MEMORY LANE
TEXT BY SUZANNE WARING PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARA YOUNG
Water Plant Intake Building
built by Ira Myers and used
even today.
Would you drink water delivered to your door in a buffalo hide?
Before 1889, only one in five hand-dug water wells on the city lots in Great Falls
produced any drinkable water. Families were forced to buy water from the
"water man" who delivered water straight from the Missouri River in barrels or
in wagons lined with buffalo hides. Before dams to the south of Great Falls kept
the flow of water stable, the water flow was low in the summers and was oen
undrinkable. To the housekeeper, it seemed like the water barrel was always empty.
If a fire broke out, the water men with their horses and wagons tried to provide
enough water to put out the fire, but the amount was usually insufficient.
SiG
MT
42
and Not a Drop to Drink Until
Great Falls Built a Water System
Water, Water,
Everywhere
Photo
Courtesy
of
History
Museum
Underground water-holding storage tanks.
