Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine
National Register of Historic Places

Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine

Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona
Listed
January 18, 1979
Type
Object
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79000430

About this property

The Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine at Yuma, Arizona is a device invented by Hiram W. Blaisdell to wash sand filters used in the treatment of drinking water. The machine was built in 1902 at Blaisdell's privately operated waterworks, which treated the muddy water of the Colorado River for local consumption. Blaisdell patented the device and marketed it throughout the United States. The Yuma filter is now on City of Yuma property, and has been preserved as the first of its kind. The Blaisdell machine traveled along steel tracks laid on top of the walls of rectangular filter basins, bridging the walls with its structure. The washing chamber was lowered from the moving bridge frame into the basin. The chamber measures about 5 feet (1.5 m)wide, 2 feet (0.61 m) deep and 6 feet (1.8 m) long, and contains a 4-foot (1.2 m) diameter circular washing unit. The washing unit stirred the surface of the sand bed, dislodging sediment and flushing it away through two suction pumps at the top of the box, avoiding contamination of the surrounding water. The mechanism was controlled by an operator in a corrugated metal enclosure. The Blaisdell machine was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 18, 1979. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AZ-33-A, "Yuma Main Street Water Treatment Plant, Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine, Jones Street at foot of Main Street, Yuma, Yuma, AZ"

Location

Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona
32.72718, -114.61741

Categories

INDUSTRYINVENTION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Ocean To Ocean Bridge
Industrial
0.1 mi
Brinley Avenue Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi
Yuma City Hall
Industrial
0.2 mi
Yuma Main Street Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi
Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Industrial
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Spanish Punitive Expedition – Yuma Crossing 1782
1782Colonial
0.4 mi
Battle of Fort Yuma — Quechan Siege (1851)
1850Indian Wars
0.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine listed on the National Register?

Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 18, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine?

Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine is classified as a object in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine?

The period of significance for Blaisdell Slow Sand Filter Washing Machine is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1902.

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