Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir, Yuma Crossing, south bank of Colorado River at foot of Madison Avenue, Yuma

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-66. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

On the south bank of Colorado River at foot and immediately west of Madison Avenue, City of Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona U.S.G.S. 7.5 minute series map, Yuma East Quadrangle, Arizona - California. Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: Zone 11, Easting Northing Construction Dates: Initial construction - Addition - Engineer: Undetermined but probably an employee of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Builder: Undetermined but probably employees of the Southern Pacific Railroad with assistance from local residents. E. R. Shain was the superintendent for the project.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-66. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Southern Pacific Railroad, reaching Arizona Territory from California in was the first railroad to arrive in Arizona and the second to be built eastward from the West, connecting with the Texas Pacific east of El Paso.

The first was the Central Pacific, the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad, which joined the Union Pacific at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, The second line to cross Arizona, the Atlantic and Pacific (later the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) arrived in Arizona in 18 80 from Albuquerque and reached the Colorado River in The Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir was probably the first water works in Arizona to provide treated (settled) water by a system of underground pipes to the residents and businesses of a community as well as to railroad locomotives and other railroad facilities. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 2) Prepared by: Gerald A. Doyle & Associates Historical Architects N. Street Phoenix, AZ Gerald A.

Doyle, FAIA Reba Wells Grandrud, With contributions by: Archaeological Research Services, Inc. Tempe, Arizona Lyle M. Stone, Date: April SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 3) HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA

Table of Contents

Introduction 5 Colorado River Water 6 The Southern Pacific Railroad Arrives in Arizona 7 The Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir 9 Construction History of the Reservoir 9 Reservoir Site 12 Description of the Reservoir. 12 Functional Features and Operation of the Reservoir. .29 Reservoir Accessory Buildings .30 Significance of the Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir .34 Index to Photographs 36 SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 4) LIST OF FIGURES 1. Segment of Yuma, Arizona, Sanborn map, 8 2. Reservoir Hill. View looking west, 13 3. Reservoir Hill. View looking north, 14 4. Plan and section of reservoir showing architectural features 15 5. Water Settling Reservoir. View looking southwest, 16 6.

Cross section of reservoir brick wall, 18 7. Exterior wall dowels into footing, 19 8. Cross section of reservoir concrete wall, 20 9. Water Settling Reservoir. View looking northeast, .21 10. Water Settling Reservoir. View looking northwest, .22 11. Reservoir wall being demolished, 23 12. Detail of reservoir floor showing slope, 24 13. Detail of reservoir column pedestals, 25 14. Detail of reservoir wall-plate anchor bolts, .26 15. Aerial view of Yuma Crossing looking south showing reservoir with roof intact, 27 16. Aerial view of Yuma looking south showing reservoir with roof intact,1955 .28 17. Water Settling Reservoir with north accessory building as seen from mid-stream of the Colorado River, ca. 31 18. Remnant of north accessory building, 32 19.

Remnant of south accessory building, .33 SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 5) Introduction The preparation of this Historic American Engineering Record report was sponsored by the City of Yuma, Arizona, to document prior to its demolition one of the city's prominent streetscape features dating from the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The feature, traditionally known as the Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir, was located in the Yuma Crossing National Historic Landmark. This HAER document emerged as an element of the planning process for Yuma's riverfront Heritage Area Gateway Park. Initially, the study was intended to consider only the water settling reservoir, which was largely intact when field work for the project began.

However, on the urging of the Rio Colorado Division of the Arizona Historical Society, the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, the National Park Service, and the preservation community, the Yuma City Council authorized the scope of the study be expanded to include a summary of the events and activities that had occurred at the Yuma Crossing, including those of the of Southern Pacific Railroad Company. As the project progressed, the National Park Service recommended that the research data be organized into two documents, one consisting of a thematic overview of events and activities that had occurred at the Yuma Crossing, including those relating to the engineering and architectural undertakings in the riverfront area, and another recording only the Water Settling Reservoir.

The first has been titled Yuma Crossing, HAER No. AZ-63, and the second has been designated Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir, HAER No. AZ-66. The City of Yuma's Main Street Water Treatment Plant, also located nearby, is documented in HAER No. AZ- 33, and the Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine, an appurtenance of the treatment plant, is photographically recorded in HAER No. AZ-33-A.

Inexplicably, the Water Settling Reservoir is not mentioned in the Yuma Crossing National Register of Historic Places Inventory- Nomination Form even though it could have been an important feature in the nomination's statement of significance, which was founded on the Crossing's role as a "transportation and communication gateway." Regardless of this oversight, the (and its successors), with a continuing 125-year presence in Yuma, unquestionably has played a major part in the history of not only Yuma and Arizona but also of the nation.

