USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Town annual report of Andover 1886 > Part 3
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$1250 00
Clothing,
600 00
Farm stock,
650 00
Farm tools,
1400 00
Farm produce,
950 00
Fuel and lumber,
200 00
Provision,
300 00
Total,
$5350 00
The Overseers would recommend the following amount of money to be appropriated for the ensuing year :
For the Almshouse,
$4500 00
For Relief out of Almshouse,
3000 00
For Repairs of Almshouse,
500 00
Respectfully submitted,
CHARLES S. PARKER, - Overseers CHARLES GREENE,
SAM'L H. BOUTWELL, of Poor.
55
Superintendent's Account.
DR.
To cash received for
Vegetables,
$39 00
Cow,
23 00
Service of bull,
10 00
Difference on oxen,
12 50
Calves,
18 50
Hay,
204 30
Eggs,
5 20
Work of oxen and gravel,
132 00
Custody of prisoners,
7 15
$451 65
CR.
By cash paid Town Treasurer,
$451 65
WALTER B. ALLEN,
SUPERINTENDENT.
56
Report of the Chief Engineer
OF THE
Fire Department.
TO THE HONORABLE BOARD OF SELECTMEN :
Gentlemen, - In compliance with the Regulations of the Fire Deparment, I have the honor to render the following Report, and submit such recommendations as in the judg- ment of the Engineers will meet the present requirements of this department of service.
The Department consists of one third-class steam fire- engine, and one horse hose-carriage ; one hand-engine, with hose-carriage ; 2000 feet of hose in good condition ; and about 500 feet of hose that has been repaired and is not reliable ; also one first-class hook-and-ladder truck, well supplied with ladders, hooks, ropes, pikes, poles, and buckets, located at the engine-house on Park Street ; also ladders, hooks, and ropes at the engine-house at Ballard Vale.
The Board of Engineers consists of five members. The Steamer Company is not to exceed sixteen members; and the Shawshin Company, at Ballard Vale, consists of forty-five members.
We have, within the past year, purchased one new length of suction hose, also one new length of rubber hose to connect with the steamer. And we have also caused the harnesses in the steamer-house to be hung, to better enable the appa- ratus to reach the scene of danger; believing that the first few moments are of great importance in subduing a fire.
57
There were in the year 1885 twenty-two alarms of fire, as follows :
Jan. 7, 1885. Heirs of J. Millett, house. Insurance paid, $50 00
Feb. 27, 1885. J. H. Flint, slaughter-house. In- surance paid, 10 00
April 8, 1885. Joseph, Bourdleis, two barns and shed. Insurance paid, 750 00
April 10, 1885. James Dearborn, barn. Insurance paid, 150 00
April 19, 1885. Geo. Pillsbury, forest. No insurance.
April 24, 1885. J. P. Bradlee, billiard hall. In- surance paid, 87 00
May 10, 1885. S. D. Abbott, forest. No insurance.
May 16, 1885. Mrs. Laura Manning, forest. No insurance.
June 7, 1885. Michael McGowen. No insurance paid.
June 17, 1885. Town of Andover, Spring Grove
Cemetery. No insurance.
July 4, 1885. Stephen Blaney, house. Insurance paid, 250 00
July 8, 1885. J. P. Bradlee, billiard hall. No in- surance paid.
Aug. 1, 1885. Heirs E. H. Boutwell, house. In- surance paid, 23 60
Aug. 3, 1885. False alarm at Ballard Vale.
Aug. 22, 1885. James Grosvenor, house in con- struction. Insurance paid, 25 00
Aug. 22, 1885. Smith and Dove Manufacturing Co.,
flax mill. No insurance paid.
Aug. 22, 1885. Mrs. Hannah Fay, house. Insur- ance paid, 2 50
Sept. 26, 1885. Mrs. W. P. Foster, boiler and lien- house. Insurance paid, 50 00
Oct. 56, 1885. Nehemiah W. Smith, house. In- surance paid, 14 95
8
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Nov. 10, 1885. Mrs. L. J. Blunt, house. Insurance paid, $18 60
Nov. 15, 1885. Daniel Gage, forest. No insurance.
Dec. 17, 1885. John Cumnock and Son, plush factory. Insurance not ascertained.
