Built in 1938 Manito's Old Water Tower became a landmark for the town.









Driving into town either via the "new" Manito Blacktop or ol Hickory Grove Road, the tower could be seen from miles away.










































The picture above taken in November of 2011 and the one below taken on December 13th, the day the tower was demolished were taken  from approximately the same spot as the picture from 1938.

Appearing in the first 1939 edition of the Manito Express is a “Highlights of 1938” column.  If you read the column today you would assume that the water tower was built in 1937 but that assumption would conflict with the village records.  Apparently the “project” mentioned in the paper was arranging the details and getting the PWA grants lined up to pay for the construction which would begin in early 1938.  The village records reveal that the village board voted to approve the project on December 3^rd, 1937.  The first houses to be connected went on line in early 1938 and by the end of 1938 more than half of the 212 houses in the Manito Village limits were connected to the city water system.  The waterworks project was publically dedicated in September of 1938.

The site chosen

The site chosen for the new water tower was near the jail/village hall and just north of the telephone switchboard and in front of the building that housed the “electricity generating” plant once used by the village. Engineers usually tried to build water towers on the highest local elevation they could to reduce the need for higher towers.

Just recently discovered is a picture collection which includes a series of pictures that show the “Dedication Day,” some stages of the drilling of the well for the pump and trenching and laying pipe.  

These two pictures show the drilling rig as it begins its work.  An interesting detail in these pictures is that they show the “Night Watchman’s” watch tower.  A picture of the Dedication Day crowd was taken from this tower.

Not to be confused with the WPA which focused on putting the unemployed back to work, the Public Works Administration was originally called the “Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works”  until 1939 when it officially became the Public Works Administration. 

The PWA’s goal was to create a “Multiplier” effect by hiring local contractors to carry out projects. The local contractors were expected to use their own local workers in the project. In general for every two workers directly involved in a   P. W. A. project, two other local workers were employed indirectly.

The Manito Project cost $52,000.

The trenching machine began in front of the water tower and worked south toward the main business block.

Workmen with shovels follow the motorized trencher as it digs its way south on Broadway.

Again beginning at the water tower, the pipe layer began lowering the water pipes into the trench.

One of the first “hookups” into the new water system was the fire hydrant at the corner of Broadway and Market.  The January 1939 Manito Review article extolling the highlights of 1938 mentioned that the town made its final payment on the new $950 fire hose.  The town had to feel safer  that there was now a constant supply of water in case of a fire.

DEDICATION DAY

On the day the brand new water tower was to be dedicated, the town rolled out the red carpet for a true celebration of Manito’s accomplishment.

Honored at the celebration was “Mr. Ebert” who was the man responsible for drilling the well.  U.S. Representative Scott Lucas who was campaigning for the office of Senator from Illinois also came to be part of the celebration.  Lucas won the election a couple of months later and became Illinois senator.

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Manito’s municipal band marched to the tower to perform at the dedication.

Hundreds of local citizens gathered to hear speeches by the dignitaries responsible for securing the project for Manito.

The town board was present for the dedication also.

To demonstrate.  the water pressure provided by the new tower a fire hose manned by Mayor Palmer and supervised by Representative Lucas was opened up and sprayed for the crowd.

Manito’s Old Water Tower as of 2011 has been a Manito landmark for 74 years but 74 years of Manito’s growth and newer environmental standards has doomed this modern marvel of 1938. It was required that a new tower should be constructed with the ability to supply the town for 24 hours with the water stored inside.  

When the new tower came on line, the old Water Tower was demolished.  The old tower and its design just didn't fit the modern mandated requirements.  Almost everyone wanted the tower to remain standing as a cherished landmark of Manito but with the many layers of leaded paint, and the need for costly periodic maintenance, there just wasn't any one with the ability to take charge of the relic.  On December 13th, 2011 the Old Tower became just a memory.