USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1881 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
The sum of $12,000 was appropriated by the Town to pro- vide for the cost of the steam pump, which amount has been
23
exceeded, as shown by the Treasurer's books, in the sum of $768.37. To provide for this deficiency in part a transfer has been made of the balance of $628.83 remaining to the credit of the Water Works, as recommended in the report of last year, leaving an overdrawn balance of $113.24, which it is recom- mended be transferred to the Water Works to close the account.
The total cost of the steam pump, including building and fixtures, is $13,834.24.
The income from the works has increased from $10,979.31 in 1879 to $11,500.17 in 1880, an increase for the year of $520.86.
The current expenses for the coming year, including interest on serip and notes, is estimated at $10,000, and with the same income as last year, which is likely to be somewhat diminished by abatements for loss by takers of a supply of water from freez- ing of service pipes, etc., will require strict economy to meet current expenses and provide for the existing deficiency in the account.
No addition has been made to the sinking fund during the year except from the accumulations of the trust, which now amount to $1,913.72, a gain for the year of $93.49. .
As the sinking fund can only receive what unexpended bal- ance of income may be in the Treasurer's hands at the end of the year, it is evident that, with the deficiency now existing, and the increased expenses which may be incurred in addition . to current expenses, very little, if any, income can be relied upon to increase the sinking fund other than from the accumu- lations before maturity of the bonds for which it was created to provide. The collection of water rents has been promptly made, and a very small amount remains uncollected. Reference to the report of the Commissioners will more fully explain the detailed expenditures for the year.
24
Vine Hills Cemetery.
CR.
By balance of old account. $376 49
cash received from 18 lots sold 274 50
$650 99
DR.
To payment 1880. $114 07
Undrawn balance $536 92 There have been sold during the year 18 lots, amounting to $265.60, six of which remained unpaid when the account was closed, amounting to $91.65.
There is also due for seven lots sold in previous years $106.40. The balance standing to the credit of the account will pro- vide for the current expenses, and no appropriation is recom- mended.
Fire Department.
CR
By appropriation
$2,400 00
sale condemned hose. 33 46
$2,433 46
DR.
To payments 1880.
$1,958 71
balance old account 102 25 - $2,060 96
-
Undrawn
$372 50
25
Lighting Streets and Town House.
CR.
By undrawn balance
$130 12
appropriation
1,050 00
DR.
To payments in 1880
$1,130 76
Undrawn
$49 36
Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad Sinking Fund.
CR.
By appropriation .
$1,500 00
DR.
To payments to trustees $1,500 00
Pumping Station.
DR.
To overdrawn balance
$8,521 71
payments in 1880
4,246 66
$12,768 37
OR.
By appropriation. . $12,000 00
transfer from Water Works 628 83
reimbursements. 26 30
00 ..
$12,655 13
Edrawn
$113 24
-
$1,180 12
26
New School Houses.
CR.
By appropriation. $5,000 00
DR.
To payments 1880 4,997 22
Undrawn
$2 78
Burial Hill.
By balance account $30 52
appropriation.
100 00
amount from Warren fund 63 63
$194 15
DR.
To payments 1880.
$194 15
Assessors.
CR.
By appropriation
៛950 00
DR.
To overdrawn balance
$46 78
payments 1880
8844 81
$931 59
1
Undrawn
$18 41
!
27
Collector of Taxes.
DR.
To commission colllecting $6,281.80 back
taxes, one per cent .. . . $62 81
salary 1880. 450 00
undrawn balance 1879 17 30
$530 11
CR.
By appropriation $450 00
less one per cent. on $5,637.28, uncol-
lected taxes January, 1881 . 56 37
$506 37
02.0,
$23 74 Hadrawn.
Watch and Police.
DR.
To payments 1880
$1,195 30
CR.
By balanco old account
$36 84
appropriation
1,000 00
$1,036 84
Undrawn $158 46
28
Warren Fund.
CR
By balance old account. $1,048 98
interest
50 00
DR.
$1,098 98
To payments 1880. $82 63
$1,016 35
Contingent. CR.
'By balance from old account. $162 39
Armory rent.
