McNeill Street Pumping Station






News Announcements! Mark your calendars! Saturday March 20 will be VICTORIAN DAY at the Shreveport Water Works Museum. Victorian Day will celebrate the history of Shreveport and the museum, which houses perhaps the largest collection of Victorian-era water works in the country. We want to give the public a glimpse of our history and , at the same time, focus on the history of Shreveport and its people during the Victorian era (1837-1901). The public is invited to come and observe (free!), but to expand the historic offerings, we are also inviting people to be part of the historical tableau. There are two ways you can do that: (1)Come in Victorian attire....create a costume and get into the mood. Portray an ancestor or Shreveport resident of the period. (2)Demonstrate a Victorian activity.....spinning, cooking, storytelling, whittling, quilting, and so on. Participants who preregister will be eligible for prizes. For more information on the event and guidelines, call the museum (318-221-3388) or come by and pick up the flyer (March 10 deadline for participant registration). Featured Photo: Secretary of State Jay Dardenne “cuts the ribbon” to open the new State-run museum while museum governing board members (l-r) Nettie Brown, Larry LaBorde, Kelly Wells, Conway Link, Jim Montgomery, and Dale Ward look on. Exciting news from the January Board meeting: The boards of the Museum and of the McNeill Street Pumping Station Preservation Society have decided to make an effort to return live steam to the Pumping Station and run one or more of the big steam engines. To do this, a new, small boiler will be purchased and installed. First step will be figuring out exactly how much this will cost followed by the even tougher job of developing a plan to raise the money needed. Stay tuned for further developments! The museum is open! The hours are 10am until 4pm on Monday, 9am until 4pm Tuesday through Friday and 9:30am until 3:30pm on Saturday. The Preservation Society will continue to offer tours by appointment in addition to the regular hours (and will continue to be vitally needed to assist the State in making the museum a success!). Call 318-221-3388 to inquire. Directions --- First time visitors to the Pumping Station sometimes have difficulty finding it, so here's where it is: 142 N. Common Street. This is on the east side of the street 1/4 mile north of the intersection of Common with Caddo St. There is a "Shreveport Water Works Museum" sign in the front yard, as well as a large blue and white sign marking the driveway entrance. Help needed!!! The McNeill Preservation Society is looking for volunteers who would like to help with the restoration of the vintage steam engines at the Pumping Station. This will involve everything from cleaning and painting to (eventually) making them run again. If you'd like to help, use the on-line information form elsewhere on the web site or call (318)221-3388. The fundraising auction April 2008 to support the museum was a great success. The Preservation Society wishes to extend a very big "thank you" to the following generous individuals and businesses who made it possible by donating items: Chick-fil-A, I-220 at Airline Monjuni's of Portico Fertitta's Delicatassen & Grocery Cotton Boll Grill Olde Oaks Golf Club SciPort Discovery Center Planet Beach (797-8826) Porter's Cleaners Willis-Knighton Fitness & Wellness Kim Brice Designs (840-1642) Bearing Service Co. Christus Schumpert Bossier Wellness Ctr. Glazer Companies Music Mountain Water www.PersonalizedCoins.net A Piece of Cake (564-4442) W. Conway Link Dalton Huddleston Cathy Ward Kelly Wells Marilyn & Gary Joiner Also: Shreveport Rubber & Gasket On June 19, 2000, the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier awarded the Preservation Society a $10,000 grant from the Rubye Moss Ratcliff Fund. The grant was made to support the filming of oral histories of personnel involved with McNeill and provide documentation that could then be used to produce films that could be shown at the Museum, or elsewhere, to relate the history of the Pumping Station. Since that time volunteers from the Preservation Society have been working on the project and have successfully brought the goal envisioned by the project to fruition, although creating archive material on McNeill's history is ongoing and will probably never be "finished." Thanks to all who worked on the job, including Jim Montgomery, David Nelson, Kristina Hardwick, Dr. Dayna Lee, and M&M Communications Concepts. Copies of the videos are available for purchase at $10 for VHS tapes or DVD versions. Discounts are available for Preservation Society members. Call (318)221-3388 or use the on-line form elsewhere on this web site to request a copy. Back to Home Page History \| Preservation Society \| Take a Tour \| Links \| Photo Gallery