Antique Sewer Pipe

While replacing a sewer line behind Dr. Compton%u2019s office located at 127 S Main, city employees found pieces of an antique sewer pipe pictured here. The pictures show pieces of a wooden sewer line. It is believed that the hole in the line was created by burning. Don%u2019t ask how, your guess is as good as ours.

If you are a member of the Vernon County Historical Society and have read your April issue of the Bushwhacker Musings, there is an article at the top of page 17 entitled %u201CA Pioneer%u2019s Memories of the Iron Springs and early Nevada.%u201D The fourth paragraph recounts an article from the Nevada Daily Mail February 3, 1941. In this article it states that the second building built in Nevada was a %u201Clittle frame store, about in the middle of what is now the south side of the square; it was known as the %u201Cgeneral store.%u201D Circa 1854.

One could speculate that the store owner built a %u201Csewer%u201D to remove and accompanying odors to a location south of his store.

In Nevada Birch branch was the south sewer for the town and Stink Creek was the north sewer. Some people called them both %u201CStink Creek%u201D. The odor was most prevalent at the bridge over Birch Branch on Dog Pound road. This was right below the city dump, but thats another story

The south end kids enjoyed swimming in Birch Branch near the bridge across the Katy tracks on S. Main. This was the cleanest because it was up steam from where the most sewerage ran into Birch Branch. Or so we believed! Of course, we couldn%u2019t swim in August because that was known as %u201Cdog days%u201D and your parents thought you might get sick!

I think the first sewer treatment plant was built between 1946 and 1948. Does anyone know for sure? Outhouses were prohibited after that.

Joe Kraft