250 00
appropriation
3,000 00
sewer rights
50 00
$3,462 39
DR.
To payments 1880.
$3,109 61
Undrawn.
$352 78
Street Crossings. CR.
By appropriation ..
$300 00
DR.
To payments 1880.
85 28
Undrawn. $214 72
-
29
Fresh Brook Fishery.
CR.
By balance old account $10 72
cash from sale of brook. 12 00
Undrawn $22 72
Agawam and Half Way Pond Fishery.
CR.
By cash received from sale of brook .. $227 50
DR.
To payments 1880.
$63 30
balance carried into the Town Treasury,
164 20
$227 50
Abatements.
CR.
By balance, old account $2,398 73
overlay 1880.
1,376 57
$3,775 30
DR.
To abatements 1880
$785 73
Undrawn
$2,989 57
30
Widows' Fund.
CR.
By balance old account. $0 34
dividend of Old Colony National Bank 133 33
$133 67
DR.
To payments 1880. $133 00
Undrawn
$0 67
Training Green Fund.
CR.
By balance from old account. $553 83
interest on deposit in Five Cents Sav- ings Bank 22 54
Undrawn $576 37
Guide Boards. The Guide Boards are reported in good condition.
31
৳
Appropriations.
Tho following appropriations for the current year aro recom- mended :
Roads and bridges
$7,000 00
Schools
17,500 00
Contingent
3,000 00
Poor.
6,500 00
Insane poor
1,500 00
Fire department
2,000 00
Burial Hill
200. 00
Sexton
125 00
Collector of taxes
450 00
Duxbury & Cohasset Railroad Sinking fund
1,500 00
Treasurer
500 00
Lighting streets and Town House.
1,100 00
Watch and police.
1,400 00
Assessors
750 00
Town debt
6,000 00
$49,525 00
DEFICIENCIES.
New school buildings ..
$5,000 00
Less transfer from abatement account .. 1,800 00
$3,200 00
Roads and bridges
505 10
$3,705 10
Amount carried forward.
$53,230 10
-
32
Amount brought forward. $53,230 10
The revenue not otherwise appropriated is as follows :
Corporation tax.
$4,200 00
Bank tax
2,500 00
Miscellaneous receipts
300 00
$7,000 00
$46,230 10
Leaving the sum of $46,230.10, which it is recommended be raised by taxation for the expenses of the current year, being the sum of $3,787.15 in excess of last year.
WILLIAM H. NELSON,
HENRY WHITING, Selectmen
DAVID CLARK, C. B. STODDARD,
Plymouth.
JOHN CHURCHILL,
PLYMOUTH, Feb. 21, 1881.
---
33
..
VALUATION.
Real estate $2,823,475 00
Personal
1,420,875 00
$4,244,350 00
Number of polls, 1,784.
Tax on polls, $2.00.
Rate of taxation, $1.16.
Number of horses, 472.
Number of cows, 452.
Number of sheep, 131.
Number of dwelling houses, 1,149.
3
-
34
ABSTRACT OF RECORDS FOR 1880.
Voted-That the Water Commissioners be five in number, and that the Town elect one person for a period of one year, one person for two years, and that hereafter at each annual meeting the Town elect one or two Water Commissioners as the term of office of one or two may expire in that year to serve for three yours.
Voted-That the Town approve the action of the Water Commissioners in supplying water to the Plymouth Woolen Mill, and the Commissioners are hereby authorized to contract to supply the same from the main pipe instead of a pipe from Deep Water, retaining in other respects the terms and condi- tions named in the votes of Oct. 14, 1878, so far as applicable,
Voted-That the sum of $300 be appropriated for the laying of stone crossings at streets intersecting with Main street.
Voted-That the Town will authorize tho Selectmen to sell and convey lots in the Burial Ground at Manomet Ponds and apply the proceeds to the care and improvement of the grounds,
Voted-That the Treasurer and tho Selectmen are hereby authorized and instructed to borrow a sum of money not ex- ceeding $2,000, in anticipation of taxes of 1881, for the purpose of payment of the expenses that may be incurred by the School Committee in enlarging the Russell Street School-house.
