This appears to be a windmill-driven water well on Tulane’s developing uptown campus. The city’s water supply system, operated by the Sewerage & Water Board, had not yet started pumping (that didn’t happen until 1909). It would surely have been within the ability of students and professors in Tulane’s College of Technology to devise a reliable source of fresh water for the University. That’s our guess, anyway. The windmill quite likely was the highest point on the Tulane property and thus the obvious place for the 1904 freshman class to put its mark on the campus. Again, our guess. It’s a fun photograph at any rate! By the way, Tulane’s football team had a 5-2 record in 1904 under coaches Thomas Berry and John Janvier and team captain Ralph Wood.

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