“In 1892 the [Ithaca Light and Water Co.] purchased a mill dam on Six Mile Creek, at Van Nattas, and used it for additional supply. This was the beginning of the use of Six Mile Creek for water supply. In 1893 a pumping station was built at this point and the water actually used for consumption and fire protection on East Hill.”
In 1902 a 24″ pipe line was laid from the Second Dam to the pumping station, where the water was raised to the filtration plant.
In 1905 “and 1906, new higher powered pumping machinery was bought and installed in Van Nattas to make it possible to pump even higher and in greater quantities to the hills, until in 1907 water was piped across Fall Creek, at Triphammer brigde, to the Cornell Heights section of the City. This resulted in a large residential development in this direction.”1
- Dorothy Harris, History of Ithaca's Water Systems, City of Ithaca D.P.W., 1952, p. 3–5.