Water Tower Flowered as a Local Landmark
July 28, 1996, article one

PIX#1 - A worm’s eye view of the base of the old Water Tower. Built of four foot thick blocks in 1890, the 100 foot steel tower was taken down in 1959. The tower was a local attraction for many years. Fostorians out for picnics and other outings frequently climbed to the balcony at the top of the base for a look around the city.

Water Tower Flowered as a Local Landmark

It was more than 150 feet tall and dominated the western view of Fostoria. Couples once climbed the stairs to a railed balcony a third of the way up to enjoy a panoramic vista of the city. It was surrounded by trees and ponds and made a fine playground.

What was this imposing attraction? Well, part of it still stands. It was the old water tower at the end of W. Fremont St.

Back in the 1880's Fostoria was contending with the problem of obtaining adequate supplies of water for drinking water and sanitation. There was also a need for surplus water storage, primarily for firefighting.

The water tower was built in 1890 by contractor H.J. Karg as part of Fostoria’s new water works. The three story base of the tower, the portion still standing, is 65 feet tall and was constructed of four foot thick, hand-hewn, cut stone blocks.

The first floor of the base housed the pumping engine and other equipment. The other two floors were for meeting rooms, offices and storage. The engine room was paneled in solid walnut.

Rising another 100 feet above the base was the cylindrical steel tower itself which held 500,000 gallons of water. Water from a well was pumped into the tower. In the event of a fire, duplex pumps would be set in motion to provide water pressure.

If the tank were overfilled prior to a winter freeze a ring of ice would emerge several feet above the rim of the tower. Chunks of the ice falling off due to melting then wreaked havoc on the base railing and the sidewalk below.

It wasn’t long before that railed balcony became a Fostoria attraction. Even before Gray Park was completed, the area’s maple trees and the creek made it a magnet for picnics, family reunions and the like. The view from the tower was irresistible and such outings were typically punctuated by a climb up the stairs for a look around town.

Water rates from those days might make us all pine for the “good old days.” Dwellings of six rooms or less were assessed $5 semi-annually. Each additional room cost another 50 cents.

Eating houses and restaurants paid $8-20 twice yearly. A one-chair barber shop paid $4.

For many years the water tower was operated by J. Franklin Sinclair who served as a chief engineer for the Water Dept. He put his daughter, Mabel, to work as his helper. She swept the steps of the tower, cut grass and planted flowers.

Mr. Sinclair carefully laid out the flower garden so that when Mabel’s planting bloomed, the flowers spelled “Fostoria Water Tower.”

Another of Mabel’s duties was to “watch the bell” which meant to stand by the telephone while her dad made his rounds of the waterworks to check the pumps, wells, and other operations. If the phone rang, Mabel was to “frantically wave” to Mr Sinclair for the phone rarely rang save for urgent matters.

Once, during a fire, Mabel was detailed to hose down a coal pile to prevent spontaneous combustion.

“When he (her dad) came out to inspect me, I was hanging on for dear life and the hose was swinging all over the place with coal flying in all directions and on me in particular. He always got a big laugh out of that, as I refused to let go of the hose.”

Mabel was even paid for her work - paid 10 cents a week. These were pretty good wages because it only cost a nickel to go to the movies and that meant Mabel had cash left over for a treat.

Nothing lasts forever, though, and by 1957 Fostoria was planning its new $2.2 million water works expansion program. The old steel water tower was in disrepair and renovation was not in the works.

The Review-Times reported that, “The tower, staid and somehow majestic, has sprung several leaks over the past years providing a sprinkler system for several residents in the vicinity... The steps leading to the top were condemned years ago.”

Water was spouting so profusely from the tower that motorists got doused as they drove by and sometimes had to use their wipers even on sunny days.

In 1959 the dismantling of the tower commenced. Men with cutting torches took the old landmark down a section at a time. The tower was cut up and sold as scrap.

Today the base of the old water tower is used for storage and there is also an emergency siren for tornadoes and such. Underneath the tower is a holding tank for the filter wash water.

In 1892 the completed water works had a surplus left out of the $200,000 appropriation. The Fostoria Times said that the new water plant was “one of the best systems in the state.”

And it no doubt was, serving the needs of the Seneca and Allen auto companies, the glass companies and the other enterprises that fueled Fostoria’s early industrial growth. But it was an interesting and unusual piece of Fostoria’s social fabric as well. The folks who climbed to the tower’s balcony got a view of town that few of us can get today.

On top of that, some of them probably got to watch Mabel Sinclair planting flowers for her dad.