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��MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN HOPKINTON,
��ham was the postmaster. The post- office at West Hopkinton was estab- lished May 29, 1857. Joseph P. Dow was postmaster.
MUTUAL AND PROTECTIVE.
In the earlier half of the present century, there were enterprises in- stituted in Hopkinton that, though in part maintained till now, would have advanced to schemes of greater public importance, if the public position once occupied by this town had never been changed. One of these enterprises was the Hopkinton Village Aqueduct Association. Water is a domestic ne- cessity, and wells for water are con- temporaneous with history. The first wells in Hopkinton village were in many instances impracticable for two reasons. The earth in this vicinity is sandy and porous to a great depth, and drawing water long distances is not a desirable employment.* Again, the quality of the soil is so slightly con- creted that wells are in constant danger of falling in. A number of wells have disappeared in consequence of the lightness of the soil in this village. People have been disturbed by a rum- ble and tremor of the earth, and have investigated the phenomenon to find that their well had disappeared. Once an attempt was made to purify the old Wiggin well, better known as the "town well," since it occupied a posi- tion in the public street. Preparations were made for descent into it, and a man started down to begin the work of purification. He accomplished only a part of the descent, returning to state with much concern that there was a large chasm in the side, caused by the caving of the earth. The project of improvement was abandoned. This well has been closed a number of years.
A general need prompted the forma- tion of the Aqueduct Association,
- An old well on the premises of Hor-
ace Edmunds is reputed to be seventy feet in depth.
��which was incorporated in 1840. The grantees were Horace Chase, Nathan- iel Curtis, Joseph Stanwood, Isaac Long, Moses Kimball, Ariel P. Knowl- ton, William Little and Reuben E. French. Water was drawn by means of logs from springs on the eastern slope of Putney's Hill, about half a mile from the centre of the village, the site of the supply being on the land of Abram Burnham. The water of these springs is very pure and sweet!
An important protective enterprise was implied in the formation of the Hopkinton Engine Company, which was incorporated in the year 18 14. The grantees were Benjamin Wiggin, Joseph Town, Thomas Williams, Eben- ezer Lerned, John O. Ballard, Stephen Sibley, Thomas W. Bailey and their associates. This company was in ac- tive existence till about 1852. During the warmer season of the year, it was its custom to meet monthly for a trial exercise. The company was mar- shaled by the strokes of the meeting- house bell, the engine taken to some reservoir, the tank filled by buckets, and the propelling power of the ma- chine tested. The transaction was done with all the exactness of military drill.
About the time of the last practical usefulness of the Hopkinton Engine Company, an attempt was made to ele- vate the village into a precinct. A legal controversy thwarted the plan, which has never since been revived. For many years two tanks with pumps, supplied from the aqueduct, have been in existence in anticipation of dangers by fire. A chemical fire-engine was purchased by subscription in 1872 for use in Hopkinton lower village.
The Contoocook Village Engine Company was incorporated in 1831. Isaac Bailey, 3d, John Whipple, Rollin White, Joseph B. Town, and associates, were grantees. This organization is still in effective existence. Contoocook was elevated to a precinct in 1865.
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