing tall and proud.
Our old friends the Sanborn Fire Insurance company were obviously quite interested in things like this, and helpfully include a sketch in their early maps of the city. 100 feet tall and holding 368,000 gallons of water.
So far I have only found one photo of the structure. It's actually rather nicely laid out. I wonder who lived in the attached house? I bet their water pressure was outstanding!
And here's a Google Earth wide angle view of the same place today. Playground equipment and a circular sandbox area that alas does not appear to preserve the foundations of the first water tower in Chippewa Falls.
2 comments:
It may have looked similar to the still standing water tower in Yipsilanti, Mi. which is currently known as the brick dick.
It does look similar. When checking it out I also found a legend regarding the Ypsilanti water tower. It is said that it would crumble and fall if a virgin ever graduates from the nearby Eastern Michigan University. Over a century on it seems to have remained safe.
TW
Post a Comment