USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1875 > Part 11
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1,621
48
Brick.
5
P. and M. Terry. I. C. Cushing.
1,620 27
Beacon
Washington ..
Near Cooney ....
911
18
957 52
Church.
Somerville Av. ....
Near Summer
9
15
Cement.
..
2 James M. Buickes.
862 73
Clark ..
Newton ..
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554
18
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. .
..
66
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City.
1,818 82
¿ Beacon. .
Dickinson .
Concord Av ..
35-1
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968 23
Gilman
Angle .
Near Walnut.
690
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1,939 42
#Gilman. .
Cross. ...
Angle . ..
30
24
.
.....
66
694 85
Grand View Av ...
Walnut
Near Vinal Av
498
18
215 14
Homer Square .... Linden.
Somerville Av ....
Charlestown .
668
18
Brick.
5
20
| Linwood.
.
Somerville Av ....
Catch Basin.
445
24
57
30
1 1
Fitchburg.
Linwood.
Near End ..
204
18
Brick. . ...
550
18
755 98
Merriam. .
Somerville Av ....
Charlestown .. (Southerly ). .
123
12
Cement.
66
1
I. C. Cushing. S. H. Tarbell.
566 34
Mystic Av.
Winthrop Av ..
Wheatland.
737
2.1
Plank.
Square ..
2
Charles A. Mongan.
1,454 05
Newion ..
Fitchburg R. R ... Concord Av.
761
30
Brick .. ..
66
2
S. H. Tarbell.
1,193 15
Prospect ...
Oak.
Near Cambridge line Willow Place. South.
195
12
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1
Michael Collins.
690 50
¿ Earle .. .
Ward.
Methodist Church. Brick Yard Lane ....
394
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Cirele . . . .
1
S. H. Tarbell
774 85
Webster Av ...... Winthrop Av. .. Mystic Av ...
S. E. Line of Park.
787
60
11,616 37
Public Park .
Winthrop Av ..... Old Sewer.
104
1,826 82
Wheatland .....
. Mystic Av ...
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903
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$45,364 56
16,147
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181
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66
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66
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Charles A. Mongan.
153 67
Mt. Vernon ...
Broadway ...
Near Pearl ...
Near Perkins ..
3.18
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472 68
Mt Vernon. .
Warren Av ...
West line of Square
214
12
Cement.
66
Charles A. Mongan. City .
$ Dickinson
Springfield
Beacon.
840
19
66
1
680
18
1
..
1
Maurice Terry. 66
324
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. . .
.
1
2
J. J. Dorey.
S
593
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. .
*45 Cubic Yards of Ledge. fExclusive of Extras. # 106 Cubic Yards of Ledge. § Unfinished.
.
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Hunting .
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182
MILK, WASHINGTON AND BEACON STREET SEWER.
This sewer was commenced in 1874 and completed in 1875. The part constructed this year was built in the worst kind of soil, being coarse gravel with underlying quicksand for nearly its whole length ; and notwithstanding that it was laid the whole way (as was most of that built in 1874) upon a wooden cradle or shoe, its construction, owing to the floods of water encountered, required constant attention and gave great annoyance.
CLARK STREET SEWER.
This sewer receives the creek which heretofore has drained through the culverts under the Fitchburg Railroad and Methodist church :- previous to its construction, the channel of the creek had been filled to abate a nuisance ; the sewer therefore relieves a large territory from floodage.
LINWOOD AND FITCHBURG STREET SEWERS.
These sewers replace old ones ; they are now graded so as to empty into the Somerville avenue sewer near the Fitchburg Rail- road instead of into the Poplar street sewer as formerly.
WINTHROP AVENUE SEWER.
This sewer extends from the terminus of the old sewer in the Park, into and through Winthrop avenue to the north side of Mys- tic avenue, from whence it empties by a ditch and creek, passing under Middlesex avenue, into Mystic River. The sewer for a large part of the way was built upon a strong pile and timber founda- tion ; 262 piles in all were driven, some of them 20 to 30 feet long, secured on these rests a timber platform which supports the sewer ; it has solid stone masonry sides laid in cement mortar,
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and partially lined with brick, and covered with a brick arch eight inches thick ; all the work was performed in a very satisfactory manner. The sewer is circular and five feet in diameter for most of its length. The muck in which it is built can furnish no sup- port for such a sewer, if for any, and to have built this without piling would have been fatal to its existence. A man-hole has been placed in the Public Park, and at this point a tapering connection has been built for a sewer at some future time to connect with the pond, and to be used for flushing purposes as proposed in my last report. The grade of the sewer with reference to mean low tide, was determined after due consideration of the future requirements of the whole district draining through it : it is, however, lower than the bottom of the culvert under Middlesex avenue through which it temporarily empties, which causes accumulations in the sewer to the depth of a foot or more ; no immediate harm results from this, yet the floor of the culvert ought to be lowered so as no longer to be a cause of such deposit.
