The Pumphouse

The Rio Grande Valley is quite flat and a highly agricultural area. It has not always been that way, however, having originally been a land of scrub growth and prickly cactus good only for grazing Texas Longhorn cattle. However, in 1909, a pumping station was constructed along the river at the town of Hidalgo to pump water from the Rio Grande into canals to irrigate The Valley. That pumphouse has been maintained as a historical site and museum since it was shut down in 1983.



Brush cleared from the dusty lands of The Valley to make way for agriculture was burned in the boilers, producing steam to drive steam turbine centrifugal pumps to pump water into canals for irrigation and use by towns in the area. One of the boilers is shown at the right.















The steam turbines pumped water through pipes three feet in diameter as shown here. Later the boilers were converted to burn fuel oil. These pumps and piping are being maintained in this historical pumphouse today for us and future generations to appreciate.










Still later, internal combustion engines which ran on natural gas were installed to drive the pumps. The huge engine in the picture appears to be a ten cylinder engine with cylinders which must be 15" in diameter.











The irrigation provided by this pumphouse, and others along the river, allowed The Valley to develop from a cattle range to an agricultural area. This pumphouse is a rich part of The Valley history, but was abandoned in 1983 when more efficient electric pumps were installed at other locations. However, if you close your eyes and listen carefully, you can "almost hear" the deafening noise of these 1909 steam driven pumps, which allowed The Valley to develop.


In the historical display area of the pumphouse was a 1926 Bowser gasoline pump, which really stirred up memories as I was raised very close to the Bowser factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Ain't history grand?