USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1893 > Part 25
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Storm water cannot be admitted to the sewer in these streets because the main sewers into which they discharge are over-charged, during heavy rain-falls, and a further increase will result in injury to property by the flooding of basements and cellars.
On many sections of this district, no streets can be laid out by the city or buildings erected because the elevation of the land is
459
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
below that of the land in the nearest existing sewers, and until this intercepting sewer is built, the land must remain idle.
On many other streets, where separate sewers have been built and no provision made for storm water, complaints are very frequent- ly made that storm water has flooded cellars, and until this sewer is built no remedy can be suggested and such injury must continue.
Many of the existing sewers which were designed to carry storm water are too small ; even with rains with moderate intensity, these sewers are often over-charged, the water is forced back through the house drains into the cellars, and a great deal of injury to private property and the health of the occupants may result.
The evils above mentioned will increase from year to year, and if longer delayed, will result in serious injury.
The outlet for this intercepting sewer would undoubtedly be located at the Mystic River near the Middlesex Avenue Bridge ; and if the extension of the Winthrop Avenue sewer is to made as re- commended it would be practical and economical to combine the two systems at some point on Middlesex Avenue, and continue in one sewer to the Mystic River.
The attention of the City Council is respectfully directed to the previous reports of the city engineer and the statements there presented and the recommendation made are repeated. Action should be taken at once and the Committee on Sewers authorized to report to the City Council plans and estimates of cost of the con- struction of this intercepting sewer.
CLARENDON HILL DISTRICT.
The area bounded by Holland Street, Broadway, Alewife Brook, the Cambridge City line, Boston & Maine Railroad, (Bed- ford and Billerica Branch), has no system of sewerage.
Through the southeasterly corner of this district a small stream formerly ran in a westerly direction, and emptied into Alewife Brook. This stream, which now runs in a covered channel from Thorndike Street to the westerly line of Cameron Avenue and con- tinues in an open ditch to Alewife Brook in Cambridge crossing the Cambridge line at a point about eighteen hundred feet east of Alewife Brook, is the channel through which the only method of
460
ANNUAL REPORTS.
sewage and storm water disposal is obtained in this district. Ex- cept, that on the higher part of this district, in the immediate vicin- ity of Holland Street and extending from Cameron Avenue to Elmwood Street, a small area is drained into the Holland Street: sewer.
There are in this district forty dwellings that drain into the brook and fifty that drain into cesspools; these dwellings contain about five hundred sixty people. In but very few of these houses is the sewage carried directly to the brook above re- ferred to ; in most cases the house drains are connected with cess- pools. The subsoil is sand and forms a ready means of disposing of the liquid waste from the houses. Many of these cesspools have been in use several years, and it is probable that the subsoil is be- coming gradually filled with waste filtered from them ; but whether the filtration' has been carried to such an extent as to be dangerous to public health cannot be stated. It is certain that a locality so thickly populated cannot long continue to be free from diseases due to such improper methods of drainage as now exist in this district, and it is certain that some action should be taken at once in the matter of laying sewers, and making connection with these sewers compulsory on the owners of the property effected.
This subject was referred to in the report of the city engineer for the year 1892, but no action was taken by the Committee on Sewers. The Board of Health took the subject under advisement, and on the recommendation of the city engineer, caused about two hundred feet of pipe drain to be laid between Cameron Avenue and Elmwood Street where this brook formerly ran in a wide, shallow, and stagnant stream, among dwelling houses in the most populous part of this district. It was very effective in preventing the accu- mulation of storm water in the lower parts of this district and more readily disposed of the dry weather flow.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT.
The following description of work done in the Highway Department has been compiled from the report of the Committee on Highways, the records of this office, and from information obtained from the superintendent. The work has been done under
461
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
the direction of Thomas H. Eames, the superintendent, to whom I am indebted for assistance furnished, and to whom I am greatly obliged for his uniform courtesy.
