When Bath Tubs Were Optional: 1914

Kind readers may remember that when the municipal water service opened up in 1898 down in present-day Water Works Park, the resulting water bills were unbelievably baroque. One gets the impression that the organizers had no idea how to bill people efficiently and just made up a list of every possible use for water (cow, barber chair, particular make of toilet, &c.) and then slapped a price on it.

By 1914, the billing scheme was simpler, but the water rates still reveal interesting tidbits about 1914 Ypsilanti. You can see, for example, that horses and cars are co-existing on the streets downtown. The puzzling part is that cars are charged as much for water as horses.

Every day, horses drink from around 6 gallons (quiet horse on a temperate day) to 18 gallons (working horse on a hot day). Even at the lower end, why in the Sam Hill would any car need 6 gallons of water a day? Or was this a sort of "luxury tax"? Perhaps the water works figgered that if some folks could blow money on one of those new-fangled "machines," as they were called in the papers, they could easily shell out a bit more for the water bill. Mebbe this is also why the water for a fancy-schmancy "lawn" costs more than for an entire "store"!

I think "Domestic" on the bill means "household," and not "servant." Note please that IF you have a bathtub, it's extra--meaning many folks did not have a tub at home*. Even a flippin' wash bowl is extra! When did people get clean, as in super-scrubbed clean, in 1914? I also note that either a roomer in your house renting a sleeping room, OR a boarder stopping by for dinner, is a mere 12 and 1/2 cents, implying that they did not have access to a tub or wash bowl in your house. Last, I'm guessing that there were no private swimming pools in 1914 Ypsi, since I imagine they'd certainly charge for that.

* I take this to mean that if you didn't have a fancy permanently plumbed bathtub, you still had the traditional old tin tub to haul out on Saturday nights and start filling with stove-warmed water. But it's a bit unclear, at least to those who sit around wondering about old bathtubs.

1898 Ypsilanti Water Works: "If You've Got a Barber Chair, A Public Bath Tub, and a Cow, That'll Be Extra"

Ypsilanti was known for having a good municipal water service, inaugurated in 1898. Three years later, the system had 900 connections serving 4,500 customers, out of a population of 6,000 (75% of residents). To compare, Kalamazoo's system at that time was 24 years old and only served 9,000 of its 23,000 residents (39%). The 1892 Michigan Engineer notes, "Four fifths of all the water works systems in the country are of this inferior type." In contrast, Ypsi offered good service and good water quality. It was housed in the former Cornwell Paper Mill building, at Stewart Street and the river, near Factory St. & Grove.

If the service was efficient, the billing system was anything but. The company used water meters for customers, but also tacked on a Byzantine array of extra charges depending on your water use. For example, if you signed up for the "lawn sprinkling" option, you were strictly prohibited from using this allotment for your garden (unless you also signed up for the extra "garden" option). Oh, and you could ONLY sprinkle your lawn from 5:30 to 8 a.m. or 5 to 7:30 p.m., with a hand-held hose NO WIDER than 3/4 inch WITH nozzle. If you didn't like hand-sprinkling, use of a mechanical sprinkler was $1 extra PER SPRINKLER, on TOP of the initial charge for...gahh! [head explodes]

You had better pin down precisely what type of toilet you had before signing up. Private pan? Flowing? Self-closing? Private automatic closing urinal? Single acting valve? Double acting valve?








Manufacturers with 10 employees or under were charged $5, but offices with only 4 employees or under were charged the same, for cryptic reasons.


Why were billiard halls charged per pool table, and not per restroom/faucet fixture? Another mystery.

Oh, and it looks as though in the entire dwelling house, which I take to mean private residence, there was usually only ONE faucet total in the entire building, and that in the kitchen.

Presumably each barber chair had its own sink, as today. They also apparently had "public bath tubs." DD will pass on that, thank you.

Phew. Imagine being the bookkeeper for the Ypsilanti Water Works! And now it's time to go make some lemonade with one of the TWO luxurious hot AND cold faucets in the house and go water the gar--er, I mean, lightly sprinkle the lawn. Just a little lawn-sprinkling, officer, that's all. With a regulation hose, see?