Because the locale of the water settling reservoir is at the focus of the Yuma Crossing, and inasmuch as the reservoir occupied one of the last remaining hillocks on the Arizona bank of the river, it was thought to be prudent to investigate the site for subsurface archaeological data. Consequently, the city council authorized the demolition of the reservoir and the leveling of the hillock to be monitored by an archaeologist. Unfortunately, no subsurface features, other than those directly related to the reservoir, were encountered. The absence of evidence of pre-SPRR use of the hill, especially indication of Quechan Indian occupation, may have resulted from removal of six to eight feet of the hill top to achieve a level site large enough to accommodate the water settling reservoir.

The archaeological work was conducted by Archaeological Research Services, Inc., of Tempe and was under the direction of Lyle M. Stone. The authors are grateful to the Rio Colorado Division of the Arizona historical Society for its assistance in searching the society's collections for newspaper articles and photographs relating to SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 6) the water settling reservoir, and to Archaeological Research Services for use of photographs of the reservoir taken during the facility's demolition. Colorado River Water The Colorado River has always been considered the only suitable source of domestic water for Yuma.

Many wells were dug in the area during the early years of settlement, but the high salt content of the water rendered them useless. Consequently, Yuma has always relied on a water supply drawn from the river. However, in the river water a heavy sediment amounting to about one- fifth of the volume created a serious problem. To overcome it, the water had to "settle" before it could be used. In Yuma's early days, it was said the Colorado River water was "too thick to pour and too thin to plow." Of course this is an exaggeration, but the silt content of the Colorado, before the completion of Boulder (Hoover) and Parker dams above Yuma in and respectively, at times reached ppm by weight.

1 Many of the residents of Yuma paid Quechan (Yuma) Indians 25 cents per barrel to fill old whiskey barrels that they kept at their homes. Water was kept in two or three barrels in each home for settling. Once settled, it was stored in ollas, which cooled the water by evaporation from their porous walls. The first waterworks at the Yuma Crossing appear in an painting (at the Arizona Historical Society, Yuma) of Fort Yuma, on the California side of the Colorado. The painting shows a mule- driven pump with a pipe running to a stone reservoir on a hill. A photo from about shows another stone reservoir at the Yuma Quartermaster Depot on the Arizona side of the river. This reservoir has been restored by Arizona State Parks but is not in use.

An army inspection report of November 7, described the water systems of the fort and depot and recommended the installation of steam engines to power the pumps. The present process of supplying the Post with water is old-fashioned, expensive, and insufficient. It is done by an 8 horse power machinery. The expense may not have been felt very heavily, still the method is a slow and shiftless one. The forage alone, which is fed to the 6 or 8 mules, not to mention other items, would go far in a year's time towards substituting a 10 horse steam engine. I therefore recommend that one be furnished to the Post, and another to the Depot in supplying water to extinguish fire and for other purposes.

A map of the Quartermaster Depot drawn in shows a pump at the river's edge and a system of distribution pipes from the reservoir to various depot buildings. Apparently both of the army's reservoirs were used for water clarification by settling and for storage. The stack of a steam engine boiler is seen on the river shore below the Quartermaster Depot reservoir in several historic photos, indicating the army inspection report was implemented. The townspeople ofYuma, however, would continue to use whiskey barrels for water clarification until the Southern Pacific Railroad made settled water available to the public in 1 Ekstrom, "Yuma and the Colorado River", (in Journal ofAmerican Water Works Association, March page SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No.

AZ-66 (Page 7) The Southern Pacific Railroad Arrives in Arizona On May 5, in preparation for the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad at the Yuma Crossing, Alexander purchased most of the hill at the foot of Madison Avenue as the site for a water tank. 2 The initial purpose of the tank was to provide water for the boilers of the locomotives, which needed to be replenished about every twenty miles. Alexander was probably an agent of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company when he acquired the property from the Village of Yuma for Two months after Alexander bought the hill, the company began constructing a railroad bridge across the Colorado from Fort Yuma, California, to Yuma, Arizona.

The bridge connected to the main line track that had already been laid for a short distance along Yuma's Madison Avenue, parallel to the toe of the hill. After trains began arriving in Arizona on September 30, a wood tank was built on the hill to provide water to the locomotives. Alexander, for reasons undetermined, did not sell the site to the railroad (for until October 22, only a few weeks before the Arizona Sentinel, the local weekly newspaper, reported on the company's plans to build a new brick water works on the site to provide water for its combined hotel and depot, which had been constructed at the end of the bridge in and enlarged in The hill would then become known as Reservoir Hill. The reservoir, bridge, and hotel are seen on the Yuma Sanborn map (Figure 1).

Refer to HAERNo.AZ-63, Yuma Crossing, forthe story of the Colorado River bridges and hotel. The Arizona Sentinel regularly carried articles concerning the railroad's activities in Yuma, some of which are quoted below under the dates on which they were published. December 1, A gallon water tank is being put up near the river [at Madison Avenue] and another one by the engine house [near Main and Fifth streets]. December 8, A new sidetrack has been laid along the railroad warehouse and another at Railroadville, at the upper end of town [near Main and Fifth streets]. The 50, 000 gallon water tank at the foot of Madison A venue is in an advanced state of erection and, from its commanding situation, is the most conspicuous object around here.

