Illinois Central Railroad Water Tower

Illinois Central Railroad Water Tower

This historic wood watertower, made of cypress, was built in 1885 as a place for steam engines to resupply.

Illinois Route 37
Kinmundy, IL 62854

Brass marker reads: "This 100,000 gallon cypress water tower was built in 1885 and 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 servicek the tower was abandoned.

The city made application to the Illinois Historical Society to have the tower placed on the National Register of Historic Places, to commemorate it as one of the few remaining such structures in the United States and the only one to have been used continuously for over 100 years. The National Preservation Department agreed that the water tower and pump station should be preserved and they were placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the US Department of the Interior on November 12, 1998. The State of Illinois and the City of Kinmundy shared the $126,000 cost of renovation, using 70 percent of the original materials in the preservation.

As you look at the tower today, honor it for what it has been. Hear the distant whistle of the steam engine as it screeches to a halt and imagine the activity as the crew prepares to take on water. Listen to the engine labor as it pulls away. This old water tower is an important link to the past. It has done its part to make this Country the greatest on earth."

Presented by the Woodmen of the World.

Location

Geocode:

38.76336667 latitude, -88.85798333 longitude