Hamilton Waterworks
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The Hamilton Waterworks, also known as the Hamilton Waterworks Pumping Station, is a
National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
located in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
. It is an industrial water works structure built in the Victorian style, and a rare example of such a structure in Canada to be "architecturally and functionally largely intact". It is currently used to house the Museum of Steam and Technology. Its construction began in 1856, with the work contracted to local stonemason George Worthington, and was completed by 1859. It was opened on 18 September 1860 by
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
, at the time the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, during a two-month royal tour to Canada. It was formally designated a heritage site on 17 November 1977, and listed as a National Historic Site of Canada on 12 June 2007.


Background

In 1833, Hamilton's water system consisted of five wells. A December 1853 report to city
standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
on fire and water, prepared by William Hodgins, proposed a public water system using Ancaster Creek as a source to avoid using pumps or sourcing water from the potentially contaminated
Burlington Bay Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington B ...
. The committee dismissed the proposal, and in September 1854 announced a public competition to design a public water system suitable for 40,000 inhabitants, about four times the population of the city. A prize of £100 was offered. This was prompted by a cholera epidemic in the city, which killed 552 people in the summer of 1854. Thomas Keefer was hired to review the submissions, and on 23 December 1854 announced that American engineer Samuel McElroy was the winning candidate. His design included a pumping station at Burlington Heights, and a
reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
near the intersection of York Street and Dundurn Street. Council opted not to build this station, partly encouraged by Keefer whose reports recorded "peculiar" characteristics of the water from Burlington Bay. In January 1857,
Hamilton City Council Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West. The current council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor i ...
chose Keefer to be chief engineer to build a public water system drawing water from
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...
. A fountain was installed at Gore Park to remind the city's residents of the pure water that had become available to them.


Description

The complex is located adjacent to Globe Park, with
Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...
to the east and Woodward Avenue to the west. There are several components to the site. The
pump house 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, ...
used steam pressure to pump water from
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...
to a reservoir above the Niagara Escarpment, the boiler house generated the steam, the chimney exhausted the smoke, and the woodshed stored the fuel, initially wood and later coal. The water was distributed to the city's buildings through pipes by gravity. The interior of the
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
pump house building retains its original machinery, floors, and balustrades. Two Woolf Compound Engines were originally installed, each one a condensing
rotative beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newc ...
producing 100  hp built in Dundas. A massive stone structure was built around each 90-ton, engine for support. One of these steam engines still operates, now powered by an
electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...
. The chimney is built of brick atop a large stone base consisting of two types of stone. Both the yellow-brown bioturbated Eramosa
dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
and the grey Whirlpool
cross-bedding In geology, cross-bedding, also known as cross-stratification, is layering within a stratum and at an angle to the main bedding plane. The sedimentary structures which result are roughly horizontal units composed of inclined layers. The origina ...
and
laminated Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materia ...
sandstone were quarried at Stoney Creek.


National Historic Site of Canada

On 17 November 1977, the Hamilton Waterworks was officially recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada. In addition to the original pumping station, the site also includes the boilerhouse, chimney, and shed, all of which were built in 1859, a second shed built by Worthington in 1910 with a steam pump, a pumphouse built in 1913, a carpenter shed built in 1915, and valves and valve chambers installed throughout the 1900s.


Legacy

The building's exterior has been featured in the television show '' Murdoch Mysteries'' as the setting for the Toronto morgue.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{refend


External links


Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology National Historic Site
by William James,
University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

Hamilton Waterworks
at Worker's City
Full view of engine of Hamilton Waterworks
''The Canadian Illustrated News'', Volume 2, Number 19 (26 September 1863) Museums in Hamilton, Ontario Technology museums in Canada National Historic Sites in Ontario Infrastructure completed in 1859 Steam museums