the Dam and the Water works
One of the factors which played a key role for designating the banks of the Schuylkill as a sequestered urban space was simply the need for clean drinking water; the expansion of post-Revolutionary war Philadelphia meant that water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery proved a constant health hazard. For purely utilitarian purposes, the city realized that it needed a supply of clean drinking water from the closest and best preserved location. Benjamin Franklin was among the first to realize the need for a viable supply of clean water and attempted to build public support for the construction of a system of water works along the banks of the Schuylkill as early as 1798 by arranging a Water Committee for the city[1]; the proposals for such a plan on Chestnut St. were initially turned down. Instead, construction eventually began in Fairmount (right next to the current Art museum) in 1812 and finished in 1815[2].
The design of the water pumps by Frederick Graff was one of the first instances of the application of industrial technology along the banks of the Schuylkill; the continued industrialization of the river would eventually drive out all the old aristocratic elites. The water-house itself held contained a mill house with eight breast wheels and 8 large pumps powered by steam engines from Eagle Works in Philadelphia[3], one of the first large industrial institutions in the city. Throughout the 19th century, the waterworks were constantly expanded in 1819-1822, 1851, 1859-1862, and 1868-1872[4]; when its dam was last rebuilt in 1872 its reservoir alone held nearly 27 million gallons and could pump water at the rate of nearly thirty million gallons a day[5].
However, when the water pump was first constructed it lacked breast wheels because the rate of flow of water was too fast[6]; before the dam was constructed in 1819 the Schuylkill was a quickly flowing river which was susceptible to floods every year. By constructing a system of canals and locks in conjunction with the dam to allow Schuylkill River traffic the ability to merge onto the Delaware River valley, the river was tamed creating a six-mile stretch of relative quietness along the Schuylkill from the Dam next to the waterworks to the Flat Rock Dam in Manayunk[7].
The stretch of the river running between the two dams soon became a regular boating retreat for those living along the Schuylkill and other residents of the city. In the 1830’s and 1840’s, the Fairmount Water Works became the “most well-known scene of Philadelphia”[8], and was a favorite recreational spot for visitors and residents alike. The system of breast wheels and steam turbines were an industrial marvel for its time and became a symbol of the city’s early industrial heritage.
The design of the water pumps by Frederick Graff was one of the first instances of the application of industrial technology along the banks of the Schuylkill; the continued industrialization of the river would eventually drive out all the old aristocratic elites. The water-house itself held contained a mill house with eight breast wheels and 8 large pumps powered by steam engines from Eagle Works in Philadelphia[3], one of the first large industrial institutions in the city. Throughout the 19th century, the waterworks were constantly expanded in 1819-1822, 1851, 1859-1862, and 1868-1872[4]; when its dam was last rebuilt in 1872 its reservoir alone held nearly 27 million gallons and could pump water at the rate of nearly thirty million gallons a day[5].
However, when the water pump was first constructed it lacked breast wheels because the rate of flow of water was too fast[6]; before the dam was constructed in 1819 the Schuylkill was a quickly flowing river which was susceptible to floods every year. By constructing a system of canals and locks in conjunction with the dam to allow Schuylkill River traffic the ability to merge onto the Delaware River valley, the river was tamed creating a six-mile stretch of relative quietness along the Schuylkill from the Dam next to the waterworks to the Flat Rock Dam in Manayunk[7].
The stretch of the river running between the two dams soon became a regular boating retreat for those living along the Schuylkill and other residents of the city. In the 1830’s and 1840’s, the Fairmount Water Works became the “most well-known scene of Philadelphia”[8], and was a favorite recreational spot for visitors and residents alike. The system of breast wheels and steam turbines were an industrial marvel for its time and became a symbol of the city’s early industrial heritage.
[1] Pg 15 Esther Klein’s Fairmount Park
[2] 1875 review of Fairmount Park in of the Commissioners of Fairmount Park
[3] “Fairmount Water Works” http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/water.html
[4] “Fairmount Water Works” http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/water.html
[5] Pg 14 Charles Keyser’s Fairmount Park 1875
[6] Fairmount Dam http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/dam.html
[7] Fairmount Dam http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/dam.html
[8] “Fairmount Water Works” http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/water.html
[2] 1875 review of Fairmount Park in of the Commissioners of Fairmount Park
[3] “Fairmount Water Works” http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/water.html
[4] “Fairmount Water Works” http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/water.html
[5] Pg 14 Charles Keyser’s Fairmount Park 1875
[6] Fairmount Dam http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/dam.html
[7] Fairmount Dam http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/dam.html
[8] “Fairmount Water Works” http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/fairmount_park/water.html