Documentary History of American Water-works

Mechanicsburg

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Mechanicsburg was incorporated as a borough in 1828.

The Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company was incorporated in 1854 with Ira Day, R. Wilson, Joseph Millison, Andrew J. Kaufman, Ephraim Zug, William Henry, Adam Hauck, John Hoover, Samuel Zacharias, Jeremiah Senseman, John Palmer, George Stainer, Peter Barnhart, George Houck, John Reigel, and Henry Lease appointed as commissioners to sell stock "for making, raising and introducing into the borough of Mechanicsburg a sufficient supply of gas and pure water." This company built a gravity system that began operating in 1856.

The company was acquired by the General Waterworks Corporation in 1955.

Water service is provided by Pennsylvania American Water.

References
1854 An act to incorporate the Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company. May 5, 1854.

1860 Supplement to an act to incorporate the Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company, approved the fifth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. March 23, 1860.

1868 A further Supplement to an act to incorporate the Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company, approved the fifth day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. March 7, 1868.

1869 An act supplementary to an act incorporating the Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company, passed the fifth day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. February 8, 1869.

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

1884 Mechanicsburg, from Engineering News, 11:104 (March 1, 1884)

1886 History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania
Page 252: Gas and Water Company. Mechanicsburg was first lighted with gas in September, 1868. The gas works are owned by an incorporated company, and are situated at the eastern limits of the borough. The town is also well supplied with water, from a reservoir located in Upper Allen Township. Both the gas and water are under the control of the same “Gas and Water Company,” which was chartered in 1854. The water works were built in 1856.

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

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

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

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

1908 "Mechanicsburg Gas and Water Company," Pennsylvania Department of Health. Application for a water purification plant.

1909 "Mechanicsburg Now Supplied with Pure Filtered Water," Harrisburg Telegraph, October 14, 1909, Page 8.

1955 "Taking Over Water Firms," The Indiana Gazette, January 15, 1955, Page 10.
Twenty-one operating water properties in Pennsylvania will be acquired by General Waterworks Corp., the firm has announced.