*** Update: Due to unforeseen mechanical repairs needed at the Crystal Spring Pump Station, the Family Fun Day has been postponed from July 20 to Saturday, August 24, 2013.
The Pump Station will be closed Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21, 2013.
Please visit www.vahistorymuseum.org for updates.
Long before the arrival of the first westward explorers, the cool waters of Crystal Spring flowed from an unknown source into what is now Virginia’s Roanoke Valley.
When Scots-Irish immigrants settled in the region in the mid-1700s, the Evans family harnessed these waters to power a grist mill, and Crystal Spring has played an important part in Roanoke’s history ever since.
In 1889 the Roanoke Water Company, which then owned the Crystal Spring, merged with the Roanoke Gas Company – a public utility that had gas and water mains that reached every business and residence in town. By this time, the spring was pumping out 5 million gallons of water a day.
In 1905, Roanoke Gas and Water decided to modernize operations and purchased a new pump from the Snow Steam Pump Works in Buffalo, NY. The pump was a mechanical marvel of the day, operated by steam power and fueled by coal-fired boilers.
In the 1970s, the Roanoke Valley Bicentennial Commission and the Historical Society of Western Virginia restored the pump house with the combined aid of many volunteers including Navy and Marine Corps Reservists.
Family Fun Day at the Crystal Spring Pump Station will be held on Saturday, August 24th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is designed for the whole family. Roanokers are invited to come in bathing suits to beat the heat with water play and fountains. There will also be classics such as corn hole, matching ducks, face painting, balloon animals, and ladder ball. Express your creative side as well with sun prints, water color painting, and side walk chalk. Take a tour of the historic Crystal Spring Pump Station and watch the historic Snow Steam Pump in action. Admission is $5 per person and includes hot dogs, chips, and a drink.
For more Information go to: www.westernvahistory.org
