History of East Boston; with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix, Part 52

Author: Sumner, William H. (William Hyslop), 1780-1861. cn
Publication date: 1858
Publisher: Boston, J. E. Tilton
Number of Pages: 883


USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > East Boston > History of East Boston; with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix > Part 52
USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > East Boston > History of East Boston : with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix. > Part 52


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583


THE ARTESIAN WELL.


1847.]


could not be removed, Messrs. Bolles and Ridgway com- menced a four-inch bore, which they sank about 150 feet.


A little later than this (Dec. 7th), a communication from J. M. Whiton, Esq., relating to supplying East Boston with water from Spot pond, a sheet of water five miles distant from Eagle hill, was laid before the board, and referred to the com- mittee on the well. There were many reasons for considering the project of bringing water from Spot pond a feasible one, and the merits of the subject were fully entered into at a sub- sequent period.


The well made slow progress; it was a novel undertaking, and many difficulties were to be encountered and surmounted. On the 7th of April, 1847, the committee on the well made a report of its progress and present condition, stating that the expenses had been large, and that little or no advance had been made, and were desirous of the opinion of the board before proceeding further. The board authorized an additional ex- penditure of $500, and a report to be made when this sum had been expended. General Sumner and S. S. Lewis were added to the committee on the well, July 12, 1847, and the superintendent was directed to cause the quantity of water in the well to be tested by a steam-engine; and the committee was requested to inquire into the whole subject of supplying East Boston with water.


The contractors, Messrs. Bolles and Ridgway, made a report to the committee on the well on the 14th of July. This paper, in addition to the particulars relating to this well, contains much valuable information on the whole subject of Artesian wells, as illustrated at the well at Grenelle, in France; and as it possesses much interest for the general reader, extracts from it have been placed in the Appendix.1


Immediately previous to this report, an accident occurred, which involved either a very great outlay of money or the ces- sation of the work, as the report minutely sets forth. The superintendent reported the well furnished three thousand gal- lons per twenty-four hours, a supply sufficient for fifty fami- lies, and that the committee thought it inexpedient to expend


1 See Appendix II.


584


HISTORY.


[1814.


any more money ; consequently, the work was discontinued on the 5th of July. The well was sunk to the depth of 320 feet, at a cost of over $6,300. No water came into that part of the well which was sunk into the rock. Although the main object was not attained, there can be but little doubt, that, had the well been bored to a greater depth, the most sanguine expecta- tions would have been realized. But the accidents and obstruc- tions which occurred, some of which are described in the. report of Bolles and Ridgway, seemed to discourage the projectors ; and as the depth of the well could only be in proportion to the depth of the purse, a "reasonable doubt" of the ultimate suc- cess caused a final stop to the further sinking of the well and money. The well now furnishes a supply of good water in proportion to its depth and diameter.


Probably the oldest well of considerable depth on the Island is the one in Belmont square, now partially filled up. This well was sunk when Belmont square was the site of Fort Strong, in 1814; at least, we have an account of a well being dug there at that time at great expense, and there is no other well but this to answer to the locality, while tradition has always traced the origin of its location to the fort. The abso- lute necessities of a fortification would require a well within it; and to obtain fresh and good water, the well must be sunk to a great depth, or at least to a sufficient depth to go below the superstratum. Mr. G. E. Pierce, to whom we are indebted for much that is valuable on the subject of wells and sewers, furnishes some interesting statements in regard to this well, which are best given in his own words : -


" 'The well is under the side-walk, some seventy-five feet from the north-east corner of the square, towards Webster street. The excavation must have been about six feet in diameter, stoned with rough pasture stone. Its depth, of course, could not be ascertained with any degree of certainty. My father took some pains to investigate in regard to it, but could only find, in general terms, that it was eighty or ninety feet deep. His own experience in excavating wells around the base of the hill, from the character of the earth passed through, its uniform hardness and dearth of top springs, and the infallible power of


1814.]


THE WELL IN BELMONT SQUARE.


585


the lower springs, caused him to form the opinion that there was a gravel vein under this whole section full of fresh water, and when the earth was penetrated to this level, the water was sure to be found. This result was proved from wells dug on Everett, Sumner, and other streets. His conclusion was that this well must have been sunk to this vein of gravel; and if so, it must have been originally not far from one hundred feet from the surface, before the hill was cut down.