The items of expenditures are as follows :-
The appropriation for highways for 1893 was Add for collections for work done in former years, income from city dwellings and road roller, materials on hand, tools and property, gravel and sand taken from North Street Gravel Bank, and loss on tools and property
$60,000.00
2,352.62
62,352.62
The items of expenditure are as follows :-
Laying out streets, advertising notices of hearings
$88.50
Construction of new streets
5,416.95
Street crossings
·
2,117.12
Street signs erected ·
63.72
Repairs and improvement of streets in connection with setting edgetone
5,253.71
Ordinary repairs of streets
17,938.58
General repairs of streets
11,057.28
Cleaning streets
5,963.05
Trimming trees
534.60
Planting trees
115.80
Labor laying brick and edgestone for single estates
1,270.82
Repairs of brick sidewalks
1,772.99
Repairs on Middlesex Avenue bridge, and drawtenders' salary
377.64
Removing snow and ice from streets and sidewalks
4,883.31
Work done on sidewalks not assessed
10.50
Plans for enlarging the City Stables
156.00
Sidewalk assessment, Glen Street .
98.63
Amount carried forward
$57,119.20
·
462
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Amount brought forward $57,119.20
Sewer asessment, Broadway
440.24
Cost of right of way and driveway, North Street gravel bank 489.20
Cleaning Washington Street paving ·
73.40
Superintendent's salary, board of horses and telephone
2,029.97
Books, stationery, and printing
43.25
Sundry expenses
62.52
Private work not paid for in 1893
1,453.40
Total cost of work done
$61,711.18
Balance unexpended
641.44
$62,352.62
EDGESTONE AND BRICK SIDEWALKS.
"The appropriation for edgestone and brick side- walks was
$10,000.00
.Advertising hearings paid from appropriation of 1892
25.00
$10,025.00
Thirty-six sidewalks laid in 1893 (see Appendix B)
$19,298.65
Abatements
.
58.54
Books
26.00
$19,383.19
Less assessments
9.583.68
«Cost to City ·
$9,799.51
Balance unexpended
225.49
$10,025.00
463
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
The work done is itemized as follows :-
Fourteen thousand four hundred eighty-four and four-tenths feet of edgestone.
Thirteen thousand five hundred sixty and six tenths square yards of brick sidewalk.
The repairs made on the main avenues in the city were con- fined to Broadway from the Boston Line to Cross Street, Elm Street, Willow Avenue to Davis Square, and Medford Street from the Cambridge line to Somerville Avenue.
In addition to this, Washington Street was paved from the easterly line of Medford Street to Union Square.
A detailed account of the method and cost of paving will be found under " City Engineer's Department " on page 452.
REPAIRS ON BROADWAY.
On that portion of Broadway between the Boston line and Cross Street, the cross section of the roadway previous to the repairs was such that the northeasterly side was about one foot four inches above the southwesterly side. . The grade at which the street railway tracks had been laid previous to 1892, was such that the roadway between the northeasterly sidewalk and the car tracks was nearly level in cross section so that water was retained on its surface, and it was impossible to keep it in a decent condition for travel.
In 1892, the street railway tracks were re-laid, and it was deemed advisable at that time to so adjust the grades of tracks and roadway that a correct form of cross section of the street could be made, and the defect in the original construction of the street remedied. On the southwesterly side of the street the old surface was broken up and covered with six inches of broken stone from the Salem Ledge, and one half-inch of gravel. On the northeasterly side, the roadway was graded to sub-grade, and the same depth of broken stone and gravel used.
The material excavated was used in repairing Mystic Avenue.
The cost of the repairs, including teaming of old material re- moved as stated in the report of the Committee on Highways was $8,996.42.
464
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The work was done in a thorough manner, and with its com- pletion, the entire roadway from the Boston line to Main Street can now be said to be in excellent condition.
ELM STREET.
Elm Street from Willow Avenue to Davis Square was repair- ed at a cost of $3,168.17.
The old surface was broken up and covered with four inches of Waltham stone and one-half inch of gravel.
PAVING MEDFORD STREET.
Medford St. from the Cambridge City line to Somerville Ave. was repaired at a cost of $237.49. About four inches of broken stone and one-half inch of gravel were used, previous to which the old surface was removed. This part of Medford Street was repaired in 1892 at a cost of $1,408.80, and in 1890 from the Cambridge City line to the Fitchburg Railroad at a cost of $1,235.56. Now, if the cost of repairs on this last named section be increased in the propor- tion that the distance from the Fitchburg Railroad to Somerville Avenue bears to the length of the section repaired this year, the cost, on the basis of repairs made in 1890, would be $1,900.00 ; and the cost of repairs in four years would be $3,581.45, or an average cost per year of about $900, a sum sufficient to capitalize $22,500 at four per cent.
This sum is nearly sufficient to pave this street with granite blocks on a concrete foundation, which, with the cost of setting and re-setting edgestone and relaying brick sidewalks, would not ex- ceed $27,000.