WHEATLAND STREET SEWER.
This connects with the old clay pits in its vicinity and relieves from flowage all the adjacent territory which had its drainage se- riously interrupted by the filling of the Park.
AUBURN AVENUE SEWER.
This is a private sewer built by the abutters, levels and grades being given by the City Engineer.
WEST SOMERVILLE SEWERAGE.
Careful surveys and levels were made to determine the best route for a sewer to West Somerville, and for estimating thereon. Five routes were examined, all commencing at the junction of
184
Beacon and Sacramento streets, the terminus of the present sewer, and estimates made of the cost of four of these routes.
First .- Through Sacramento street, Somerville avenue and Elm street to Davis square.
Second .- Through Sacramento, Somerville avenue, Mossland and Elm streets to Davis square.
Third. - Through Beacon street, across Somerville avenue through Mossland street and Elm street to Davis square.
Fourth .- Through Beacon street, Somerville avenue, White street in Cambridge and Elm street to Davis square.
Fifth .- Through Beacon street, across Somerville avenue, diag- onally across private lands to Elm street, a little east of White street, and in Elm street to Davis square.
The fifth is the most feasible route ; borings were taken along this route to the required depth for the sewer, and no ledge en- countered. The depth of digging will be the least required on any route by many feet. It is by far the shortest route. It requires no destruction of existing sewers. It is all in Somerville territory. No horse-railroads, water pipe or gas pipe will be interfered with ; no newly and thoroughly macadamized streets torn up. It will cause much less interruption to travel, and be very much less ex- pensive than any other route. The only serious objection is that it passes for a short distance through private property, which is only an objection financially, and a very small one compared with the advantages which it possesses over other routes.
CREEK AT WASHINGTON STREET.
The creek which formerly passed under Washington street, west of the Fitchburg Railroad has been cut off and entered into the sewer, through a substantially built connection of stone and brick masonry, ample in size to prevent all further trouble from floods in that vicinity, north and west of the street and railroad.
185
CRAIGIE BRIDGE OUTLET.
In co-operation with J. G. Chase, Esq., City Engineer of Cam- bridge, surveys were made and soundings taken, for the proposed extension of the Bridge street sewer to deep water. Plans for the same have been prepared under supervision of Mr. Chase.
IRON AND WOODEN COVERS.
Late in the season authority was obtained for the substitution of iron covers at every sewer opening in the city having wooden ones ; it was not deemed advisable, however, to make this change during freezing weather. The wooden covers wherever their ex- istence was known were examined, and a delay till the coming season believed to be safe. Wooden covers, however, ought all to to be replaced with iron, both at reservoir and sewer man-holes, as a security to public travel.
SEWER OUTLETS.
Only one of our sewerage systems has a proper outlet; three have outlets over or on private property, and on suffrance .. I have caused careful enquiries to be made of a large number of families living near these outlets, and am satisfied that up to the present time they have caused no nuisance and but little annoyance ; their necessity is a misfortune however, and before many years they will probably become a source of trouble.
SEWERAGE COMMISSION.
A commission appointed to devise a system of sewerage for Boston and vicinity have reported upon the same. One of the main trunk sewers recommended in their report, if built, will pass through the southerly part of Somerville, and at a grade seven or eight feet lower than our lowest existing sewers ; this would I
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186
think prove ultimately of great sanitary advantage to Somerville, and might enable the city to lower its grade for low lands and streets, and thereby effect a saving on the filling of its four hun- dred or more acres of low lands and flats of from $350,000 to $400,000.
The city's share of the expense of such a system would of course be large.
SEWER PLANS.
Plans have been completed showing the sewers built in 1874 and in 1875 ; they show the position of man-holes, inlets, etc., the grades of the sewers, areas of lots assessed, assessments, abate- ments and other information.