Its mate at Railroadville is finished and looks like a monster barrel, inside which the celebrated Heidelsburg [sic] vat would look like a slop bucket. December 15, Railroad improvements have moved slowly this week, a number of mechanics being off duty until plans are received here for setting up a steam windlass and platforms for loading the steamers [steamboats]. The same boiler will probably pump water for the tanks. A force of forty Chinamen has been kept at work grading down the hill behind the steamboat office [at the foot of Madison A venue], preparatory to laying down a passenger platform and runway for unclaimed baggage. [The Hotel would be built later on this site.] 2. Yuma County Recorder, Book 2 of Deeds, page 434 et seq. 3.

Yuma County Recorder, Book 4 of Deeds, page 43 et seq. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 9) December 29, The water tanks are finished and the plans are here for laying the pipe. It is surmised that residents of Yuma will be allowed to purchase water by making pipe connections at their own expense. The water will be raised by a steam pump run from the foot of Main street [one block east of Madison Avenue]. The same boiler will run a steam windlass for loading and unloading steamboats. At Dos Palmas a new water tank is being built, to be filled by a well there. [Dos Palmas, later called Durmid, was in California and is now covered by the Salton Sea]. January 26, The new pumping and hoisting engine of the C. S. N. Co.

[Colorado Steam Navigation Company] 4 is now in position and ready to run on receipt of the pipe and pump which are still at Sacramento. The water tanks [one near Main and Fifth streets and another on the hill at the foot of Madison A venue] have been housed and roofed in, making quite an imposing appearance [Field Records 1, 2 and 3]. The Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir Construction History of the Reservoir With the construction of a large addition to its hotel at the foot of Madison Avenue, which was patronized by railroad travelers and townspeople alike, and a steady growth in the population of Yuma, the anticipated an increasing demand on the company's rudimentary, wood-tank water system.

On December 3, the Sentinel reported: We have so often erroneously announced that the Railroad Company was about to make improvements about the depot and hotel, that we have grown distrustful of any imformation [sic] that may point to such a thing. However, one of the proposed improvements is the construction of a large system of water works, which will be of great benefit to both the company and the people of Yuma. It is to consist of 3 large reservoirs upon the hill [at the foot of Madison Avenue] above the hotel, of gallons each, the water to be passed from one to the other in order that it may properly settle. These three reservoirs will be covered with one building, and the hill graded to give the whole affair a descent [sic] appearance.

When work on the reservoir began, the Sentinel monitored its progress. 4 On May 21, the day after the railroad reached the Colorado, Captain George A. Johnson and his partners sold the Colorado Steam Navigation Company to a holding company for the Southern Pacific's backers. The new owners carried on the river business as one of their private adjuncts to the railroad business. Throughout and the Colorado Steam Navigation Company did a prosperous business, carrying nearly all the freight for northern and central Arizona from the railroad yard at the foot of Main Street to points upriver. After the control of the river line passed into the hands of the steamboats ceased operating between Yuma and Port Isabel (at the mouth of the Colorado).

After the railroad reached central Arizona, the sold its interest in the C.S.N.Co. to the steamboat captains, who continued service on the river until the end of the century. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 10) March 4, The Workmen are grading the hill on the north [west] side of the Railroad hotel, for the new water works. March 11, A trench has been dug from the R. R. Hotel extending to the river. ... This leads us to believe that the sewer will be changed thus relieving the people from the necessity of drinking water pumped from under the sewer. When the sewer from the Penitentiary [Territorial Prison]5 is changed, our water will be a great deal purer.

March 18, A platform has been built on the railroad track, on the side of the hill opposite the residence of Mr. Leo Furrer, for the purpose of unloading the material [to be used] in the construction of the new reservoir [Field Record 4]. When these water works are completed they will be second to none in the Territory [of Arizona]. March 25, The material for the water works, on the hill above the R. R. Hotel, is arriving fast and is being put on the ground ready for use. We were shown the plan of these tanks, and from a casual observation of them can suggest nothing by way of improvement. 6 This may seem like undue modesty on our part, but it is characteristic of the craft. April 1, The greater part of the material has been hauled onto the hill for the new R. R. water works.

Work has already begun on the first reservoir, near the old [wood] tank. May 8, The water works on the hill are being pushed along rapidly. The walls are now nearly completed. May 20, The tanks for the R. R. water works are rapidly approaching completion. The brick work is all done, and now only remains the covering and piping to be put in to make them complete. The work has been done under the efficient superintendence of Mr. E. R. Shain and has been put up to stay. We can soon have good clear water to use as it will all be thoroughly settled before using. May31, The Railroad Company is preparing to use new and larger pipes in supplying water to the village [Yuma]. The new reservoir and distribution piping are shown on the Sanborn-Perris map (Field Record 5).

However, the presence of"3 large reservoirs," as described in a Sentinel article on December 3, is not indicated, suggesting that the Sanborn-Perris surveyors were unable to see the interior of the reservoir because of the "covering" alluded to by the Sentinel on December 3, and May 20, 5. The Territorial Prison is now a state park. 6. The authors were unable to find this plan. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 11) The Sanborn-Perris map of continued to show a one-compartment reservoir (Field Record 6). Then, on March 11, the Sentinel related: The S. P. Company's water reservoir on the hill west of the hotel is being enlarged, its present capacity being entirely inadequate to furnish the necessary supply.

In the meanwhile, the town council had granted to Hiram Blaisdell a franchise to supply Yuma with water and electricity for the next 50 years. At the end of May he told several business associates in Boston of the investment opportunities in Yuma and on the Colorado River, "The Nile of the West," and, on July 15, Blaisdell and four financiers formed the Yuma Water and Light Company in Saco, York County, Maine. In August the construction of the Yuma Water and Light Company plant was begun a short distance east of Reservoir Hill and the Hotel, and in February it began operation. (Field Record 7).

Water for the company's new distribution pipes was first purchased from the and was pumped through a twenty-six-inch-diameter redwood pipe, similar in construction to a barrel, from the foot of Madison Avenue 212 miles to a concrete-lined reservoir on Emory, also known as Black, Hill. This reservoir was built to store water for delivery to the company's customers by gravity when the pumps were not working. The enlargement of the reservoir in undoubtedly was due to the increased demand by Yuma residents for water that had been clarified in the railroad facility and was sold by Yuma Water and Light Co. When the Water Settling Reservoir was constructed in water purification technology was only beginning to develop.

The American Water Works Association was established in and the New England Water Works Association in These associations and other technical societies spread knowledge of new methods of water purification. The period between and was marked by significant improvements to public waterworks throughout the country, which led to demands by the Yuma water users for higher quality water and, in tum, to Blaisdell's efforts to supply his customers with filtered water. In the first rudimentary filtration system at Yuma was constructed by the Yuma Water and Light Company. And, in the company's waterworks underwent major improvements, including the addition of two concrete settling reservoirs and a filtering reservoir with the prototype of the Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine.

The Sanborn map delineates the railroad's initial "3 large reservoirs" or compartments and the addition (Figure 1). Also, the map notes: "WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR OF THE CO. 4 COMPARTMENTS GALL. EACH. FILLED BY THE Y.E. & W. CO. [Yuma Electric and Water Co.]. 7 The Sanborn map of also states the reservoir was being filled by "Y .E. & W. Co." However, the Sanborn map of indicates that water from the railroad reservoir no longer entered the Blaisdell system and was used only by facilities. Readers are referred to HAER No. AZ-33, Yuma Main Street Water Treatment Plant, for a recounting of the development of Yuma's water treatment plant and supply system, and to HAER No. AZ-3 3-A for photographs of the Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine. 7.

The correct name at this time was Yuma Water and Light Company, but both names may have been used. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 12) After no significant changes were made to the reservoir proper, although modifications may have been made to the piping. Also, three accessory structures, as described below, were added after According to the and Sanborn maps (Field Records 8, 9, and the reservoir was not used at those times. (The operations on Madison Avenue had ceased in when new railroad facilities were completed on Gila Street.) Although the Yuma Water and Light Co.

had ceased using the reservoir sometime before the railroad continued its use until Reservoir Site The reservoir was located on a hillock that rose from the south bank of the Colorado River at the foot of Madison Avenue. The crest of the hill had been graded to provide a more or less level site to accommodate the reservoir and a surrounding walkway. This area was about 35 feet above the surrounding average grade. The locale was commonly called Reservoir Hill (Figure 2). The hillock was one of several that occurred along the south shore of the river and was witness to many major events of national significance, especially in the Manifest Destiny era. Readers are referred to HAER No.

AZ-63, Yuma Crossing, for a thematic history of the area and descriptions of other engineering and architectural accomplishments near Reservoir Hill. Many historic sketches of the Yuma Crossing depict the hill with moderately steep natural slopes. However, over the years, the slopes had been cut away, leaving a small plateau with very steep slopes on all sides (Figure 3). The north side was first graded in the to provide a direct pedestrian route between the steamboat ways at the foot of Main Street and steamboat captains' houses west of the hill. In the entire east slope was removed to accommodate the swinging span abutment of the railroad bridge and the main line track into Arizona, and in the west slope was leveled for the Arizona outlet of the Colorado River Siphon.

The south end of the hill remained largely intact until when it was cut away to make provision for a new (different) connection between the Southern Pacific and Yuma Valley railroad tracks. This new route permitted the removal of the track from Madison Avenue. Finally, in August the entire hill and its historic reservoir were removed to create, in combination with other adjacent parcels owned by the City of Yuma, a large, attractive site suitable for modem development. Description of the Reservoir The reservoir was long (north-south) by wide (east-west), measured atthe top of the exterior walls, which were battered l on each face (Figures 4 and 5). Exterior wall thickness was l at the top of the wall and O" at the footing.

A concrete floor, where it contacted the exterior walls, was located below the top of the walls. The entire structure was set into the hill top about exposing, on the average, about of wall above grade. The reservoir was divided into four equally sized compartments by battered partitions with a height matching that of the exterior walls. Initially the structure was long and, according to the Sentinel on December 3, was to "consist of3 large reservoirs of gallons each, the water to be passed from one to the other in order that it may properly settle." Although the Sanborn-Perris map shows the reservoir with only a single compartment, inspection of the VJ 8 i'"d > n "Tj n ~ ~ u ~ ~ ~ VJ m ~ ::i:::,..... >z mo ~ g; 0 z VJtr:I >-'I Figure 2. View looking west toward Reservoir Hill.

The Hotel was located in the striped area at the bottom of the image, ~ ~~0 (. O'I and the railroad track ran between the hill and the hotel. This figure is the same as HAER AZ-66-1. May be reproduced. "-" O'I ~ VJ. a i~ (") ~ (") - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ VJ. rn ~ ~z rn a ~ G; ---"'ti oz (1) ~ N ~ ~ Figure 3. Reservoir Hill. View looking north from new cul-de-sac at foot of Madison Avenue. Archaeological Research Services, ..,_.I 0 0\ - '-" 0\ ~ Inc. photo, May be reproduced. 1. 11. SEDIMENT OISCHARGI: 2. CONCRETE 12. 1S. 5, PIPE .~ ~ ~ 5 11 \/) ::i::: ~ ~ n ~ n - ~ i ~ \/) ~ r ::i::: z >a ~~ _ ?z ~ ,_. I og ~ 0< Figure 5. Water Settling Reservoir. View looking southwest from the elevated platform of a boom truck.

The small bridge 0\ 0\ - (center) crosses the Yuma Main Canal at the outlet of the Colorado River Siphon. This figure is the same as HAER AZ-66-2. May '-" 0\ ~ be reproduced. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 17) construction verified that three compartments were initially built, as described in the Sentinel article mentioned above. These initial tanks were constructed of brick, as reported by the Sentinel on May 20, with battered partitions carefully built (coursed) into the exterior walls, providing stability to both the partitions and the exterior walls when the tanks were filled with water. The bricks measured 8" x x and were maroon in color. They were extremely hard and had been laid with exceptionally strong and tenacious portland cement mortar.

The multiple withes were well bonded with frequently (irregularly) spaced headers (Figure 6). Additionally, the exterior walls and partitions were dowelled into the concrete foundation (Figure 7). The fourth (southernmost) compartment of the reservoir was constructed in according to a Sentinel article on March 11, This segment was readily identified by its poured concrete walls (Figure 8) and is first seen on the Sanborn map (Figure 1). The addition matched the width of the initial structure and measured in length, making the overall length of the reservoir (Figures 9 and Concrete pilasters were found on the exterior walls and on one partition, each covering a crack (Figure 4). They were, with one exception, wide and projected from the wall about 6". The pilasters were irregularly spaced.

The exterior surfaces of the exterior brick walls remained exposed, while the interior surfaces of the exterior walls and the partitions were finished with very hard, well-bonded portland cement plaster. Each exterior course of brick in the exterior walls was recessed slightly from the next lower course, producing a textured exterior surface. A water depth gauge was painted on the interior surface of each compartment. The strength of the masonry is noteworthy. Demolition of the walls was difficult, requiring the use of heavy machinery. Breakage occurred through the bricks and not through the mortar joints, testifying to the strength of the mortar and to its adhesion to the bricks, which were delivered to the site by train from California (Figure 11 ).

A 6-inch-thick concrete floor, which sloped in four directions to a central floor drain, occurred in each compartment (Figures 12 and A one-half-inch-thick cement topping, similar to the wall plaster in composition, was found on the floors. The topping was so well bonded to the concrete slabs that it could be detected only in cross section. Four concrete pedestals were found in each compartment, defining a rectangle within each compartment. These pedestals, each with a projecting anchor bolt, undoubtedly supported wood columns, which in turn carried wood framing for a roof. The pedestals had been poured integrally with the floors, indicating that the roof was, indeed, an original feature and not a later improvement.

A few charred fragments of wood were found on the floors of the compartments, suggesting that the reservoir roof had burned. No other remnants of the roof were identified, except steel anchor bolts set into the level tops of the exterior walls and partitions (Figure It is assumed that these bolts connected a continuous wood top plate to the exterior walls and partitions and that the plate supported the roof framing. Unfortunately, no description of the roof construction has been discovered. Even detailed historic photographs of the reservoir showing the roof are lacking.

However, two aerial views of the structure and have sufficient clarity to confirm the presence of a roof over the entire reservoir, including the exterior walls and the partitions (Figures 15 and Additionally, on May 20, the Sentinel noted, "The brick work [on the reservoir] is all SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 18) Figure 6. Cross section of reservoir exterior brick wall. Pilasters are seen on both the . exterior (left) and interior faces. A brick key connected the walls to the concrete foundation. Wood pilings, of undetermined date, protected the hill in several locations against erosion. Gerald A. Doyle photo, May be reproduced. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 19) Figure 7.

The reservoir walls were dowelled into the footing. Gerald A. Doyle photo, May be reproduced. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 20) Figure 8. Cross section of reservoir exterior concrete wall. Only the addition (south compartment) used concrete walls. Gerald A. Doyle photo, May be reproduced. (/J 0 ~ ::i:: ~ ~ n ~ n - ~ r ~ > ti ~ ~ (/J tTJ ~ ::i:: z > Cl ~ g; Figure 9. Water Settling Reservoir. View looking northeast. The concrete compartment is at the right. Remains of one of the --"ti ?z tTJ (/J reservoir's accessory buildings is seen at the northwest corner of the reservoir near the left edge of the image. Interstate Highway 8 crosses ~ >Id ("D N < the Colorado River beyond the reservoir.

The Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge and the bridge are at the right edge of the N I 0 image above the interstate bridge. The single auto is parked on the site of the Hotel. This figure is the same as HAER AZ-66-3. 0\ - '-' 0\ Id May be reproduced. VJ 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ n ~ n - ~ ~ ~ ~~ VJ ~ ,_, r ~z ma ~ 0 , z ~ >~ Figure 10. Water Settling Reservoir. View looking northwest. The three original compartments are at the right. Wood cribbing ~~o N 0\ "" " in several locations protects the hill against erosion. This figure is the same as HAER AZ-66-4. May be reproduced. '-' 0\ ~ SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 23) Figure 11. The brick walls were well constructed and difficult to demolish. Gerald A. Doyle photo, May be reproduced.

(/l 0 c :::i::: trJ 2 ""O > n ' "Ij n -- F 5: ~ 0 > u ~ > trJ ~ (/l ~ r :::i::: z > CJ ~~ ~ (/l ""O 0 z trJ Figure 12. The concrete floor of each compartment sloped to a center drain. View looking into the two northernmost compartments. ~ >~ ~ 0 Weirs occurred at the ends of each partition. Interstate Highway 8 crosses the Colorado River beyond the north wall of the reservoir. ~ 0\ - "-" 0\ ~ Archaeological Research Services, Inc. photo, May be reproduced. VJ 0 ~ ~ ~ '"O > n ~ - n ~~ u ~ ~ VJ ~ ::i= z ~a ~ ---'"O z0 NI Figure 13. The concrete floor in each compartment sloped to a center drain. Four concrete pedestals, each with an anchor bolt, ~ ~ 0~ Vl supported a wood roof structure. Archaeological Research Services, Inc photo, May be reproduced.

' -~ SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 26) Figure 14. The roof structure was connected to the exterior walls by anchor bolts built into (not drilled into) the exterior walls. Weirs can be seen at the ends of two partitions. Cutoff fence posts surrounded the reservoir. View looking south. Archaeological Research Services, Inc. photo, May be reproduced. r/J 0 .....i ::i::: tTJ ~ "ij > (") "T1 ( ") -- F s: ~ > tJ ~ tTJ ~ r/J tTJ .....i .....i r ::i:::z . >a tTJ ... -- z~ Figure 15. Aerial view looking south of the Yuma Crossing, The Water Settling Reservoir is on the hillock at the bottom right ~ 9 ~ comer of the image. The roof of the reservoir is intact.

The location of the bridges at Madison A venue is marked by the two piers in the ~ ~ < river (bottom right). The circular foundation of the swinging span of the bridge is on the shore line immediately beyond the second pier. The ~ 6" 9 swinging span provided a channel for steamboats. This figure is the same as HAER AZ-66-5. May be reproduced. '-" ~ ' (/1 0 e....., ~ ~ n ' Tj n -- ~ r ~ ~ ~ @ ?O (/1 tTJ ~ r z >a ~~ (/1 ,,-.,'"ti ?z tTJ Figure 16. Aerial view of Yuma looking south, Madison Avenue is the second north-south street from the right edge of the image. >~ The top of the riverbank is hidden by the trees at the bottom (center) of the photo. The reservoir is found near the lower right comer.

The 00 OI '-' OI -?0 roof of the reservoir and roof openings at the partition weirs can be seen. This figure is the same as HAER AZ-66-6. May be reproduced. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 29) done, and now only remains the covering and piping to be put in to make them complete." In the aerial photos, the roof appears to be essentially flat, although it may have had a center, long- dimension ridge with low-sloping planes spanning to the exterior walls. Over the ends of the partitions, the roof was omitted, creating narrow slots to accommodate the raising and lowering of weir gates in the partitions (Figure Each partition had two weirs at its top edge, one near each end adjacent to the exterior walls of the reservoir (Figure 4).

The weirs were wide by l deep and were fitted with a vertically sliding metal gate held in place by metal guides set into the brick. The guides were in place, but none of the gates was found. Functional Features and Operation of the Reservoir Due to the paucity of documentation on the operation of the waterworks, the disappearance of virtually all of the facility's piping and plumbing appurtenances, and the passage of more than a century, the functional aspects of the reservoir, as described below and shown in Figure 4, are, in part, conjectural.

Raw water, as it is known, was pumped from the river at several different points between Madison Avenue and Main Street (Main is one block east of Madison) at different times, first by a steam- engine-powered pump and later (about by an electric-motor-driven pump. In the pumping station was located immediately east of the railroad hotel. River water was delivered to the reservoir first by a redwood pipe and later by a 12-inch-diameter steel pipe, a segment of which was in place at the time of our field work. The Sanborn map (Figure 1) shows the supply pipe entering the northernmost compartment through the north wall of the reservoir. As previously noted, the Sentinel, on December 3, reported the structure was to "consist of3 large reservoirs [compartments] ...

of gallons each, the water to be passed from one to the other in order that it may properly settle." (The reader will recall the reservoir was enlarged to four compartments in Presumably, the entering water filled the first (northernmost) compartment and flowed through the weirs in the partition between the first and second compartments into the second compartment. When the first and second compartments were full, the third and fourth compartments were sequentially filled by means of weirs in the partitions between them. As the water passed through the reservoir, it was allowed to settle in each compartment, thereby achieving a greater degree of clarity in each.

As shown in Figure 1, settled water was withdrawn from the southernmost compartment for delivery by gravity pressure into the distribution pipes located some 35 feet below the reservoir. A floor drain, as previously noted, was found at the center of each compartment, and each drain was connected to a 6-inch-diameter drain pipe that ran beneath the floor slab and joined with a 12-inch- diameter glazed, ceramic waste-water-discharge main that paralleled the west wall of the reservoir (Figure 4). This pipe ran exposed on the shoulder of the hill and was partially intact. The floor of each compartment sloped to the central drain. Each drain was fitted with a valve that was operated by a chain-driven pulley, parts of which were found.

Our single reliable informant related that the valve could be remotely opened by an operator standing on the roof of the reservoir, thereby flushing the sediment that resulted from the settling of the river water into the discharge main. The SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 30) arrangement of the bell and spigot fittings in the main showed the pipe returned the sediment to the river well below the intake pump. Impressions in the wall plaster of the four compartments, anchor bolts embedded in the compartment floors, and a round hole through each partition between compartments suggested a single, continuous pipe, perhaps 6" in diameter, had been installed along the west wall of the reservoir about 18" above the floor.

The location and pattern of the anchor bolts indicated a device of undetermined design had been connected to the 6" pipe at the mid-point of each compartment. The purpose of this feature was unclear. Our informant surmised that it could have been used to provide water needed to flush sediment from the floors of the compartments into the waste-water-discharge main described above. Reservoir Accessory Buildings Three accessory buildings to the reservoir are seen in the historic photographs. Remnants of them were encountered on the site at the time of the investigation. No historic descriptions of them have been found, and all had disappeared before the memory of all but one of our informants.

A long- time, now retired, employee of the Yuma Water Treatment Plant recalled having heard casual comments by family members, who had earlier worked at the plant, about two of the three accessory buildings. The first accessory building, seen in Figure 17, was located at the north end of the reservoir. It can be seen coincidentally in a photograph of the steamboat Cochan, which was launched in November and dismantled in the spring of Also, the Sanborn map, which includes the area north of the reservoir, does not indicated the building (Figure 1). Consequently, it was probably constructed before and removed in or At first (about the Yuma Water and Light Company purchased settled water from the for sale to its customers.

This arrangement was discontinued about when the water company completed a new water treatment plant complete with filtration capability. At that time, the began filling its reservoir with water purchased from the water company for use by its steam locomotives, hotel and other installations. This agreement continued until when the discontinued its operations on Madison Avenue.

The remains of this facility, most of which were buried, included a segment of a concrete floor, equipment bases, anchor bolts, pieces of wood siding, and the termination of a large steel pipe that extended to the bottom of the hill (Figure Conjecturally, the building housed equipment used to measure the quantity of water exchanged between the two companies between and about when the building seems to have disappeared. Our single informant had no knowledge of the building. The second accessory building, seen in Field Record 11, was located south of the reservoir.

This photograph is labeled It is also seen on the and but not on the or Sanborn maps, suggesting it could date from about to about Even though the maps do not show the reservoir discharge piping entering this building, concrete saddles used to carry two discharge pipes from the reservoir to the building site were present at the time of our field work. Remnants of the building (Figure including a concrete foundation, floor slab, and pipe segments, clearly showed that water flowed in two pipes from the south compartment of the reservoir into a 6-foot-diameter, concrete-lined well located in the building. Two discharge pipes exited from the bottom of the well.