" When this well was dug, and by whom, it is difficult to ascertain. It seems plain that it was not dug to water cattle, for economy would dictate a location nearer the base of the hill ; neither for a residence, for there are no remains of a foun- dation in that vicinity. I think it is safe to infer that this well was sunk for the sole use of the fort. My reasons are, that there was no other well in the vicinity except a very shoal one in the fort, probably dug to receive the water accumulating in the trenches. This accumulation would answer for ordinary use, such as washing, or for their horses; but for culinary pur- poses they must have had recourse to this well, if in existence, or carted water from a distance. The well was partly filled up with dirt some two years since, when the city erected the iron fence and laid the side-walks around Belmont square."


This direct account of " the old well in Belmont square," as it has been familiarly called, is rendered certain by the charges for digging the well found in the unallowed " Massachusetts claims." The ubiquitous " oldest inhabitants," while unable to give any positive information, trace its origin to fortifications erected on the Island; but investigation decides the question. Mr. Baldwin, the engineer of Fort Strong, in his official notice, asked for stones for a well; and, in the bills presented for pay- ment, are several for "well-digging," for "buckets, chains, and well-rope," " stones for well," " well-augur," amounting to over four hundred dollars ; and Thomas Williams, the tenant of the Island, presented an account of two hundred and fifty dollars " for stoning and furnishing the well at Fort Strong, laying a platform thereon, and levelling the dirt around."1 These refer- ences render the matter sufficiently clear and satisfactory.


1 See Military Ilist. of Island, ante, p. 419.


586


HISTORY.


[1848.


Mr. George Darracott, who was at Fort Strong in 1814 and 1815, was well acquainted with the particulars of its construc- tion, and did guard duty there, says, in a communication to the author : -


" It was found necessary to sink a well at the fort, and I felt a good deal of curiosity to know whether I was right in my belief that this nodule of land was not 'in place,' but had tumbled here in some of the great convulsions which occurred in some former period. The formation is a hard clay, mixed with stones, masses of granite, the edges sharp, showing they had not been subject to ocean washings. At the depth of one hundred and twenty-four feet, if my memory serves me (having found no water before this), the diggers came to marsh mud, beach gravel, clam and oyster-shells. This corresponds nearly with a well sunk on Copp's hill, and also with one sunk at the southerly end of the Mill-dam. I leave it to those better acquainted with geology than myself to decide how these masses of solid, hard clay were removed from their original places, and finally rested here. The granite found imbedded in these localities differs essentially from any found in these regions."


This extract is interesting, as it determines the age of the well, and it has value in the facts brought to light relative to the geological formation of the Island.


In the well dug on Copp's hill some years ago, at a depth of seventy-two feet, Mr. Darracott found what was apparently an Indian relic, namely, a round stone partially flattened, with a representation of the sun upon one side, and of the crescent moon on the reverse; the stone bearing indubitable evidence of the chisel, or some other cutting implement. The ground through which the well was sunk was an indurated clay, so hard that it was with difficulty worked with a pickaxe. In this clay were found masses of granite totally different in their character from any rock in the vicinity, with edges and sides as sharp as if recently broken off. Pieces of granite of this description were taken out sufficiently large to make gate-posts.


Cochituate Water. - In the early part of the year 1848, the inhabitants of East Boston petitioned the city government,


587


COCHITUATE WATER.


1848.]


praying them to bring the Cochituate water into their section of the city, and pointing out two ways in which, as they thought, it could be done.


The first was by tunnelling under the river; and the other by laying heavy iron pipes in a trench dredged out for that pur- pose in the bed of the river. The subject was referred by the city government to the water commissioners, who reported, that, as far as the tunnel was concerned, they deemed it impractica- ble; and, as to the iron pipes on the bed of the river, they could not view it a permanent thing, as, in case of accident, it would be almost impossible to repair them.


Before the report was made by the commissioners, the direc- tors of the East Boston Company had discussed the matter, and also the expediency of setting apart sufficient land on Eagle hill for a reservoir in case the city introduced the water.


