1899 City Report-2 by Tom Beardsley and Pete Zizka 6-1-2024 |
1899 City Report - part 2 of
2.
From 1893 until
1983, Willimantic was chartered as a city. But the rapid suburbanization
of Connecticut in the post-World War Two years, and the decline of major
manufacturing industries, meant that Willimantic would return in 1983 to
its status, as a governed section of the town of Windham. Each year from
1893 to 1982, the mayor of the city of Willimantic made an annual
statement on its state and finances. These city reports reveal much to
urban historians, enabling one to get a feel of life in the city before
interstate highways and automobiles transformed them. In 1899, the mayor
of Willimantic, Oscar O. Tanner (1858-1933), presented his first annual
report. Last week, we looked at the condition of the city's streets and
its police department. This week, we'll take a brief look at the city's
water, electric lighting, and fire departments of a century ago. Mayor
Tanner noted that the Willimantic water works was being fitted with
modern pumping equipment. This would ensure no summer "water famines" in
the city. The old steam pumps would be left in position to act as a back
up if the new electric pumps failed. The whole department was in a
"splendid condition" and was becoming self-supporting. The
Superintendent of the Water Works, Henderson Moulton, was visiting the
places in the city that used most the most water, and was trying to
convince the owners to fit water meters. He had managed to place 54 new
meters during the previous year. Tanner added that, "the system will
never approach perfection until every consumer is metered. Then there
will be no waste and the city will have a municipal department that will
pay a revenue." However, water quality of 1899 cannot be wholly judged
by today's standards. The report published the resulted of the city's
monthly examination of the standard of its drinking water. The water in
the winter months seemed to be the safest. For example, the July 1, 1899
inspection revealed that there was a white sediment and a vegetable
odor. And in four other months, the water had a "moldy" smell and white
sediment. Willimantic's water works had been constructed in 1885. A dam,
pumping station and engineer's house were erected on the Natchaug River
in Mansfield. Water was piped via an iron transmission line that went
along Jackson, Valley, High and Bridge Streets to a holding and
distribution reservoir on Hosmer Mountain, and then by gravity, pumped
into the city streets. Page 1Water Electric lighting of the city streets
was a recent innovation for Willimantic. Six new lights had been added
in 1899, and others had been relocated, adding "greatly to the
advantages of the public." In 1887, the Willimantic Electric Light
Company had received its charter from the General Assembly. Its
generating plant was located at the foot of Railroad Street, and
provided electricity for the city until it became part of the
Connecticut Light & Power Company. The city purchased electricity each
month to light its streets, at a cost of $650 a month. Luke Flynn was
the Willimantic Fire Chief in 1899. He called for four new fire hydrants
in the city, particularly for the Alms House (Friendly's is located on
the site today), which was some distance from the nearest hydrant. Flynn
apologized for the greater expense needed to run the department, but he
pointed out that, because of the bad winter, the fire houses had to be
constantly heated by the coal boilers, as it was necessary to keep
horses in waiting to get apparatus to a fire in case of an alarm. There
had been no major fires in town during the year. The most serious was in
Dennis Shea's meat market on Jackson Street, caused by an exploding oil
lamp. Other than brush fires, there had been minor fires in tenements,
caused by a burning pipe left in someone's pocket, a fire in a chimney,
and children playing with matches. There was also a
small fire in George
Maloney's harness shop, caused by sparks from a steam engine.
Tanner did not run for re-election in December, 1899. Newspaper
reports were less than kind when evaluating his tenure. He was said to
have made himself a “czar” and that he practiced
“peanut politics”. Tanner was replaced as Mayor by Republican
William Grant, a prominent grain dealer and member of the Board of
Aldermen.
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