Voted-That the Treasurer, with the approval of the Select- men, be authorized to borrow $3,000 and to give the note of the Town therefor, for the purpose of purchasing a lot and erecting a school building in anticipation of the taxes of the year 1881 and payable therefrom.
:
35
TOWN OFFICERS.
SELECTMEN - William H. Nelson, David Clark, Henry Whiting, Charles B. Stoddard, John Churchill.
TOWN CLERK-Curtis Davie.
TOWN TREASURER-Curtis Davie.
COLLECTOR OF TAXES-John Churchill.
ASSESSORS-John Harlow, Josiah A. Robbins, Gideon Per- kins.
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR-John Churchill, Lemuel Bradford, George H. Jackson.
SEXTON-Clement Bates.
WATER COMMISSIONERS-Charles O. Churchill, Samuel H. Doten, William W. Brewster, Nathaniel Morton, Johnson Davie.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE-William H. Whitman, Charles B. Stod- dard, Frederick N. Knapp, James D. Thurber, Nathaniel Morton, George G. Dyer.
- 1
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS-Charles Burton.
AGAWAM FISHERY COMMITTEE-Peleg C. Chandler, Augustus Robbins, Joseph F. Towns.
CONSTABLES-John Atwood, Barnabas Hedge, Lewis S. Wadsworth, James B. Collingwood, Freeman Manter, William E. Baker, Stephen Holmes.
BURIAL HILL COMMITTEE-Selectmen.
TRUSTEES DUXBURY & COHASSET RAILROAD SINKING FUND- John J. Russell, George G. Dyer, Isaac Brewster.
36
SURVEYORS AND MEASURERS OF LUMBER-Nathaniel Brown, Leavitt T. Robbins, George H. Jackson.
INSPECTOR AND SEALER OF LEATHER-John Churchill.
SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES-Christopher T. Harris. PLYMOUTH BEACH COMMITTEE-Selectmen.
SURVEYORS OF HIGHWAYS-Selectmen.
FIELD DRIVERS AND FENCE VIEWERS-Joseph F. Towns, Lewis S. Wadsworth, Nathan B. Porry, Stephen Holmes, Stephen Doten, Gustavus G. Sampson, B. Hedge.
COMMITTEE ON SHELL FISH-Jesse R. Atwood and Selectmen. SUPERINTENDENT OF WATER WORKS-Richard W. Bagnell. COLLECTOR OF WATER RATES-Willard Wood.
COMMITTEE ON FIRE. IN THE WOODS-Franklin B. Cobb, Henry Whiting, William T. Davis, Gustavus G. Sampson, Thomas Peirce, Horatio. Wright, Otis W. Burgess, Truman Sampson, Barnabas Hedge, Leavitt T. Robbins, Ezra Finney, Ziba Ellis, Samuel Bradford, Benjamin Ward, David Clark, Aaron Sampson, Nathaniel Brown, Lemuel Bradford, Stephen Doten, M. V. B. Douglas, Samuel H. Doten, Thomas Sampson, A. J. Atwood, Nathaniel Clark.
POUND KEEPERS-Oliver T. Wood, Hosen C. Bartlett.
WATER SCRIP SINKING FUND-William H. Nelson, George G. Dyer, William T. Davis.
BOARD OF HEALTH-Arthur Lord, William P. Stoddard, E. D. Hill, James D. Thurber, George H. Jackson.
COMMITTEE ON INLAND FISHERIES-Thomas D. Shumway, Charles B. Stoddard, David H. Gilbert.
.
REPORTS.
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
The past year has been more favorable to the poor and desti- tute. Employment has been more plenty, and, therefore, the call for help has been less than the previous year.
The inmates of the Almshouse have been carefully and kindly treated and cared for, and made as comfortable as they well could be.
The poor not inmates of the Almshouse have had their wants supplied, as in the best judgment of the Overseers they needed ; there may be some cases where the Overseers get deceived by undeserving people, which makes it difficult to always tell just where to draw the line, but have endeavored to use care and prudence in the matter.
