The Illinois Central Railroad Water Tower and Pump House are a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

and pump house in

Kinmundy Kinmundy is a city in Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 796 at the 2010 census. The town is believed to have been named after a place in Scotland, the birthplace of William Ferguson, a London agent for the Illinois Centra ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, which served the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

History

The Illinois Central first built a line through Kinmundy in 1856. As steam engines could only carry a limited water supply at the time, the railroad was dependent on local sources of water near the towns it stopped at. Since these sources were often unreliable, the railroad created its own water supply in several locations. Kinmundy, where the railroad created a reservoir, was one such town. The water tower and pump house stored water from the lake and transported it to steam trains. Similar towers were located every along the line; the towers were used until the Illinois Central ceased to use steam locomotives in the 1950s. In 1951, the city of Kinmundy purchased the water tower and pump house for municipal use.

Conservation

The tower is one of two remaining wooden water towers along Illinois Central lines in Illinois, and as the town's depots have been demolished, the two buildings are the only extant structures representing Illinois Central service to Kinmundy. The structures were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1998. They comprise one of Kinmundy's two National Register listings, along with the

Calendar Rohrbough House The Calendar Rohrbough House is a historic house located at 3rd and Washington Streets in Kinmundy, Illinois. The Italianate house was built in 1875 for Calendar Rohrbough, a local merchant and politician. It was added to the National Register o ...

Notes

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Marion County, Illinois Water towers in Illinois Water supply pumping stations on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Illinois Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Water towers on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois