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Advocacy
Paxton Water Tower Preservation Campaign
Paxton
This pump house, completed in 1887 and located in east central Illinois, has
been rescued by local preservationists and adapted for a new use. Built in
response to a devastating fire, this gable-roofed masonry engine room with
its octagonal tower supported a 60,000-gallon water tank for fire
protection. When a larger, metal water tank was built in the 1950s, the
historic pump house was decommissioned and the wooden tank was removed. .The
building fell into serious disrepair and, following 30 years of exposure to
the elements, was slated for demolition in 1984 until a local group halted
the process to investigate reuse options. |
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By year’s end, the building was listed on the National Register and
stabilization efforts were completed in 1987. Countless fundraising events,
including an “adopt-a-brick” program, sponsorship dinners, paid house tours
and donated man-hours, went into the gradual rehabilitation of the structure
for a proposed museum. With a reuse plan in place, and the exterior work
completed, the city sold the property to the Paxton Foundation for one
dollar in 2004. In the last three years, the foundation has collaborated
with the county historical society and a local design firm to translate the
area’s rich history into a series of engaging multimedia exhibits. After
twenty-three years of dedicated hard work, the former pump house was
rededicated this July as the Ford County Museum.
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