Pique of the Week – Page 26 – Local History Collections

2009-06-11

“The Public Bedammed”

Plymouth & Kingston trolley headed north to Cobb's Store, circa 1890 — Plymouth & Kingston trolley headed north to Cobb's Store, circa 1896

Kingston, Mass. Oct. 29th, 1896.

To the Selectmen –
Kingston, Mass.
Gentlemen: –

Is it not about time that some attention was given to the operation of the Plymouth & Kingston Street Railway and better accomodations demanded for the use of more than half the main highway in the town? The cars do not connect with the trains either one way or another and on the so-called local cars running between Cobb’s Store and Jabez Corner they demand two fares (ten cents) to ride the whole distance, about four miles, and give a check allowing you the privilege of waiting three quarters of an hour to take the next car for Kingston, which of course no one wants to do. If it does not pay to operate this end of the line let us have the rails removed and the street free for driving. It seems to me if a little severity is shown at first that the company will be more considerate in the future. I think their mottoes for our town are “Bleed the People” and “The Public Bedammed”.

[signed] Fred B. Cole

Source: Kingston Highway Department Papers, JRVHS Lantern Slides.

2009-06-04

Dog blog and dog exhibit!

The new exhibit is up, and to help celebrate the 4th Annual Library Pet Show, it’s all about the dogs of Kingston. See snapshots of Library staff members’ pooches! Marvel at the hounds and terriers of bygone days! Wonder at the family portrait with the dog front and center! Enjoy the dog days of summer!

Unidentified woman with several dogs, no date

2009-05-28

Dog blog: On the Kingston Bay

It was the good ship ‘Chesperus’

That sailed the wintry sea,

And Chesper had taken Herbert W. Cobb

To bear him company.

: Chester Fuller and dog aboard the ‘Chesperus,’ 1898

The poem above is written on the back of the photograph, and while it is a little cryptic (did Herbert W. Cobb take the picture from his own boat? is Chesper the name of Chester Fuller’s dog?), it lends a special air of mystery to another great dog portrait from the Local History Room Collections.

2009-05-22

More on Memorial Day

In April 2009, Town Meeting approved spending from the Elizabeth B. Sampson Memorial Fund for a number of projects, including one specific to this holiday weekend. Kingston’s Veterans Agent received $5,000 from the Sampson Fund for “memorial stones and flags at veteran’s graves in local cemeteries,” continuing local observance of a custom that dates back at least 140 years.

Grand Army of the Republic, Martha Sever Post No. 154 marching, circa 1914

This photograph show the Kingston post of the G.A.R. — veterans of the Civil war and their sons — marching on Memorial Day. At the rear of the group, Lemuel Ford carries a bunch of small flags to be placed in the grave-marker or standards of the deceased comrades. The photo is undated but must have been taken no later than 1914, as Mr. Ford died in April of 1915.

The 2001 snapshot below shows the Civil War Soldiers Monument, which was placed on the Training Green and dedicated in 1883, with flags in place. Be sure to take a moment on Monday to remember the sacrifices of America’s veterans.

Civil War Soldiers Monument with flags, 2001

Sources: Emily Fuller Drew lantern slide cardfile; Kingston Reporter April 10, 2009

2009-05-14

New exhibit: Memorial Day

Memorial Day parade leaving Evergreen Cemetery, 1946

This month’s exhibit highlights photographs, programs and other documents from Kingston’s Memorial Day celebrations.

Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday originated during the Civil War and spread across the country by the end of the 19th century. After the First World War, Memorial Day expanded to honor the memory of all whose lives were sacrificed in war.

For more information on the history of this solemn holiday, look here and here. To see how Kingston has celebrated the day, stop by the Library!

2009-05-07

Dog blog: an experiment in scanning negatives

Here’s a quick look at one of the first negatives I’ve scanned in the Local History Room. This is Emily Drew’s photograph of Elm Street at the Jones River. The Pumping Station is just out of the frame to the right side.

: Elm Street Bridge, looking north, circa 1920

Meanwhile, somebody’s best friend is nosing around for a treat.

: Detail, Elm Street Bridge, looking north, circa 1920

2009-04-30

More Water for Kingston

The Pumping Station

Kingston’s municipal water system was proposed at Town Meeting in 1884, legislated in 1885 under “An Act to Supply the Town of Kingston with Water,” and implemented in 1886. The system officially began operations on August 10 that year. While the actual water supply came from wells, Jones River water power supplied the mains and the reservoir (see this earlier post) via “a Blake duplex power pump…capable of…228 gallons per minute…driven by a 30-inch Burnham turbine water-wheel of 17 horse power,” according to the Water Commissioners’ Report, March 1, 1887. Though the station was electrified around 1905, the system relied primarily on inexpensive and traditional water power through the 1930’s, except in times of low water or during repairs to the dam and equipment.

As early as 1704, the water privilege on the north bank of the Jones River at Elm Street powered industry: a grist mill was replaced by a fulling mill, which preceded a shingle mill. Finally, the Town bought the rights to the water power and built the pumping station. Here are two views from the south side of the Jones River. In the 1920’s a new concrete dam replaced the old wooden version, shown in the earlier photo.

Sources: PC-14 Kingston Water Department; Vertical File: Water Department; Life on the River: The Flow of Kingston’s Industries (Elliott, 2005)

2009-04-23

Mayflowers

“April showers bring Mayflowers,” especially lately with all the recent rain and particularly in Massachusetts, where these fragrant little blossoms are our state flower. Commonly called Mayflowers, trailing arbutus or less elegantly, the gravel plant, Epigaea repens can be found hiding under pine needles and poking through fallen leaves, blooming between March and May anywhere from Newfoundland west to Michigan and from Saskatchewan south to Kentucky. The plant lies low on the ground with rust-colored hairy stems and leathery green leaves.

: Mayflowers, no date

This image comes from a lantern slide and was likely taken by Emily Drew. For a color picture, look here.

The clusters of dainty, fragrant pink flowers make a delightful and memorable bouquet. In earlier days, when woods were more abundant and available to children, when traffic passed more slowly, especially on a “Sunday drive,” many a child added to her allowance by gathering Mayflowers and selling the bunches of them at the side of the road. They were also a popular item in the May-Basket one hung on Grandma’s door to surprise her.

Have you ever made a bouquet of them? These unidentified ladies in an undated Emily Drew cyanotype might have.

: Women with flowers, no date

2009-04-17

Water for Kingston

On April 12, 1886, workers broke ground for the construction of a reservoir as part of Kingston’s new municipal water system. Located just south of Russell Pond off Round Hill Road, the reservoir was used by the Water Department until 1996.

: Reservoir, circa 1923

In his paper “Problems of the Water Department” read before the Jones River Village Historical Society on February 8, 1930, C.B. Hudson reported that

the reservoir is about 47 feet in diameter and 30 feet deep and was originally built of brick but, after several years of service, serious leaks developed in the bottom and a new cement bottom was laid over the original brick, and in 1923 when it was desired to increase the capacity of the reservoir it was completely relined, sides an bottom with 12” of concrete reinforced with steel bars and the new wall was carried to a height of 12 feet above the ground level which increased its capacity to about 400,000 gallons.

Sometime before the 1923 renovation, Emily Drew photographed members of her family — her brother Clarence, his wife Charity and their children Norma and Bud — at the reservoir.

: Bud, Charity, Norma and Clarence Drew at the Reservoir, circa 1923

Sources: Vertical File: Water Department; PC14 Kingston Water Department Papers; Through Emily’s Eyes.

2009-04-08