When it is stated that the repairs made this year were very slight, only sufficient to make the street passable for the time being, it is evident that for a fair comparison the cost of maintenance for four years should be considerably increased, possibly to $4,700., or an average cost per year of nearly $1,200., a sum which would ex- ceed the interest on the cost of granite block paving, as above re- ferred to. An important fact to be noticed is, that, so long as this
465
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
roadway is macadamized, there will be an annual expense of $1,200. to maintain its surface in a passable condition ; and, further, that when the surface is once repaired it will not remain so but a few months before it will be worn out. If a granite paving was laid, it would undoubtedly last at least fifteen years without any ex- tensive repairs. It would afford a good road-bed, passable for all 'kinds of travel at all times of the year.
The attention of the City Council is directed to the reference made to this subject in the report of the city engineer for the year 1892, in which this question is further discussed.
REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS OF STREETS IN CONNECTION WITH SETTING EDGESTONES.
Edgestones were set on twenty-five streets. The cost of street. repairs per linear foot of edgestone set, including gutters, was $0.56. The cost of paved gutters per linear foot of edgestone was $0.34; per square yard, $1.02. The gutters were laid with cobble stone. The cost of macadam road was $0.30 per square yard. About four inches of stone and one inch of gravel were used.
CONSTRUCTION OF STREETS.
The average cost per linear foot of streets constructed in 1893 has been $1.22 ; per square yard of gravel road, has been $0.27 ; of macadam road, $0.37. (See Appendix C.)
EDGESTONE AND BRICK SIDEWALKS.
In Somerville, December 31, 1893. 294,719 linear feet, or 55.82 miles of edgestone ; 191,286 linear feet, or 36.23 miles of brick sidewalk.
DRINKING FOUNTAIN, GILMAN SQUARE.
A substantial, attractive cast-iron drinking fountain, (with bowls for watering horses and dogs, and faucets and drinking cups for man,) surmounted by a wrought-iron electric light pole, on which has been placed an arc light, has been erected in Gilman Square. The fountain was furnished by M. D. Jones of Boston, and was erected by the Sewer Department.
466
ANNUAL REPORTS.
MUNICIPAL CONTROL OF GAS LIGHT COMPANIES.
The two companies now supplying this city with gas are authorized by their charters to enter upon any street to lay and repair their mains and service pipes, or for any other purpose con- nected with this work, and this without asking permission from any . city department. The city has no control whatever of these companies ; they can enter upon any street at any time, place, season, or opportunity, whether in winter or summer, and are not subject to any restraint as to which side of the street they may occupy, nor is it possible to find any record of the location of mains, except by the courtesy of the officers of these companies. All other companies, whether it be electric light, street railway or telephone, and all other underground constructions, whether water or sewer, are subject to the control of the Mayor and Aldermen or of some of the different departments. In view of the fact that public opinion is strongly in favor of placing all electric lines and wires under ground, the probable future demands of rapid transit which may require subways to be built under some of our thoroughfares, and that a knowledge of the location of gas mains is necessary in order to properly locate all such conduits and subways, and because of the fact that our streets, when once paved or macadamized, should not be disturbed for several years, except in cases of absolute necessity, there should be some action taken whereby the city shall acquire entire control of the rights these gas companies have in the streets, and that some record of the locations taken by these companies shall be made by some city department. I urgently recommend that immediate action be taken by the City Council.
TABLES.
In Appendix B will be found a table showing the location and cost of edgestone and brick sidewalks and paved gutters, and of roadway constructed in streets where edgestones have been laid.
In Appendix C will be found a table showing the location and cost of street improvements made during the year.
467
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
In Appendix D will be found a table showing the length and width of streets accepted in 1893.
In Appendix F will be found a table showing the location and length of public and private streets.
STREET NUMBERING.
Previous to May 1, the street numbers on houses were com -- pared with the street numbering plans, corrections and additions were made and numbers were affixed to houses on which no num- bers were found.
The preliminary numbering plans made in, 1890 have been* duplicated in the form of record plans when the office work would: permit.
The numbers used were furnished by the city.
NATHAN TUFTS PARK.
The work of grading the roads and walks was begun on May 15, and was continued until July 26, when the work was stopped, the appropriation having become exhausted. An additional ap- propriation was obtained in August, work was resumed August 28, and continued until November 23, when the work was brought to a close, as the appropriation had been again ex- hausted.
