USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1907 > Part 4
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Respectfully submitted,
H. A. SMITH,
Tree Warden.
Report of the Superintendent of Streets
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Attleborough :
Gentlemen :- The following is a summary of the work performed by this department during the past year, in cluding the regular maintenance work and work done un- der special appropriation.
There has been a change in my assistants in one in- stance only, namely, in South Attleboro. Geo. W. Allen resigned and was succeeded by Frank E. Shaw. My other assistants are the same ones that served the town in their different capacities during the previous year, name- ly, Herbert A. Caswell, Walter Follett, Robert W. Shar- key, Henry A. Lord and Charles Claflin.
The department has approximately $7,000 worth of property, including one stone crusher, one steam roller, three road scrapers, seven tip-carts, seven sprinkling carts, one sewer cart, six harnesses and five horses, be- sides the ordinary tools used by the department.
The work of scraping all the streets in town, except in South Attleboro, was performed by Herbert A. Cas- well with the new road machine, thus getting better re- sults than ever before.
The cost of operating the crusher and steam roller has been greater than usual on account of a large number
102
ANNUAL REPORT.
of necessary repairs. It will be necessary to construct new bins for the crusher during the coming year, as the old ones are somewhat decayed and unfit for service. I would also recommend the purchase of a new steam roller this year.
Gravel Roads.
Lindsay street has been improved for a distance of 3,600 feet. Six hundred and twenty-five loads of gravel were used on this street.
Charles street has been gravelled the entire length, a distance of 400 feet. One hundred and eighty-eight loads of gravel were used on this street.
Parker street has been gravelled for a distance of 950 feet. Two hundred and sixty-eight loads of gravel were used on this street.
Maple street has been gravelled for a distance of 1,000 feet. Three hundred and fifty-seven loads of gravel were used on this street.
Forest street has been worked in the same manner as during the previous year. Eighteen inches of poor ma- terial was removed and replaced with stone and coarse material and crushed stone was used for a surface.
One thousand eight hundred and twenty loads of gravel were used on other streets in the center.
Five thousand eight hundred and eighty-five loads of sub-soil have been drawn by the department to sub-fill streets and to the dump on Bank street.
Macadam.
Work performed under general appropriation was as follows :
Pleasant street was macadamized for a distance of 750 feet.
103
ANNUAL REPORT.
Union street was macadamized for a distance of 850 feet.
Railroad avenue was macadamized for a distance of 100 feet.
Mill street was macadamized for a distance of 750 feet.
South Main street was macadamized for a distance of 700 feet.
Hazel street was macadamized for a distance of 700 feet.
Carpenter street was macadamized for a distance of 1,000 feet.
Capron street was macadamized for a distance of 400 feet.
Emory street was macadamized for a distance of 1,000 feet.
Forest street was macadamized for a distance of 500 feet.
Park street was macadamized for a distance of 650 feet.
This makes a total of 7,400 feet of roadway macadam- ized during the year.
Bridges, Fences, Culverts and Catch Basins.
Five new catch basins have been built, namely :
One on Forest street.
One on Pond street.
One corner Park avenue and Gardner street.
One corner Pine and East streets.
One corner West Carpenter street.
One culvert on South Main street has been rebuilt.
We have in town 98 catch basins, all of which have been cleaned.
The following is a list of the bridges which have been replanked: Tiffany street bridge, Union Road bridge and Bank street bridge.
Holden street bridge has been repaired.
104
ANNUAL REPORT.
The fence on County street next to R. Wolfenden & Son's property has been rebuilt.
The following streets were improved under special ap- propriation :
Olive Street.
The work on this street has been completed and a new bridge has been placed across the Ten Mile river, which crosses the street. The bridge was erected by the Em- pire Erecting Co. and is made of steel eye beams and turned arches with a concrete surfaced roadway and a granulithic sidewalk. One thousand one hundred and thirty-one loads of gravel were used to complete this street, and 660 feet of gutters were paved.
Garden street has been brought to grade the entire length from Pine street to Park avenue and sidewalks built.
One hundred and eighty-nine loads of gravel were used on this street.
