8/4/2008:
Today the tentacles of the rural water pipelines are reaching out to more remote areas to ensure a supply of drinking and domestic water. For most urban dwellers, drinking water from the tap is taken for granted but that was not always the case. For many towns and cities there was a domestic supply of water to the home but the drinking water had to be hauled from a another source. These artesian, underground pools did not contain potable water in large enough quantities to provide a larger community with its full water needs, so less desirable water was provided for domestic use and the drinking water was purchased from a supplier, if income permitted, or it had to be obtained from the town pump.
Shortly after 1900, the City of Devils Lake established a pump alongside the county jail and residents obtained their drinking water from this source. Most often this chore belonged to the oldest son. With his little red wagon full of galvanized cans with lids, the trek began to the little six by six foot, clapboard shed with its two- foot square window and a hanging dim light bulb, where the ordeal with the old fashioned pump handle began. Older people would often have to rest a few times before they could manage to fill their cans and the younger patrons would find their feet in the air as they struggled to bring the handle down. If the young man was lucky, his return trip with the loaded cans was downhill so he could hop on the wagon and ride the rest of the way. Care had to be taken against hitting bumps and curbs which could mean another trip back to the pump, in soggy clothes, to start all over again. In the winter, sleds were used to haul the cans of water.
Thousands of gallons of water were laboriously pumped from the well in this manner but on this date in 1954, the old pump gave way to progress. An electric motor was placed which enabled patrons to push a button and a flow of water would commence, making the job much easier. For over a half a century, the squeaking of the pump handle could be heard from the little shed in the courtyard of the jail and many an older resident can recall the weekly pilgrimage to the Old Town Pump.
Sources:
The Devils Lake World August 4, 1954