Historic Marker of Thomas Hill Standpipe

On May 1, 2001 a historic marker at Thomas Hill Standpipe was unveiled.  Pictured is the District's Board Chairman Duane Hanselman (left) and Bangor City Councilor Gerry Palmer (right). The plaque, installed at the suggestion of Bangor City councilor Gerry Palmer and approved by the Bangor Historic Preservation Commission, provides a permanent way to provide visitors with information on the standpipe's construction and use.

The plaque is mounted on a rock taken from the Floods Pond watershed in Otis, the source of supply for Bangor Water District customers.

Plaque Inscription 

Bangor Water District 
Thomas Hill Standpipe

The Thomas Hill Standpipe was designed by Ashley B. Tower of Tower and Wallace of New York and Holyoke, Mass. and built in 1897 by Major James M. Davis on land once owned by the Thomas brothers. Using a portable sawmill and blacksmith shop erected on site, the standpipe was built in just six months. The standpipe is on the National Register of Historic Places and is an American Water Works Landmark.

The standpipe is actually two structures - a 1.75 million gallon riveted steel tank enclosed by a wooden jacket. The tank is 75 feet in diameter and 50 feet tall and is topped by a "carousel"; a three-ton steel drum from which 24 iron trusses reach to the sides of the building. The wooden jacket is 110 feet high and 85 feet in diameter and consists of twenty four 12 inch x 12 inch x 48 feet hard pine main posts covered by 42,000 board-feet of hard pine and 220,000 cedar shingles. It sits upon a stone foundation 9 feet high and 3 ½ feet thick. A 100-step winding staircase leads to the 12-foot wide promenade deck, which overlooks the City of Bangor and surrounding communities.

The standpipe is topped off with a 38-foot high flagpole and a railing consisting of 192 banisters which give it the look of a large wedding cake or crown when lit at night.

The standpipe continues to provide water storage and regulates water pressure for Bangor's downtown.