Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

WOODEN WATER MAIN

Date Range From

1904

Date Range To

1911

Materials

WOOD, IRON

No. Pieces

1

Length

139

Diameter

21.5

Description

HOLLOW, STRAIGHT SECTION OF PIPE MADE FROM SEVEN WOOD BOARDS BOUND TOGETHER WITH COILED METAL WIRE THAT IS WRAPPED AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOARDS. WOOD IS CRUSTED WITH DIRT INSIDE AND OUT, AND FLAKES WHEN HANDLED. WIRE IS RUSTY AND SOME RUST HAS TRANSFERRED TO OUTSIDE OF WOOD. OVERALL FAIR CONDITION. *NOTE* OBJECT HAS BEEN WRAPPED IN CLEAR PLASTIC AND TAPED CLOSED, AS IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO CLEAN THE DIRT THOROUGHLY WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING THE OBJECT’S STABILITY.

Subjects

PLUMBING FIXTURE

Historical Association

INDUSTRY

History

THIS WOODEN WATER PIPE WAS REMOVED FROM THE GROUND UNDERNEATH 4TH STREET SOUTH NEAR 5TH AVENUE IN FALL 2014, WHEN THE CITY WAS REPLACING THE CAST IRON WATER MAIN AT THAT LOCATION WITH PVC PIPE. THE EARLIEST MENTION OF WOODEN WATER PIPE IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD OCCURS IN AN ARTICLE FROM SEPTEMBER 6, 1906, WHICH STATES “WHERE THE SOIL CONSISTS OF A HEAVY CLAY, AS IN LETHBRIDGE… WOODEN PIPE MADE OF STAVES, THE MATERIAL BEING FLAWLESS, IS SUPERIOR TO IRON PIPE, THE IDEA BEING THIS PIPE BECOMES WATERSOAKED AND BEING HERMETICALLY SEALED BY THE HEAVY SOIL, ALL AIR IS THUS KEPT FROM IT, AND THUS IT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BE IN PERFECT STATE OF PRESERVATION IN SOME OF THE OLDER CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 100 YEARS AFTER IT WAS PUT DOWN…WOODEN PIPES NOT TREATED WITH TAR ON THE OUTSIDE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SUPERIOR TO THOSE TREATED AS IT ALLOWS THE WATER TO SOAK THOROUGHLY THROUGH THE WOOD FROM THE PRESSURE ON THE INSIDE.” AN ARTICLE FROM DECEMBER 6, 1911 DETAILS THE LAYING OF CAST IRON PIPE IN THE AREA THIS SECTION OF WOODEN PIPE WAS LATER REMOVED FROM. ON DECEMBER 3, 2014, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED ADAM CAMPBELL, CITY OF LETHBRIDGE WATER AND WASTE WATER SYSTEMS MANAGER, ABOUT THE WOODEN WATER MAIN AND ITS RETRIEVAL. CAMPBELL SAID: “THIS IS THE ORIGINAL WATER MAIN THAT WAS INSTALLED ON 4TH STREET WHEN LETHBRIDGE FIRST DEVELOPED ITS WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. [IT] WAS REPLACED IN 1911 WITH A CAST IRON WATER MAIN, AND WE WENT IN THIS YEAR AND REPLACED THE CAST IRON WITH PVC, 100 YEARS LATER… I’M GUESSING THAT [THE WOODEN] WATER MAIN WAS INSTALLED IN THE LATE 1800S… WE HAVE THE DRAWING THAT SHOWS WHEN [IT] WAS REPLACED IN 1911 – BACK THEN THEY JUST LEFT THEM IN THE GROUND WHICH WAS WHY WE FOUND IT WHEN WE DID. NORMALLY THEY SORT OF BLOW APART WHEN WE PICK THEM UP, SO IT’S KIND OF RARE THAT YOU GET A NICE PIECE LIKE THAT… IT’S IMPRESSIVE HOW THEY ACTUALLY USED TO PIPE WATER TO THE HOUSES BACK IN THE DAY. IT’S ESSENTIALLY A GIANT KEG [AND] WE HAD KILOMETERS OF THAT STUFF STRUNG ALL ACROSS LETHBRIDGE. WE DON’T HAVE THAT ANYMORE… IT’S INTERESTING HOW MUCH THE TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED OVER THE LAST 130 YEARS… [THE WOODEN PIPE] HAS HELD UP REALLY WELL IN TERMS OF ITS ACTUAL QUALITY… THE PROBLEM THEY USED TO HAVE WITH THEM, APPARENTLY, IS THAT THE WIRE THAT IS WRAPPED AROUND IT WOULD SNAP DUE TO CORROSION, AND THEN, SINCE IT WAS UNDER PRESSURE, THE WOOD CASING WOULD BLOW UP… BUT THIS ONE DIDN’T LOOK AS IF IT HAD SUFFERED FROM THAT AT ALL, SO IT MUST HAVE HAD A REALLY GOOD HIGH STRENGTH WIRE AROUND IT AND SOME GOOD PIECES OF WOOD.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT AND COPIES OF HERALD ARTICLES.

Catalogue Number

P20140050000

Acquisition Date

2014-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail