The "Revisiting Lancaster's Water Works" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Cleaning up the desktop on my MacBool Air and found over a dozen old photographs of Lancaster's Water Works on the eastern edge of the city.  The Water Works was along the Conestoga River near the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge that crossed the Conestoga.  At one time I enjoyed many a summer day swinging on a large rope over the Conestoga and landing near the waterfalls nearby.  A little over two years ago I wrote a story about the bridge and waterworks and illustrated the story with about a half-dozen photographs I had found.  Since that time I have found quite a few more photographs while researching stories to share on my blog.  Some I found at the Lancaster County Historical Society while others I found on Facebook pages devoted to Lancaster and surrounding towns.  Rather than just file them away I thought I would post them today to show you just how beautiful an area that the Water Works sits on along one of Lancaster's most picturesque rivers.  I'll try to give you some information on each if I happen to have anything more that just the image.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

This is a painting I found that shows Lancaster's Water Works under the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge.  The artist and date of the painting I could not find.

Not much of the Water Works can be seen in this photograph, but the arched railroad bridge over the Conestoga River looks amazing.

This snow scene is a reminder of the snowstorm we may experience in the next few days in Lancaster County.  Here the train cars are blowing the snow off the side of the bridge.

A few fishermen stand along the river while the Water Works can be seen under the arches of the bridge in this sepia photograph.

The Water Works is at the bottom left in this photograph with the river meandering along the left side of the photograph.

This was the original Water Works along the Conestoga River.  This only photograph I ever saw of the old Water Works.  It sat across the river from the current Water Works.  There is still some of the foundation left from this photo.  In this photo we are looking toward the New Holland Pike with the new Water Works behind us.  This plant used sand filter to purify the drinking water while the new plant treats the water with clorine.   

Just a beautiful reflection on the river of the Water Works.

PS - And in case you missed the story from two years ago, here are the other photos I posted.

Bather gather along the side of the bridge to swim in the Conestoga River.  The Water Works is to the right rear.  This photo was from the late 1950s when I too swam in the river.

Another photo showing a train on the bridge with the Water Works beneath it.

Another photograph showing all the cars parked along the bridge with bathers preparing to enter the river.

This postcard is titled "Railroad Bridge and Water Works, Lancaster, Pa.

This photo was taken in 1972 when Hurricane Agnes flooded the Conestoga River in Lancaster, PA.