Documentary History of American Water-works

Lake View

Lake View, Illinois

Lake View was incorporated as a town in 1865 and was annexed to the city of Chicago on July 15, 1889.

The town built a water works that began service in May, 1876 using a steam-driven Flanders pump delivering water from Lake Michigan directly into the mains. A second similar pump was installed the next year, but appears to have not been in service for long. The Holly Manufacturing Company sued the town in 1881 for infringing their patents, which the town admitted to and settled.

Water is provided by the city of Chicago.

References
1875 The Inter Ocean, July 27, 1875, Page 1
Proposals for Pump Engines and Water Bonds, Town of Lake View

1876 The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont), May 19, 1876,Page 3.
A test of the Flanders pumping machinery at the Lake View Water Works, Chicago, was made on the 1st and 2d inst.

1877 "Lake View," Chicago Tribune, May 3, 1877, Page 8.
Bids for pumping engines.

1877 "Lake View," Chicago Tribune, September 29, 1877, Page 8.
Description of new Corliss engine build by Harris, of Providence, R.I. Improved modification of the Flanders engines by Mr. Lang. The contract for both engine and pump was taken by Hayes & Lang, of Burlington, Vt. for $8,000. This is a reduction of $3,000 on the cost of the old engine.

1877 "Lake View," Chicago Tribune, November 11, 1877, Page 8.
Test of new Corliss engine.

1879 Laws and Ordinances Governing the Town of Lake View, Cook County, Illinois
Pages 109-127: Lake View Water Works, including rates

1881 "Lake View" The Inter Ocean, February 16, 1881, Page 2.
Letter from attorneys for Holly Manufacturing Company alleging patent infringement by the Lake View Water Works.

1881 "The City of Lake View Sued for Infringing the Holly Water Works Patents," The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois), April 5, 1881, Page 6.

1882 "The Court Record," The Inter Ocean, February 11, 1882, Page 7.
The patent suit of the Holly Manufacturing Company against the Town of Lake View has been settled and dismissed. It was charged that the town of Lake View had established a system of water works which infringed on the Holly patents. This was admitted by the Lake View authorities, and a settlement as to damages was made between the parties, the defendants paying the costs.

1884 "Proposals for Water-Works Pumps for the Town of Lake View," Chicago Tribune, November 1, 1884, Page 15.
Five million gallons per day.

1885 "Lake View," Chicago Tribune, February 17, 1885, Page 8.
Contract with the Southwark Manufacturing Company for the new pump for the water works.

1885 "Lake View," Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1885, Page 3.
Southwark Manufacturing Company declines to sign contract for new pumping engine. Awarded to Henry R. Worthington Company of New York for the sum of $17,000.

1888 "Lake View," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 1.

1889 An act to authorize the city of Lake View, Illinois, to erect a crib in Lake Michigan for water-works purposes, March 2, 1889.

1889 Fourteenth Annual Report of the Department of Public Works to the Common Council of the City of Chicago, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31st, 1889.
Pages 147-151: Lake View Pumping Works

1909 History of Cook County, Illinois--: Being a General Survey of Cook County History, Including a Condensed History of Chicago and Special Account of Districts Outside the City Limits; from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume 2, edited by Weston Arthur Goodspeed and Daniel David Healy
Page 264: An important improvement in the '70s was the Lake View water works. The first pump was set in operation in 1876, but so great was the growth that another was started the following year.

2017 Lakeview Water Supply Pump Station

Lakeview Pumping Station, Clarendon & Montrose Avenues, Chicago, Cook County, IL, Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey