Carr Square in St. Louis, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Star Bucket Pump Company
Neighborhood: Carr Square
Pump It Up!
Photographed by Jason Voigt, June 5, 2025
1. Star Bucket Pump Company Marker
Inscription.
Star Bucket Pump Company. Neighborhood: Carr Square. , Today, with modern indoor plumbing, getting water is as simple as opening a faucet. This was not always the case in St. Louis' early days. The building at 1218-1224 N. 15th Street was home to The Star Bucket Pump Company for almost 50 years. It changed the way farmers, business owners, and everyday St. Louisans received water., St. Louis was a rapidly growing city in the 1800s, ballooning from less than 20,000 residents in 1840 to an estimated 350,000 by 1880. Public water systems as we know them today were virtually non-existent. Water for farming and daily needs came either from wells created over underground water deposits or from uncovered cisterns that collected rainwater. The Star Bucket Pump Company and co-founder Charlie Bartliff's patents for bucket pumps and reservoirs helped pave the way for easier access to life-sustaining water for the rapidly growing region before the introduction of today's ubiquitous municipal water systems and indoor plumbing. , The Star Bucket Pump Company was officially incorporated on May 12, 1898, by Charles A. Bartliff, a Canadian engineer, Dennis J. Dowling, from a family of wealthy contractors, and D.D. Fisher, a prominent judge. The earliest mention of the Star Bucket Pump Company was in 'help wanted' newspaper ads from the 1890s in the now defunct St. Louis Globe-Democrat, seeking men and boys to make boxes and soldier elevator pump cups in the old riverfront's bustling commercial center. Water was brought above ground with bucket pumps, also known as elevators and chain pumps, using a continuous chain and pulley. Buckets attached to the chain lifted water from cisterns and wells, sometimes over 30 feet deep, as farmers rotated a crank. Eventually, according to the National Register of Historic Places, pumps were piped directly into homes, a precursor to today's common faucet systems. At the time, despite a handful of other local companies manufacturing pumps, Star Bucket's patented pump was the only one that specialized in bucket pumps.
Today, with modern indoor plumbing, getting water is as simple as opening a faucet. This was not always the case in St. Louis' early days. The building at 1218-1224 N. 15th Street was home to The Star Bucket Pump Company for almost 50 years. It changed the way farmers, business owners, and everyday St. Louisans received water.
St. Louis was a rapidly growing city in the 1800s, ballooning from less than 20,000 residents in 1840 to an estimated 350,000 by 1880. Public water systems as we know them today were virtually non-existent. Water for farming and daily needs came either from wells created over underground water deposits or from uncovered cisterns that collected rainwater. The Star Bucket Pump Company and co-founder Charlie Bartliff's patents for bucket pumps and reservoirs helped pave the way for easier access to life-sustaining water for the rapidly growing region before the introduction of today's ubiquitous municipal water systems and indoor plumbing.
The Star Bucket Pump Company was officially incorporated on May 12, 1898, by Charles A. Bartliff, a Canadian engineer, Dennis J. Dowling, from a family of wealthy contractors, and D.D. Fisher, a prominent judge. The earliest mention of the Star Bucket Pump Company was in 'help wanted' newspaper ads from the 1890s in the now defunct St. Louis
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Globe-Democrat, seeking men and boys to make boxes and soldier elevator pump cups in the old riverfront's bustling commercial center. Water was brought above ground with bucket pumps, also known as elevators and chain pumps, using a continuous chain and pulley. Buckets attached to the chain lifted water from cisterns and wells, sometimes over 30 feet deep, as farmers rotated a crank. Eventually, according to the National Register of Historic Places, pumps were piped directly into homes, a precursor to today's common faucet systems. At the time, despite a handful of other local companies manufacturing pumps, Star Bucket's patented pump was the only one that specialized in bucket pumps.
Erected 2025 by the City of St. Louis, St. Louis Community Development Administration, Near North Side Organization and Urban Strategies, Inc. (Marker Number 1.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Resources. A significant historical date for this entry is May 12, 1898.
Location. 38° 38.311′ N, 90° 11.902′ W. Marker is in St. Louis, Missouri. It is in Carr Square. It is on North 15th Street north of Biddle Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1205 N 15th St, Saint Louis MO 63106, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are
Photographed by Jason Voigt, June 5, 2025
2. Star Bucket Pump Company Marker
Marker is in front of an empty lot (across from apartment buildings) with a partial view of the St. Louis skyline, including the Gateway Arch.
Regarding Star Bucket Pump Company. The Star Bucket Pump Company building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, but was eventually torn down sometime after 2021.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 3, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 5, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 236 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on June 5, 2025, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
