A water tower is an elevated building supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system for the distribution of potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjunction with underground or surface service reservoirs, which store treated water close to where it will be used. Other types of water towers may only store raw (non-potable) water for fire protection or industrial purposes, and may not necessarily be connected to a public water supply.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was largely replaced by the wider and shorter Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.
Kinmundy is a city in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 796 at the 2010 census.
The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property and landmark in the Old Chicago Water Tower District in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
London Museum of Water & Steam is an independent museum founded in 1975 as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It was rebranded in early 2014 following a major investment project.
The Paxton Water Tower and Pump House are a historic water tower and pump house located at 145 S. Market St. in Paxton, Illinois.
The Lena Water Tower is a water tower located in the village of Lena, Illinois, United States. It was built in 1896 following two decades of problems with structure fires in the village. The current water tower is the result of a second attempt after the first structure proved to be unstable. The tower stands 122.5 feet (37.3 m) tall and is built of limestone and red brick. The current stainless steel water tank holds 50,000 gallons and replaced the original wooden tank in 1984. The site has two other structures, an old power plant building and a 100,000 US gallon reservoir. The Lena Electric Plant Building was constructed in 1905 and the reservoir completed in 1907. The Lena Water Tower was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1997; the reservoir was included as a contributing property to the listing.
The Falmouth Pumping Station is a historic water pumping station on Pumping Station Road in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The complex consists of an 1898 Queen Anne pumping station designed by Ernest N. Boyden, a low-lift pump and water treatment building built in 1993, a chlorination tank also built in 1993, and a house and garage added in 1932. The plant was built in response to rising demand for vacation properties and fire suppression, and continues to fulfill those functions today. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Water Tower was built in 1897 by Challenge Wind and Feed mill Company of Batavia, Illinois. This is a rare wooden tank atop a brick tower type of water tower. Built on a limestone foundation, it is 140 feet (43 m) tall and about 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter. The brick walls are 2 feet (0.61 m) thick.
The Benson Water Tower was a water tower located on Clayton Street in Benson, Illinois. The tower was built in 1891, in response to several serious fires in Benson; it supplied the village with water until 1985. The tall brick tower had a large wooden water tank on top. The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It has since been demolished, and was delisted in 2020.
The Frenchville Railroad Station and Water Tank are a historic railroad museum property in Frenchville, Maine. The station and water tank were built in 1910 by the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad (B&A) and were added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 20, 1995. The station was retired in 1971. The water tower became obsolete in 1958 when the diesel locomotive replaced the steam locomotive. The Town of Frenchville purchased the water tank from Bangor & Aroostook Railroad and used it as a water reservoir for the fire department until 1981. The Frenchville Historical Society took over maintenance of the site in 1985.
The Downtown Peotone Historic District is a set of forty-two buildings in Peotone, Illinois. Of these, thirty-seven contribute to the historical integrity of the area.
The Beaumont St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Water Tank is a railroad water tank constructed in 1875, in Beaumont, Kansas. It served the St. Louis, Wichita & Western Railway, and was used to refill the boilers of steam locomotives on that line. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Chillicothe Water and Power Company Pumping Station is a historic building on the northern side of Chillicothe, Ohio, United States. A Gothic Revival structure built in 1881, it was constructed to house the city's waterworks and power plant. Its architecture and its location in Yoctangee Park was chosen specifically in order to beautify the park as well as to have a location near other elements of the city's first waterworks, which were built at the same time as the pumping station.
The Oregon Water Tower and Pump House is a metal tower with a brick pump house built in 1899 in Oregon, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Bardwell station was a historic train station at the city of Bardwell in the far western part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Constructed in the late nineteenth century along the railroad's main line, it was the center of life for local residents and served as a significant maintenance site for the railroad. As a simple functional structure, the depot qualified for designation as a historic site in 1976, but it no longer stands.
The Beaumont St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Retention Pond is a retention pond originally constructed by the St. Louis, Wichita, and Western Railway Company as a supply pond for the Beaumont St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Water Tank. It served the St. Louis, Wichita & Western Railway, and supplied the water tank, which was used to refill the boilers of steam locomotives on that line. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. From the year of construction until about 1955, when the railroad switched to diesel locomotives, this watering station was essential to railroad transportation.
Grand Mound Town Hall and Waterworks Historic District, also known as Hose house, pump house, is a historic district located in Grand Mound, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The district is composed of two buildings and the town's water tower.
The Rutland Railroad Pumping Station is a historic water pumping facility at 43 Lake Street in the town of Alburgh, Vermont. Built in 1903, it is a rare example in Vermont of an early railroad-related water pumping facility. In use until the 1940s, it provided water needed for steam engines at rail facilities elsewhere in Alburgh. It is now owned by the town, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Grand Haven Coal Tipple is a coaling tower designed to feed coal to steam locomotives located on the 300 block of North Harbor Drive in Grand Haven, Michigan. It is the tallest structure in the city. The coal tipple was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
