Water Towers: Landmarks with a Purpose

While driving, I'm often struck by the unusual and the interesting. I also notice the once common landmarks that are slowly disappearing or changing in our landscape. Water towers are one of those changing features. At one time every small town in America, and large cities for that matter, had water towers.

Was a water tower just a landmark or did it serve a purpose?!

Water towers come in many different shapes and sizes. Early water towers were usually built of stone with an inside standpipe that would hold water. One of the most famous historic stone water towers is the Chicago Water Tower, located on Michigan Avenue. This water tower is so recognized that the Chicago Convention and Visitors Bureau placed a welcome center there. The tower was featured in the finale of the 2004 season of CBS' "Amazing Race".

It is reputed that there are only seven historic standpipe water towers left in the United States. St. Louis, Missouri, is privileged to have three of these still standing. Two are of Victorian style while the third appears to be a column from a giant building. These monuments are a constant reminder of bygone days. All three are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Other early water towers were built of wood. Many of these wood water towers served railroads, especially during the days of steam locomotives. The water towers were placed along the railroad right of way so that railroad engineers would always have a fresh supply of water for their steam engines. One railroad water tower of significant interest is the Illinois Central Railroad Water Tower near Kinmundy, Illinois. This historic wood water tower, made of cypress, was built in 1885 as a place for steam engines to resupply. This 100,000 gallon cypress water tower served the Illinois Center Railroad steam engines until 1953. The City of Kinmundy purchased the tower, pump station and lake from the railroad in 1960 and continued to use the lake and tower as a source of city water until 2000, when a new lake was put in. After 115 years of continuous service, the tower was abandoned.

Old town water towers usually had four legs with the tank at the top. Many of the older water towers are being replaced by what I call "golf ball on a tee" water towers. These newer towers have a ball shaped tank on top of a pedestal. The following three towers are from communities in Illinois. The Mascoutah tower bears the image of a Native American; Abraham Lincoln's profile is on the Vandalia tower; Wood River shows the explorers Lewis and Clark.

Town water towers usually had the name of the town painted on the side of the tank. Some localities have slogans, images or mascots on the sides of them. Water towers even come in different shapes, many representing the area where they are found. There are peach shaped towers in Alabama and Georgia, a pineapple shaped one in Hawaii and a Ketchup Bottle shaped tower in Collinsville, Illinois (built to supply water to the ketchup factory below.) Today, it has been repainted and stands as a reminder of an earlier time.

Where have you noticed an unusual or interesting water tower?

Carlyle, Illinois, and Beyond

It’s finally beginning to feel like Spring and that means I’m starting to feel the urge to take some road trips. I’d like to share a day trip that I took last Spring with my family, including my 1 and 5 year olds. Most of the places I mention have links to GuidepostUSA where you can view photos, read more information or plot on a map.

I wanted to visit Carlyle Lake, Centralia and some little towns for quite awhile but just never made the trip. So we began our journey by driving east from Belleville towards Carlyle Lake. There were many little places to explore that I had never visited, only read or heard about. So we loaded up the car with food, supplies, baby diapers and kids.




We headed east and our first stop was in the small town of Beckemeyer. I had heard about, but never visited the Coal Miner’s Monument. It remembers those killed in the 1947 Centralia Coal Company disaster.





Our next stop was at Carlyle Lake, the largest lake in Illinois. There is so much to do and see here, even more in the summer when motorboats, swimmers and skiers fill the lake. We stopped just south of the dam at the General Dean Suspension Bridge. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this bridge dates back almost 150 years. It is closed to motor traffic but pedestrians can walk across it and get a great view of the Kaskaskia River. The bridge is safe for kids. There’s no place for them to fall through.

Just north of the bridge is the Carlyle Dam and Spillway. We parked and climbed the steps to get a great view of the lake, swimming beach, and the people fishing below the spillway. Make sure to hang on to little ones because they could squeeze through the railings. Next we visited the Carlyle Lake Visitor Center which features exhibits about the lake and ecosystem. There are wildlife displays, aquarium and a gift shop. Across the street is the beach, playground and lots of picnic tables. And best of all, there is no charge for visiting Carlyle Lake, the dam, suspension bridge, playground or visitors center. After lunch we headed even farther east to Centralia.

In Centralia, we stopped first at the park. My kids loved the playground and I enjoyed the 2500 Railroad Engine, F-105 Thunderchief, World War I Memorial and Vietnam Memorial. Our next stop was the Centralia Carillon Bell where my kids enjoyed more time playing in the grass and
splashing water in the fountain. No music was played while were there but we hope we can make it back when the bells are playing. On our way out of town we passed the Centralia Area Historical Museum which wasn't open. It will have to wait for our next trip. If history and surveying are your interests, make sure to see the Cardinal Point Historical Marker and Monument.






Heading back home, we decided to make our way through several small towns. In Nashville, we stopped to take a peak at the Roadside Chapel. It is a small chapel, built on stilts, near the Nashville exit along Interstate 64. The chapel is very small and it wouldn't fit more than about 10 people. It is purported to be one of the smallest chapels in the world. Nashville also has a historical museum and an old movie theatre, "State", with a classic neon sign out front.



The charming town of Okawville was our last stop of the day. The Original Springs Hotel has been around for years. It still serves up original mineral spring baths for its guests. There are also two museums: Heritage House and Dr. Poos Home. The Heritage House has all the furnishings and contents just as they were left by the family who built the home in the 1800s.


As the last few minutes of daylight were fading, we made the short trip home. I was glad to have a day with my family and memories of several new interesting attractions in Southern Illinois.