Pump House No. 1

Pump House No. 1. . , This property was home to the 1st Congregational Church of Bellaire from the 1880s until it disbanded in the early 1920s. In 1922, Harley Smith bought it and built a barn. In 1932, after drilling test wells in several places in town, the village acquired it to accommodate a new well and pumping station., The village's water supply was problematic in the early 1930s. It pumped and chlorinated water from Intermediate River, the old wells "having long since gone wrong." The Village Council moved to update the entire system, including replacing the old water mains with larger pipes. In 1939, it built this structure with fieldstone left over from the construction of Community Hall. Also called the Diesel Building, it housed the pumping plant and two diesel auxiliary generators that supplied backup electricity to the village and surrounding area (note the roof vents)., By 1985, both functions had been replaced by modern facilities elsewhere, and the village sold the property to Violet Zimmerman, who converted it into a residence, adding the porch and garage. The original wellhead, now capped, remains in the basement., For more history of Bellaire, visit the Bellaire Area Historical Museum, 202 N. Bridge Street