Flagler County Historical Society Receives Walter C. Pomeroy Foundation grant for the 1926 Bunnell Water Tower

The Bunnell Water Tower is such a prominent landmark that it was featured on the 2013 City of Bunnell centennial logo. Its design type is commonly referred to as the “tin man.” First introduced in Europe in the 1880s, the curved bottom trestle tower water tanks were first used in the United States in 1891. The elevated trestle tower tanks supported on four legs had cost advantages to towers and standpipes that stood directly on the ground.

Bunnell Water Tower was built in 1926 by Chicago Bridge & Iron Works, which built numerous other water towers (at least seven of which are listed in the National Register across the United States). The tower was part of a new waterworks system for Bunnell that included the water tower, a reservoir building and a pumping station that all went into operation in December 1927.

Construction of the Bunnell Water Tower is a significant part of Bunnell’s history, instrumental to the development and modernization of the area. It replaced a larger wooden storage tank constructed around 1913 that occupied a plot of land at the edge of Bunnell’s business district over a mile from the site of the present waterworks. Today, the city of Bunnell maintains modern ground storage tanks, but the “tin man” stands as a lasting symbol of Bunnell’s more than 100 year history.

Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee announced 0n Wednesday, March 27, 2019, that the Bunnell City Hall and Bunnell Water Tower, located in Flagler County, have been listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

“Bunnell City Hall and Bunnell Water Tower are fantastic additions to the National Register of Historic Places,” said Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee. “

The tower is currently undergoing exterior cleaning.

The Flagler County Historical Society wishes to thank the William C. Pomeroy Foundation for the grant to obtain the signage for the water tower and our Vice President, Jan Reeger for researching and obtaining the grant from the Foundation.