PERAMBULATION OF CITY LINES.
In accordance with the law requiring the same and instructions from the City Council the perambulation of the lines between Somerville and Cambridge and Somerville and Arlington was made by Alderman Littlefield and the City Engineer on the part of Somerville, conjointly with the authorized agents of the places named, and reports of such perambulation duly presented. The lines between Cambridge and Somerville were found in many places to be insufficiently or incorrectly marked, and considerable time and labor was spent in re-establishing the same at these points ; several new bounds were procured and set, and old ones reset. No steps, however, were taken to determine or adjust that part of the line which follows the old channel of Miller's River now filled, lying between bound A in estate of J. P. Squire and Som- erville avenue, and concerning the position of which there seems to be some dispute ; nor of the remaining line along the channel of said river to near Prison Point.
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ENGINEERING SERVICE.
The work performed by the engineering department in 1875 em- braced surveys, levels, grades and measurements of work required by the various improvements on highways, sewers, parks, etc., either carried out or contemplated and previously mentioned ; to- gether with numerous plans, calculations and estimates required by the same; in addition to which the necessary surveys were made for purposes of assessing betterments on sixteen streets, viz. : Adams, Appleton, Dana, Day, Florence, Gilman, Glen, Grand View avenue, Morrison, Oliver, Pinckney, Quincy, Somerville avenue, Vernon, Wallace, and Warren avenue ; and for sewer as- sessments on twenty-four streets, viz. : Allen, Austin, Beacon (three sewers), Beech, Clark, Church, Dickinson, Earle, Fitchburg, Gil- man, Grand View avenue, Homer square, Linden, Linwood, Mer- riam, Mt. Vernon, Newton, Pitman, Prospect, South, Washing- ton, Webster avenue, Wheatland, and Winthrop avenue. Plans have been made showing all the lots thus assessed for streets and sewers, the whole number of lots amounting to over twelve hun- dred ; the area of each being given, and its owner's name ascer- tained, which in a majority of cases involves a thorough examination of recorded conveyances.
The field and office labor required in the preparation of these plans is very great.
Much other work of a miscellaneous character has been per- formed : such as furnishing lines and grades of streets, and grade of lots to numerous persons ; perambulation of city lines ; surveys and time given for various claims, suits and hearings ; attendance on committees ; grades and lines for cesspools, water pipe, hy- drants, etc. ; completion of large water and sewer maps ; surveys of several lots both city and private for other city purposes than as- sessment ; ascertaining encroachments on streets, surveys and sketches of all the Lowell Railroad bridges, and profile of the rail- road, etc., etc.
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ENGINEERING EXPENSES.
The cost of the engineering department for 1875 was as follows :
Salary,
$2,500 00
Assistants,
.
1,352 26
Expenses,
279 43
Total,
$4.131 69
which is small when the amount of service demanded is considered. The cost of assistants was divided as follows : Highways, $404.05 ; Sewers, $434.47 ; Park, $399.41 ; Miscellaneous, $114.33.
The cost of engineering to the town and city a few previous years has been as follows, viz. :
In 1869,
$3,398 22
In 1872, $1,970 39
In 1870,
3,074 11
In 1873, 3,745 14
In 1871,
3,011 08
In 1874, 5,968 14
A comparison with similar expenses of other cities will, I think, show that for the amount of labor performed, our expenses are be- low the average.
Respectfully,
CHAS. D. ELLIOT,
City Engineer.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
OF THE
CITY OF SOMERVILLE,
FOR THE YEAR 1875.
IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, February 14, 1876.
Report accepted, and ordered to be printed with the Annual Reports for 1875. Sent down for concurrence.
CHARLES E. GILMAN, Clerk.
Concurred in. IN COMMON COUNCIL, February 14, 1876.
SOLOMON DAVIS, Clerk.
THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The Trustees of the Public Library have the honor to present to the City Council their
THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.
During the past year the Public Library has not only fully sus- tained its previous degree of prosperity, but there has been con- stantly manifested an increasing interest in it, and a growing ap- preciation of its benefits on the part of the public, so that at the present time there are registered 4,124 borrowers against 3,083, at the corresponding time of last year ; showing an increase of 1,041 during the year, and probably the proportion of those who have ceased to take out books is not very much different than at that time.
