Sun Prairie Water Tower

Last updated
Sun Prairie Water Tower
Sun Prairie Water Tower.jpg
Sun Prairie Water Tower
LocationJct. of Columbus, Church and Cliff Sts., Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Coordinates 43°11′14″N89°12′39″W / 43.18722°N 89.21083°W / 43.18722; -89.21083 (Sun Prairie Water Tower)
Arealess than one acre
Built1899/1912
ArchitectFrank Stegerwald
NRHP reference No. 00000360 [1]
Added to NRHPApril 6, 2000

The Sun Prairie Water Tower was built in 1899 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. [2] It was added to the State Register of Historic Places in 1999 and to the National Register of Historic Places the following year. [3]

The first non-native settlers arrived in Sun Prairie in 1839. In 1840 the road to Madison passed nearby. A sawmill was there by 1847, a hotel by 1850, and the railroad reached town in 1859. The village was incorporated in 1868. [4]

In the late 1800s the village began developing public services. A volunteer fire department formed in 1891. In 1900 a private electric company hung electric wires along Main Street. Before 1899, people got their water from private wells and cisterns. In that year the village trustees and the Sun Prairie Countryman debated building a waterworks, arguing that: "To induce others to settle with us we must have the conveniences that they are used to. To get factories here we must have better fire protection and in order to better our facilities we must have a waterworks." Fear of taxes weighed against. After much debate, a public waterworks was approved by vote. [4]

Stegerwald and Lessner, a local firm, won the bid to build a 60-foot stone tower to support the tank for $1750, and they built it in October and November 1899, re-using stone from the old Stevens Mill five miles northeast on the Maunesha River. The stonework is uniform and carefully done. At the base of the tower, a round-topped door is framed in radiating limestone blocks. Five windows allow light into the tower. A wooden tank originally sat on the tower, bought from Challenge Wind Mill and Feed Mill Company of Batavia. John M. Healy of Chicago provided pipe for the water system, and laid it. [4]

By 1911 the wooden tank was insufficient, and was replaced with a steel tank from Kennicott Water Softener of Chicago. Another flaw was that the original system only took water to homes; it didn't get waste water out of the homes. That problem was resolved in 1918 with a waste water treatment plant. [4]

The NRHP nomination considers the Sun Prairie tower significant for being built of stone, which is rare for a water tower in Wisconsin. It is also significant for its fine stonework, and as a symbol of the movement toward municipal services in the community. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairmount Water Works</span> United States historic place

The Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was Philadelphia's second municipal waterworks. Designed in 1812 by Frederick Graff and built between 1812 and 1872, it operated until 1909, winning praise for its design and becoming a popular tourist attraction. It now houses a restaurant and an interpretive center that explains the waterworks' purpose and local watershed history. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its architecture and its engineering innovations. It was the nation's first water supply to use paddle wheels to move water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beloit water tower</span> United States historic place

The Beloit water tower is a historic octagonal limestone water tower completed in 1889 in Beloit, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lena Water Tower</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House</span> House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House, often called Jacobs II, is a historic house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built west of Madison, Wisconsin, United States in 1946–1948. The house was the second of two designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for journalist Herbert Jacobs and his wife Katherine. Its design is unusual among Wright's works; he called the style the "Solar Hemicycle" due to its semicircular layout and use of natural materials and orientation to conserve solar energy. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethlehem Waterworks</span> United States historic place

The Bethlehem Waterworks, also known as the Old Waterworks or 1762 Waterworks, is believed to be the oldest pump-powered public water supply in what is now the United States. The pumphouse, which includes original and replica equipment, is located in the Colonial Industrial Quarter of downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, between the Monocacy Creek and Main Street. It was declared a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1971, an American Water Landmark in 1971, and a National Historic Landmark in 1981. The building is a contributing property to the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District which was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 2012 and later named to the U.S. Tentative List in 2016 for nomination to the World Heritage List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ransom Water Tower</span> United States historic place

The Ransom Water Tower is a former water tower in the LaSalle County, Illinois, village of Ransom. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decatur Waterworks</span> United States historic place