The report of the commissioners of the city government being unfavorable, the subject was taken up with renewed vigor by Alderman Samuel Hall, to whose efforts, in a great measure, East Boston is indebted for its supply of water, and a mode which was suggested by him was thought to be practicable ; that is, to bring the water over the Charlestown, Chelsea, and Free bridges, in the same manner as it was conveyed over the South Boston Bridge.


In the autumn of this same year (Aug. 16, 1848), the project of bringing water from Spot pond was again brought forward by General Sumner, chairman of the committee on water, and the committee was authorized to incur the necessary expense to complete an examination with reference to the feasibility of the plan.


On the 12th of March, 1849, it was voted by the directors of the East Boston Company to give to the city fifty thousand feet of land on Eagle hill to be appropriated for the purpose of building a reservoir, if accepted within two years.


The liberality of this grant had considerable influence on the minds of the committee in ordering a survey ; and Messrs. Atkins and Seaver, of the common council from East Boston, introduced an order into that body, which was concurred in by the board of aldermen, authorizing a survey and estimate of the probable cost of thus introducing the Long Pond water.


588


HISTORY.


[1850.


The result was satisfactory, and the work was to be carried through at once, only the pipes were to cross Chelsea creek instead of the free bridge.


On July 16th of the same year, E. S. Chesbrough and Wm. S. Whitwell, engineers of the water commissioners, made ap- plication to the East Boston Company for lands contiguous to those so generously given by the company. This was followed by various negotiations and votes, the result of all which was, that the East Boston Company, instead of a gift of fifty thou- sand feet as first proposed, on the 1st of October, 1849, an- nulled the previous votes making that donation, and voted to sell the whole quantity wanted by the commissioners for a nominal price, ten cents per foot. This comprised the fourteen lots Nos. 273, 274, 275, 276, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 255, 256, 277, 278. They also voted to discontinue Eagle street from the easterly line of Brooks street to the westerly line of lots Nos. 296 and 272, as shown by the plan of R. H. Eddy, June, 1844. To those the city added, by purchase of individuals, several lots which the company had previously sold to them, amount- ing to 46,250 feet, making the whole area of the reservoir lands 220,875 feet, or five acres, 3,075 square feet.


On the 28th of August, 1850, the East Boston Company sold to the city the water lot on Condor street at the foot of Brooks street, fifty feet front, and running to the channel, for $1,750, for the purpose of enabling them to lay the main pipe from Chel- sea creek through Brooks street to the reservoir. This reservoir is thirty feet deep, and will hold, when filled to a level three feet below its top, 5,591,816 gallons.


An appropriation of five hundred thousand dollars was made by the city, and this great undertaking was commenced in the summer of 1848, and was finished in the incredibly short time of eighteen months. The water was first let in on the 1st of January, 1850, when appropriate ceremonies were performed at the reservoir, and a collation was given at the Maverick House.


The work cost $470,000, falling short (a most unusual thing) $30,000 of the sum appropriated.


The green embankments of the reservoir, which is on the highest ground on the Island, make a conspicuous object in the landscape, and from the walks on the parapet is seen an un-


589


THE RESERVOIR.


1850.]


equalled hemispheric view of the sea, harbor, rivers, and the cities and towns of the adjacent country.


It was the intention of the East Boston Company to have celebrated the event by a grand festival; but the uncertainty of suitable weather, or the certainty of unsuitable weather, at that inclement season, and the hazard of setting apart any day a sufficient time in advance to extend invitations and to make all the necessary arrangements, led the company to forego such a celebration until a more favorable time.


A brief description of the reservoir will be interesting to our readers, especially to those residing at East Boston.


It is located on the summit of Eagle hill, - a square bounded by White, Falcon, Brooks, and Putnam streets. In form it is rectangular ; the banks are composed of the natural material of the hill, and are ten feet wide on the top, where there is a gravelled walk seven and a half feet wide, extending entirely around the reservoir, and measuring about eighteen hundred feet in length. The elevation of the top of the bank above high-water mark is one hundred and ten feet, and from it a beautiful view of the country can be obtained. In the centre of the banks is a "puddle ditch," commencing three feet below the natural surface and extending to within three feet of the top water-line, at which point it is five feet in width. The inner slope of the bank is paved from the top to the bottom with blocks of Quincy granite, laid without mortar, one and a half feet thick. The whole of the inner slope wall of the bank has a backing of rubble-stone one and a half feet thick, and the top of the bank is covered, to the depth of three feet, with rubble-stone and gravel, in order to prevent the frost from heav- ing and displacing the embankment. The outer side of the bank is covered with soil, and sodded.


