Event Calendar

Category: General
Tankhouses and Water Towers Zoom Webinar

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Elevating water tanks 15 to 20 feet above the ground became a common practice in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, providing a pumped-gravity water pressure system for household and farm needs.  These water tanks were often enclosed, providing storage or bedrooms on the bottom floor with the water tank above.  Tankhouses played an important role in the development of early water supplies and many still exist in Santa Rosa and around Sonoma County.

The Water Tower in Railroad Square, once a landmark and focal point of this area, gradually fell into disrepair after the California Packing Company consolidated operations and closed in 1932. In 1999, the Railroad Square Association (a group of property owners and merchants) raised money to repair and restore the Water Tower. But then, the property where the Water Tower was located was purchased for higher density housing and, over time, passed through several developers, gradually covered in graffiti and losing its historic beauty. The current developer has broken ground for a 129-unit housing complex on the property.  Questions persist about the future of the Water Tower.

The Saturday Afternoon Club, one of the longest continuously operating women’s clubs in the United States, wants to see the 1917 Water Tower repaired and restored.

 

Please join the Historical Society of Santa Rosa for Tankhouses and Water Towers, presented by Ellen Bowen and Lee Anne Wentz of the Saturday Afternoon Club.  You’ll learn about the utility and beauty of tankhouses along with the status of the 1917 Water Tower in Railroad Square.

Ellen is a retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Lee Anne is a retired drama teacher. Both have been decades-long docents and actors at Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery – recreating stories of Santa Rosa’s colorful and fascinating history.  Both are also members of the Saturday Afternoon Club’s History Section and are committed to speaking out about the importance of recognizing and preserving local history.

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Thursday, July 20, 2023

6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Register now!

https://tinyurl.com/HSSRWebinarJune2023

 

Membership to the HSSR is encouraged to attend our events. Alternatively, a $10 per person donation is suggested.    Donate here.     Join or renew here.

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Past Events…

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Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery Book: Fascinating Stories of over 5,500 Lives

Authors Sandy Frary and Ray Owen devoted more than 13 years and went to incredible lengths to unlock the stories of the more than 5,500 individuals buried in the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, which was established in 1854.  Their painstaking research techniques reveal many untold stories of Santa Rosa’s past. The Historical Society of Santa Rosa
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Hidden Valley: The Unknown Cemetery

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A Moving Story: Homes on the Move and the St. Rose Preservation District

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