-
You will see by our figures that we have kept handsomely within our appropriation, and should have shown a larger sur- plus if it were not for having to purchase a larger part of the wood this year, which, in former years, has been partially fur- nished from the Town lots, which are now all cut off, and have been but a small source of income the past year.
1.
38
We would recommend the purchase of the wood lot men- tioned in the report of the Selectmen, it being near Town, well wooded, and by competent judges considered a great bargain.
Tramps have been less numerous in Town the past year. In the year 1879, we entertained at the Almshouse 517, this year but 187, and 179 of these were entertained previous to the passage of the Tramp law, May 1, 1880, and eight since that date, showing that the Tramp law is having good effect. Balance undrawn Jun. 1, 1880 $62 33 The Town raised for the support of the poor the past year. 7,000 00
Received from other towns for relief furnished their poor. 1,376 19
$8,438 52
. Amount expended. $7,766 10
Amount unexpended Jan. 1, 1881 672 42
$8,438 52
Insane Poor.
Balance undrawn Jan. 1, 1880 ... $575 67.
Amount raised for support of Insane poor 1,000 00
Received as reimbursements 121 13
$1,696 80
Amount oxponded.
$1,589 23
Amount unexpended. 107 57
$1,696 80-
1
39
Poor at the Almshouse.
Number of inmates Jan. 1, 1880 .. 21
Number admitted during the year 3
Number discharged 1
Number died. 2
Number remaining Jan. 1, 1881. 21
Insane Poor.
Number at the hospitals Jan. 1, 1880 9
Number discharged 1
Number died 0
Number admitted. 1
Number remaining Jan. 1, 1881
9
Tramps.
Number entertained during the year 187
We recommend that there be raised for the support of the poor for the current your $6,500, and for the support of the in- sane poor $1,500, which is $500 less for the poor and $500 more for the insane poor.
GEORGE H. JACKSON, { Overseers JOHN CHURCHILL, S of the Poor.
40
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The following annual report of the Plymouth Fire Depart- ment for the year 1880 I respectfully submit to the honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Plymouth :
Expenses of the Department.
CR.
By appropriation .
$2,400 00
reimbursement for hose 28 70
reimbursement for roads. 4 76
$2,433 46
DR.
To overdrawn balance from 1880
$102 25
expenditures.
1,958 71
$2,060 96
Undrawn balance $372 50
I recommend an appropriation of $2,000 for the ensuing year.
Apparatus.
The apparatus of the department consists of two steam en- gines with hose carriages, two hand engines with hose carriages, one hook and ladder truck, four independent hose reels, also two force pumps. The above is in good working order. In the latter part of the year a slight leak was noticed in the
41
tubes of No. 2's boiler. An examination as far as possible was made by Mr. Button, the builder of the machine, assisted by Mr. Churchill, the engineer. They reported that, in their judg- ment, they discovered nothing serious, and to all appearances in good working order. But the experiouce of the Board on the boiler of No. 1 leads me to say that, rather than run any risk, I should recommend a new boiler at no distant day.
Hose.
There are 3,400 feet of hose belonging to the department, most of it reliable for the steamer's use. The houses of the de- partment are in good repair.
Reservoirs and Hydrants
are all in good order. The reservoir in Town Square has been repaired, the lining of cement having become rotten, causing leaks. Two post hydrants have been set, one at the foot of Lothrop Street, also on Stafford Street, near Mayflower. There is on hand a hydrant to be set at the suitable time. Last November a very successful trial of three hydrants near Town Square was made under an extra pressure of about forty pounds from the pumps. It was shown that on most of our streets the use of hydrants could be made very effective. I recommend the Town to make a special appropriation of a small amount for a few years for the purchase and setting of hydrants.
Manual Force.
The manual force of the department is the same as last year, with the exception of an additional member on the Board of Engineers. The force consists of 140 men, with a Board of Engineers of six men and twenty call members at North Ply- mouth, on pay only at time of service.
-----------
42
Fires.
There have been two fires during the year. May 10 the house of Mrs. Naomi Manter at South Ponds was burned with its contents; loss, $300; cause unknown. July 11 the barn of Marston Holmes at South Plymouth was struck by lightning and burned ; loss, $700. There have been four alarms in tho Town proper, to which the department has responded, but to which their services were not required.