George street has been brought to grade and gravelled for a distance of 1,450 feet, or from Thacher Brook Drain to nearly 200 feet from Maple street.
Seven hundred and twenty-five loads of gravel were used on this street.
Four hundred and sixty-seven loads of sub-soil were re- moved from the street.
A new 24-inch pipe has been used for a drain in place of a bridge.
Emory street has been brought to grade from Forest street to Park street and gravelled the entire length.
Seventeen hundred and forty-one loads of gravel were used on this street.
Hope street has been cut to grade and gravelled from Holden street to Starkey avenue. Eleven hundred and fifty-one loads of gravel were used on this street.
105
ANNUAL REPORT.
Elizabeth street has been brought to grade and sur- faced with gravel from North Main street to State street and sidewalks were built on both sides. Seven hundred and niney-five loads of gravel were used on this street.
Capron street has been widened, making this street 40 feet wide for a distance of 400 feet, or the entire length. It has been curbed on the north side and inside curbing has been placed on the line of the street next to the Hanna property in place of a bank wall. A bank wall was built as a retaining wall and an iron fence placed upon it on land owned by A. Tucker. The mason work was performed by John Eden.
Hebron avenue and Bourne avenue have been brought to grade and one sidewalk was built on the east side of each street. Eleven hundred and forty loads of gravel were used on this street.
Hayward street has been curbed on the south side for a distance of 159 feet and a sidewalk built. The grade of the land belonging to J. L. Sweet was raised in order to bring the street to the present grade. Three hundred and sixty loads of loam and other material were used in com- pleting this work.
Thacher Brook Drain has been cleaned from Miaple street to Holman street and from Geo. A. Sweeney's resi- dence to Forest street. The grade has been lowered near- ly two feet and from Forest street to the Railroad a new drain has been constructed, or a distance of I.000 feet. The drain is four feet wide and five feet deep. Re- taining walls were built from Forest street to a point 250 feet westward and covered with granite stone for a dis- tance of 115 feet on Falmouth street to allow for a side- walk. The average height of the walls is six feet 3 inches. The average thickness of the walls is two feet nine inches.
-
106
ANNUAL REPORT.
A new bridge was built where the drain crosses Forest street. The abuttments were made by means of large field stone covered with an average thickness of granite wall.
I would recommend an appropriation for the continu- ance of the drain.
Ten Mile River.
The river has been cleaned from County street to R. Wolfenden & Sons' establishment. There is still a chance for much improvement in the condition of the stream. Work was stopped on the river earlier than was anticipated on account of the scarcity of help.
West Division.
The work in this section was performed under the di- rection of Robert W. Sharkey as follows :
North avenue has been gravelled for a distance of 4,250 feet and sidewalks gravelled for a distance of 1,030 feet.
West street has been gravelled for a distance of 135 feet.
North Main street has been gravelled for a distance of I,140 feet and sidewalks gravelled for a distance of 225 feet.
Tiffany street has been gravelled for a distance of 380 feet.
The streets in this section are in very good condition.
Southwest Division.
The gutters were cleaned and the streets were scraped and gravelled in the following manner :
May street was gravelled from Washington st. to the North Attleborough boundary line, a distance of 1,300 feet. Fighty yards of paving was done at the corner of
107
ANNUAL REPORT.
May street and Newport avenue to form a gutter; 375 yards of gravel were used on this street.
Highland avenue was repaired for a distance of 1,800 feet ; 140 yards of gravel were used in completing the work.
West Carpenter street has been cut to grade and grav- elled the entire length, or from Pond street to the Rhode Island boundary line. Sidewalks were built on both sides of the street. Two thousand two hundred and fifty yards of gravel were used on this street. In cutting this street to sub-grade we were obliged to remove a large amount of loam, which we placed on the banks of a street which crosses Carpenter's pond, thus lessening the lia- bility of washouts.
Pond street was improved for a distance of 200 feet.
Turner street was improved for a distance of 2,100 feet ; 1,160 yards of gravel were used on this street.
Newport avenue was repaired and depressions filled with screened gravel for a distance of 1,500 feet. The sidewalks were re-surfaced with fine gravel.
The sidewalks on Cumberland avenue were re-sur- faced with fine gravel.
