Decatur Waterworks

Northeast of downtown Decatur, this 42-acre district preserves the remains of the city's water supply plant and a later public park. Decatur bought the land in 1906, and the waterworks was finished in late 1907 at a cost of about $46,500. It drew from Burnt Fork Creek and South Fork Peachtree Creek, and surviving pieces include a brick administration building, concrete water and settling tanks, a water tower, a pump house, an outfall and two breached dams. In 1939 Works Progress Administration crews added a stone bridge, a fountain, granite benches and picnic areas. The plant served the city until a countywide system was completed in 1942, then remained as a backup. The park closed during World War II and was not revived. The district was listed for its engineering, its role in local government and public works, its recreational use, and its planned landscape. Today the site is wooded, overgrown and unused, surrounded by modern housing.