The 1840s saw the rise of the industrial North and the plantation South. This led to growth in the cities to support their needs.

The Civil War dramatically affected the population split of America.

The 1870s saw an increase in commercial operations and the newfangled indoor plumbing systems. These were mostly commercial customers. Indoor plumbing wasn’t widespread in residences in large cities until around 1900. Many rural areas had indoor plumbing by the 1940s.

Factories began to augment new pressurized plumbing with river water. There were problems with the differences in pressure. Add to that the cotton dust was very flammable. The early fire protection systems required a person to manually turn on a gate valve.

First, automatic sprinkler heads appeared in 1897.
Pressurized water systems connected to river water resulted in many employees becoming sick. There was a high rate of absenteeism. Factory owners wanted and needed a way to prevent absenteeism.

First check valves were installed. If the first leaked then another was added. Sometimes there were as many as six check valves in a row. (If one is good, six is better)

The first meeting to realize the need for a plumbing code took place in 1906. More later.