A reminder- Sunday October 22 there will be an Open House celebrating the '50's, '60's and '70's. If you have any artifacts from those decades we could display, please contact the museum, or me, at the email below. Thank you! Hope to see you there. Also, a correction on the last biweekly. Wheaton Farm is larger in area than the part of Borderland that lies within Easton! A Peek Back in Time, Easton Town Reports 1870-1 & 1873-4 On a dreary, rainy, Monday I took a look back in time by browsing through some old Easton Town Reports. I was drawn to Death Records and Almshouse Records. What I found made me grateful for the basic, and not so basic, medical advances and social services that we enjoy today. Causes of death were quite different in the late nineteenth century and an inordinate number of people died young. Many of us have had the experience of walking through an old cemetery and seeing this painful truth carved in granite. Among the older people, some causes of death sound familiar, not so much, others. Familiar causes of death were: pneumonia, heart disease, kidney disease. Less 'modern' causes were typhoid fever, consumption, and cholera morbus. Photo from a page of the 1870 Town Report, Deaths. In 1870 Easton resident Caleb Swan died at the age of 75. The record says “erysipelas”. Erysipelas is a skin infection caused by streptococcus bacteria. It is also called St. Anthony’s Fire and today is usually treated with antibiotics. Also in 1870, Sarah T. McDavitt, 2 months and 4 days old, died of inanition. Inanition is defined as “exhaustion due to lack of nourishment”. She was one of two that year. A fifteen-year-old boy died from cephalitis, an obsolete term for encephalitis. Hydrothorax, paralysis brain, and Par. Insanity (1873) were other diagnoses. A 1-year-old died from a burn. Of 41 deaths, 9 were due to 'Old Age', for 3 very young children, no cause at all was given. People, especially young people, died from dysentery and cholera, diseases that today primarily affect countries in the developing world.* *A 6 month old, 7 month old, and a 48 year old in 1870. In the year ending in 1874 there were 79 deaths; 43 of those deaths were of people under the age of forty. More than half. In contrast, in 2000, there were 163 deaths in Easton, none were under the age of 20. Between the ages of 20 and 40 there were several deaths; the causes were not listed. In 1873 young people under age 10 died of- dropsy of bowels (1), congestion of lungs (1), cholera (7) smallpox (2), inflammation of bowels (1), convulsions (1), disease of the brain (1), inanition (3), croup (1), teething (1), meningitis (3), scarlet fever (1). The Almshouse The purpose of the Almshouse was to take care of the poor. The town bought land and a farm in 1838 to use as a poor farm and an almshouse. It was located in the general vicinity of the Center School. A new, improved almshouse was built in 1874. According to Ed Hands in his book Easton's Neighborhoods, prior to 1838 the poor were cruelly auctioned off to the lowest bidder. Often they were old or mentally disabled. A ticket to admit the bearer for one night only, 1871. Appearing in the Town Report from Almshouse in 1893: Expenses outweighed income as an unusually large number of tramps, 289, were lodged and fed that year. The number of paupers was 1/5 higher than previous year. Outside of the Almshouse itself, aid was given to 57 additional people for a total of $2,157.79. A portion of the Almshouse report in the Town Report 1873. There were equal numbers of men and women. Two 'inmates' died that year.
Although our current institutions created to manage the sick and poor are far from perfect, they are an improvement.over past practices. The forecast for tomorrow is 74 degrees and sunny. Anne Wooster Drury [email protected]
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A few announcements: The station will be closed Wednesday, September 13 and Friday, September 15. Also, don't forget the Open House scheduled for Sunday, September 17- the dedication of the Lee Williams Family Colonial Shed and a cookout for our members and donors- in appreciation. Twelve-thirty to four- thirty. New memberships will be available at the door. Also, the Society is planning an Open House for Sunday, October 22, that will focus on "Growing Up in Easton in the '50's, '60's and '70's". We are looking for 'artifacts' from those decades. If you have items we can display please notify the Society at [email protected] or email me at [email protected]. Thank you in advance! To everything – turn, turn, turn There is a season – turn, turn, turn These lyrics, written in 1959 by Pete Seeger, came to mind as I finished my recent walk at Wheaton Farm. As soon as late August, early September, the natural world is already, in quiet, barely discernible ways, signaling a turn of season. Whether it’s the color of berries, the turn of a leaf, or an abundance of mushrooms, little hints are everywhere Most of the land that makes up Wheaton Farm Management Area was once agricultural land. It is named for Daniel Wheaton (1767-1841) whose house still stands at 519 Bay Road and was the first major purchase of Easton’s Conservation Commission. Many Easton citizens worked very hard to save Wheaton Farm from development and in May of 1967 the first acquisition of land was officially dedicated. During the mid-sixties Conservation Commission members fought to procure Wheaton Farm and to preserve it as a green space. Serving on the commission (1965, 1966, 1967) were Alice B. McCarthy, Raymond Taylor, John Freitas, Elizabeth Ames, Charles Willis, and Clifford Grant. Other individuals instrumental in acquiring Wheaton Farm include Evelyn C. White, Virginia Reusch, and John E. Grant. Today, the land area comprising the Wheaton Farm Management Area is greater than Borderland State Park. At the start of the trails off Bay Road is a pollinator garden. Shortly after I began walking, this butterfly (below) greeted me and hung around long enough for me to take its picture. Trash bags are conveniently located a bit further along for dog walkers. There are several different trails of varying length. My butterfly friend. Also located at Wheaton Farm, since 2019, is the Ed Hands Community Garden, which makes garden plots available to community members. The plots here are crammed full of produce and flowers at the end of August. In this especially rainy summer, many vegetables are ripening late. On other parts of the property Langwater Farms has grown produce since 2014. Hikers and walkers (many with dogs) enjoy the property; the Bay Circuit Trail passes through, and hunting is allowed in season. Daniel Wheaton’s old farm serves new purposes. I’m sure the current residents of Easton appreciate their fellow citizens’ foresight and their commitment to land conservation that began decades ago. More mushrooms. Ed Hands Community Garden.
Tomatoes rot in the compost pile Nearby, a rusted watering can, Broken chair and a red wheelbarrow Reminisce about the harvest Anne Wooster Drury [email protected] |
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October 2024
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