No water heater - was there ever one?

[alamojack]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum... and I don't have an Airstream. Actually, I'm not sure what the dang thing is cause I can't find any information on it at all. I bought it from the owner of a storage locker facility as the previous owner of the trailer had abandoned it.

So... here's what it is:

Star Trailerized Homes, a Division of Mid-States Corp. (roughly 1952ish)
37' Dual axle, two door, one bedroom, full bath with tub, corrugated aluminum skin, porthole windows on doors. Looks a whole lot like a Spartan.

My question is (among many others that I'm still working on) is this:

The trailer has hot water lines connecting the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower all together. Cold water the same. However, there is NO place that I can see where a water heater would have been originally installed, nor a place where a later owner may have put one. Both sets of water lines (cold and hot) run out under the trailer close to the wheels, but the fittings (for connecting to an external water source?) have been snapped off.

So - has anyone ever heard of places where you can hook up to existing hot water? Was this the norm at the date of manufacture? And what would be the best option for installing a water heater?

This is my first trailer and I'm doing a semi-ground up restoration on it, but I don't know too much about the plumbing and electrical aspects of these beasts.

Thanks in advance!