Information on rear of plaque
Many take municipal water for granted,  but it was an amazing innovation when the Waterworks started providing water in 1754.   Bethlehem's second National Historic Landmark,  the building itself is made of hand hewn limestone but the true innovation lies in the pumping system.   Water was pumped up from the spring to a water tower then flowed by gravity into cisterns then,  in turn,  into many of the town's buildings.   Enlarged in 1762,  its output was 800 gallons per minute.