The details of the work done are as follows :-
Both driveways have been completed to the sub-grade from the entrance at Elm Street to the Powder House Terrace ; the- loam strips between the sidewalks and gutters have been filled with loam; the rubbish and debris from the burned pickle factory buildings and the homestead have been removed; the cellars filled and the adjacent grounds graded to conform with the slopes from the driveway. A considerable quantity of ledge was removed from the site of the homestead.
The Powder House Terrace has been graded from Liberty Avenue westerly about sixty feet. The slopes of the driveway have all been graded and loamed, the walks stoned, and about one-half of the area between the Powder House and Elm Street graded and loamed.
468
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The parapet wall, to be built along the top of the bluff is completed for about one-half its length.
To improve the appearance of the Powder House and to make the walks connecting with the driveways more easy of ascent, it was necessary to grade about two feet below the original surface of the ground. But, as the original foundation was laid only two and one- half feet below the surface, it was necessary, before the grading could be done, that the foundation should be carried down at least four feet below the new surface grade. This was successfully done by excavating in small sections and underpinning with stone as fast as the earth was removed.
The door and window in the Powder House have been rebuilt with granite. Their side walls are carried up vertically and cover- ed with a full centre arch. The stone is of very dark color ; the method of cutting and the proportions of the walls and arches are in keeping with the general appearance of the building.
Previous to the time the changes were made, the wall over the door and window was supported by wooden lintels. The settle- ment occasioned by the deflection of these lintels causes several cracks to appear in the walls. These cracks were filled and point- ed after the new work was done.
In removing the old window, parts of an iron hinge were found embedded in the brick work, that were probably used to support shutters at some very early period of its construction. The parts of the old hinge were preserved and are now in this office.
The floor of the Powder House was lowered to conform to the grade of the walks and covered with cement concrete ; the inside and outside walls were pointed, and the inside wall covered with two coats of whitewash.
An ornamental wrought-iron grille and door have been placed in the building, and a bronze tablet placed on the door on which are given the names of the Mayor, the Committee on Public Grounds for the year 1893, and the city engineer.
A water service has been laid through the grounds from Elm Street, and a temporary shed erected to provide storage for tools and supplies.
The work remaining to be done consists in paving gutters, macadamizing the driveways and walks, constructing walks on
469
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
Elm Street, Broadway and Liberty Avenue, and Powder House Terrace ; grading the slopes and grass areas ; completing the para- pet wall ; grading and loaming the top of the bluff; planting trees and shrubbery and sowing grass seed; grading and macadamizing Elm Street, Broadway and Liberty Avenue, and the erection of fences on the south boundary line.
The items of expenditure have been as follows :-
Christopher Burke, reserve due on
contract of 1892 for grading roads and walks
$870.85
Grading roads and walks,
labor
$7,011.59
teaming ·
2,507.73
$9,519.32
Credit teaming charged to Sewer De-
partment
71.32
9,448.00
Filling
786.86
Tool house
143.70
Out buildings
13.40
Labor on wall
713.81
Laying water pipe, labor, pipe and fittings
197.59
Lumber and stakes
27.02
Tools .
121.67
Repairing tools
50.09
Fence
5.84
Repairs on Powder House.
laying new foundation .
$192.52
pointing inside and out and whiten- ing inside
73.30
cement concrete floor
30.08
Ashlar masonry at window and door .
696.60
grille for window and door .
60.00
tablet on door
35.00
.
1,087.50
$13,466.33
.
.
470
ANNUAL REPORTS.
PUBLIC GROUNDS.
The work done on Public Grounds has been almost entire- ly in the line of maintenance. At the Somerville Avenue Cemetery some new work was done, and at the Broadway Parkway the im- provement begun last year has been completed.
The appropriation for 1893 was $7,500. Some of the work has not been done that it was expected would be done when the amount to be appropriated was voted upon .A considerable amount of work has been done which was not anticipated during the year, yet the amount expended has been less than the amount appropri- ated.
CENTRAL HILL PARK.
The walks and grass have received their usual care. At the battery two additional seats have been placed on the wings, the wooden steps have been rebuilt, the hand-railing extended, the con- crete walk in front of the seats widened, and a hand-rail con- structed from the steps near Medford Street to near the battery.
BROADWAY PARKWAY.
The new work done consists in loaming the area maintained by the West End Street Railroad Company, and the erection of a wire fence enclosing the Parkway.