Total insurance paid on buildings, $1431 65
Total value of buildings, $66550 00
Total insurance paid on contents, $64 20
Total value of contents, $32765 00
Total value of buildings and contents, $99315 00
We would especially call your attention, as did your former Board of Engineers, to the insufficient supply of water. There are yet several places in the centre of the Town at which, in case of fire, it would be possible for the depart- ment to render but small assistance, for no other reason than for want of water; and we deem it of the greatest importance that the Town should take some immediate action to secure a larger supply of water for fire purposes ; and we would recommend the building of the several Reser- voirs as petitioned by the citizens of the Town. We have examined and measured the water in the several Reservoirs, and find that the amounts stored are not materially changed from the amounts given in last year's report. Agreeably to the vote of the Town at its last Annual Meeting, the Board of Engineers has constructed two Reservoirs :
One on Salem Street, with a capacity of 18,500 gallons, containing at the present time 16,000 gallons ; at a cost of $410.75; unexpended appropriation, $89.25. One on Pike Street, capacity 19,000 gallons, and now containing 19,000 gallons ; at a cost of $568.71; unexpended appropriation, $31.29.
We trust that the Town will look with favor upon the purchasing of a pair of horses, to be stabled at the Engine- house for the use of the Fire Department ; and we think that when not otherwise employed they could be used advan-
59
tageously on our streets in summer, repairing them, and in winter pathing snow. And we would recommend that the sum of $500 be appropriated therefor, and that the Board of Engineers be instructed by vote of the Town to employ ga man permanently at the Engine-house to care for the horses, and drive them when they are at work for either the Street or Fire Department.
We are also forced to believe that the time has come for the Town to make some change in the apparatus at Ballard Vale. As we believe the old hand-engine at that location has passed its days of usefulness. - having been in constant use for something like thirty-five years, - and the cost of running it, in our estimation, exceeds the cost of running a sınall-sized steamer, and the benefits derived would be largely in favor of the steamer, we recommend this subject for your favorable consideration.
At the Annual Meeting, March 1885, it was voted to purchase a hook and ladder truck for the use of the Fire Department, and the sum of $500 was appropriated therefor. And your present Board of Engineers most heartily con- gratulate the Town on the possesssion of a hook and ladder truck, second in material, finish, and beauty to none in the State. Our immediate predecessors in office were the pur- chasers, and we accepted their purchase with pleasure. They having made arrangements for an independent com- pany of ten men to attend all alarms of fire, we deemed it advisable to continue the same until the matter could be laid before the Town at its Annual Meeting in March 1886.
And we would now recommend that the B. F. Smith Hook and Ladder Company consist of ten members, and be accepted by the Town as an additional company in the Fire Depart- ment, with the same pay and like privileges as other members of the Fire Department receive.
We would recommend that $2500 be appropriated for the running expenses of the Fire Department for the ensuing year.
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Also a special appropriation of $500 for the purchase of new hose for the use of the Ballard Vale District, as they are sadly in need of the same.
SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY.
Engine-houses and land
$12400 00
Steam fire-engine and apparatus,
6500 00
Shawshin engine and apparatus,
400 00
B. F. Smith hook and ladder truck, 500 00
Seven reservoirs, 4000 00
Total, $23800 00
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE S. COLE, CHIEF ENGINEER.
ANDOVER, Feb. 12, 1886.
61
Report of the Board of Health.
At a special town meeting held May 11th, 1885, the fol- lowing persons, viz. Henry A. Bodwell, Samuel K. Johnson, and John C. Pennington, were chosen to constitute a town Board of Health during the remainder of the current year. An appropriation of one thousand dollars was also made, to be expended in such manner as the Board should deem necessary or advisable. Of this liberal appropriation more than one half, as will be seen in another part of this report, remains unexpended.
The Board thus constituted met on the evening of May 14th, at which time Mr. H. A. Bodwell was chosen chairman, and Dr. J. C. Pennington secretary. It was decided to hold weekly meetings during the summer months for the purpose of receiving complaints and suggestions, and to transact other business. It was also agreed that two out of the three members should have power to act for the Board as a whole.
