Historical marker describes remnants of old, 1890s Brewton water tank

Burnt Corn Park Cistern Historical Marker in Brewton.

This week’s featured historical marker is the “BURNT CORN PARK CISTERN” marker in Escambia County, Ala. The marker is located in Burnt Corn Creek Park in Brewton, not far from St. Nicholas Ave.

This historical marker was erected by the City of Brewton in 2012. There’s text on both sides of this marker, and both sides are unique. What follows is the complete text from the marker.

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“BURNT CORN PARK CISTERN (WATER TANK): This tank was used to hold water for the City of Brewton Electric Light and Water Works Fire Protection System and was built circa early 1890s. This location was originally the Blacksher Miller Lumber Co., which became Foshee & McGowin Lumber in 1899. The Lovelace Brothers bought the mill in 1900. There were other tanks and wells within the site used to support fire control as well. Fire was a huge issue for lumber mills as many of them in the area had fires over the years which destroyed their facilities. (Continued on other side)

“BURNT CORN PARK CISTERN (WATER TANK) (Continued from other side) There were at least three wells dug and were used to constantly feed the water level in this tank. One well is just down the embankment from the back wall of the tank structure and it still flows today out of a vertical cast iron pipe. There would have been a hose reel house close by the tank. Notice the old brick foundation across the walk path from this location. The Sanborn Map of 1898 shows a small hose reel house, possibly housing a pump as well. The tank is shown at this particular location with three springs feeding it.”

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My son and I encountered this historical marker Sunday afternoon while geocaching in Brewton, a city that has taken a very active role in geocaching by planting numerous geocaches of their own throughout their city. One such geocache is located near this old cistern, and we spent more than a few minutes in the area searching for the hidden cache. We never found the cache, but we did enjoy checking out this old water tank.

A brief search on line revealed that this historical marker was officially dedicated during a ceremony held on July 12, 2012. According to members of the Escambia County Historical Society, the remains of the old cistern were uncovered by workers who were cleaning the park and the wording of the historical marker was written by Society Archivist David Allen. According to a July 15, 2012 story in The Brewton Standard by Lydia Grimes, the site marks the location of Brewton’s earliest water system and prior to its restoration, the area was covered by trees and brush, Grimes wrote.

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.