The Red Brick Times

  Thursday, June 16, 2005

In 1652 the first waterworks was built in Boston, using underground pipes made from hollowed out logs. The system was intended for fighting the constant fires that threatened the almost entirely wooden settlement. Firefighters would simply punch a hole in these primitive water mains and plug them up when finished—hence, the term “fireplug.”

Excerpt from "A History Of Plumbing Engineering" By Jim Olsztynski.

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