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1932 Stories

AN OLD PUMPING STATION

By George Causland, Dist. 54

 There are two very old buildings located in Otter Creek township quite close to my home. The one about which I am going to write is the Old Pumping Station.

A little over fifty years ago two men named Bernie and Goodone came from Chicago and built a pumping station on the banks of Otter Creek. The building and reservoir were built on land owned by Isaac Mason,

The station was built to supply the water for Streator, a mining town in Bruce Township about four miles southwest of the Mason farm. The building was made of bricks which were hauled from Streator. Even in those days the bricks were very well made as the building is still standing, and is today used as a barn for livestock. The contractors planned to haul cement from Joliet, but found blue clay about a half mile away from the building under construction, and used it instead. This clay was hauled in wheelbarrows. The slate shingles for the roof were shipped from Joliet ps was also the stone used for the foundation. These stones are set four or five feet into the ground and three or four carloads were used for the foundation. The window glass was made in Streator, and hauled out on wagons. The lumber was also hauled from a sawmill in Streator.

The smoke stack was a stove pipe about eighty feet high, not one of those large brick stacks which we see on buildings today. The men who were employed to help build this water works were from Streator. They asked for more money which they received, but it was only a few months until they again asked for a raise in pay; this they received also, but when they demanded a third increase they were refused. For this reason they quit working and returned to their homes. The contractors went to Joliet and Chicago where they hired about fifty foreigners, who rode on flat cars out to the pumping station. A wooden shanty was built for these workmen. They thought they were in the wild west, and one night when they heard someone riding on horse back, they all rushed out firing at the rider because they thought it must be Indians. The water for this station was obtained from several drilled wells and from Otter creek. A large reservoir was dug, and into this the water was pumped and stored. From this reservoir it was piped into the homes in Streator.

This station was used for about eight years but by that time the population in Streator had increased so much that this station proved inadequate and a new one was built on the banks of the Vermillion river. Mr. Mason then remodeled the building and made it into a barn, which he still uses for cattle. From time to time the building has been repaired. The smoke stack has been torn down, a modern roof has been put on, and new windows put in, but in every other respect the building is the old pumping station.

CONTINUE to NEXT 1932 story

Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 76.


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