7th and Elm Street

Old Frisco Water TowerWhen Frisco was founded in 1902, homeowners and businesses alike relied on shallow hand-dug wells some no deeper than 12 feet. The quality, quantity, and purity of water from these shallow wells varied greatly.

Frisco Water Works Company was established on February 5, 1914 with well water piped to various residents and businesses and to the school. The school received drinking water for free. The City did not charge a rate higher than $1.00 per month for residential domestic use with an extra charge of 25 cents per head for cows, 25 cents per head for horses, 5 cents per head for hogs and yes, livestock was kept at homes in town. Then for those rich enough there was an extra 25 cents per month for a bathtub.

In the early 1920s more water was needed and a deep well was dug at the site of the water tower in downtown Frisco. In 1923 the city sold $40,000 in bonds to finance the purchase of the Frisco Water Works and in 1924 the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company placed the tower. With a 50,000 capacity it served as Frisco’s only elevated storage tank until 1985. The raccoon skin logo of the St Louis-San Francisco Railroad for which Frisco is named is displayed on the tank.