Turn at The Purple Pump In Pitman

 I love roadside oddities, but this one was a bit of a mystery.  The granite base identifies is as The Purple Pump - but offers no explanation. It took a bit of research to find the history.

According to a 2002 article in the Republican & Herald, the pump may date back to the 1800s. The Tri Valley Historical society credits George Shroeder with it's origin as the water pump for the town of Franklin Square, a town which Shroeder established, but which no longer exists.  

Shroeder was a bit of a character, but a very patriotic one.  He held the honorary title of Colonel, and was known to have drilled young men in the community for the civil war.

After the civil war, he lived alone in a small cabin at Shroeders Hill.  He was digging for gold, when he found water instead.  The 8 foot hole continually filled with water, even in the drought seasons.  A pump was installed to bring the water to the surface.

But how did it come to be purple?

During the depression, sometime in the 1930s, Isaac Kissinger lived across from the water pump.  Noticing it was in rough shape, he sanded it down, and painted it. 
But it was the depression, a time when you used what you had.  He mixed together the leftover cans of paint he had on hand, and the resulting color was purple.  The pump became a local landmark, with directions around the area often including the phrase "turn at the purple pump."

For awhile, the bar across the street was known as the Purple Pump Bar.  There's an underground tunnel leading from the pump to the bar across the street, and legend has it that the tunnel was used for the storage and manufacture of bootleg liquor during prohibition.  The tunnel was partially filled in when the road was paved, but part of it remains.

  In 1985, the bar was purchased by Jack Bensinger and Anita Shissler, and it became Jack's Spot.  They serve a purple pump lemonade there.

In 1999, the pump was once again in disrepair.  It was restored, and placed on a granite base.

We spotted this while on the Susquehanna Heartland Wine Tour.  And there is  a geocache here.

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