South Division.
Read street has been gravelled for a distance of 1,600 feet.
West Attleboro road has been gravelled for a distance of 750 feet.
County street has been gravelled for a distance of 2,150 feet.
Locust street has been generally improved.
Bridge street has been gravelled from Knight avenue to Read street.
Webber street has been gravelled for a distance of 250 feet.
108
ANNUAL REPORT.
Two thousand five hundred feet of sidewalks have been resurfaced in Hebronville and Dodgeville. Two thousand eight hundred and five loads of gravel were used in completing this work, and seven hundred and forty-one loads of poor material were removed.
East Division.
The work in this division consisted of gravelling.
Steere street was gravelled a distance of 2,500 feet. Four hundred and five yards of gravel were used on this street and was given free of charge by Mr. Brad- ford Dorrance.
Bishop street was gravelled for a distance of 1,620 feet. Four hundred and eighty-three yards of gravel was given free by L. Demers.
Park street was gravelled a distance of 510 feet. One hundred and ninety yards of gravel were used to com- plete the work.
Other streets in this division were generally improved.
Street Sprinkling.
Seven sprinkling carts have been used during the past summer, covering a distance of 2412 miles. These vehi- cles were operated by the following men: William J. Kenney, W. C. Goff, A. W. Parmenter, T. E. Perrin, R. D .Manchester, F. I. Jillson and Charles Fontneau. Two of the routes have been extended; one from the center running as far as Hebronville ; the other extending from Park street to Bishop street.
Owing to the scarcity of water during the month of August we were ordered by the Water Commissioners not to use any more street water until further notice. Ar- rangements were made with Mr. J. L. Sweet whereby water enough to sprinkle the principal streets in town
109
ANNUAL REPORT.
could be obtained. Mr. Sweet furnished the water free of charge, an act which was appreciated by all.
Street Cleaning.
The work performed by this department during the year was as follows: The streets in the centre are cleaned every day; other principal streets are cleaned once every week.
. The following is a list of the sidewalks which have been rebuilt by this department :
Leroy street 525 feet.
Dean street
540 feet.
Emory street 733 feet.
Holman street
440 feet.
Holden street
450 feet.
Maple street 1,075 feet.
Park street
1,450 feet.
Horton street 1,125 feet.
Number of feet of gravel placed on
other walks 4,487 feet.
Total 10,825 feet.
712 loads of ashes were used.
1,035 loads of gravel were used. 257 loads of stone were used.
1,003 loads of poor material were removed.
The following is the number of feet in length of new gravel walks built by this department :
Mill street 200 feet
George street 525 feet
Forest street 368 feet
Peck avenue 200 feet
Carpenter street 615 feet
Spring street 180 feet
Charles street 1,086 feet
110
ANNUAL REPORT ..
South side of Capron street. 330 feet
Sturdy street 678 feet
Pleasant street 420 feet
Peck street 550 feet
Garden street 600 feet
County street
2,040 feet
Olive street
1,530 feet
Elizabeth street 520 feet
Union street 340 feet
Total 10,182 feet
Concrete sidewalks have been built on the following streets :
South Main street, west side 538 feet
South Main street, east side 433 feet
Mill street 174 feet
North Main street 148 feet
Park street
II2 feet
Union street
31 feet
Pleasant street
622 feet
Total 2,058 feet The concrete walks on Park street have been redressed for a distance of 397 feet.
Sidewalk Department.
New curbing has been set on the following streets:
Park street 225 feet
Peck street 366 feet
County street 518 feet
Pearl street 146 feet
Union street 795 feet
Dodgeville school
124 feet
Emory street 528 feet
Sturdy street 722 feet
Peck avenue
195 feet
111
ANNUAL REPORT.
Pleasant street 57 feet
Capron street 264 feet
Total 3,940 feet
Number of feet of curbing reset. 305 feet
Number of feet of curbing reset by the Highway Department 540 feet
Number of feet of new curbing set un-
der Capron street appropriation .. 264 feet Number of feet of new curbing set un- der Hayward street appropriation 172 feet Number of feet of new curbing paid
for by the Rhode Island Co. .... 1,000 feet
Total number of feet of curbing set during the year 6,221 feet Two thousand five hundred and seven yards of gut- ters have been paved during the year.
