to different neighborhoods. The largest of these was the Spring Hill Company, which drew water from Lake Washington. Formed in 1881 by Louis R. Johns and J.R. Lewis, they stored water from the springs on First and Beacon Hills in seven tanks, holding a combined 200,000 gallons. They sold out a year later to a partnership consisting of John Leary, Bailey Gatzert, and Jacob Furth. They began pumping water from Lake Washington in 1884, at the current location of Colman Park. In 1889, they added a 2,500,000 gallon reservoir located at Holgate and 14th on Beacon Hill. These arrangement soon proved inadequate. On September 24, 1888, Mayor Robert Moran urged the city council to call an election to "determine finally whether this city is to have an abundant supply of pure water at cost, or continue to pay tribute to private individuals on all water used in the future." In a July 8, 1889, election, barely a month after the Great Seattle Fire (June 6, 1889) gave a dramatic illustration of the limitations of the city's water supply, Seattle's citizens voted 1,875 to 51 to acquire and operate their own water system. In accordance with this vote, the city Water Department acquired the Lake Union and Spring Hill plants for $400,000 (equivalent to $ today.). These plants saw the city through until the 1901 completion of Cedar River Supply System No. 1. Notes References . This is a public domain source, because it was published in the U.S. before 1923. Seattle Public utilities of the United States