Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-28
THE OLD CAUSEWAY
How It Happened to Be Built
Across the Lake.
BITS OF LOCAL HISTORY.
Three Floating W OGDEN Bridges
Preceded 1t.
When 1t Was Finished at a Cost of
S25,o0o, the Mayors of These Times
Said It Would Ever Remain Mon
ument to the Foresight Of
Its Builders.
BITS OF LOCAL HISTORY

/ IL
subject of general public consideration
for some time to come, It may be in
teresting to give history of the diff
fernt bridges which have been built
across the lake for public travel
The first three bridges which were
built were floating bridges. The first two
of these were successfully washed away
| by the current of water, and the third
was taken away when the present
| causeway was built, during the admins
/ tTation of Mayor Isaac Davis in 1851
| The occasion of the building of the
| first floating bridge, a very unsubstan-
tial affair, as would seem, was the char
tering of the old Worcester Turnpike
! Corporation. This charter was passed
| by the legislature June II, 1905, and the
building of the road then commenced,
! four rods wide, through Belmont street,
| from Lincoln square to the lake, and
1 thence through South Shrewsbury, about
! a mile and half or two miles south of
the old post road, 10 which it was near
| ly parallel The old post road entered
| worcester over the old. bridge at the
north end of the lake, about two miles
above the floating bridge WHERE the
! causeway now is and came down Lin
/ coin street. The first floating bridge was
| built at cost of about $4,000 and con-
] sisted of two or three tiers of round
timbers laid lengthways, then cross
ways, and then overlaid with a course
| or heWn timber, covered with plank and
fastened to large abutments at the
| shores.
This bridge soon proved TO be too
weak and unsafe; and after few wears
was succeeded by another of similar ma
terials, costing $4,000. 1t was construct
ed by sinking nine piers, the centre pier
| o0 by 90 feet, and the others go bv 30
| placed in line about 30 feet apart. The
piers We're constructed separately, and
designed to rest on the bottom of the
pond This was done by laying the
course, then tapping and building after
the manner of a cob house, and ninn,ne.
where the timbers Tapped and crossed.
by building in this manner, as the
weight increased, the frames settled and
| the arch was continued till the frame of
each pier formed a resting place at the
bottom, reaching and remaining consid-
eraoly above the water Towards the
| Top the piers We're connected with each
olner py tlmbers, and upon the top
oVerlaid with them. Over the whole was
lald quantity of gravel
But on account of the mud in some
| places, and gravel in others, at the bot
| tom OF the pond, some of the piers con-
tinued to settle and others remained
stationary The four eastern piers, as
they settled, leaned to the south. 1t was
endeavored to keep the surface level by
/ putting on gravel, which probably has
tened the destruction of the bridge by
increasing the incumbent weight of the
piers. Many of the timbers. having
started from their foundations so far
lost their perpendicularity that in the
morning of Sept. 10, 1917 just before the
completion OF the structure, and while
the workmen were most of them near
by, at breakfast, the bridge separat ted
near the centre, and the east half turned
over into the pond to the south, and the
other half breaking up, tumbled in, pier
after pier, in broken masses towards
the middle of the pond
| Fortunately, no lives We're lost,
though some were in imminent danger.
As the pond varied from so to 70 feet in
depth at this place, and in other places
was more than 100 feet deep, it had
taken no less than 1000 feet of timber
to construct this bridge, most of which,
upon turning over, separated, and came
to the surface in single sticks and large
blocks pinned together, presenting such
a wreck of material as perhaps had
never before been seen in any inland
waters in this section of the country
The next winter Q817-18) the third or
last floating bridge was built upon the
ice at the west end side of the pond
mostly of hewn white pine timber, at an
expense of $4,000; and in the spring fol-
lowing swung around to it's place. This
was 525 feet long by 30 wide at the first
and with the improvements afterwards
added to it, lasted till the building of the
causeway in 1861, though at the last ii
had become quite shal1y, and something
more substantial and permanent was
evidently needed where there was sc
much travel.
Hon. Isaac Davis, mayor in 1861 dur
ing whose administra ton the building
of the cauSeway was begun, had the fol
lowing reference in his inaugural ad-
dress, Jan. 7, 1861, to the then conditions
of the last floating bridge, and to the
necessity and Importance of the con
struction of new and safer bridge over
the lake, or the building Of solid road
or causeway, strongly recommending
the latter, rather than another floating
bridge:
The bridge over Lake Quinsigamond is in
bad condition, and has been injured by the
raising of the water to a point higher than
the owners have a right without paying
damages. The bridge will require eXten-
sive repairs the present year, and perhaps
will require to be rebuilt. Should 1t re-
quire to be rebuilt, it will cost to build OF
wood $4,000 or $4,000. In my judgment
1t would be cheaper in the end to make a
solid causeway across the pond. The
length of the present bridge Is 4A feet.
The greatest depth of the water is rs feet.
The average depth from abutment to abut-
ment is 55 feet. 1t would require 101 800
cubic yards of earth to make road across
the pond six feet above high water mark
and so feet wide, leaving a passage for
| the water from one part of the pond to
the other covered with a drawbridge 50
feet, so that boats might pass. A compe-
tent engineer estimates that to construct a
solid way across, as above, would cost $1S =
go. # solid way can be built for this
sum. | have no hesitation in recommend
ing it rather than the construction of an
other floating bridge.
But before either is constructed I rec
ommend a consultation with the persons
sigamond lake. I have been informed that
the proprietors would be willing to enter
INTO an equitable arrangement with the
city to allow supply Of water to be
7 taken at all times for the use of the city,
j ana a wheel or wheels to be put in at the
outlet, providing the city would make an
arrangement with them to enable them to
raise the lake to a given number of feet
( above the present height Of the bridge. If
! a contract could be made TO procure a
right to take water without being subject
| very desirable.
In this department you win have oppor-
! UNITY to do something towards giving aid
1 TO the numerous laborers who are thrown
I out Of employment. and who are depend
ent on their daily earnings for their daily
/ bread 1t adds much to the city to have
I beautiful streets, well graded and orna-
mented with shade trees, handsome drives
where the scenery is beautiful and at
I tractive and il road could be cut
through on the western margin of Quin-
| sigamond lake at moderate expense and
! give employment to many of our laboring
men, I have no hesitation in saying II
! would add much TO the attractions of ouI
| beautiful city.
! In his valedictory address at the close