Another pipe! An original cypress water main is headed to a museum

THNOC recently acquired an 1820s wooden water pipe from the City of New Orleans. (THNOC, gift of the City of New Orleans, 2019.0340) 

A couple of issues ago, we brought you  the story of an iron pipe removed from beneath Bourbon Street. That was a pretty cool find, but now we’ve got one to top it: a wooden pipe from New Orleans’ first waterworks.

This hollowed-out cypress log would have been part of a system that served the French Quarter beginning in the 1820s. Due to its prevalence, strength and high tolerance for moisture, cypress was a natural choice for early pipes, but that system did not last long.

By 1836, wooden pipes were obsolete. To learn more, visit our website.

– Eli A. Haddow, The Historic New Orleans Collection