The bottom of the inside of the reservoir is 325 feet long by 60 wide; at the top water-mark the dimensions are 345 fect by 150 feet; the depth is 30 feet, with slopes of one to one and a half feet when full. The water comes to within three feet of the top, making the depth twenty-seven feet, and is about fifteen feet below the top water-level at the Brookline reservoir. 'The bottom is paved with common round paving stones. The


50


590


HISTORY.


[1850.


water is introduced by a twenty-inch pipe, which starts from Haymarket square. The pipe is carried across Charles river by the side of Warren Bridge on piles beneath the side-walk of the bridge, and the pipes are enclosed in a plank case, which is made as nearly air-tight as possible; the draw on the bridge is passed by means of an inverted syphon. From Warren bridge in Charlestown the pipes proceed directly through Charlestown to Mystic river, which they cross in connection with the Chelsea bridge, in the same manner as they do Charles river. They then pass along the shore to the point from whence they start to cross Chelsea creek. This creek, at the point where the crossing is made, is about 1,600 feet in width, and about twenty-five feet deep in the channel at low-water. Vessels of a large size pass through the creek above the point of crossing, and therefore the bottom of the creek is liable to be dragged by their anchors at all times.


The mode adopted by Mr. Whitwell, the engineer, for extend- ing the pipes across the creek was a novel and ingenious one, and is thus described in a public journal : " Mr. Whitwell adopted a peculiar and novel flange joint, flexible only in a per- pendicular plane, but so secure as not to need a wooden frame to accompany the pipe. The adaptation of this joint to the purpose, and its strength, are quite admirable. The distance between the joints is thirty-one feet four inches, and each sec- tion consists of three pieces of twenty-inch pipe, one inch and a half thick, and with flanges two inches thick, securely bolted together. These three pieces of pipe weigh together 3,300 pounds, and each joint weighs 3,800 pounds, - the size of the pipe being considerably enlarged at the joint. The opposite sections of the joint meet on a perpendicular plane, parallel with the portions of pipe on each side of the joint, and move upon a leather packing, which is placed in a groove between the two flanges. One of the flanges is so much wider than the other as to have a cap-ring bolted to it, which encloses and holds the other, and thus constitutes the joint. The strength of this arrangement is obvious, and its tightness has been tested by trial under a pressure of two hundred and fifty pounds to the inch. " The jointed pipe for half the width of the channel was pre-


591


COURSE OF THE WATER PIPES.


1850.]


pared on a staging and sunk, after having been coated with a varnish to preserve it from the action of the brine. It was sunk by being suspended from a framework and tackles above while the floor beneath it was removed, and it was then lowered down in the centre, the ends being retained above water for the purpose of connecting with the shore and the section which still remained to be sunk. The other section was prepared and sunk in like manner, and thus was the connection established between the insular and peninsular portions of our city."


After crossing the creek, the pipe proceeds directly up the bank of the western end of the reservoir, where it is admitted. The outside banks of the reservoir have been neatly sodded, and the whole work is surrounded by a substantial fence, with entrances upon the western and southern sides, and steps lead from these entrances to the top.


The reservoir was built by Messrs. James and Charles Col- lins, contractors, under the superintendence of Mr. Joseph Parker. These same gentlemen superintended and built the South Boston reservoir. George H. Bailey, Esq., was the resident engineer, and William J. Whitwell, Esq., the chief engineer.


Although the proposed celebration on the day of the intro- duction of the Cochituate water was deferred, yet very appro- priate ceremonies were observed at the reservoir, and a bounti- ful collation was prepared at the Maverick House through the liberality of the East Boston Company. The mayor and offi- cers of the city government were present, as were also the gen- tlemen particularly connected with the enterprise, and a large collection of citizens. Appropriate speeches and toasts fol- lowed the sumptuous repast, and the day was one of rejoicing. A sentiment given at the collation by Captain Barstow, the superintendent of the company, is so pertinent that no excuse is needed for inserting it.


