An American Water Landmark plaque attached to the building on the wooden plank door, issued by the
American Water Works Association (AWWA), proclaims the Vera Water and Power pumphouse to be
An American Water Landmark, Significant in the History of Public Water Supply. The award was granted in 1976. It is one of hundreds issued by the AWWA to deserving recipients in Canada, the US and Mexico from 1969 to the present.
The cobblestone structure was built in 1906 for use by Vera Electric Water Company prior to the company's 1908 incorporation. Donald K. McDonald was one of the organizers. Veradale was named after his daughter. Upon incorporation, the company expected to supply irrigation water to 10-acre tracts and domestic water to 40-acre tracts by means of a system which included this pump house. Some have presumed that the pump house builder was a prominent masonry craftsman by the name of Hans Vinge (though this may be confused with Vinge's construction of the later cobblestone office building).
While the tower always housed the well and pumping apparatus, it is likely that the gabled wing was originally a residence and office for superintendents, who augmented their supervisory duties by farming nearby land. Although the system remains in use today, it was converted in 1957 from low pressure to high pressure. This pump house was a significant part of the irrigation and domestic water delivery system which supported the growth and development of the Spokane Valley in the Vera area, a role maintained to the present.
The Vera Pump Station was accepted to the National Landmarks of the American Waterworks Association in 1977.
From Historic Spokane