The week following a notice was published in the Lawrence Weekly American, which it is thought best to insert here in full, as its requirements are as important at the present time as when it was first published. The notice read as follows :
" The undersigned, recently chosen to act as a Board of Health for the Town of Andover, desire hereby to call the attention of physicians and other persons within the town limits to chapter 98 of the Acts and Resolves of the Massa- chusetts Legislature, in the year 1885, sections 1 and 2, viz. :
"' Sect. 1. When a householder knows that a person within his family is sick of small-pox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, or
62
any other disease dangerous to public health, he shall imme- diately give notice thereof to the Selectmen or Board of Health in the town in which he dwells; and upon the death, recovery, or removal of such person the rooms occupied and the articles used by him shall be disinfected by such house- holder in a manner approved by the Board of Health.
"' Any person neglecting or refusing to comply with either of the above provisions shall forfeit a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars.
""' Sect. 2. When a physician knows that a person whom he is called to visit is infected with small-pox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, or any other disease dangerous to the public health, he shall immediately give notice to the Selectmen or Board of Health of the town, and if he refuses or neglects to give such notice he shall forfeit no less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars.'
" Attention is also called to the following act of the State Legislature, approved April 29th, 1885 :
"' Chapter sixty-four of the Acts of the year 1884 is hereby amended so that it shall read as follows : The School Com- mittees shall not allow any pupil to attend the public schools while any member of the household to which such pupil belongs is sick of small-pox, diphtheria, or scarlet fever, or during a period of two weeks after the death, recovery, or removal of such sick person ; and any pupil coming from such household shall be required to present to the teacher of the school the pupil desires to attend a certificate from the attending physician or Board of Health of the facts necessary to entitle him to admission in accordance with the above regulation.'
" Considering the possibility of an epidemic during the coming summer, and in any case to remove as far as practi- cable causes of disease, the Board would urge upon each and every householder or owner of property within the town the necessity of immediately removing accumulations of refuse matter which are, or are likely to become, offensive; and, in particular, of so disposing of the drainage from houses
63
that it shall not lie exposed upon the surface of the ground, or be discharged into the public highways.
" The Board will at present meet once a week, and will give attention to such suggestions and complaints as are sub- mitted in writing, in the order in which they are received."
The subjects referred to in this notice will be mentioned farther on.
The first work that demanded attention was a general inspection of the sanitary condition of dwellings and tenement houses. This has been done, for the most part, by all three members of the Board together; the premises being inspected, and the owners either interviewed personally, or a printed notice sent stating the nature of the defect and requesting its correction. Two notices were issued, of which the fol- lowing are the blank forms :
No. 1.
Office of the Board of Health,
Andover, 188 . M
You are hereby notified that your premises are in an unsatisfactory condition as regards healthfulness, by reason of the following :
You are hereby requested, within days from date of this notice,
For the Board, very respectfully,
Secretary.
No. 2. Office of the Board of Health, Andover, 188
M
You are hereby required, within days from date of this notice, to improve the condition of your premises as follows :
In case of your neglect or refusal, this Board will feel
64
compelled to proceed according to law, and to have the said premises put in proper condition at your expense.
For the Board, very respectfully,
Secretary.
These forms were suggested by somewhat similar ones issued in a neighboring city. They were accompanied by an extract from the Public Statutes defining the powers of Health Boards in such cases. No. 1 was first sent, and, if it met with no response. it was in due time followed by No. 2. We take much pleasure in saying that No. 2 was rarely used, and in expressing our appreciation of the promptness and cordiality with which our fellow-townsmen have responded to our efforts in their behalf, even when they have incurred some trouble and expense in so doing.
Notice No. 1 was sent forty-four times. In thirty-nine instances out of the forty-four the work was done as required ; in two, the persons to whom the notices were sent were excused after further investigation ; in three, No. 2 was sent, and of these two were successful in securing the im- provements desired ; the third was sent late in the autumn, and through some oversight has not been reported on.
The districts visited have included the more thickly settled portions of the town proper, as well as Frye, Abbott, and Marland Villages, and Ballard Vale. Particular attention has been given to the condition of tenement houses. While we urge upon all the importance of keeping their own premises in a healthful condition, we think that this is even more to be insisted on in the case of buildings rented or occupied by those who can ill afford the time and money requisite to make sanitary improvements themselves. Much has been done during the past year by the large owners of tenement blocks in cleaning and repairing vaults and in providing a better method of drainage.
