Ransom Water Tower

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Ransom Water Tower
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location: Ransom, LaSalle County, Illinois, USA
Built/Founded: 1896
Architectural style(s): Water tower
Added to NRHP: November 2, 1990
NRHP Reference#: 90001723

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.

Contents

[edit] History

After a fire in the early 1890s the village of Ransom decided to construct a public waterworks with a central water tower. The first meetings were held in 1893 and 1894. After some controversy over the size of the tank and tower a 45,000–50,000 gallon tank was constructed atop a brick water tower in 1896. The tower served the village from its construction until July 19, 1990.[1]

[edit] Design

The Ransom Water Tower is located atop a hill, what was the highest point in the then-center of town. Upon its construction, a 40 foot brick tower was topped with a 28 foot tall wooden water tank. The brick tower is a round, "barrel", tower. At its base it has a diameter of 29 feet 4 inches which tapers as the tower rises to a diameter of about 24 feet.[1]

[edit] Historic significance

The tower is locally significant to the settlement of Ransom. It helped the village flourish after a devastating fire and attracted settlers and business growth to Ransom.[1] The Ransom Water Tower was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1990.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Cahill, Marianne. "Ransom Water Tower", (PDF), August 1, 1990, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, accessed May 11, 2008.
  2. ^ National Register Information System Query - State and city name=Ransom, IL, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, accessed May 11, 2008.

[edit] External links

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