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Let’s take a ride along the rails of the South Shore Railroad.

The railroad, from Boston to Cohasset, arrived in  1849. It then took over 20 years later to reach Marshfield and South Duxbury in 1871 .

The Governor Bradford, a wood-fired steam engine, was the first Locomotive to travel the South Shore Line in 1871.

North Cohasset, Hull St.

Cohasset, Pleasant St. The main station.

This Station burned once and was rebuilt. It was enlarged twice. A portion of the building still remains.

There were 25 miles from this Cohasset station to Plymouth,  and there were 15 stations.. That’s a station every 1.6 miles!

South Cohasset.

 

North Scituate.

A very busy Station serving Minot’s and Scituate’s north beaches.

Egypt.

A small Station between North Scituate and Scituate Harbor.

Scituate Harbor.

Looking south.

South Scituate. Changed to Greenbush, Oct. 1, 1876

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Looking south  from the Stockbridge Rd. Bridge. The Roundhouse to the left

 

The original South Scituate Station

This was a terminus for a short time. It became a large important facility containing;

A Locomotive Garage/ Round House with pits for cleaning and light repairs.
A Coaling Station.
A Sand House.
An Oil House.
An Ash Pit.

The turn table.

A Locomotive on the turntable.

The Greenbush Water Tank with the Machine Shop.

Greenbush looking north.

 

A coal-fired steam engine with passenger cars waiting to board to Boston.

 

East Marshfield     changed to Marshfield Hills Oct. 13 1890.

Littletown. Changed to Sea View, Aug., 20 1873.

Littletown was later changed to SeaView, in 1873. I am guessing the change was due to the confusion of the Littleton Station, 30 miles west of  Boston, and built in 1848. I expect, the small Littletown Station had to give up it’s name under the pressure of the Railroad administrators. So Littletown became Sea View on Aug, 20 1873.

My conseption of the original Littletown RR Station.

 

My painting below is looking north with a locomotive coming in from Greenbush. The Cape Cod house, seen top right, became the Little Green Light Tea Room. The building on the R. was the Littletown /Sea View school. but not the original school built in 1715.  It was later used for religious services and moved to Marshfield Hills.

The Littletown Station looking West.

A carriage taxi waiting for passengers.

This was the Sea View Barge awaiting passengers to Humarock.

the little girl  is Elizabeth Paine Hatch, 1889-1979, m. Ralph Carver Hatch Seaview.

The two story Station was torn down in the mid 40’s. This Cape Cod home was built from the Station lumber in 1947 by Bill Freden.

Centre Marshfield

The Centre Marshfield Station [far right] as viewed from Church St. c. 1910.

Centre Marshfield Station looking North from Ferry St.

 

A short distance south of the Centre Marshfield Station, The Railroad provided a convenience stop at the Marshfield Fair Grounds.  This service began sometime after 1871 until the Railroad service was discontinued in 1938-9.  This stop was made in both directions and provided a time schedule.
Passengers unloaded onto a platform with stairs leading to ground level.
Cattle & Horses loaded off onto a ramp to ground level.
This was a basic loading/unloading station without conveniences, no cover, few seats, a primitive affair.

A likeness to the Passenger,  Cattle  and Horse loading Railroad dock at the Marshfield  Fair Grounds, c. late 1800’s.

An 1879 time schedule.

South Marshfield

This is the original ”Marshfield” sign Compliments of R. Freden.

The Marshfield Station looking South.

The Marshfield Station looking Northwest.

Webster Place. Changed to Green Harbor, Oct., 1, 1876.

The Gov. Bradford Locomotive passing the Duxbury Station in 1871.

 

Duxbury.

South Duxbury.

Island Creek Station, Duxbury.

 

Kingston.

Plymouth.

This map shows the two routes to Plymouth, Left  opened in 1845. The Line on the right opened 1871.

Part 2 will consist of the importance of the Sea View Station, and it’s contribution to the development of the Village of Sea View and the Humarock area.

W. R. Freden. Marshfield/Seaview, 70 years.

During the Great Depression, 1929 to 1939, our home only had the basic conveniences……a big black cast-iron kerosene stove that Mom cooked on,  which also helped heat the kitchen in the cold months….and a coal furnace heated the house.  We had running water, but cold only,  and that old kitchen stove also heated our water in a kettle or two.    A big ice chest was located in the hall entrance off the kitchen. The only electric appliance was a toaster.  The one radio was in the living room and there was no telephone.

My curiosity  led to question my Dad as to where  the water in the faucet came from and why we didn’t  have a hot water faucet like the neighbors.  Dad had explained to me that our water came from a big  storage tank located on a near-by hill.  The water was pumped into the tank from deep wells…. then piped to the homes lucky enough to be on the main line. He explained our furnace didn’t have the piping to heat water for the sink.

The water companies were privately owned and were  located in various parts of town.  One of these pump houses was located in the thicket between Ferry Hill Rd. and  off Ireland Rd. This supplied parts of Seaview and Humarock.

