The Washington herald., 1914-12-14
HISTORY BUILDERS.
The Man Who Invented the Wooden
Pump.
Cwritten ETpressly for The Hcralhl
Nv M f l. EDWARDS.


I was driving. some years ago, through
the village Of Concord, Mass, with a
citizen OF that town who was familiar
with all the places Of historic interest
and who had learned many anecdotes
associated with Hawthorne, Emerson.
Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth
y-Hawthornc's sister-!n-law and
DISTINGUISHED for her philanthropic and
educational work-and others who gave
distinction 10 that town in the mid
years OF the past century.
In the course Of our drive he showed
me the original vine from which the now
famous Concord grape was first produced
by a patient and self-taught student OF
nature A little distance away stood an
old fashioned wellsweep with half-de-
cayed oaken bucket resting upon the
fragments Of an ancient covering. II
was a relic Of the departed years Near
bv stood an oId-fashiOned wooden pump
which had been used for many years as
a substitute for the older-fashioned we'll
sweep and bucket.
NV companion said: III Woodwork,
the poet who wrote The Old Oaken
Bucket which gained immediate and
permanent fame for him, had waited a
few years he probably would not have
had occasion to write II at all. Every
body in this town, and presume in every
other town up to about seventy years
ago, used the oaken bucket and the we'll
sweep when he wanted to get water.
There was man OF inventive genius
who lived in this town. whose name was
Adams I have forgotten what his first
name was but have been told that he
was OF distant kin to the family Of John
Adams II he was. his talent was not
for politics. but for invention. Adams
l have been told. for a long time turned
over in his mind the plan for much
more convenient way Of drawing up wat
or from a well than the cumbersome we'll
sweep. He worked at his idea for n good
while. and at last went into carpenter 5
shop and made therN a model for a
wooden pump. After he had done that.
he established a pump Of this kind over
a we'll in his own yard. He was delight
cd to see that IL worked perfectly. With
a few strokes OF the pump handle water
was brought up from the well and then
passed through a little wooden funnel 10
which was attached a knob for the pur-
pose OF hanging a pail on IT. Everybody
wondered at this invention, and speedily
wooden pumps were set up all through
the village. Afterward they were sold
in other village and in a little while
practically surDlanted the old-fashioned
welIswccp You'll find a good many Of
them in use now back in the cOhntrv. I
don't suppose that Adams ever received
much money for his invention. II was
al least twenty-five years after Adams
devised his wooden pump that another
man invented the chain pump which drew
the water from the we'll by sort OF
windlass operated with a handle like a
grindstOnc.
"Or course. as villages grew and aque-
duct companies were organized these ap-
pIiances were abandoned, but I often
think there should be some memorial TO
pcrpetuate the name Of Adams. who
made it possible to substitute a wooden
pump for the old-fashioned oaken
bucket"
Copyright 1914 by z. ]. Edwards. All rights -
scrTed.l
Tomorrow Dr. Edwards will tell OF "A
Liberal Minded New England Minister" "