Pump House

At the end of the nineteenth century, technological innovations at the Homestead Steel Works increased the need for water to cool and temper steel, and Pump House #1, the oldest of three pump houses within the works, supplied water to the original section of the mill. It was one of the Homestead Works' early riverbank structures, and only its earliest section was in place during the 1892 Homestead Lockout and Strike. An almost identical extension was added around 1898, doubling the size of the building's upper and lower portions and allowing for a total of five pumps of various capacities. When the pump house ceased operations, it contained four electric pumps and one steam-driven pump that moved an average of 17,740 gallons of water per minute. High-capacity pumps sent water through underground pipes directly to the tower, the mills, and their furnaces, while the Water Tower provided pressure for the distribution system, regulated flow, and served as an emergency water supply for the surrounding mills. By 1986, the Pump House, like the rest of the Homestead Works, lay dormant.

Munhall, Pennsylvania · United States