Old Harris CNR Water Tower
208 Railway Avenue N, Harris, Saskatchewan, S0L, Canada
Reconnu formellement en:
1992/04/01
Autre nom(s)
Old Harris CNR Water Tower
CNR Water Tower
Liens et documents
s/o
Date(s) de construction
1934/01/01 à 1934/12/31
Inscrit au répertoire canadien:
2004/12/08
Énoncé d'importance
Description du lieu patrimonial
The Old Harris CNR Water Tower is a Municipal Heritage Property located on a 290 square-metre parcel of land across from the railway tracks in the Town of Harris. The property features an octagonal-shaped wooden water tower that was constructed in 1934.
Valeur patrimoniale
The heritage value of the Old Harris CNR Water Tower resides in its unique railway architecture. Built by the CNR (Canadian National Railway) to plan 150-99 and designed to hold 40,000 gallons of water, this eight-sided, wooden structure is an excellent example of the more than 500 railway water towers that were erected during the seventy year period (1880-1950) when steam engines crossed the prairies. Constructed to serve steam locomotives, water towers were a fundamental part of the steam-operated rail system because of the need to fill the locomotives' boilers at regular intervals. A key element in the filling process was the tower's water-level indicator – a float and ball on a mast that rose with the water level in the tub – which signalled to the engineer of an approaching train the amount of water available at that stop. With the shift to diesel in the mid-1950s, however, water towers quickly disappeared from the landscape. Once a common feature at many railway stations throughout the West, the water tower at Harris is one of only nine octagonal-shaped railway water towers in Saskatchewan.
Heritage value also lies in the structure's importance to the local community, whose farmers once used the tower as their main source of water. In 1991, in order to prevent its demolition, the water tower was moved from its original location along the railway tracks to a new location across the street. It remains an important landmark in the community and represents what was once a central part of a group of structures that defined the railway yards of many small towns in Saskatchewan.
Source:
Village of Harris Bylaw No. 77/92.
Éléments caractéristiques
The heritage value of the Old Harris CNR Water Tower resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to its railway architecture, such as its octagonal shape, its materials and forms (wooden construction, original interior cedar water tank, windows, water-level indicator which includes the original cast-iron mast and float);
-its siting directly across the street from its original location on the railway tracks.
Reconnaissance
Juridiction
Saskatchewan
Autorité de reconnaissance
Administrations locales (Sask.)
Loi habilitante
Heritage Property Act, alinéa 11(1)(a)
Type de reconnaissance
Bien patrimonial municipal
Date de reconnaissance
1992/04/01
Données sur l'histoire
Date(s) importantes
s/o
Thème - catégorie et type
- Économies en développement
- Communications et transport
Catégorie de fonction / Type de fonction
Actuelle
- Loisirs
- Musée
Historique
- Transport ferroviaire
- Gare ou autre installation ferroviaire
Architecte / Concepteur
s/o
Constructeur
s/o
Informations supplémentaires
Emplacement de la documentation
Department of Culture Youth and Recreation
Heritage Resources Branch
1919 Saskatchewan Drive Regina, SK
File: MHP 901
Réfère à une collection
Identificateur féd./prov./terr.
MHP 901
Statut
Édité
Inscriptions associées
s/o