Name/Title
PhotoEntry/Object ID
FCC2023.91Description
A view from below the falls on Otter Creek looking at the city of Vergennes. On the right side of the falls is the Pump House.Photograph Details
Subject Place
* Untyped Subject Place
FerrisburghCounty
Addison CountyState/Province
VermontContext
Fires were a scary reality back when many buildings were built of wood and heated with wood or coal stoves. In Vergennes, fire suppression was made more difficult because the downtown was uphill from the Otter Creek. City officials decided to invest in a water system with three pumps in 1868, but the pumps proved to be unreliable. Officials asked John P. Flanders, owner of Vergennes Machine Co., if he could come up with something better. In 1871 he had a new kind of pump ready for use. The city purchased a 150-by-60 foot island in Otter Creek on which to build a pump house. The 30-by-30 foot building has three-foot thick walls of limestone quarried in Essex, New York. The pump system invented by Flanders operated until the 1930s.Collection
Fort Cassin CollectionCataloged By
Remsen, NancyInscription/Signature/Marks
Type
LabelLocation
Above the photoTranscription
Falls, Vergennes, Vt.Dimensions
Height
3-1/4 inWidth
5-1/2 inRelationships
Related Places
Place
* Untyped Place
Ferrisburgh, Lake ChamplainCounty
Addison CountyState/Province
VermontProvenance
Notes
Photos photographed and scanned with permission from owner, Richard Alther, Ferrisburgh.Created By
Nancy RemsenCreate Date
November 12, 2023Updated By
Nancy RemsenUpdate Date
November 21, 2023