Cuyuna Iron Range Municipally-Owned Elevated Metal Water Tanks
The water tanks in Deerwood, Crosby, and Ironton respectively, in 2006
LocationCrosby, Minnesota
Cuyuna, Minnesota
Deerwood, Minnesota
Ironton, Minnesota
Trommald, Minnesota
AreaCuyuna Range
Built1912-1918
ArchitectDes Moines Bridge & Iron Co.; Minneapolis Steel Machinery Co.
MPSCuyuna Iron Range Municipally-Owned Elevated Metal Water Tanks TR
NRHP reference No.80002027 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 22, 1980

The Cuyuna Iron Range Municipally-Owned Elevated Metal Water Tanks are a group of five water towers within the Cuyuna Range in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. The water tanks, built between 1912 and 1918, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places because they represent the historical period of community planning, public works, and engineering that supported the development of the Cuyuna Range. Their construction was made possible by a favorable property tax arrangement on the iron mines that brought significant revenues to the towns of Crosby, Cuyuna, Deerwood, Ironton, and Trommald. The communities began around 1910, when iron mining started on the Range. The peak of mining employment was around 1920, and it started to decline around 1930. By the 1950s, iron mining was well in decline on the Cuyuna Range.[2] As of 2022, it appears only two of the water tanks survive at their original locations.

State historian Theodore C. Blegen wrote,

A singular aspect of range-town life was the blossoming of schools, community buildings, parks, splendid streets, and other public improvements built generously, not to say lavishly. They set standards far beyond those of most Minnesota cities at the time. These reflected at once a public desire for the best, a concern on the part of citizens for the education of their children, and the availability of taxes to provide the funds without stint for public wants.

Even the smaller communities were able to install complete water systems. After the end of iron mining, as the communities lost population, many of the publicly funded improvements such as schools have disappeared, and many of the houses have either been torn down or were left abandoned and dilapidated. Within Trommald and Cuyuna, the water towers are the most visible remains of the mining boom years.[2]

The five water towers are each separately listed on the National Register, as:

Cuyuna one, in 2016
Deerwood one, in 2016
Trommald Water Tank, in 2016

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Crosby one no longer exists; it does not appear behind the Crosby Soo Line Depot (as it once did per File:Crosby Soo Line Depot 1.jpg) in Google Street View imagery dated August 2014 or in Google satellite view as of January 2022.
  2. ↑ Cuyuna one appears in Google Street View dated July 2014 and in Google satellite view of 2022.
  3. ↑ The Deerwood one was apparently demolished after July 2021, as Minnesota Prairie Roots photos show it existing then. And it appeared in Google Street View imagery dated July 2014 at exactly these coordinates. But it does not appear in current Google satellite view of 2022, which shows a bare area there now.
  4. ↑ Does not appear in July 2014 Google Street View imagery, nor in current satellite views. Approximate location per NRIS is near "WT Park" (perhaps "Water Tower Park", perhaps another name for Morningside Park) location identified in Google maps. A modern water tower labelled "Ironton" is located at 46°28′42″N 93°58′37″W / 46.47832°N 93.97696°W.
  5. ↑ Trommald one appears in Google satellite view labelled 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  2. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form: Cuyuna Iron Range Municipally-Owned Elevated Metal Water Tanks Thematic Resources" (pdf). 1979. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  3. ↑ Laura Ukura-Leir. "Save Ironton's Water Tower". Brainerd Dispatch.
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