The Decatur Waterworks was a facility that obtained drinking water for the city of Decatur, Georgia, from the local Peachtree Creek and Burnt Fork Creek. Completed in 1907 and abandoned since the 1940s, the Waterworks have fallen into disrepair and are covered with graffiti. The Decatur Waterworks are in Mason Mill Park, near the city of Decatur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remington Water Tower and Town Hall</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedarburg Mill</span> Gristmill in Cedarburg, Wisconsin

The Cedarburg Mill is a former gristmill in Cedarburg, Wisconsin that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Located the on Cedar Creek, the building was constructed in 1855 by Frederick Hilgen and William Schroeder to replace a smaller wooden mill from the 1840s. At the time of its construction, the five-story structure was the tallest building in Cedarburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottawa Waterworks Building</span> United States historic place

The Ottawa Waterworks Building is a historic waterworks in eastern Ottawa, Ohio, United States. Built in 1904, it is Putnam County's oldest water pumping facility; as the first significant water-related public works project in Ottawa, it enabled the creation of a municipal water system in the village. In its earliest years, the waterworks sheltered equipment used to pump water from municipal wells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Water Tower and Pump House</span> United States historic place

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.

The Benton Stone Water Tower is located in Benton, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Atkinson Water Tower</span> United States historic place

The Fort Atkinson Water Tower is an unused water tower that was built in 1901 in Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Valls Bluff Waterworks</span> United States historic place

The De Valls Bluff Waterworks is a historic public water supply facility at Rumbaugh and Hazel Streets in De Valls Bluff, Arkansas. It contains a 1930s-era elevated steel water tower, built in 1936 by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company in conjunction with the Public Works Administration as part of a project to improve the local water supply. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, as part of a multiple-property listing that included numerous other New Deal-era projects throughout Arkansas. The property also contains several non-contributing buildings, including a shed, aeration chamber, and water tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe Water Tower</span> United States historic place

The Monroe Water Tower is a historic water tower built in 1889 in Monroe, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evansville Standpipe</span> United States historic place

The Evansville Standpipe is a historic water tower located in Evansville, Wisconsin. The 80-ft tall steel tower was built in 1901 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, as part of the development of the local water supply system, spurred on by a devastating fire in 1896 that destroyed a large section of downtown Evansville. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Beloit Waterworks and Pump Station</span> United States historic place

The City of Beloit Waterworks and Pump Station was built in 1885 in Beloit, Wisconsin just below a hill on top of which sits the Beloit Water Tower. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone School (Newmarket, New Hampshire)</span> United States historic place

The Stone School is a historic school building at 1 Granite Street in Newmarket, New Hampshire. Built in 1841-42, it served the town as a school until 1966, and is a distinctive example of the town's stone architecture. It is now the Stone School Museum, a local history museum. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain View Waterworks</span> United States historic place

The Mountain View Waterworks are a historic public water supply system in Mountain View, Arkansas. The facilities consist of a tower and well house, located at the junction of Gaylor and King Streets. The tower is a metal structure with four legs, reinforced by diagonal latticework members, topped by a water tank with a bowl-shaped bottom and a conical roof. A large pipe connects from the bottom of the tank to the well house, a square fieldstone structure. These facilities were built in 1936–37 with funding from the Public Works Administration, and were still in use at the time of the property's listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunnell Water Tower</span> United States historic place

Towering over the City of Bunnell is the city's most visible and iconic landmark: the City of Bunnell elevated steel water tower. The water tower is located at 100 Utility Street, Bunnell, FL 32110. It was built in 1926 by Chicago Bridge & Iron Company as part of a new waterworks system for Bunnell that went into operation in December 1927 and has been providing water to residents and local businesses to this day. The water tower is 110 feet high and its elevated steel tank holds 75,000 gallons of water. The elevated steel water tank has a conical top, Horton hemispherical bottom and is supported by four steel columns (legs) and reinforced with steel cross braces. The east and west sides of the elevated tank have black painted signage that read “City of Bunnell, Crossroads of Flagler County”

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. "Sun Prairie Water Tower". LandmarkHunter.com. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  3. "Jct. of Columbus, Church and Cliff Streets". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Jane Eiseley (1999-01-01). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Sun Prairie Water Tower". National Park Service . Retrieved 2019-05-05. with eight photos