By Lauren McSherry

A water tower was erected next to the Rengstorff House at Shoreline Park as part of its restoration.

One of the last architectural relics of Santa Clara Valley’s agricultural past has been added to the property occupied by Rengstorff House at Shoreline Park.

A water tower has been erected on the property as part of the restoration of the historic house that Mountain View volunteers rescued from ruin and turned into a museum.

Long before Mountain View became part of Silicon Valley, the fruit-growing basin was called the Valley of Heart’s Delight.

Just as apricot orchards and farmhouses were common sights, so were water towers. Built before the advent of municipal water supplies, the 1864 Victorian dwelling that belonged to shipping magnate Henry Rengstorff relied on a tower to store water.

“Early farmhouses had elevated water tanks, a windmill and a pump that would pull up groundwater,” said Nina Wood, president of the board of directors that oversees the museum. “The tank house itself was used by itinerant farm laborers or as a farm building.”

The water tower was replicated after about three years of planning and fund raising. Volunteers raised $100,000 to construct the tower, donated to the City of Mountain View during a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 21 .

“The water tower was on the original restoration plans,” Wood said. “But the city ran out of money, so we decided to do some fund raising to cover it.”

Wood said there are currently no plans to build a windmill to accompany the water tank.