Old well

I have just purchase a piece of property in Northern Wisconisn. There is a old well located on it. It has a 4 or 5 inches driven well. I can see water at the bottom. There is a rod along the side of casing. Comes up from the bottom. I don't know what this rod is for. I don't know if there is a foot valve in the bottom. Can i remove this rod with doing any damage.

It is probably a rod that was used to operate the pump. If you can pull it up, it should not do any damage. If you have to cut the rod in pieces to get it all out you want to be absolutely sure that you don't drop pieces into the well.

It might be pretty heavy and you might need some kind of rig to hoist it out. A couple of pipe wrenches can sometimes be used as handles to lift the rod. Put ropes on the wrenches and tie them off so you don't lose a wrench down the well.

It might be part of a "cylinder pump" such as is used with a windmill. There might be other parts down the well at the end of the rod.
http://www.aermotorwindmill.com/Links/Education/Education2.asp

After you get it out, you should drop a line down the well to find the depth to water and the depth to bottom of the well. You should also try to find if there is anything else down the well.

Knowing the depth to water and to bottom of the well will let you get some idea what kind of pump you need if you want to use the water. You will want to test the water and test the flow before you invest a lot in developing the well.

You said this rod is along side of the casing. If so, it could be nothing more than the conduit the wiring is in.

Can you describe this rod?

bob...