There have been given out during the year 39,025 books, the largest number in any one week was 971, and the largest number in any one day was 313.
The number of volumes added to the Library since the last re- port is 571, making a total at the present time of 5,301.
The financial statement is as follows :
Credit balance from 1874, $750 11
Net amount of dog-license money
from the county, 1,269 96
Appropriation for 1875, 1,000 00
Received for catalogues and fines, 245 14
$3,265 21
Amount carried forward,
$3,265 21
192
Amount brought forward,
$3,265 21
Expenses for 1875 :
For purchase of books,
$726 48
For salaries, 999 85
For incidentals-printing $269.70, expressing, $35.25, inciden- tal, $3.00, 307 95
2,034 28
Leaving a balance to new account, $1,230 93
In the report of the previous year the attention of the City Council was directed to the necessity of increased accommodations for the Library, and also to the desirableness of combining with it the advantages of a reading-room, and it was hoped that when the room which had been occupied by the Police Court should become vacant, that it could be appropriated for these uses. But the im- perative need of other departments of the City Government com- pelled a division of this room, so that the Trustees were obliged to forego their cherished idea of a reading-room, although the Library itself has been considerably enlarged and remodelled, and space has been obtained for a liberal-sized table, which has been fur- nished with a judicious selection of magazines, reviews and news- papers, available for all who may desire to make use of them.
In making these alterations and improvements, it has been the aim of the Trustees to act with the utmost economy, not only in the expenditure of money, but also in the utilization of space, nothing having been done for mere architectural effect, and by the changes now made it is expected that space will be afforded for the Library for a few years to come, or until the advent of more pros- perous times shall warrant a greater outlay.
The Trustees desire to express their gratitude to the City Coun- cil for their cheerful appropriations, and their hearty acquiescence in all the requests and suggestions of the Trustees for the benefit of the Library. The purchases of books during the past year have
193
been quite light, owing mainly to the lack of suitable accommoda- tion for them, but yet a sufficient number have been procured to keep the Library fresh and lively, by adding of the better portion of the current issues and also a few more, from time to time, of the standard and classic.
It has been well remarked by a recent writer, that "the function of a town library should be to supply reading, improving and in- teresting, and yet, in the best sense of the word, popular ;" to do this involves not only a grave responsibility, but also the posses- sion of some personal knowledge of literature and a nice discrimi- nation in selection. That the Library has not been altogether un- successful in its mission is evinced by the steadily improving taste in the selection of books by the readers, and in the degree of en- thusiasm at all times apparent ; and when for two weeks during the remodelling it was found impracticable to issue books, a gen- eral feeling of disappointment and deprivation was manifested.
Since the publication of the original catalogue, two supplements have been issued, and the third one is about ready for the press, it being the policy of the Trustees to issue one as often as a thou- sand volumes shall have been added to the Library.
The increasing amount of labor devolving upon the Librarian has rendered it necessary to employ a permanent assistant, and the aid of even a third person is at times required, so great is the number of applicants on almost every Wednesday and Saturday evening, and it will thus be seen that a considerable portion of the expense of maintaining the Library is necessarily for the services required in the administration.
Although some of the books receive rather rough usage and be- come somewhat unreasonably soiled, involving the necessity of re- binding and re-covering, or other repairs, yet there has not been a single book lost during the year.
In the early part of the year, the former Librarian, Mr. Isaac Pitman, who had from the very first manifested a great interest in
25
194
the Library, and whose services for it which had been gratuitously rendered and had been of very great value, felt obliged to with- draw, and Miss H. A. Adams, the assistant, was promoted to the position of permanent Librarian, and has performed its duties with great acceptance and success.
CHARLES H. GUILD, WILLIAM H. FURBER, WILLIAM VEAZIE, HENRY H. BARBER, QUINCY A. VINAL,
Trustees.
W. G. TOUSEY, CHARLES G. POPE, S. A. CARLTON,
SOMERVILLE, Feb. 7, 1876.
REPORT
OF THE
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR,
OF THE
CITY OF SOMERVILLE,
1875.
IN BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN,
February 28, 1876.
Accepted and ordered to be printed in the Annual Report of the City. Sent down for concurrence.
CHARLES E. GILMAN, Clerk.
Concurred in.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, March 2, 1876. SOLOMON DAVIS, Clerk.
REPORT.
