Pump Station Closed; Take a Virtual Tour

Crystal Spring Pump Station is closed due to nearby construction.

View a video of the pump station, courtesy of Blue Ridge Public Television. Read about its history below.

Long before the first westward explorers arrived in the area, the cool waters of Crystal Spring flowed from an unknown source into what is now the Roanoke Valley. When Scots-Irish immigrants settled in the region in the mid-1700s, the Evans family harnessed the waters to power a grist mill. George Washington stopped by in Spring 1754, noting in his journal that he paid the “widow Evans” 3 shillings for supplies, or maybe a night’s lodging.

Crystal Spring has been prominent in Roanoke’s history, giving Roanoke’s its first water supply. In 1905, Roanoke Gas and Water (then owner of the pumping station) modernized operations with a 200-ton pump costing $16,320. The coal-fired pump was a mechanical marvel then and still seems awesome, especially to youngsters. The now-restored pump house is owned by the City of Roanoke and the Western Virginia Water Authority and is staffed May-September by the Historical Society of Western Virginia.

Al Linton has told the history of the area’s water and its pump for many years and is back again this year. The Crystal Spring Pump Station is free to visit. It is located at 2012 South Jefferson Street (corner of Jefferson Street and McClanahan Street) Roanoke, VA 24014, next door to the hospital and on the Water Authority grounds. Photos here are by Stephen Warren, president of the Historical Society.

 

Open May-September

Saturday: noon-4 p.m.

Sunday: 1-4 p.m.

 Admission Free

Open year-round for groups, by appointment, call 540-982-5465

Come visit Al!