Water Works - Greenville, TX
N 33° 08.347 W 096° 06.375
14S E 769943 N 3670438
A Greenville Main Street historical marker at 2527 Johnson St, Greenville, TX, notes the city's move away from primitive cisterns to something a little more modern for providing water to the area.
Waymark Code: WMWNE2
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/21/2017
Views: 1
The marker reads:
To provide a dependable water source for the growing town, in 1881 the city government installed 4 cisterns around the courthouse square to store rain water. Each cistern was a hand-dug, 20-foot deep, bell shaped hole. The sides were lined with bricks. Sand and gravel formed the bottoms. The volunteer Dick Hubbard Fire Engine Company, named for the Texas governor, filled their horse-drawn pumper from these cisterns to fight fires.
Several years later a private company secured a franchise to build a public water system. The Greenville Water and Electric Light Company dammed the Sabine River to create a reservoir. The water was pumped to fill a water tower 15 feet in diameter and 137 feet tall to supply fire hydrants and consumers.
The city accepted the water system on June 27, 1889. The water company demonstrated the new pressurized service by shooting a stream of water over the county courthouse. The event was commemorated with a day-long celebration that included a barbecue, band concerts, a congressman's speech, and two evening balls. The newspaper in a neighboring town (still dependent on cisterns for home water use and firefighting) declared the water system "Greenville's Glory".
Greenville Main Street
Group that erected the marker: Greenville Main Street
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
2527 Johnson St
Greenville, TX USA
75401
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Visit Instructions:
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