- Waterworks
- Water
- 1875-1893
- City of Atlanta
- Location approximate
Atlanta's first waterworks (Poole's Creek, Lakewood)
Atlanta's first public water system, finished in 1875 with a dam and reservoir on Poole's Creek, a South River headwater, at today's Lakewood. It was abandoned when the Chattahoochee supply opened in 1893.
The record
The Atlanta History Center says the 1875 works culminated a campaign begun in 1866 and drew water from Poole's Creek at the present site of Lakewood Park. The city's water history describes a 350-foot dam and reservoir and 120 men laying a main to the city; its system overview gives a capacity of 3 million gallons a day at the 'South River' site, abandoned once the Hemphill plant was finished in 1893. In August 2026 a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers archaeologist working on a city stormwater project near the lake on Lakewood Avenue found remains of the old works, though most of the brick and stone had long since been hauled away for reuse; she noted the water 'wasn't the best for drinking.'
Today: Lakewood lake beside the studios and amphitheater.
Look for: The dam at the lake's outlet; scattered brick and stone near the lake on Lakewood Avenue.