Ransom Water Tower

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name = Ransom Water Tower
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location = Ransom, LaSalle County, Illinois, USA
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built = 1896
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architecture = Water tower
designated =
added = November 2, 1990
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refnum = 90001723
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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.

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.Cahill, Marianne. " [http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/200859.pdf Ransom Water Tower] ", (PDF), August 1, 1990, "Illinois Historic Preservation Agency", accessed May 11, 2008.]

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.

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. The Ransom Water Tower was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1990. [http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1&IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=100000039 National Register Information System Query - State and city name=Ransom, IL] , National Register of Historic Places, "National Park Service", accessed May 11, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/photos/LaSalle/42628.jpg1990 photograph] , via Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
* [http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/Reports.aspx?RefNumVariable=200859&FormType=Short Property Information Report] : Ransom Water Tower, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency