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FOREWORD

The Beaver Area Heritage Foundation in presenting this short history of the water supply of the Borough of Beaver considers the subject to be an inseparable part of the history of Beaver. It is a living history that has been developing and unfolding to the present time and is certain to continue into the future as well. The water supply has been the lifeline of the town, not something that happened once. It is a link that connects the present with the past. Certainly it is not a static event that is being described here but a substance that has been a vital part of the life of the town continously from 1802 to the present.

This is neither an exhaustive history of this most important subject nor a scientific appraisal. It is a simple narrative concerning the water supply of Beaver Borough, the system in terms of human effort, the investment that it represents and the critical role that it plays in our life.

History encompasses not only what has happened, but also what is happening in our life daily. To this extent the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation is very much interested in our water supply problems. It is local history, pure and simple.
The effort to restore the reservoir still standing on the "Water Lot" at Wayne and Fifth Streets and to beautify the surrounding area is consistent with the interest of the Foundation in the history of the Beaver Area. That reservoir is the last monument and visible evidence still remaining from the original gravity supplied water system used by our forefathers. Very few such structures are still standing in Western Pennsylvania to remind us of that distant past.

We would welcome letters of additional information or correction of dates, names, events or locations.

 

The Publications Committee
Beaver Area Heritage Foundation
1972