Crosby/Humarock Water Co. pump house….c. 1926-1946

A big stone tank was at the top of Ireland Rd.

As I remember the Humarock Water Company’s
storage tank was on Ireland Rd., opposite Carlton Rd.
This  tank  was screened all around under the roof.                                                  About 1945 or ’46, a number of screens were broken  and there was little water in the tank.  Dad explained to me that it was no longer in use.

The water was piped from the pump house to the storage tank on Ireland Rd. and then distributed to Seaview and Humarock. The pipe to Humarock ran across the Sea St. Bridge.
This was a serious problem in the winter because the pipes could freeze up. To prevent this, the system had to be bled-off to prevent damage to the supply pipe.

The Humarock side was bled-off to keep the water running….. therefore, not freezing.   This would create a huge ice mountain in the marsh area near the high tide line.

The ice mountain would last well into the spring.

Uprooting of the water pipe to Humarock

During the dismantling of the Humarock bridge in 1952, the old water pipe was exposed, it’s difficult to see here.

The tank roof  collapsed about 1949. However, the stonework lasted for many years.

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”Water is being depleted many, many times faster than nature can replenish it. ”      Maude Barlow

W. Ray Freden, Seaview, 70 years.

My first recollection of spring water was on Keene’s Pond in the winter ,sliding on my belly up to a spring hole in the ice. The water was cold, clear and drinkable. There were many of these springs in the shallow end of the pond. Most were dangerous because of the thin ice.

A spring hole through the ice.

Springs could be found through-out the wooded area behind the pond. There was a large spring west of Little’s Cemetery, this spring grew a great crop of watercress, not a favorite of mine, but collected by a few neighbors for mixing into a salad.
As I wandered further from home, every stream I encountered, drew me to its source, I would trampalong its banks through brush and bull-briars, until I came to a spring bubbling up into a small pool, these were the days when contamination was not even considered and a drink mandatory.
My early explorations were around Seagar’s Hill, now Deer Hill, The Highlands, Carolina Hill, Holly Hill, Ferry Hill and on my way to Pine Island all provided cold, clear drinkable water for this  young wanderer.

I was aware of spring water in big jug’s up-side-down in a rack at Clark’s store and Stedman’s, a penny for a cup and you could help yourself by putting the cup under the spout, pushing the button, the watching a big air  bubble up in the jug!, that was worth a penny!
Most of this water was supplied by a spring water company from Marshfield Hills.
Harry H. Rogers owned the many springs off Pleasant and Canoe Tree Streets. He developed a network of sluice-ways directing water to collection points that fill those big water bottles.                                        

Getting water from there to here.

A  five gallon carboy and wood  crate container.

Harry lived in a big colonial house at the corner of Highland and Main St., now Old Main St. He kept his delivery trucks there.

I remember two or three Ford model T’s and one Ford model A pickup. These were rigged to carry the bottles inside of their wood crates safely.

 

I can remember his truck coming down Summer St. past my house. In the early forties, I knew every car by their sound and how they were driven.
If a car came along Summer St. and up the hill after Pleasant St., it was harder to hear it coming, however, if it came from Pleasant St., It had to stop, turn right and make shifts up the hill, a great give-away as to who they were, and what they were driving.
Well, Harry Rogers trucks were loaded down with water jugs and would have to climb the hill in first or second gear, then they would crest the hill then coast down Summer St. with hardly a sound  on their way to Steads or Clarks. About an hour later, the truck would labor back up Summer St. to Station St. and stop at Charlie Langille’s to make a delivery. That was my chance to circle around the truck and take it all in. When the driver returned, I gave a ”Hi”, the response was ”Lo”, then nothing and away he drove, I have no idea if he was Mr. Rogers or not, just not  a very friendly person.
Some time later, on our way back from the Pine St. dump, I persuaded my Dad to drive into the back way off Canoe Tree St., to Canoe Tree Springs. The cart path was pretty wet and juicy, so Dad would only drive a short distance into the pit adjoining the springs. We walked a short distance and I couldn’t believe the network of troughs diverting water bubbling out of the hillside. There were bottle crates stacked everywhere.
A thanks for this recent find by Bob Maynard, Marshfield hills.

 

Bottles lined up on tables, funnels and gear of sorts laying around rusting away. There was water everywhere. The road way was rutted a foot deep in mud, I don’t know how a truck could get through. The maze of waterways overwhelmed me, I had never seen anything like it!
This operation must have been near the end of operating, due to it’s run down condition, c. 1942,3.

This painting  not accurate as to the layout or it’s contents , It’s as I remember The Canoe Tree Spring Water Co.

I don’t remember Mr. Rogers Spring Water Company after WW2, nor did I ever Return to the Springs. Rugani ave. was built off Pleasant St., and subsequently another development built.  The clear water from these  springs, that so many enjoyed, have disappeared.

 

”Water is the driving force of all nature”     Leonardo de Vinci.

W. Ray Freden. Seaview, Marshfield, 70 years.