Decatur Pump House Postcard

Decatur Pump House Postcard

The Staley Pumping Station

Photography by Samantha Lynn Photography

The Staley Pumping Station and Club House was built in 1919-1920 by the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company in conjuncture with the expansion of the company’s plant and in the creation of Lake Decatur. As a result, the building’s design of combining the functions of a club house and pumping station, was shaped.

The pumping station was a vital component to the diversification of Staley’s manufacturing processes. The post-1919 growth and success of the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company had a tremendous impact on the City of Decatur as a result, leading to the pavement of neighborhood roads, expansion of a street car line, improved walks, worker’s housing, improvements in water supply and sewerage systems and many other improvements.

For decades, the upper floor of the building was the home of the Staley Fellowship Club. It's ornate design and superb setting, as a result the Staley Pumping Station and Club House served as a popular venue for social gatherings into the latter half of the twentieth century.

The creation of the lake led to the parallel development of local parks particularly Nelson Park adjacent to the Club House.

Information provided by Staley Museum

Other postcards available, besides the Decatur Pump House Postcard

1. Decatur Transfer House

2. Decatur Devon Ampitheater

3. Decatur Merchant St.

Item Number: 11956-4

Item ID: 64065

Category: SLPhotography Postcard