Five written complaints have been received. In four of these the matter was investigated and satisfactorily ad-
65
justed. In the fifthi, which referred to a serious nuisance caused by burning leather scraps, the offence lias been for the most part stopped, although complaints ou that score are still occasionally made. The fumes from burning leather, hair, or other animal tissues are exceedingly pene- trating, and their suffocating. odor is diffused through neigh- boring houses by being drawn into the air-boxes connected with the furnace for heating. In cold weather the atmosphere is thus made very disagreeable and distressing to persons suffering from lung diseases, as well as insalubrious for all.
The question of drainage presents serious difficulties in a town like Andover, which is becoming each year more thickly populated, and where in many places there is little or no slope to the land, no running stream available, and no system of sewers. These defects are quite as prominent within the village proper as in the neighboring villages, in fact more so, as in the case of the latter the river is near enough to be made use of without much trouble or expense. Where the surface is level it is in most cases also marshy. both because the few streams that flow through the town are inadequate for drainage, and also because the streets are to a great extent raised higher than the adjoining land. In this way, as is the case in all that section bounded by Main, Green, School and Chestnut Streets, as well as another large area enclosed by Elm street, Punchard Avenue, and Bartlett Street, and in other places that might be mentioned, the land is fairly fenced in by the elevated roadways, with only here and there a small brook - dry in summer - to receive and carry away the natural soil drainage as well as the sewage from houses. Such districts are sure to become unhealthful in time unless efficient measures for drainage are carried out. In the ab- sence of sewers but two possible methods remain for disposal of refuse matter, viz. either to distribute it upon the sur- face of the ground, or to receive it into cesspools. Either of these methods is open to serious objections. Where there is considerable cultivated land in the neighborhood, spread- ing refuse upon the surface and turning it in is probably
9
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the safest way of disposing of it. Fresh earth within a foot or two of the surface is one of the best known disinfectants. This is not true of earth at a lower level, as its disinfectant properties are due to the decomposition and destruction of noxious compounds, accomplished by minute organisms in the soil, and aided by a free circulation of air. Both of these agencies are only fully efficient near the surface. The dis- posal of drainage in this way requires an amount of labor and constant watchfulness which we cannot look for in any com- munity. Where the plan has been adopted, it has been a prolific source of annoyance and complaint. Cesspools, on the other hand, can not be looked upon otherwise than as a necessary evil. If tightly cemented, and their openings raised high enough to keep out surface water, and provided they are cleaned out sufficiently often, they are comparatively un- objectionable ; but a cesspool that is made tight and stays tight and does not fill up during a heavy rain is worth a day's excursion to see. Where the cesspool is not cemented, but is built with walls of large stones, laid without mortar, the contents will saturate the ground until it is distributed through a radius of a hundred feet or more ; in fact the ex- tent of its distribution is only limited by rock strata and underground water channels. As the destruction of noxious compounds by percolation through earth at a distance of a few feet from the surface is by no means probable,-in fact all the evidence we have tends the other way,-it is evident that the longer such a system of drainage is continued the more thoroughly is the subsoil rendered dangerous to wells and springs. The distance of a well measured on the sur- face from the nearest stable, cesspool, or other source of con- tamination, affords no reliable criterion of its purity. This may be seen by referring to almost any series of analyses of well water. In many instances will be seen a want of corre- spondence between the character of the water and its appar- ent surroundings, showing that impurities may be carried under the surface for great distances, and, on the other hand, that their flow may be diverted so as not to reach a well close
67
by. It is obvious that all measures tending to saturate the subsoil with sewage are objectionable, and that their effect may be far reaching and long continued. It has, then, been with considerable regret that we have felt obliged in many instances to cause the construction of cesspools as being the only thing we could do under the circumstances. We can- not too strongly urge upon the people of Andover the neces- . sity of taking immediate steps to provide efficient drainage, at least for some sections which are very badly off in this re- spect. The district referred to above, enclosed between Ehn and Bartlett Streets and Punchard Avenue, through which a new street has been recently opened, and in which a number of new houses are at present awaiting their occupants, is al- ready in a dangerous condition, and in its present state is sure to prove unhealthful. It would be possible to construct a sewer beginning at a point on Punchard Avenue between Park and Chestnut Streets, and continued westward in a di- rection parallel with those streets, discharging into Rogers Brook a hundred or more feet west of Main Street. Given a uniform incline between these two points, such a sewer could be made to drain the area referred to by means of tributary drains where necessary, and in the event of a more general system of sewers being built, it could be connected with this at any convenient point. Other sections of the town are also in need of similar improvements, but this one is mentioned as being in a particularly bad condition, which is constantly becoming worse.
