The First Lift Station is a

pump station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, ...

Mission, Texas Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 77,058 at the 2010 census and an estimated 84,331 in 2019. Mission is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. Geography M ...

, that once provided water for irrigating the crops of the early

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

. In 1907 John J. Conway and James W. Hoit began the Mission Canal Co. Irrigation system, which was instrumental in the early agricultural growth of the area. Here, they built the first pump station. The pump was powered by steam produced by wood-fired boilers. The

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

, which still stands at the site, was made out of handmade brick from Madero. It is 106 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. The top of the chimney has a double row of bricks that form a partial design, but the top was never completed. The chimney was dedicated as a Texas Historic Landmark by the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic La ...

in 1985. The boilers began operation in 1907 and the lift station started to pump water from the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

. Wood was used in units of 2 to 3 cords (7 to 11 m³) and a crew of 26 men with teams of mules worked around the clock to keep the boilers fed. The plant was later operated by John H. Shary and by Hidalgo County Water Control and Improvement Districts No. 7 and No. 14. The property was developed for recreational use after dams and a new pumping plant were built upstream in the late 1950s. The chimney is still standing at the site of Chimney Park.

References

{{Hidalgo County, Texas Mission, Texas Towers in Texas Buildings and structures in Hidalgo County, Texas Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Hidalgo County, Texas Water supply infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places