Rural Plumbing & Heating history

However, Cincinnati actually started up their water works system way earlier, in 1817.

In 1829, the swanky Tremont hotel in Boston was the first hotel to have indoor plumbing.

The White House did not get running water until 1833, and even then, it was only available on the main floor.

In 1835, the Common Council of Philadelphia almost banned wintertime bathing (the ordinance failed by two votes). Ten years later, Boston forbade bathing except on specific medical advice.

In 1839, the city bought the water works, and was able to expand and upgrade the design even more.

According to one man’s story, a Cincinnatian named Adam Thompson had a water pipe installed specifically for his bathtub in 1842.

But by 1845, the installation of sanitary sewers began to pay off.

The first American patent for a plunger closet is attributed to William Campbell and James T. Henry in 1857.

The first tunnel, completed in 1869, contained a massive three-foot-wide, 138-foot-tall standpipe that equalized pressure in the mains throughout the city's water system.

Thankfully for those who had that unpleasant occupation, the Queen City had begun installing a functional sewer system by 1870 although it was still several more years before the majority of the city’s water closets were hooked up to the sewer for drainage.

By 1871, however, the town would boast 3,000 people, a newspaper, a brewery, two doctors, several saloons and one bathtub.

By 1873, 43 British firms, including Twyford, Doulton and Shanks were exporting high-quality closets to the United States

William Smith developed a jet siphon closet in 1876.

Geiler joined the heating and cooling scene in Cincinnati in 1885, so the business has been through much of the history of plumbing, from the evolution of the toilet, to the improvements in water treatment.

A friendly neighbor, Philadelphia sold its cast-off wooden pipe to Burlington, N.J., where it remained in use until 1887, when larger mains were required.

Who could resist this 1893 sale pitch from Aermotor Co.?

The Central Supply Association, for example, was formed in 1894 and soon made contacts with the old Eastern Supply Association, the Plumbers Association of New England and the National Association of Master Plumbers.

The Astor and the Tremont were the first modern buildings built with extensive plumbing. (In contrast, the Statler Hotel in Buffalo caused a sensation in 1908 by offering "A room with a bath for a dollar and a half.")

Originally incorporated to manufacture pantry sinks of German silver and polished copper, Elkay added a line of galvanized steel scullery sinks in 1921.

They were pioneered by Robert M. Zell the founder of Brass-Craft Mfg., back in 1939.

Rural Plumbing and Heating was incorporated in 1947 by W.B. and Mildred Nivison.

It wasn’t until the 1970’s that central air took the place of window units.

According to an 1984 report, the River Pumping Station was built in the late 19th-early 20th century, and included four pumping engines which were able to move 30 million gallons of water per day.

First written and published in 2003.