Old Draw Well -- Pensacola Lighthouse, NAS Pensacola FL - Draw Wells on Waymarking.com

This historical marker on board the Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum explains the history of the old well that was dug to support construction of the lighthouse and cleaning operations for the keepers. .

The marker is located inside the Lighthouse Museum on board the Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The marker reads as follows:

"19th CENTURY WELL

This well likely dates from 1856, the year the construction on the lighthouse tower began. The bricklayers needed fresh water to mix with the lime a mortar used to secure the bricks in place.

The 18 fifties, digging a well was a tough job. Mechanized well drilling was invented in the early 18 hundreds, but our well was probably Doug the old-fashioned way – by hand!! Workers used shovels and buckets to remove sand, dirt, and clay, stabilizing the shaft walls with wood planks until bricks were laid. Because the lighthouse is on the bluff, the shaft had to be 40 feet deep to reach the water table.

The well water was to brackish (salty) to be used for drinking or cooking, because of the shafts close proximity to the bay. Instead, the well supplied water needed for daily and weekly chores. Tasks such as bathing, washing dishes and clothes, and scrubbing floors all required many gallons of water.

Eventually, the well was abandoned, the shaft backfilled with dirt, and the walls cut to ground level.

PULLEYS: LIGHTENING THE LOAD

Archaeological evidence indicates that the keepers and their families originally home water from the well using only a bucket and a rope. Over time, the friction of the rope left deep grooves on the bricks at the well rim. A photograph taken in 1893 shows us that, by that time, a fixed pulley was used to draw a bucket of water up from this well.

A fixed pulley is the most basic type of pulley. It consists of a rope looped through wheel which is mounted to an axle suspended from a secure beam. Unlike complex pulleys, a fixed pulley does not reduce the amount of force needed to lift an object. However, it does allow you to pull down to lift something up, by using your body weight (gravitational force) to help you lift, the work seems easier."

Visit Instructions:
Please share a self-made picture of the Draw Well and tell us something about it. Did you taste the water? You do not have to be in the picture, neither does your GPSr.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   12/30/2014 Benchmark Blasterz visited it