Joseph Wharton - Estate, Water and New Jersey

Estate, Water and New Jersey

In 1854 Philadelphia increased its tax base by expanding its borders to include the surrounding suburbs, and after the Civil War its population swelled. By 1870 the Centennial Exposition was upcoming, and Philadelphia was rapidly changing. It was suffering from a water crisis because it required more water, but there was no appropriate method for water purification and the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers were heavily polluted. Philadelphia's typhoid fever rate was among the highest in the nation, and most well-to-do families drank bottled spring water. The Wharton family's "Bellevue" estate, along with several others nearby that had been annexed into the city, was threatened with condemnation by the city for the construction of a new reservoir to hold potable water. Wharton saw a potential solution to both of these problems. He started purchasing land in southern New Jersey in the 1870s, eventually acquiring 150 square miles (390 km2) in the Pinelands which contained an aquifer replenished by several rivers and lakes. The water from the Pinelands was relatively pure and he planned to export the water to Philadelphia. Wharton suggested that a city-controlled company could develop the necessary water mains and pump, funded by public purchase of stocks and bonds. There was opposition to the plan by others in Philadelphia and in New Jersey, and eventually a law was passed in New Jersey preventing the export of water. The Wharton Bellevue estate was taken by the city, but the planned reservoir was never constructed, because of local politics and also because by 1890 water could be purified by filtration, obviating the need for an extra reservoir. Instead the estate was sold to developers for construction of new housing for the newly organized industry nearby in North Philadelphia.