During the month of September samples of water were taken from fifteen wells selected as fairly representing the different districts of the town. Of these, eleven were taken within the village proper, one each from Abbott and Frye Villages, and two from Ballard Vale. One other analysis was made for a private party at his own expense. Samples of the water of Haggett's and Pomp's ponds were also taken. The samples were analyzed by Dr. Charles Harrington of the Harvard Medical School, and the results can be seen by those interested by applying to the Secretary of the Board. The
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waters of Pomp's and Haggett's ponds are nearly identical chemically, and of both the chemist reports, " No evidence of pollution - considerable vegetable matter, as shown by large albuminoid ammonia, and blackening on ignition." Both are very soft. The presence of vegetable matter is not in itself deleterious ; but if water containing it is once infec- "ted with, for example, the germs of typhoid fever they will multiply readily in it. For this reason it is an undesirable ingredient.
Of the fifteen samples taken from wells, six were reported as excellent, some of them being quite liard, but otherwise good ; five were open to criticism, though not absolutely con- demned ; two were considered decidedly suspicious, and dis- continuance advised ; while two more were declared utterly unfit for use. One of the best samples was that taken from the Grammar School well. One of the very worst was the sample taken from the pump on the corner near Memorial Hall. The analysis of this water shows evident contamina- tion from the sewer which runs close by it, and which receives much of the surface drainage of Elm Square and surround- ing premises.
One other sample may be mentioned as an instance of contamination existing in spite of an apparently safe location. The well is situated upon private property, on level ground, and fully one hundred and fifty feet from stable, cesspool, or any other source of filth. Of the sample taken from this well it is reported :
" Ammonias comparatively low in amount, but presence of nitrates and somewhat large amount of chlorine render suspicious. Residue and hardness very high. Would advise discontinuance."
On the whole, it may be said that the only safety as re- gards drinking water lies in a supply for the whole town from a suitable source. The water of Haggett's or even of Pomp's pond would be suitable, provided measures were enforced which should prevent their pollution.
A word has to be said on the construction of privies. We
69
have all varieties, from the cemented vault to a mere hole in the ground. In a number of places the premises are so situ- ated that the only convenient place for the privy is on elevated ground behind the house. From this commanding position the contents of the vaults, solid, fluid, and gaseous, descend upon the premises below, poisoning the air, enriching the soil, and contaminating the wells. We regard the best con- structed vaults as open to serious objection. They hold altogether too much ; they are always more or less filled with water ; they furnish a too convenient receptacle for refuse of all kinds; they are difficult to clean thoroughly ; their odor is always perceptible, to say the least. We have found but one method of privy construction worthy of recommendation ; and that is to have not a hole, but a platform, raised high enough to keep out water, and upon which dry earth can be thrown every few days, and the whole accumulation removed at frequent intervals. This may be objected to on the score of trouble ; but it costs trouble to keep clean.
One defect in house drainage we have condemned and had rectified wherever it has been brought to our notice, namely, the use of wooden pipes as sink drains inside of houses. They soon become saturated, leak, and smell badly.
It must be owned that the efforts of the Board have been mainly expended upon the most flagrant violations of sani- tary law - that many objectionable features have not been in- terfered with, and that a city board would find something to condemn in perhaps a majority of our houses. We have been obliged to consider the limited means of many proprie- tors, and to adapt our requirements to their abilities. Some of the houses and tenements in the mill villages we would gladly see abandoned as unfit for occupation. Some are so situated that they cannot be made healthful dwellings. This subject will furnish unlimited opportunities for study and action to future Boards and to owners of property.
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