Shand & Jurs - Berkeley, CA Click pictures for closeups
After World War I, using technology learned from wartime manufacturing, hydrant manufacturers learned how to bore and thread hydrant bodies and actually screw the nozzles and stem guides onto the hydrants. No longer was it necessary to open the tops of the hydrants to service valves and replace ballata valve seals (and accidentally drop tools and hydrant parts down the riser!) The nozzle could be taken off using a "slug wrench" and the valve slid out the nozzle opening for repair or servicing. As a result of this improvement, removable "flange head" bonnets were no longer necessary. Many of the early manufacturers still retained some of the traditional look of the flange head hydrants in order to dress off the appearance of the hydrant, and in doing so created what we often refer to in California as the "mushroom heads."

From what we can tell, Shand & Jurs was the first manufacturer to construct wet barrel hydrants with threads cut into the barrels so that nozzles and valve stem guides could be directly threaded in rather than be seated in lead. This design improvement meant that the discharge nozzle could be unscrewed and the valve removed through the nozzle opening for servicing and seal replacement. With this innovation, no longer did service personnel have to open the top of the hydrant and attempt repairs by reaching down inside, with the accompanying risk of dropping tools or parts down the hydrant body.

Shand and Jurs produced hydrants from the late 1920s until World War II. They finished off their hydrants with a distinctive "mushroom head," many of which can still be seen in Berkeley and the East Bay. The Shand & Jurs Model 112 is believed to be the first 3-outlet wet barrel ever produced.

S&J's model numbering system was simple. "1" stood for a smaller diameter (2½" or 3") outlet while a 2 stood for a larger diameter (4" or 4½") outlet. A zero represented "no outlet." Each model number contained 3 digits which described outlet sizes from top to bottom . A model 100 had a single small diameter outlet while a model 112 was a pumper hydrant with two small diameter outlets over a large "pumper" outlet.

Anyone with additional information about Shand & Jurs' hydrant operations is encouraged to Email Us.
  SHAND AND JURS
Click pictures for closeups

It appears that Shand and Jurs originated the "mushroom head" shape. They produced at least 5 models of mushroom head hydrants from the 1920s into the 40s.

SINGLE OUTLET HYDRANTS
Model 100

This version was S&J's shortest hydrant (19½" tall). It has a conventional "under the nozzle" chain attachment versus the wing gussets which appeared in the mid 1930s.

We believe this hydrant to date back to 1929.
0638

Willis Lamm Collection
Model 100

This hydrant came from a residential neighborhood in Oakland where it was installed around 1934 and remained in service until 2000.

The nozzle collar reduces the hydrant from its original 3" size to the current 2½" standard.
0606

Willis Lamm Collection