To his Honor, the Mayor, and to the City Council :
GENTLEMEN,-During the year 1875 there has been an increased demand by the poor upon public charity. This has been caused mainly by the depression in almost every branch of industry, so that large numbers of individuals who in prosperous times were able to support themselves and those dependent upon them, have been thrown out of employment, and forced as a last resort, to ap- ply to the Overseers of the Poor for aid ; but even under the pres- ent depressed financial condition of the country, the expenses of this department have not increased beyond what might have been reasonably anticipated. When we compare the expense of our city with that of other cities, wefind that it is, per capita, less with one exception than that of any other city, being generally about .
one-half and in one case but one-third as much.
The law of settlement in our State is now of such a nature that a man having no settlement, can gain one by a residence of five years in any place, provided, he pays taxes for three years during the time in that place, and any woman can gain a settlement by five years residence only. As the law is retroactive, a large num- ber of persons, especially those of foreign birth, have gained a settlement thereby ; so that the number of persons applying for re- lief, and having a settlement in our city, or in some other city or town in our Commonwealth, has been greatly. increased. But not- withstanding this, there is still a large number of persons who ap- ply for relief, but who have failed to comply with the requirements of this law, and are, therefore, State paupers.
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What to do with these persons, is a question which is not easy . to answer. In their destitution the law requires us to assist them, and it also allows us to remove them to the State Almshouse. Many of these persons ask and receive but little aid. In such cases it is obviously our duty to allow them to remain where they are, for by removing them, the family in many instances is broken up, parents and children are separated, perhaps never to meet again ; and as the relation of parents and children is as sacred, and the ties uniting them as strong as those existing between parents and children of the more favored class, we have taken each case into careful consideration before removing any of the family to the State Almshouse. There is a great aversion to the State Alms- house, and in nearly every case the removal thereto has been com- pulsory.
Much time is required to obtain all the facts necessary for a cor- rect history of each applicant for aid, for we must be sure, if pos- sible, before giving aid, that the applicant is in such a destitute condition as to need assistance, and after having granted assistance we must know whether the expense is to be borne by our city or otherwise. Even in cases where the individual has complied with all the requirements necessary to a settlement it is often very diffi- cult, and requires much time for investigation, to obtain such facts as will fix the settlement ; especially as so many of those who eventually become paupers, have been in the habit of migrating from place to place, and avoiding if possible the payment of taxes. As an illustration, we would cite one case of many equally tedious.
A woman had been sentenced by the court to the House of Cor- rection for drunkenness, and the family, as in many similar cases, immediately became a source of expense. Upon making a some- what careful investigation of the case, we were convinced that the woman, and consequently her children, had a settlement in a city some thirty miles distant, and in accordance with this conviction, notified the Overseers of the Poor of that city to that effect. Very
199
soon we had a denial of the settlement from them, which neces- sitated a visit to the woman in prison, a visit to the city of her late residence to confer with the Overseers of the Poor and other parties, a letter to the register of births of a parish in England, and a reply from him, interviews with innumerable cousins, aunts, and uncles of the woman in this city and in neighboring cities, and lastly a summing up of the cumulative evidence thus obtained, and its transmission for the decision of the Overseers, who have as an offset, the ipse dixit of one man who, in opposition to all the others who affirm that the woman is twenty-seven years old, states that she is only twenty-five, and, consequently, could not have re- sided in that city five years after she was twenty-one years of age. When it is borne in mind that there are seventy-one families re- ceiving aid from us, who have settlements elsewhere and nearly as many residing in other places and receiving aid, whose settlements are in our city, and further that there are many other families to establish whose settlements a great deal of careful work is neces- sary, it will be seen that even if there were no other duties to per- form the office is no sinecure.
Under the present plan, we have been compelled to give entire support to many persons in families who could have been much more comfortably supported in an almshouse, as in some instan- ces there has been no one in the family competent to give the at- tention to the old, the young or the sick, as the case may have been, that humanity required. We have often been obliged to shelter, clothe and feed persons in homes where the surroundings were far from favorable to their physical, mental or moral welfare. We sometimes have been obliged to board one individual with another who was also receiving aid from us. In cases of accident or sickness, we have paid for board and treatment in the Massa- chusetts General Hospital. In one instance we were obliged to pay a neighboring town the rather exorbitant price of twelve dol- lars per week for board and nursing of a paralytic, besides the
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