Our local informant believed this building contained equipment Ul ""O i ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ Ul ~ ~ >z tri a ~~ 0 , ""O.--., z Ul Figure 17. View looking south of the Water Settling Reservoir from midstream of the Colorado River. The reservoir sits on top of the hill and is surrounded by a fence. The north accessory building is behind the steamboat stack. The Cochan was launched in November OQ >~ and was dismantled in the spring of The steel bridge at the left edge of the photo was constructed between and and ~~o O"I "-" O"I ~ was demolished ca. National Archives 115-JAJ-0734 (Box 318-Crop). VJ ~ ~ (1 ~ (1 - ~ ~ u ~ ~ VJ ~ ~z ma ~ G; z VJ Figure 18. Only the floor slab of the north accessory building remained.

The black circular feature at the top right of the image is a '"" 0 t:'Ij segment of a wood power pole unrelated to the accessory building. View looking northwest. The Colorado River is seen beyond the trees. >~ Archaeological Research Services, Inc. photo, May be reproduced. ~~o N O'I >-< '-" O'I ~ VJ 0 ~ ~ >Tj n --~ ~ ~ ~ VJ ~ tr.I ~ ::i:::- > z tr.I Cl ~ gg '"'O z VJtr.I ~ .0 ~ Figure 19. An accessory building to the reservoir was located at the south end of Reservoir Hill. Several pipes exited from the circular (]r.i >< well. Other pipes connected the accessory building to the reservoir. View looking southwest. Archaeological Research Services, Inc. ~~o W OI - "-' OI ~ photo, May be reproduced. SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No.

AZ-66 (Page 34) used to control and/or meter the flow of water into the distribution system. Apparently, the north and south accessory buildings had similar functions at different times. The north building may have regulated water flow into the reservoir, while the south building regulated flow out of the reservoir, each at different times and, perhaps, in conjunction with an agreement between the and the Yuma Water and Light Company. The third accessory building was located on the west side of the reservoir at the north end of the structure (Figure 9). The remaining floor slab was inscribed which is probably the date of the building's construction. The structure is not indicated on the Sanborn map of that date. Later versions of the map do not include this area of the site.

Pipe penetration holes in the east wall and floor of this structure and in the west wall of the reservoir's north compartment imply the structure and the reservoir were joined by piping. Other features of the structure, including bases for pumps and/or electric motors and remnants of electric components, suggest two pumps were located in the structure. A historic photograph (Field Record 12) shows two timber towers at this location that match timber anchors and concrete bases found during the field investigation. (A third tower, which was not constructed over the structure, is also seen near the right edge of this photo.) Our local informant believed these towers carried elevated tanks that were filled with water drawn from the reservoir.

Presumably, these tanks were able to deliver water to areas that could not be reached with the normal gravity flow from the reservoir. A buried fuel tank was also found at the site, suggesting one of the pumps could have been operated by a gasoline engine in the event of electric power failure. Considering the date of its construction, the building could have supported World War I activities conducted at locations distant from the reservoir.

Significance of the Southern Pacific Railroad Water Settling Reservoir The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad at the Yuma Crossing from California in resulted in the construction of the first bridge across the Colorado River and in the opening of a route to New Orleans in The journey by train from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of miles, could then be accomplished in the same number of days that had previously been weeks for stagecoaches and months for wagons. The result of opening the railroad to the East was immediately felt in Yuma and throughout Arizona.

Where once the Territory, and especially Yuma, had been visited only by the hardiest of men and women, it now could be visited by travelers who came on the Pacific Express to marvel at how foreign, how un-American the Southwest seemed. At the same time, the made Yuma more American, as it brought Eastern and California building materials and architectural styles, ice- making machinery, traditional Anglo foods, and a comfortable hotel. Perhaps more than any other single event, the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Yuma laid the foundation for Arizona statehood in and opened the Southwest to a wave of settlers that continues today.

The railroad's water settling reservoir, one of Yuma's most prominent landmarks for more than a century, was initially constructed to supply clarified water to the company's steam locomotives and hotel. However, the reservoir's significance as an early American water treatment facility and as the first of its kind in Arizona, its connection to Hiram Blaisdell and the development of the water SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD WATER SETTLING RESERVOIR HAER No. AZ-66 (Page 35) filtration process, and its service to the early residents of Yuma place it among the noteworthy engineering accomplishments of the nineteenth century in the American Southwest. As times change, the uses of the Yuma Crossing have changed.

The sites of the Southern Pacific's first bridge across the Colorado and of Arizona's first resort hotel, which have been vacant for many years, now have been joined by the site of the railroad's waterworks. Reservoir Hill was leveled in making way for Gateway Park and the City of Yuma's proposed riverfront hotel at the foot of Madison Avenue. Only the bridge at the narrows of the Colorado River between Indian and Prison hills remains as an example of the achievements in Yuma. Even the Southern Pacific Railroad has disappeared from the American scene.