In closing, I wish to thank all persons who have, dur- ing the past year, assisted the department by informing us of defects in streets and bridges, which otherwise might have caused accidents and damage of expensive nature to the town.
Respectfully submitted,
H. A. SMITH,
Superintendent of Streets.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR
OF THE
TOWN OF ATTLEBOROUGH
For the year ending December 31, 1907
JOSEPH V. CURRAN, Chairman
BENJAMIN P KING, Clerk
GEORGE M. GUSTIN, Visitor
Report of the Overseers of the Poor
To the Citizens of Attleborough :
Another year has come to its close, and we again, ac- cording to custom, render a report of our doings. The Board was organized immediately after the annual elec- tion on the same lines as the previous year-Joseph V. Curran, Chairman ; Benjamin P. King, Clerk ; George M. Gustin, Visitor-and the business of the Board taken up. Harmony in the administration of affairs has prevailed, and we find a steady gain in the advantage of having a fairly good system in the office, whereby we are better able to follow out the necessary work. Our system is still imperfect, but we hope to gain still more this year. Changes have to come gradually. The town, at the last annual meeting, gave us the appropriation asked for- $7,000 general, $500 for medical attendance, and a special appropriation of $500, with which to do repairing and painting at the Farm. We have been considerably fav- ored the past year because of the prosperous times. Many have been able to entirely care for themselves, those we formerly helped, and our appropriation has been ade- quate, and a surplus left unexpended, the first time in many years. The Town Farm is in much better condi- tion, so that we are able to realize the gains made. We have practically made it over into a hay-producing farm,
---
116
ANNUAL REPORT.
so that under the direction of the excellent and practical farmer, Mr. Nelson Hager, our Superintendent, we have seen the gradual change from no-hay, four years ago, to the cutting and storing of 55 tons in 1907. Other mate- rial in the line of fodder was also produced, which has been used in producing milk, which we sell at the door. The number of paupers at the Town Farm January 1, 1908, was 6, total during the year 24, making an average of 6 1-3. We find the cost of maintenance of the Farm the past year to be $817, which, if applied to the cost of maintaining the inmates, as was the former custom, shows a cost of $2.47 per week per inmate. Ninety-seven different persons have been aided outside of the Alms- house during the past year, which, together with the 24 at the Almshouse, makes a total of 121. Several of this list (which accompanies this report) have been aided but very little, most of them temporary aid only, some at State Institutions and several that are State charges and many that belong to other cities and towns, for which aid we get reimbursement. Our financial state- ment will show
Appropriations and credits $9,657.03
Bills paid 8,847.06
Unexpended balance $809.97
Credits from towns and cities due us $350.00
For the year 1906 there was an overdraft of $922.25.
The cost of maintainance of the Town Farni for 1906 was $1.806.96; for 1907 it was $817, a gain of about $1,000 from that account.
If the present policy can be continued, we feel that still further gains will be made at the Farm. We do not feel justified in asking for any less appropriation this year because of the 1907 showing, owing to the business depression since the late panic. With the
117
ANNUAL REPORT.
prospects for 1908 we cannot guarantee that we shall not have to overdraw over at the figures named- $7,000 general and $500 medical attendance. Already this first month of the year we begin to feel increased demands. The good showing of the past year has no: been accomplished without much hard work on the part of the Board. Our Visitor has done excellent work and from Chairman down the whole Board have united their efforts for the best interests of all. It has been our endeavor to see that all deserving cases were cared for, treating all alike, without regard as to who they may be. It is no small matter to weed out the frauds, for such there are, but we feel quite certain we have made a gain in that line. From the experiences of 1907 we feel that there has developed a need for an Emer- gency Hospital in this town. Many times we are at our wits' ends to know what to do with cases that come to us. Unless there should arise in our midst some public citizen with means and a disposition to fill that need, we shall very likely have to fit up a place at the Town Farm, where proper treatment can be rendered, nurses supplied, etc., which, of course, will call for additional expense. Now it is either to State Hospital at Tewks- bury, Morton Hospital at Taunton, or Twin City Hos- pital at Pawtucket, R. I., and our money in those cases goes out of town.