SOMERVILLE AVENUE CEMETERY.
As the city has recently acquired control of this cemetery, it is proper that a record should be made of what is known concern- ing its history.
In the year 1804, a piece of land comprising the present cemetery and containing twenty-seven thousand two hundred twenty-five square feet, was deeded by Samuel Tufts to Timothy Tufts, Esq., Nathaniel Hawkins, Esq., Samuel Kent, Samuel Shed, and John Stone, yeomen, all of Charlestown, and their associates, in consideration of one dollar and other causes there- unto moving, paid by the said Tufts, Hawkins, Kent, Shed, and
471
REPORT OF THE CITY ENGINEER.
Stone. The conditions were that the same be improved for no other purpose than for a burying place, and that it be fenced at all times without any cost or expense to the said Samuel Tufts, his heirs or assigns ; reserving to himself his heirs or assigns a right in common with said associates to the use of said piece of land for the purpose aforesaid.
The deed was recorded at the Middlesex Registry of Deeds May 31, 1808, in Book 179, page 242.
In 1873, a strip of land four feet wide was taken from the cemetery lot by the widening of Somerville Avenue.
So far as can be ascertained, no deeds of lots in the cemetery were given to those who have used the placc for burial purposes. The five owners had tombs or lots, and others who wanted to use the cemetery secured lots from the owners and took possession.
In later years after the death of the original owners, Mr. Samuel T. Frost, the heir of Samuel Tufts, assumed the care of the cemetery, and is said to have given permits when burials were to be made. He spent much time and money on the burial ground, and this way originated the erroneous idea that he was the owner.
In the earlier years of its use the south and west sides were the only portions occupied ; the remainder was used by the boys who attended a neighboring schoolhouse. Later, the cemetery began to fill up faster, and between 1850 and 1860 the town buried all its paupers there. From a casual examination of the place it ap- pears as though the lots were all occupied and only occasional burials occur. No plan of lots or list of owners or burials can be found.
The unsightly condition of the cemetery had long been a subject of remark, and the necessity of taking some steps to better control and care for the cemetery had been considerably agitated by the local papers, and in 1892 the Somerville Improvement Society presented a petition to the City Council favoring a city control of the place.
The Committee on Public Grounds reported that the heirs of Samuel T. Frost refused to release to the city, and it did not ap- pear that the control desired could be obtained. The committee reported inexpedient to take any action. In 1893, the mayor was
472
ANNUAL REPORTS.
authorized to petition the General Court for authority to grant and vote such sum as might be needed to care for and enclose the cemetery. This authority was given by chapter 104 of the Acts of the year 1893.
The historical occount above given was taken from an article published in the Somerville Journal, dated July 23, 1892, volume 22, No. 35. The following list of the heirs of the original owners was also obtained from the same source.
" The heirs of Timothy Tufts, with their addresses are : Timothy Tufts, corner of Elm Street and Willow Avenue ; George Tufts. Arlington Street, near North Avenue, North Cambridge ; Mrs. Isaac Tufts, widow of Isaac Tufts, 39 River Street, Cam- bridgeport ; Mrs. Granville Tufts, widow of Granville Tufts, Linden Avenue, corner of Kneeland Street, Malden; and her children, viz. : Jean Tufts, Mrs. Ida Sawyer, and Miss Edith Tufts ; Miss Caroline Tufts, 39 River Street, Cambridgeport ; Miss L. T. Sawyer, Miss E. M. Sawyer, Miss C. L. Sawyer, and Miss M. A. B. Sawyer, 75 Elm Street; Mrs. E. A. Whitney, 139 North Avenue, Cambridge ; and George M. Tufts, Allston Mass.
" The following are the heirs of Nathaniel Hawkins, who died in 1817 : Nathaniel C. Hawkins, Lancaster, Mass. ; Mrs. Alice C. Mann, widow of Guy C. Hawkins, now remarried, and Mrs. Alice E. Lake, 63 Linden Avenue, Malden ; Mrs. Victoria Dorset, Virginia ; Mrs. Rebecca Cutler, Northwood, N. H. ; Mrs. Eunice Walker, Cambridgeport ; Albro Griffin, Washington Street, Somerville; Mrs. W. French Smith, and Miss Hannah M. Griffin, Somerville Avenue ; and Mrs. Sophia Hatch. Nathaniel Hawkins had brothers and sisters in Rhode Island, but concerning their descendants nothing has been ascertained.
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