The Benton Stone Water Tower is located in Benton, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[1][2]
Benton Stone Water Tower | |
   | |
| Location | 49 Water St. Benton, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°34′15″N 90°22′58″W / 42.57083°N 90.38278°W |
| Built | 1900 |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001598 |
| Added to NRHP | January 7, 1999 |
Benton's history goes back to early lead-mining days. In 1827 Andrew Murphy built a mill race there. The village grew as mining expanded, shrank when many of the miners left for California in 1849, then gradually grew back.[3]
After a fire destroyed Benton's store and two houses in February 1899, the people decided unanimously to investigate "a waterworks" system. When a committee recommended a $4000 system financed with bonds to be paid back by taxes, it was put to a referendum and approved 84 to 24. The aim was "to supply water for domestic and sanitary purposes and for extinguishing fires."[3]
A lot was bought on the hill and a 50-foot well was dug with a large reservoir. M. Tschirgi of Dubuque built the stone tower, coursed limestone 67 feet tall with a door with a segmental arch and circular glass-filled windows. On top of the tower sat a wooden tank 18 feet around and 18 feet high. And atop the tank stood a windmill, which pumped water from the reservoir below up into the tank. (The NRHP nomination contains a photo of the original arrangement.) Hydrants were connected to the tower. The system was complete and working by the end of 1899.[3]
In February 1900 the newspaper reported that R.A. Blades would add a "bathing room" to his "tonsorial parlor." (Blades was one of Benton's barbers, and contract supervisor during construction of the tower.)[3] Apparently this meant a room where you could pay to bathe. A fire company was organized around the same time.[3]
In 1923 the town replaced the wooden tank with a 30,000 gallon steel tank with a conical steel roof, built by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works.[3] The windmill was removed in the 1930s.[4] The tower was refurbished in 2010.
Today the old tower stands as a prominent landmark in Benton, an example of fine stonework and early public works engineering. The NRHP nomination also notes that "determination to build a waterworks marked an important step in the evolution of community spirit and willingness to raise taxes for a common purpose."[3]
References
edit- ^ "Benton Stone Water Tower". Landmark Hunter.com. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
- ^ "Benton Stone Water Tower". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jane Eiseley (1998-04-15). "NRHP Inventory/Nomination: Benton Stone Water Tower". National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-03-29. With 6 photos.
- ^ "Benton Water Tower". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
Further reading
edit- The initial specifications for the tower went into great detail. If you're interested, the NRHP nomination above quotes them at length.