Manning Water Tower

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Manning Water Tower

When Manning needed a water tower in 1902, a committee recommended a wood standpipe tower. But Manning-native Henry Brunnier, a freshman engineering student at Iowa State College, disagreed. He told the city council of lectures by his professor Anson Marston. Marston oversaw the construction of the first steel water tank west of the Mississippi on Iowa State’s campus in 1897. He insisted that Manning build the new style of water tower. Brunnier was shocked when the council offered him the job. He recruited his professor, Anston Marston, to assist. Marston designed the tower, Brunnier made the drawings, and they oversaw its construction.

According to Marston’s letters, disagreements arose over the innovative design with the builder, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Manning was a progressive community especially since the 60,000 gal. tank and steel tower cost of $8,000 was twice the cost of the recommended standpipe tank. Manning’s tower was finished in 1903 and other communities followed suit. Marston became dean of engineering and nationally known as an engineer but never built another water tower. Brunnier moved to San Francisco and worked on high-profile projects including the San-Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Erected in 2021 in commemoration of Iowa’s 175^th anniversary of statehood by
the Fayette County Conservation Board and the State Historical Society of Iowa
with funding from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.