San Benito County History

This section is excerpted from A Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California by Henry D. Barrows and Luther A. Ingersoll, and published by The Lewis Publishing Company in 1893.

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Water-Works.

The company owning these works is managed by the following officers: T. S. Hawkins, president; T. W. Hawkins, secretary and manager; N. C. Briggs, E. A. Crepin, B. A. Hawkins, S. T. Jones; D.

N. Hall is chief engineer. The water is taken from four artesian wells, from forty. five to 265 feet deep, and pumped to a cement reservoir, capable of holding 255,000 gallons, on the top of a hill adjoining the town on the north, which has an elevation of 120 feet. The steam pump used has a capacity of 95,000 gallons per hour. It is claimed that in case of fire, it can be started up in fifteen minutes, and can then gain four inches an hour of water in the reservoir, when the fire companies are playing four streams on the fire.

The reservoir, which is covered, is seven feet deep, eighty feet long by fifty-four wide. its height gives a pressure of water in the town of forty-two pounds to the square inch, which is sufficient to send a powerful stream over the top of the highest buildings, thus doing away entirely with the necessity for fire engines. There are twelve miles of mains laid in Hollister. The water being artesian, is clear, healthful, pleasant to the taste, and entirely free from animal or vegetable matter, or germs of any kind, though slightly hard. The company (1892) is engaged in boring an additional and larger and much deeper well, for the purpose of securing a larger supply of water, which they hope will be absolutely free from any hard quality.

The average annual rainfall at Hollister is about twelve inches.

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This section is excerpted from A Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California by Henry D. Barrows and Luther A. Ingersoll, and published by The Lewis Publishing Company in 1893.