The Walsh Bed

A big thank you to Pat W, who generously donated her time to set up, film, and edit this video about the Walsh bed. The film features Nancy Cook, who not only sold the bed to the museum, but made the beautiful bed curtains and mattresses.

Portsmouth Aqueduct Co.

Thank you to Ed Rowan, who dug through the Portsmouth Athenaeum’s resources and compiled some interesting facts about the Portsmouth Aqueduct Co..

Portsmouth Aqueduct Company

• On December 17, 1797, Governor John Taylor Gilman signed an act of incorporation which established the Portsmouth Aqueduct Company, giving it the exclusive right to bring water into town by means of subterraneous [sic] pipes.  Originally, 107 shares were sold for $10 apiece.  The company could take the land it needed and disputes over compensation would be settled by the Supreme Court.

• Wooden logs (hemlock or elm) were sawn into 7-9 foot lengths and a 5 inch hole drilled through them with a 5 foot auger.   Logs were held together with tar. 

• The original sources of water were Fountain Head well and Harvey’s Lake, both of which were located on what is now Pease International Tradeport.  Water flowed by gravity to a reservoir tank in the center of town.

• It cost 25 cents/foot to lay pipe from the main, and initial water rates were $4/year for homes with 5 or fewer people, $5 for 6 to 10, and $6 for homes with 11 or more occupants. Business charges were determined individually.  The fire department used water from the mill ponds. In December, 1801, there were 214 customers, and shareholders received a dividend of $ 5.68.

• In 1811 the original logs were replaced by new ones and covered 23 streets in town.  In 1820 all rates were increased by $ 1. In 1830, the question was raised about substituting iron pipes for the logs.  It was deemed too costly, but there were a few short iron connections by that time. 

• Additional water sources, Sherbourne Spring and Concord Spring on the plain and the Dover Street Reservoir were added in the 1850s.   In 1875 Haven Spring (at Pease) was added and 12,000 feet of composition pipe (iron with lead joints) were installed., as were coal-fired, steam-driven pumps. 

• By 1873 the Company had 1500 customers and a value of $116,000 when it was offered to the City.  Largely at the urging of Frank Jones who needed more water than provided by his wells on what is now the Pease Golf Course for his brewery, the City purchased the Company  in 1890.

• The city installed meters by 1920 and chlorinated the water in 1930.  Portsmouth’s major water source today is the Bellamy Reservoir in Madbury.