Finding Helen Keller’s Water Pump: An Ongoing Investigation

As APH continues to design exhibits for The Dot Experience, we are working to create the most accurate representations as possible. According to our research, three water pumps were in circulation at Helen Keller’s birthplace. One of the most pivotal moments in Helen Keller’s young life was her discovery of language. As Helen put her hand under the water pump, her teacher, Anne Sullivan, fingerspelled the word into Helen’s hand so she understood that the word “water” was synonymous with the liquid pouring onto her palm. The discrepancy of which pump is the one Helen used is an important mystery for historians to solve. 

The Investigation 

In a conversation with the Director of Ivy Green, APH museum staff learned the pump on display at Helen’s home was found under a shed on the property. The Miracle Worker production team copied that pump for the movie. The photo found in the AFB Helen Keller Archive (taken before 1909) had been edited with black, grey, and white paint – a common practice initially done to images for newspaper and other publications to improve clarity. The image shows the original pump, which is in the same geographic place in front of the cottage that the “shed pump” now stands. AFB Helen Keller Archivist, Justin Gardner, saw a third chain-operated pump depicted on a 1950s postcard.  

Determination  

The “original pump” from “the water pump moment” is pictured above. The photo on the left is a high-resolution photo in the AFB Helen Keller Archive. The newspaper clipping on the right above is from Ladies Home Journal. This is the pump design that will be used in The Dot Experience gallery.  

Continued Research  

APH has recently secured a sponsorship from Zoeller Pump Company for the water pump area of the gallery. Zoeller has a subsidiary, Flint & Walling, who have been in business since 1866 producing hand-operated water pumps. Helen’s pump may have been a Flint & Walling pump. Eric Rimmel, President of Flint & Walling, looked at approximately 100 pictures of their past product, and cannot definitively state that their pumps have a direct link to our picture. Their model – in the picture below, of the Hoosier 260 – has similar features but it does not match the Helen Keller pump to their best interpretation.  

He also tried to find a picture that may be of interest in identifying the manufacture of “Helen’s pump” on various websites, hoping to give us a logical next step in knowing its origin, but was unsuccessful. More research must be done to help us solve this mystery! 

The Dot Experience is opening its doors in 2026, and visitors can experience their own “water pump moment.” Learn more about our philosophy behind creating an attraction where everything is accessible through touch by reading this Afar Magazine article.