" Health and prosperity to every member of the city government of 1849 and 1850. - Men who have acted more than the part of the good Samaritan to us. They have not only furnished us with an abundance of good water, but have left their jug behind them on Eagle hill."


Of the numerous gentlemen who were untiring in their exer-


ยท


592


HISTORY.


[1850.


tions to secure the introduction of pure water to the Island, per- haps the most prominent and active was Samuel Hall, Esq., a valuable citizen of East Boston, and then an alderman of the city. The citizens of the Island acknowledged their obligations to him by presenting him with a beautiful service of silver plate, consisting of eleven pieces, and valued at $1,000. Upon each of the articles was the following inscription : -


" Presented to SAMUEL HALL, Esq., Jan. 1851, For his unwearied


and successful efforts in urging the claims of East Boston to the Cochituate Water."


SEWERAGE.


Dr. L. B. Reid, in a recent lecture at the Smithsonian Insti- tution, remarked, that, " in large cities and in all populous dis- tricts, a right system of drainage and external cleansing was the true remedy for periodical evils too often attributed to other causes." The truth of this statement is being exemplified at East Boston in a positive manner. The natural formation of the Island, with its surface diversified by hills and valleys, and sloping on all sides to the water, constitutes in reality a con- tinual and important drainage, as unusual in thickly settled, and especially manufacturing, places, as it is invaluable. Those who live upon the beautiful hill-sides daily experience the bene- fits of the pure air which is always about them, giving health to the body and vigor to the mind. The artificial drainage, when completed according to the commencement, will render the Island comparatively free from the impurities which of ne- cessity attend every large place, and consequently will add to its natural advantages as a place of residence.


It is not necessary to go into many particulars on this subject. The general fact is, that in East Boston a thorough system of drainage has been begun, and in all probability will be as thoroughly carried out.


593


SEWERAGE.


1848-58.]


Mr. G. E. Pierce, a gentleman well acquainted with the sub- ject, furnishes the following account of the sewers : -


" The first drain laid as a main through any street, was laid by the East Boston Company in Paris street, to drain the old Maverick Hotel. It was constructed of brick and cement, in form oval, sixteen inches in diameter, and having for an outlet the dock across Sumner street. I have no record of this work, but think it was done in 1834 or 1835. It is in good order, large enough for that part of the street, and is connected with the sewers in Sumner street. In 1843, the abutters on Mave- rick street from Paris to the dock near New street, built a drain fourteen inches square, which is still in use.


" In the summer of 1848, the mayor and aldermen of the city of Boston passed the first order for a sewer in East Boston. It passes through Maverick square, down Chelsea to Decatur street, through Decatur to Bremen street, through Bremen street to the old culvert under the Eastern Railroad, and is about sixteen hundred feet long. The same year a drain was built in a part of Sumner street, and through Wesley street about thirty- four hundred feet, during the season. During the season of 1849, the abutters, by order of the city, built about four thousand feet of drain, three fourths of which was three feet in diameter.


In 1850, 5,100 feet, all of the capacity of three feet in diameter.


In 1851, 4,500


In 1852, 7,700


16


66


In 1853, 6,500


In 1854, 5,200


In 1855, 5,400


16


In 1856, about 1,000 feet, 46 66 66


In 1857, 1,182 feet,


making, at the present time, over 45,000 linear feet of substan- tial and capacious drain, laid by the city of Boston since the year 1848. There are nine outlets in the scveral sections, of the capacity of three and four feet diameter, discharging into deep watcr."


TREES.


When the East Boston Company commenced its improve- ments, the Island was bare of any trees of ancient growth, and


50 *


of


1


594


HISTORY.


[1834.


presented a naked appearance in the landscape. In the early years of the settlement of the bay, there is ample evidence that this, as well as other islands in the harbor, was well wooded ; but the axe of the pioneer colonists, the special permission of the legislature, and the devastations of war, soon cleared. the land of the stately trees, -


" And cities swell where forests frowned Two hundred years ago."


The company was well aware, that, to make the place attrac- tive, and indeed suitable for residences, this deficiency must be supplied, and as it would of necessity be a matter of time, the improvements should be commenced as soon as practicable.




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