Before it used Lake Ontario, Albion’s water plant was next to canal
By Bill Lattin
Orleans County Historian
ALBION – In this picture from the 1950s we see the Albion municipal water system, pumping station and treatment plant which was located just west of the village, north of the Erie Canal.
Pools of water are being aired here for purification. This came from wells and Otter Creek before the present water treatment plant on Lake Ontario opened in the early 1960s.
The original Albion Water Works Co. was organized in 1887 with water being distributed for domestic use in the fall of 1888. An iron standpipe (water tower) was part of this system and was located on South Main Street and Allen Road. A second standpipe was added in the mid-1930s.
Laverne Kimball was the plant superintendent when our photo was taken. He and his wife Iva lived in the two-story brick residence that appears in the background.
