{"nrhp_refnum":"90001723","name":"Ransom Water Tower","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Plumb St. between Cartier and Columbus","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ransom","county":"LaSalle County","state":"IL","lat":41.15663406400006,"lon":-88.64917618999993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick \"barrel\" type water tower with a wooden tank, built in 1896 on Plumb Street between Cartier and Columbus Streets in the village of Ransom, La Salle County, Illinois.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the tower meets Criterion A for its role in the growth and development of Ransom. It was the sole public water supply for the village's commercial, business and residential buildings from its 1896 dedication until July 1990. The abundant water supply is credited with attracting settlers and helping a business district develop.","narrative":"Ransom Water Tower is a round brick tower, forty feet high, that carries a twenty-eight foot wooden tank. Its walls are twenty-one inches thick and taper from about twenty-nine feet in diameter at the base to roughly twenty-four feet at the top. Inside, a six-inch pipe fed the tank from three wells, and a wooden stairway rises to the catwalk door. The village built it in 1896 after a fire in 1892 destroyed the east side of the business district and slowed the town's growth. Leaders chose a tank holding 45,000 to 50,000 gallons, far larger than some residents thought necessary for a town of about 200. Standing on the highest ground in what was then the village center, it also served as a landmark, with a lantern hung from its catwalk each night. It supplied water to Ransom's businesses and homes until July 1990, and the village grew to nearly 600 people before World War II.","period_of_significance":"1896-1940","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Barrel type late 19th century brick water tower with wood tank","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"The tower supplied the village's water from 1896 until July 19, 1990. The catwalk and hand rail were removed in 1960, and the original shingle roof was replaced by a cone-shaped metal roof after rotting in the early 1950s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.510939-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/8934/28893413/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/90001723.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001723/1fa2374d8c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001723/1fa2374d8c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ransom_IL_Ransom_Water_Tower1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ransom_IL_Ransom_Water_Tower1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893413","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransom_Water_Tower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q257410"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/lasalle-county/ransom-water-tower-90001723/"}