Please think this matter over.
We are having trouble with our heating plant at the Almshouse. It is out of date, inadequate and is ex- pensive to run. It is possible that some time during the present year we may have to renew the heater and make some changes that will call for extra expense. Our horses are fast going by. They have been in use at the Farm 15 years and have done lots of hard work, and will soon have to be replaced with a new pair. This change will be an item of expense. We shall, however, try our best to piece out these things another year. But
118
ANNUAL REPORT.
we deem it best, as with all our official affairs in con- nection with this Department, to apprise the town of the condition of affairs, for the people we serve fur- nish the money that pays these expenses. With the special appropriation of $500 we have shingied the barn and repaired some things in the Almshouse, painted all the buildings outside and some places inside the house, which puts the buildings all in very good condition, and return to the Treasury $32.
In closing, we wish to refer to our Superintendent and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Hager, who have worked faith- fully to carry out our desires in the management of what he calls the Town Home. He is excellent in the house, as a nurse and in the care of the inmates and a practical farmer, whose guidance and recommendations it is safe to follow, and thus far success in great meas- ure has followed our united efforts.
Following you will find the Financial Statement :
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
Appropriation $7,500.00
Received, sale of milk 781.66
Received, Town Farm. 464.37
Received, Town of Foxboro 34.85
Received, Town of Wilbraham 375.60
Received, State of Massachusetts . . 95.45
Received, City of Somerville
86.00
Received, City of Taunton 139.85
Received, City of New Bedford ... 43.65
Received, reimbursement for aid .. 26.00
Received, two duplicate bills . .. 9.60
Received, Court fines, Vickery case
100.00
$9,657.03
119
ANNUAL REPORT.
Bills Paid.
February
$576.76
March
666.38
April
733.04
May
727.03
June
672.86
July
791.62
August
889.79
September
553.81
October
876.78
November
706.19
December
1,652.80
$8.847.06
Unexpended balance
809.97
$9,657.03
Special appropriation
$500.00
Higgins & Libby, repairs
199.91
Fred Goff, painting
267.30
Balance
32.79
$500.00
Rents.
Paid.
John White
$63.00
Horton & Bicknell
90.00
C. L. Watson
5.00
Dodgeville Mill
18.00
Mrs. John Blaney
50.00
Mrs. Francis Martin
50.00
Annie Malley
14.00
Attleboro Gas Co.
40.00
$330.00
120
ANNUAL REPORT.
Fuel.
Smith & Hodges
$144.20
Olney Payne Bros. 8.25
Attleboro Coal Co.
25.35
Carpenter Coal and Lumber Co. 22.00
S. S. Darling & Son 6.10
Charles W. Knight
9.00
Attleboro Gas Co.
1.50
McDuff Coal Co.
2.10
$218.50
Groceries and Provisions.
Wightman Bros. $ 1.50
Louis Tremblay
84.50
Geo. L. Stoddard
9.00
Geo. A. Monroe
IIO.91
Hebron Store
91.76
Hicks Bros.
205.50
Alice Gilroy
78.00
John Daly .
102.00
L. Z. Carpenter Co.
94.00
W. H. Clark
418.76
Seneca Cole 95.50
A. G. Bruce & Co.
75.50
W. M. Brown
65.00
Interstate Cash Grocery
10.50
John Connor 44.00
Neil Currie .75
A. Bibeau
3.00
Dodgeville Store
14.IO
W. W. Cobb 16.50
H. F. Bliss
37.52
Jacques Mercier 21.60
William Frenier
25.50
Frank Stead 1.50
121
ANNUAL REPORT.
E. S. Cole
9.00
North Attleboro
4.00
Carlos Clark
78.60
WV. N. Goff
48.00
East Side Grocery
98.50
$1,845.00
Shoes and Clothing.
P. J. Cooney
$35.25
Aldrich-Chipman Co.
1.00
Neil Currie 1.00
Jacobs Clothing Co
14.00
San Souci Department Store
42.37
T. E. McCaffrey
12.25
J. P. Mowry
2.50
The Boston Shoe Store
1.50
E. I. Perry 1.50
$III.37
Board.