Remarks.
The Town has reasons for congratulation, that while the losses by fire during the year have been so numerous and se- rious, we have not suffered. To the members of the depart- ment, who have had so little service to perform, and would nat- urally lack the enthusiasm so necessary in a department, I ten- der my thanks for their promptness when occasion has re- quired. I also tender thanks to my Assistants for their assist- ance.
SAMUEL BRADFORD),
Chief Engineer of Fire Department.
43
Plymouth Water Scrip Sinking Fund.
TO THE SELECTMEN OF PLYMOUTH :
Gentlemen : We submit the following report of the condition of the Plymouth Water Scrip Sinking Fund at the present time :
DR.
To amount received from Town Treasurer $1,759 43
income from the same 154 29
$1,913 72
CR.
By United States 43 per cent. bonds, $700. $717 50
Mansfield & Framingham Railroad 6 per cent. bonds, $1,000. 1,025 67
deposit in Plymouth Savings Bank 170 07
cash. 48
$1,913 72
WILLIAM H. NELSON - Trustees.
GEORGE G. DYER,
PLYMOUTH, Feb. 16, 1881.
44
WATER COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DEC. 31, 1880.
The supply of water since Jan. 24th has been wholly by the Worthington Steam Pump.
The engineer's record is from April 1st to the close of the year, showing that during the nine months 110,552,465 gallons were pumped, a daily average of 402,009. Since the comple- tion of repairs on the pipe chamber and screens at Little South Pond, the supply has been mainly drawn from the ten-inch main through a length of about 7,000 feet, and no damage from its use as a suction pipe has appeared, confirming the opinion of Mr. Herschel, the consulting engineer on location, as also the assurances of the builder of the pump, that this pipe could be thus used with safety.
The location of the pump bouse secures not only the amount now required for daily use, but also an additional quantity of not less than 300,000 gallons, that can be made available with- out any expenditure for an additional supply main, as the amount that may be hereafter required above the quantity now taken, can be drawn from the pond near the station, which may be kept at the desired level by the night accumulation of the run from the South Pond main.
45
This small pond of eighteen acres, when containing the usual quantity, can be drawn from to the extent of 12,000,000 gallons, and is a natural reservoir of water of purest quality, as ap- pears by the report of Prof. W. Ripley Nichols, which is here- with presented :
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, CHEMICAL LABORATORY, BOSTON, March 11, 1880. 5 C. O. CHURCHILL, S. H. DOTEN, W. W. BREWSTER- Water Commissioners, Plymouth, Mass.
GENTLEMEN : I received from you on the 9th inst., a sealed demijohn marked "Pump Station Pond" water. The water was found to be clear and colorless, and chemical examination showed it to be of very great purity. I see no reason why the water is not in every way suited for Town supply, nor do I see any reason why the water may not be mixed with the "South Pond" water. In comparing the results of the present exami- fion with those obtained on the examination of South Pond water in 1877, it must be borne in mind that this sample was taken at a different season of the year ; indeed, the difference between the two waters which appear in the table are no greater than the difference which may exist between samples taken from the same source at different seasons of the year. It will also be remembered that in June, 1877, South Pond water was not in its best condition.
Yours respectfully,
WM. RIPLEY NICHOLS.
-
46
Examination of Water from Plymouth, Mass,
[Results expressed in Parts in 100,000].
Solid Residue.
DATE.
LOCALITY.
Ammonia.
.. Albuminoid
Ammonia."
Inorganic.
"Organic and
Volatile."
Total at
Chlorine.
June, 1877,
South Pond, unfiltered water,
0.0077
0.0171
1.60
1.40
3.00
0.73
Ditto, after filtration through paper,
0.0077
0.0163
1.60
0.80
2.40
March, 1880,
Pumping Station Pond water,
0.0013
0.0107
1.50
1.00
2.56
0.80
212º F.
!
NOTE. - The amount of chlorine which, in some localities, would be rather large for a surface water is, as explained in a previous report, to be accounted for by the proximity of the ponds to the sea.
