Documentary History of American Water-works

Indiana

Lafayette

Lafayette, Indiana

Lafayette was incorporated as a city in 1853.

The city built water works that was tested on May 16, 1876 using steam-powered Clapp & Jones pumps to force water into an elevated reservoir. A standpipe was used to increase pressure for the higher elevations of the city.

Water is supplied by the city of Lafayette.

References
1876 "Aqueous," The Fort Wayne Sentinel, March 17, 1876, Page 1.
The Water Works Test Yesterday - Witnessed by a Large Crowd of Citizens and Visitors - The Water Works a Big Thing, Indeed a Perfect Success

1882 Lafayette, from Engineering News 9:107 (April 1, 1882)

1882 Lafayette, from "The Water-Supply of Certain Cities and Towns of the United States," by Walter G. Elliot, C. E., Ph. D.

1885 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. July, 1885
Sheet 13: Lafayette Water Works
Sheet 16: Waterworks

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

1890 "Lafayette," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.

1891 "Lafayette," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.

1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. June, 1892
Sheet 1: Water Facilities
Sheet 15: Lafayette Water Works

1897 "Lafayette Water Works," Fire and Water Engineering, 22(10):317 (September 4, 1897)

1897 "Lafayette," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 4.

1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. February, 1899
Sheet 1: Water Facilities
Sheet 2: Lafayette Water Works

1900 "Lafayette and its Water System," Fire and Water Engineering 28(9):74 (September 1, 1900)

1901 "Lafayette and its Water Supply," Fire and Water Engineering 30(22) (November 30, 1901)

1909 Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, by Richard P. DeHart
Page 379: The water works plant is located directly on the bank of the Wabash river, where the supply of water comes from three six-inch wells which go to a pure water — the finest in the state — and is pumped to the highest elevation of the grounds (one hundred and eighty-five feet) to the capacity of one million gallons daily, and then to a large tank almost a hundred feet high, making the total distance from the Wabash about three hundred feet.