Annie Malley $ 7.00
F. W. Pierce
72.00
R. Bigelow 95.00
$174.00
Medical Attendance.
Dr. Burnett
$ 36.50
Dr. Kent 346.66
Dr. Battershall 47.30
Dr. Milot 19.35
Dr. Clarke 45.43
Dr. Maxwell 1.87
Dr. Babcock 4.50
Dr. Richards
19.00
122
ANNUAL REPORT.
North Attleboro
12.00
Dr. Hewitt 31.83
Dr. Monty 1.37
Dr. Mills 6.19
Twin City Hospital
10.00
Dr. Murphy
60.00
$642.00
State.
Dr. Battershall
$ 16.50
Dr. Monty
7.50
Dr. Milot
72.00
Dr. Kent
7.00
Massachusetts School for Feeble
Minded
127.00
Commonwealth of Massachusetts ..
176.00
Massachusetts Hospital for Epilep- tics
I55.07
W. J. Kenney 40.00
Foxboro Hospital
211.84
$813.11
Cities and Towns.
Dr. Kent
$205.00
Dr. Battershall
8.25
City of Newton
90.24
Town of Hubbardston
172.00
City of Boston
218.06
City of New Bedford
41.05
Town of Plymouth
49.00
Town of Sharon
39.99
$823.59
123
ANNUAL REPORT.
Transportation.
J. V. Curran
$26.95
G. M. Gustin
55.2I
Office Expenses.
Providence Telephone Co. $ 38.88
Welsh
1.25
B. P. King 4.95
Attleboro Steam and Electric Co. 12.64
Hobbs & Warren
3.05
Attleboro Sun
48.45
H. B. Shaw
5.50
Blanchard
2.00
C. S. Binner Co. 18.38
H. A. Cushman 12.00
G. A. Sweeney
2.60
Salaries.
G. M. Gustin
$261.91
J. V. Curran
99.99
B. P. King
I 50.00
$511.90
Burials.
Wm. J. Kenney
$65.00
B. H. Smith
10.00
$75.00
Town Farm.
E. A. Briggs $1,009.46
Carpenter Coal and Lumber Co. . 4.94
$82.16
$149.70
124
ANNUAL REPORT.
French & Brownell 22.72
Attleboro Coal Co. 159.50
F. W. Parmenter 2.30
L. Z. Carpenter Co.
160.42
Seneca Cole
301.14
A. G. Bruce & Co.
224.96
G. H. Snell
San Souci Department Store 56.90
47.10
J. W. Gifford Co. 67.36
Nelson Hager
45.00
G. A. Monroe & Co.
19.78
W. N. Goff 30.80
Ashley & Co. 1.90
Auto Electric Co. 3.50
Dodge & Camfield 2.90
G. A. Sweeney
2.60
M. S. Mead
7.08
P. R. Cole
25.00
J. P. Mowry
8.25
Geo. R. Bullock
12.80
Lilly & Morgan
1.IO
D. F. Baker
4.00
Charles Dexter
4.25
Robert Williamson
40.00
Times Publishing Ço.
5.25
C. S. Jagger & Co. 18. IT
H. E. Carpenter 45.00
Dr. Richardson
4.00
W. E. Barrett & Son 6.20
McDuff Coal Co.
30.75
Mr. Hager's salary 483.32
Providence Telephone Co. 32.25
N. Perry & Co. 19.05
. .
$2.909.69
125
ANNUAL REPORT.
Miscellaneous.
Attleboro Drug store
$ 8.13
H. H. Dean
4.50
B. M. Gustin
4.95
Simpson's Drug Store
11.91
Dr. F. E. Babcock
1.50
H. N. Collins
1.95
Ernest Hemple
6.00
George F. Ide
5.00
Convalescent Home
21.00
Charles Fletcher
9.00
D. H. Smith
15.70
Rhode Island Hospital
43.20
Lilly & Morgan
1.75
M. S. Mead
4.05
Susan Brannagan
16.00
Ashley & Co.
3.90
E. C. Newman
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