Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-28


of the year, reviewing the years work
! Mayor Davis made the following refer
ence to- the building of the causeway
across the lake, which had been begun
! in accordance with his recommenda-
tion:
For the past few weeks strong force
has been employed at Quinsigamo1d LAKE
| to construct causeway over the lake q
take the place of the floating bridge, Whicf
had become unsafe for public travel This
work is done under the order OF. the coun-
has been pending before them for more
than a year. The decree Of the commits
sioners having been communicated to the
city long after the appropriations for the
current year were made, the city COUNCIL
voted to borrow the money temporarily
for the construction of the causeMay ana
the improvement Of the road. The cost
Of building floating bridge would nave
been at least So, 600, and would have. been
constant bill of expense to keep It in re-
pair. This structure, when once done, Is
done forever, and by the first OF January,
1862 one-third of the expense of complying
with the order of the county commits
sioners will have been completed, and the
cost of doing one-third OF the work will
not exceed $780, If the work is permitted
to so on under the supervision OF the able
and efficient commissioner of highways
(Henry Prentice) It may be finished at an
expense of about $4,000.
f1OU, r. IJUlOGy AluIlCH, WHO SuCCCCo-
ed Col Isaac Davis as mayor, had in
his inaugural address, Jan. 8, 1862, the
following reference TO the building of
the causeWay, begun the previous fall;
During the past year the county commits
sioners, upon the petition of certain per-
sons therefor, ordered some specific re-
pairs on the road leading TO Shrewsbury,
and a solid causeWay to be constructed
across Lake Quinsigamond. The work
upon the latter was. commenced sometime
during the fall, under the immediate su-
perintendence of Mr.. Prentice. the high
way commissioner, who informs me that in
his judgment about one-third part of the
work had been done before the close OF
The work is still in progress, and it will
undoubtedly be advisable to prosecute 1t
with vigor so long as the season will per-
nit. This causeway. according TO the
order of the county commissioners. is to
be 36 feet wide on the top, with suitable
railing on both sides. and a sidewalks on
the southerly side, which is also TO be di-
vided from the carriage-way by suitable
complishing this great Improvement has
vet been paid except by borrowing, and
the whole must be provided for during the
current year The order requires that the
work shah be completed to the acceptance
of the commissioners by the first of July
next. Whether this work could not have
been contracted for at less sum than it
will cost the city to do it in the manner in
which it Is now being done, it would be
useless to inquire, for to change the mode
of completing the work now cannot be
advisable, and besides. 1t seems to me
that the manner adopted is a judiciouS
one, inaSmuch as employment is thereby
given to large number Of laborers in the
city who would otherwise be out of work,
and some of them at least might, during
this season Of depression in business, be
compelled to caa upon the city for aid in
some form.
Hon D. Waldo Lincoln, the successor
Of Judge Aldrich as mayor, had the fol-
lowing reference in his inaugural, Jan.
5, 1868, to the causeway, which was
finished during his administration, in
1862;
The causeway across Lake Quinsiga-
mond, which was commenced in 1861, has
been completed during the past year Q862l.
The original estimate of the cost of this
work was $4,000, of which something less
than $1,000 was expended in 1861. This sum,
however, was borrowed, and still remains
a part of the city debt. AT the end of that
year it was supposed that a third of the
of experience in works of this character
neither the magnitude of the undertaking
nor the nature of the obstacles to be en-
countered in, its prosecution, were tully
realized, perhaps fortunately so, until it
was too late to think of abandoning it.
Under the faithful supervision of the
steady progress until June q last QS62),
when the two entertainments Zone begun at
the east side and the other at the west
side of the lake., met at the surface, and
DR.. John Green, the founder of our Public
Library made the first passage across.
The amount expended upon this work dur
ing the year 1862 has been about $4,000,
which an APPROPRIATION of that exact sum
was made to cover. The whole cost of the
causeway and of the improvements in the
road leading to it has beeQ $25,S97. .43.
Thanks to the courage of our predeceS-
scrs, these very expensive works, so i'm
portant, so long desired, and so often post
poned are now done forever and their
payment mostly provided for, and our peo-
pie and future governments are relieved
of the heavy annual burden of maintain
ing the old perishable bridges.
By a merely arbitrary and accidental
line of division, the whole of Lake Quin-
sigamond, where it is crossed, lies within
tho territorial limits of Worcester. In
view of the enormous cost of the cause
way. its important character as part of a
county road connecting the shire with sew
eral important towns, with which there is
no other convenient means of communica-
ton. and the peculiar obstacle this lake
presented to easy intercourse between
them, my predecessor has filed petition
with the county commissioners asking
them to assume, on behalf of the county,
a reasonable share of its cost; ] shall,
be in my power in aid of this just and
reasonable petition
Mayor D. Waldo Lincoln, in his inau-
gural address, Jan. 4, 1854 at the begin
ming of his second term as mayor, re-
ferred to the working of the causeway,
one year after its completion, as fol-
lows:
The causeway across Lake Quinsiga-
mond has now stood the test of the action
of the water and of constant use for more
than a year and remains apparently as
firm and solid as the natural soil upon the
adjoining shores of the lake, and will ever
remain the noblest monument to the fore
sight and energy of those who projected
and erected this important work. The
claim which was presented for the pay
portion of the cost Of this causeway, has
been allowed by the county commissioners,
and the sum of $1,000 has been appropri-
ated for the purpose. This sum has been
received and applied to the payment of the
debt contracted in 1861 for the work done
| that year, and for which no provision had
been made.