page_title: Norwood, Ohio
section_title: Streetcars and Water Works
hierarchical_section_title: Norwood, Ohio / History / Streetcars and Water Works
caption_attribution_description: English: This municipal water works pump station house at the southwest corner of Harris Avenue and Forest Avenue in Norwood, Ohio pumped artesian well water to a hilltop water tower on Indian Mound. The pump house was built in 1894, the same year this photo was taken. It's likely the pump house was not fully completed at the time this photograph was taken as it appears the chimney and portions of the roof were sketched by the photographer or publisher.
context_page_description: Norwood is the second most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 19,207 at the 2010 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of Cincinnati in the wooded countryside north of the city, the area is characterized by older homes and tree-lined streets.
context_section_description: Around the time of Norwood's incorporation, local leaders began pushing for an electric streetcar route on Montgomery Road to connect Norwood with downtown. Until this time, Montgomery Road (known as "The Pike") was a privately owned turnpike, requiring users pay a toll to use the road. This private ownership became a sore spot for local residents who desired public streetcar transportation. With the help of the County Commissioners of Hamilton County and the State of Ohio, Norwood was able to purchase the road for public use and construction was started on an electric railway.
  In mid-1891, the Norwood Electric Railway streetcar line was completed between Norwood and Walnut Hills, with the route extending to a turnaround at the Mount Adams Incline. On July 4, 1891, Norwood dedicated the opening of the streetcar line with a grand celebration for the ages. Officials and residents from surrounding communities were invited. The new streetcars and prominent buildings along Montgomery Road were decorated with flags and bunting. A base ball game was played between the "Norwoods" and the visiting "Linwoods", both of the Miami Valley League. At noon, the First Artillery Regiment fired five cannons and then presented a forty-four gun salute. The Great Western Band played "America" at Norwood Town Hall and politicians from as far away as California addressed the crowds. A dance was held in the evening, followed by a fireworks show of rockets, Roman candles and fountains. Officials estimated 10,000 people paid the 5-cent fare to ride the streetcar home to Cincinnati after the celebration. Some streetcar stops were crowded with as many as 500 passengers waiting for cars.
  School enrollment was so great by 1891, that the Board of Education constructed two new schools to serve the growing district. Williams School (later Williams Avenue Elementary) was opened in on Williams Avenue and Marion School (later North Norwood School) was opened on Marion Avenue. Both buildings were later replaced with newer structures that still stand today.
  Clean drinking water was one of the most important issues facing Norwood in its early days. Residents had to rely on private wells, cisterns or streams for their water. In 1892, the citizens of Norwood voted for a public "water works" system to be built, including multiple wells, a pumping station, and a water tower. In 1894, the Norwood Water Works was completed with six artesian wells and a pumping station at the southeast corner of Harris Avenue and Pine Street. A 100-foot steel water tower was constructed west of Norwood Mound, where it still stands today. Nine more wells were eventually drilled and the Water Works supplied Norwood with clean water for sixty-five years.  The community marked the opening of the Water Works with a jubilee celebration, and the book Norwood, Her Homes and Her People by Ren Mulford, Jr. and Wertner G. Betty was published as a souvenir for the occasion.
  In March 1894, Norwood's first newspaper, the Norwood Enterprise, began publication. It would stay in print until 1989.
  Norwood's first high school was an 8-room building constructed alongside a nearly identical new 12-room elementary school building on Allison Street between Courtland and Weyer Avenues. Both schools opened in 1897 and are believed to have been designed by prominent Cincinnati architect, Samuel Hannaford, who also designed the similar Venetian Gothic-styled Cincinnati Music Hall. Norwood's population had grown to an estimated at 7,000 residents the year prior to the school opening, and this was the first time Norwood offered a full four-year high school curriculum. The north high school building was destroyed by fire in 1917, but the south elementary building still stands today at the corner of Allison Street and Weyer Avenue.
caption: The Norwood Water Works Pump Station at the southwest corner of Harris Avenue and Forest Avenue, when it was constructed in 1894. The pump house pumped fresh well water from this location to the water tower on Indian Mound.
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