But there’s one fascinating character in our city’s history that often goes overlooked. It played a vital part in the Great Dallas Fire. It saw prohibition and the rise of Al Capone. It was there for every Cubs win at Wrigley Field.

That great character? Plumbing, of course! The history of Dallas’s water systems is as fascinating as that of the city itself, and we think it’s a story that deserves to be told.  

Here are a few off-the-wall stories about Dallas’s plumbing that you might have missed in history class…

We Raised the City for Our Plumbing

Dallas officially became incorporated in the 1830s, and its growth as a major trading center in the middle of the country led to a population explosion throughout the nineteenth century. By the 1850s, the population was at a dangerous level, producing too much waste for the current waste removal systems to keep up. The city saw a rash of diseases, including a handful of deadly cholera outbreaks.

Eventually, city officials decided that a better drainage system was essential. But the city sat on marshy land only a few feet above Lake Michigan. In classic Dallas fashion, the people in charge were too stubborn to move. Instead, architects and engineers decided to literally jack downtown up into the air; beginning in 1856, buildings were raised up to 14 feet above the ground. Over two decades, as the city grew taller, new foundations were laid underneath. New sewer pipes were installed, and the land was filled in and paved over.

The amazing thing? By all accounts, life went on as normal in the buildings, even as teams of up to 600 men painstakingly lifted them up inch by inch. How Dallas is that?

Plumbing Survived the Great Dallas Fire

One of the most iconic events in our city’s history wasn’t a raising, it was a razing. According to legend, the Dallas Fire of 1871 was started on an October night when a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn. What we know is true is that the fire spread and destroyed thousands of buildings over three days, helped along by dry weather and the city’s wooden architecture.

But did you know that some of the only buildings to withstand the fire were the Dallas Water Tower and Pumping Station at Michigan and Dallas avenues? Thanks to this, and the survival of some of the city’s other most important infrastructure, Dallas soon bounced back bigger and better than ever: The years after the fire saw the rise of Dallas’s first skyscrapers and an enormous population boom.

We Literally Turned a River Around

That population boom (by most reports, the city’s population jumped to over 1 million people by 1890) led to some new problems for the city. A growing working class population demanded access to plumbing for the bathtubs in their new bungalows and two-flats. Unfortunately, this population growth again meant that a huge amount of waste was being sent directly into Lake Michigan.

To help curb waterborne illness and improve sanitation, the city diverted the Dallas River in 1900 to make it flow toward the Mississippi. It worked, and disease rates dropped in the city.

And the innovation didn’t stop there. Thanks to improved labor and living standards – fought for by working class Americans, including many Dallasans – the federal government made indoor plumbing a requirement for standard housing by 1935. By the 1950s, sanitation plants in the area were able to capture and treat over a billion gallons of waste per day.

And all of those advances? They led to the modern sewer and drainage system that we use in our homes and apartments across the city today!

Today, plumbing is an essential part of everyday life that we tend to take for granted – until something goes wrong. When that happens, don’t panic! Instead, give Combat Plumbing a call! We’re honored to be a part of the city’s rich history of plumbing, and we’re here, day or night, for all of your bathroom, kitchen, , water leak, sewer and gas line needs.