The Pump House and Gate House

The Pump House and Gate House. Cool Spring Reservoir Plaza. , The Cool Spring Pump House was constructed in 1876 to move water from the Brandywine River by steam-powered pumps to Cool Spring Reservoir. In 1901, a 12-inch water main was installed from Cool Spring to the newly constructed Rockford Water Tower. To meet increased demands, a new 48-inch diameter main was installed in 1907 that supplied water to Cool Spring from the new Porter Reservoir located along Concord Pike. A new Gate House was then constructed at Cool Spring to control the flow of water from the Reservoir. A small pump was installed in the Gate House to continue supplying water to Rockford Tower. Water flow in and out of the Reservoir was controlled by 5 gate valves, manufactured by the Pusey, Jones and Co. of Wilmington, Delaware. The company, founded in 1848, later became a prominent ship builder and remained in business on the Christina River until 1956. With the new connection to the Porter Reservoir, the Cool Spring Pump House became obsolete and was converted to the Delaware Natural History Museum in 1910., In 1916, the Gate House was replaced with a larger structure, incorporating some of the original Gate House basement walls into the new structure. By 1949, the operational capacity of the Gate House was no longer sufficient to meet demands. In 1951, the Delaware Natural History Museum was converted back to a pumping station and outfitted with new electric pumping equipment. The Gate House was renovated again in 1977 by demolishing the entire upper level. A new brick-walled structure was constructed with a flat roof. Newer valves were later installed that rendered the original valves non-operational. In 2005, construction began on the new underground Reservoir, and the Gate House was once again demolished and replaced by a new Gate House.