SAN BENITO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY copyright. All rights reserved.
Funded in part by grants provided by the
Community Foundation for SBC and the
Four generations...the end of an era
831.635.0335
San Benito County Historical Society
498 Fifth Street
Hollister, CA 95023
8300 Highway 25
Tres Pinos, CA 95075
(1 mile south of Tres Pinos)
Membership Meeting
March 25, 2020
498 Fifth Street
7:00 pm
HOLLISTER WATER WORKS
With the recent water breaks in downtown Hollister, we thought it would be appropriate to provide a little history about the water supply in Hollister.
It is Richard M. Shackleford who received the first franchise from the City of Hollister trustees on September 27, 1875. His job was to supply water within the next 90 days through means of tanks, reservoirs, etc. situated on Hollister Hill through Artesian wells.
A new building soon covered three bored wells at the intersection of West and Third Streets and a Knowles' steam pump was used to pump water up the hill to the reservoir.
All pipes were laid and water was flowing to residents by Christmas.
Shackleford sold all the property to the newly formed Hollister Water Company on March 26, 1877 and moved to Paso Robles where he became an eminent business man until he declared bankruptcy in 1901.
He died of old age in 1915 and was remembered locally as the organizer of Hollister's first water company.
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