Tankhouse facts for kids
A tankhouse is a special kind of water tower that is built inside a building. Think of it as a small house with a water tank on top! These buildings were very important a long time ago, before most homes had electricity or city water pipes. They helped families get water for their houses and gardens.
The way it worked was simple: A windmill would pump water from a well deep in the ground. This water went up into a large tank at the very top of the tankhouse. From there, gravity would pull the water down through pipes to the house and garden. This system didn't need any fuel or electricity. Today, we would call it a "green" or "eco-friendly" way to get water!
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What is a Tankhouse?
Sometimes, people call a tankhouse by other names, like a pump-house or a well-house. But no matter what it's called, it's always a water tower that is covered by walls, or "siding." These walls create a usable space inside the building. Regular water towers, which just have a tank on top of an open frame, are not tankhouses because they don't have that enclosed space.
A Look Back: Tankhouse History
Tankhouses are a big part of California's past. They show us how people lived long ago. Thousands of these buildings were put up in towns and on farms from the 1850s to the 1930s. Most of them were made from redwood trees, which were very common in California back then. The tower, the water tank, the walls, and even the roof tiles were often made of redwood.
The windmill that pumped the water usually stood right next to the tankhouse, or sometimes on its own separate tower. Over time, tankhouses became less common. This happened when people started drilling deeper wells and using electric pumps. Also, cities began to build water pipes that brought water directly to homes. Today, most of the old hand-dug wells are gone, and many windmills have disappeared. The tankhouses that are still standing are special and important reminders of the past.
Where Can You Find Tankhouses?
You can find many more tankhouses in California than in any other state. It's likely that they first started in California. For example, a tankhouse was built in Mendocino, California, in 1857. Many different kinds of tankhouses can still be seen in that village today.
Tankhouses are found in most of California's 58 counties. They were built wherever water was not too far underground, usually within 50 feet or so. After railroads were built across the country, the idea of tankhouses probably spread. You can now find them in other western states, the Midwest, and even in the eastern parts of the United States.
There's a special group of tankhouses in the Texas hill country, west of Austin. German immigrants settled there in the late 1800s. They didn't have redwood trees like in California. Instead, they used limestone for their towers and cypress wood from nearby creeks for their water tanks. These cypress tanks were often open on top of the limestone towers. In Texas, the windmills always stood on a separate tower, not attached to the tankhouse. Later, some tankhouses in Texas were built with concrete and steel tanks, and a few even looked like the wooden ones from California.
Different Kinds of Tankhouses
In California, you can see several different styles of tankhouses today. The main tower that holds up the tank might have straight sides or sides that lean outwards. The room where the water tank sits (the top floor) can also have straight or leaning sides. Sometimes, this top room hangs out over the tower a bit.
On many tankhouses, the redwood water tank is not covered by walls. It's just out in the open, sometimes with a roof above it. In some areas, one type of tankhouse is much more common than others. There are also unique designs, especially among those built in the 1800s. Sadly, many tankhouses have lost their top (tank) level over time. This makes it hard to know what their original design looked like. Most of the windmills that once stood next to them have also disappeared.