47
A ten-inch branch with valve of the same size has been laid near the pump honse from the suction main to this pond, for the purpose of flushing the pipe and clearing it from sand and sediment that had collected during twenty-five years sluggish flow of the water, and which, previous to the placing of the branch, had caused some trouble for the engineer on first tak- ing water from it. The running of the water through this out- let at the rate of nearly 30,000 gallons an hour for several weeks cleaned the pipe thoroughly, and prepared it for the de- sired use as suction pipe. The pump and machinery are in good condition, and the services of Mr. Gibbs, the engineer, have been very satisfactory to the Commissioners, and, under his excellent care and attention, no expense for repairs has been incurred.
The present system of obtaining high service by pumping directly into the pipes during the day, deprives the engineer of the usual one day relief from weekly employment, and the night hours must be taken for such work as the machinery requires, and that cannot be done while the engine is in operation. No change can be made from this system until the Town deems it expedient to construct a high service reservoir, and, by five days' pumping each week, obtain the needed supply for that period.
Check Valve.
The check valve placed in the ten-inch reservoir main is on land purchased of Mr. N. C. Lanman, and is protected by a pit and building. By adjustment of this valve, the pressure on the pipes can be increased or reduced, and since June the pressure has been from twenty-five to forty feet more than the usual head from the flow of South Pond.
The additional pressure, as was expected, exposed defective pipes, most of them on a line of pipe near Wellingsley, laid some years since by inexperienced workmen, and that has each
48
year caused more or less trouble for the Superintendent, and no breaks have occurred that would not soon have appeared under the ordinary pressure.
The repairs have been promptly made, with as little in con- venience to water takers as possible.
South Pond Repairs.
At Great South Pond the sixteen-inch pipe that for several years had been used for conducting the water to Little South, and was protected by rows of piling, was found badly broken and nearly full of sand, the flow of water through it being materially reduced, the bulk-head having been moved by action of the ice. This structure was regarded at the building of it as an experiment, and any one familiar with the force of the ice on this shore would consider that it had well served the pur- pose intended.
Little South having been drawn upon to the extent of three feet below high water mark, and continually falling, it became necessary to make immediate repairs and secure the flow as heretofore, keeping these ponds as near a level as possible. Having former experience as a guide, walls of heavy stone two feet apart have been laid for a water way. Ten feet from and parallel to each of these, walls of equal strength have been built, the whole extending from the shore into the pond to & depth of three feet below high water mark, and connected at the ends by solid stone masonry six feet in thickness. The out- side is also protected by a rip-rap wall, sloping from the water line to the bottom, and it is expected that this work will be reasonably durable, and the water flow maintained without interruption. Since its completion Little South has gained more than two feet, notwithstanding the draft from it.
.
49
At Little South Pond the main pipe has been extended eight feet, and connects with a new pipe chamber of brick and ce- ment, replacing the wood work that had been in use twenty- five years, and is properly fitted with wire screens. This work is also protected by stone walls similar to that in Great South.
Stand Pipes.
The three stand pipes for supplying the street sprinkler, and for which an appropriation was voted by the Town, have been put up on Vernon, North and School Streets. On School Street a Ludlow fire hydrant forms part of the stand pipe, and by agreement with the Fire Engineers part of the expense is paid by them, and this sum, with the appropriation, covers the cost.
Reservoirs.
The low service reservoir from the point considered as the water line to the top of the stone lining, a height of two and a half feet, or about five feet on the slope, is not in good condi- tion, as ascertained by tests, the leakage varying as the water rises from one-half inch in twenty-four hours to six inches ; and efforts to carry the water above the stone "facing" by pumping were unsuccessful.
The quantity of water that could be retained in it if sound is not as large as is wished, and should the pump, from any now unforeseen cause, stop working and require many days for re- pairing damage to it, our citizens would realize the need of a greater quantity of water in store for such possible emergency ; and should a fire occur during such a period, with a scanty supply and low head from the reservoir, the result might be cmore disastrous than desirable. Whether the Town is of opin- gon that additional storage should be now provided, it is certain that the need of it will sooner or later occur.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.