Old Waterworks
Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
As early as 1754, water was pumped from a spring to a water tower, that stood east of here, through hollowed trunks of trees. It then flowed by gravity to five cisterns or reservoirs. Original engine house stands about 60 yds. S.W.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
As early as 1754 the Moravians of Bethlehem engineered one of colonial America's earliest municipal water systems, pumping spring water uphill to a tower and letting gravity feed it to a network of cisterns. The pipes were bored from hollowed tree trunks, a practical marvel of frontier ingenuity that delivered running water to the community decades before most American towns had anything like it. The original engine house still stands nearby as a reminder of this early feat of engineering.
Why it matters
This ranks among the first pumped waterworks in British North America, showing how a small religious settlement pioneered public infrastructure that larger cities would not match for generations.
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