DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the Texas Historical Commission put on the marker for the Shamrock Water Tower, up in Wheeler County. Now settle in, because this one starts the way all great Texas stories start — with people who were thirsty. Back in the early days of Shamrock, if you wanted water, you had two choices: you could walk to one of the two town wells, or you could haul it in on a wagon in barrels, sloshing all the way across the panhandle.
That was the state of affairs right up until March of 1911, when the residents of Shamrock voted to incorporate and the very first thing their new city officials figured out was — we need water, and we need it reliable. So in November of 1912, the citizens held an election and authorized the sale of bonds, fifteen thousand dollars worth, to build a proper drinking water system. A tower, a reservoir, the whole works, right there on Railroad Avenue.
Now, fifteen thousand dollars and a dream is one thing. Building something that can stand up to panhandle winds is something else entirely. In September of 1915, city leaders accepted the bid of the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company, out of Chicago, Illinois — a firm that had been in business since 1889 and knew a thing or two about putting steel in the sky.
And what they designed was not a modest little tank on a pole. Oh no. They drew up an all-steel structure — a cylindrical tank with a hemispherical bottom, held up by four latticed channel columns, all lashed together with metal tie rods.
The engineers had to account for the maximum pressure of panhandle winds bearing down on that tank, plus the full weight of the water inside. Seventy-five thousand gallons of water is not a gentle burden, and the wind out here has never been known to show mercy. To raise the tower's standpipe up into position, workers used a steam threshing machine — the kind of improvised ingenuity that built half of Texas.
The steel itself was railway bridge grade, riveted together with rivet grade steel, because when you are building something to last, you don't cut corners. And when it was done, that tower rose one hundred and seventy-six feet above the ground. Now here is where the story gets its flourish.
According to the records of the CB&I Company themselves, the Shamrock water tower is the tallest tank of its class they ever built. Ever. In all their years in business.
And it remains, to this day, one of the tallest water tanks in the entire state of Texas. You can see it from about ten miles in any direction, which means travelers have been using it as a landmark since the day it went up. In the early twentieth century, they would pull their horses and wagon teams right up to the concrete troughs built underneath it and let the animals drink their fill.
Today, drivers on the road still mark their progress by the tower — still catch sight of it from ten miles out and know exactly where they are. A steel giant born of a bond election and a threshing machine, built to quench a thirst that two town wells just couldn't satisfy — and it's still standing, still visible, still doing its job. That is Shamrock.
What the marker says
Soon after residents voted to incorporate in March 1911, Shamrock officials identified the need for a reliable waterworks for the city. Prior to that time, citizens got their water from one of two town wells or hauled it to town in barrels on wagons. A November 1912 election authorized the sale of bonds in the amount of $15,000 for a drinking water system that included a tower and reservoir on Railroad Avenue. In September 1915, city leaders accepted the bid of the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company of Chicago, Illinois to build the water tower. The all-steel structure was designed with a cylindrical tank with a hemispherical bottom, supported by four latticed channel columns held together with metal tie rods. The large tank has a capacity of 75,000 gallons, rising 176 feet above ground level. Workers utilized a steam thresing machine to raise the tower's standpipe. The tower was constructed of railway bridge grade steel riveted together using rivet grade steel. Engineers also had to account for the maximum pressure of panhandle winds upon the load of the structure plus the weight of the water. According to records of the CB&I Co., in business since 1889, this substantial tower is the tallest tank of its class ever built by the company, and it remains one of the tallest water tanks in Texas. Built to provide water to a growing community, the Shamrock water tower is also visible for about ten miles in any direction. Early 20th century travelers stopped here to water their horses or wagon teams in the concrete troughs under the tower, and travelers continue to mark their progress by the tower, an engineering and tourism icon. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2008