The Early History of the West Side Whistle House and Hose Company No. 4

The oldest extant building associated with the Middleborough Fire Department is the West Side Whistle House which stands upon the grounds of the Middleborough Historical Museum on Jackson Street.

The Whistle House was constructed in 1889 to house Hose Company No. 4 which was established that same year to provide fire protection to the West Side of Middleborough, a neighborhood which grew rapidly following 1855. In his annual report for 1888, Middleborough Fire Chief Walter M. Snow recommended "that a hose carriage and company be located at the West End, near the corner of West and May streets, as that territory is now unprotected." Residents of the Fire District which held the responsibility of providing fire protection to central Middleborough agreed, authorizing the establishment of a Building Committee at its annual meeting on January 21, 1889. Acting as the Building Committee was the entire Board of Engineers for the department, consisting of Eugene P. LeBaron (who had replaced Snow as chief), First Assistant Luther S. Bailey, Second Assistant Charles M. Kingman, Third Assistant Amos H. Eaton and Fourth Assistant Samuel S. Bourne. The Committee was charged with the task "to purchase and secure land for hose hoses, and to build two hose houses and purchase a hose reel." (The second hose house was to be located on Courtland Street near the Bay State Straw Works).

Land was accordingly purchased at the corner of Vine and May Streets for $250 and a hose house erected in mid-1889 "16 feet wide by 30 feet long, with 10 feet posts, all finished in good order, for $400 ....".

To man the house, Hose Company No. 4 was formed, being comprised of West Side residents. Twenty-five year old Dennis D. Sullivan acted as the company's first foreman, Carlton W. Maxim (who would later serve as Fire Chief and found Maxim Motors) was named First Assistant; William Keyes was named Second Assistant; and M. F. Cronan was appointed clerk. The company's two hosemen were Thomas Boucher and James J. O'Hara, while E. E. McCarthy and A. A. Belcher served as hydrantmen.  Given that the ethnic composition of the West Side at that time was heavily Irish, it is not surprising to find that the make-up of Company No. 4 was predominantly Irish.

Initially, the May Street Hose House was equipped with 600 feet of cotton rubber-lined hose with which to combat fires. Maintenance of these hoses following a fire was time consuming. After each fire, the hoses needed to be cleaned and dried, a process which took a number of days. Because of the length of time involved in doing this work and the small amount of surplus hose available to the various companies in town, Middleborough was frequently vulnerable following each fire. Consequently, Middleborough's Board of Fire Engineers constantly recommended the purchase of additional hose, and in this they were largely successful, adding hose to each of its hose companies throughout the period. The May Street Hose House's complement of 600 feet was increased by 1893 to 800 feet of hose, 900 by 1896, and 1000 by 1899.

The first fire which Hose Company 4 is on record as having responded to occurred March 15, 1890, at the house of William Downing on the corner of West Street and LeBaron Avenue, only a short distance from the May Street House House. The alarm rang from box 55 on Vine Street, and Hose Company 4, along with Hose Companies 2 and 6, Hook and Ladder Company 1, and Chemical Engine 1 responded. The companies made short order of the fire which had been sparked when a burning chimney had set fire to Downing's roof.

Fortunately, fires remained infrequent. In its first full year of existence, Hose Company No. 4 was required to respond to only six alarms, one of which (on the Fourth of July) turned out to be a false one. Figures for subsequent years similarly reveal the fortunately irregular need for Company 4's services: 1892 (3 calls), 1893 (1 call), 1894 (4 calls), 1895 (2 calls), 1896 (1 call), 1897 (3 calls), 1898 (5 calls), 1899 (3 calls) Ultimately, rules were adopted requiring Company 4 to respond to all alarms calls originating from certain specified boxes all largely on the West Side and Everett Square area, but also including the Four Corners and the Town Hall. In the event the company was not required to respond, its members were expected to report to the May Street Hose House "and wait twenty minutes for the Second Alarm. Should it not be given in that time, members are permitted to retire."

Despite the relative rarity of fires, those that did occur were frightening. On July 15, 1895, the Company responded to the largest fire since its establishment six years earlier when the LeBaron Foundry on Vine Street caught fire. "The main building was well afire before the alarm was rung in." The entire Fire Department, including Company 4, responded and quickly had nine streams of water on the building, the most since the devastating Central Baptist Church fire of 1888. Much of the foundry complex was ruined in the fire. "Recall for 'all out' rung in about 11 p. m., but members of Hose Company No. 4 kept three streams on the ruins nearly all night."

MEMBERS OF MIDDLEBOROUGH HOSE COMPANY NO. 4 1889-99

Dennis D. Sullivan 1889-92

C. W. Maxim 1889

William Keyes 1889

M. F. Cronan 1889-90

Thomas Boucher 1889-

James J. O'Hara 1889-

E. E. McCarthy 1889-90

A. A. Belcher 1889

John J. Sullivan 1890-

Thomas B. West 1890-94

John Morrissey 1890-92

Patrick Howes 1891

John Sheppard 1892

Arthur Wilcox 1892

John J. Morrison 1893-95, 1899-

Patrick A. Grant 1893-

James Galligan 1893-96

Owen A. Lloyd 1893-96

Edmund Burke 1895

Luke F. Callan 1896-

William H. Flynn 1897-

J. T. Plunket 1897-98

P. E. Butler 1897

Martin McCarthy 1898

J. Cronan 1899

FOREMEN

Dennis D. Sullivan 1889-92

John J. Morrison 1892-95

John J. Sullivan 1896-

Save on Nemasket Spring Water

This coupon from the Nemasket Spring Water Company dating from sometime during the mid-20th century offered holders 10 cents off two bottles of its sodas.  Printed on hard cardstock, these coupons were mailed to addresses throughout the region including (in the instance of the card above) New Bedford.

The Disappearance of Benson's Pond

Antiquated maps of Middleborough show at the far lower right-hand edge, in the southwestern most corner of the town, a bean-shaped spot of blue.  That spot, which was bounded by East, Pine and Beach Streets, and which was marked on these maps as"Benson's Pond", no longer appears on maps of Middleborough.

Benson’s Pond was named for John Benson, Jr., who first acquired the pond in 1702. When the South Purchase was divided in the late 17th century, the then unnamed pond fell into the 138th and 139th lots and it was noted in the documents of division that “the two lots last mentioned have allowance for a pond that is in them.” The lots fell to William Ellis and James Soule, neither of whom owned them long. On January 1, 1702, John Benson, Jr., of Rochester acquired the twin lots and the shallow pond.

The story of the "disappearance" of Benson's Pond begins about 1850 at which time the 30-plus acre pond is believed to have been drained, though for what purpose is not known. In time, the pond refilled. It was notorious for its shallowness (plans of the pond drafted in 1931 reveal a maximum depth of just over a foot and a half), and was surrounded by sedge grass. Because of its surficial expanse, however, the pond was considered to be one of some 830 "great ponds" in Massachusetts, control of which was vested solely with the Commonwealth.

Though for most people in 1909 the emptying of Benson's Pond nearly sixty years earlier was but a dim memory, the idea of deliberately draining the pond, in fact, piqued the interests and actions of one local man. In the first months of 1909, Samuel B. Gibbs of South Carver acquired the properties surrounding the pond which he proposed to drain in order to construct a cranberry bog upon its bed. Before going further, however, Gibbs had to convince the Commonwealth to surrender its rights in the pond, an action which would be unprecedented by the state. Not surprisingly, Gibbs' ensuing petition touched off considerable debate and "the livliest hearings."

Despite the claim that the drainage and reclamation of Benson's Pond "would be worth $30,000 for the production of the crop," several groups were opposed to the project. The Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association regarded the pond as "a true game sanctuary and [it] ought to be preserved," noting it as a nesting place for black duck. Similarly, George W. Field, Chairman of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commission, not only emphasized the importance of the nesting and breeding grounds situated at the pond, but also questioned "whether the legislature had the constitutional right to turn the pond over to private owners."

Further hearings upon the issue by the Harbor and Land Commission only served to demonstrate how entrenched opposition was becoming to Gibbs' plan. At a hearing in September, 1910, at the East Street home of plan supporter Gamaliel Cushing, Horace P. Tobey of the Tremont Iron Works of Wareham, H. W. Hollis of the Standard Horse Shoe Company of Wareham, John S. Atwood of Middleborough, D. C. Keyes of South Wareham and G. G. Atwood of Carver, all of whom operated businesses on streams fed by Benson's Pond, spoke in opposition, as did James J. Ryan of the Carver Commercial Club. Austin & Nye, owner of a cranberry bog located across East Street from Benson's Pond which was partially dependent upon pond water for its operation, also was opposed.

Though he did not speak, John A. Lowell of Boston was present as a witness for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, his presence providing mute testimony to the environmental sensitivity of Benson's Pond.

Given these concerns - political, environmental and economic - it was only with great difficulty that the Harbor Commission pondered the enormity of the issue before it: " ... Should the rights of the commonwealth in great ponds, held for the public since colonial days, be relinquished and the lands under the same sold to private persons for commercial purposes?" Never before had the state forfeited such rights.

The Commission was also obviously cognizant of the fact that should it approve the Benson's Pond scheme, a decided precedent for future like proposals would be set, a step the Commission was somewhat loath to take. It concluded: "In view of the embarrassments which may accompany a sale of this pond, it is perhaps as well for the commonwealth to retain its right in this public reservation for whom it may concern, whether for bird and fish preserves, cranberry culture or mill wheels or such unknown public uses as may in the future develop."

Clearly Gibbs could comprehend the direction in which proceedings were headed, and early in 1911 he forestalled a decision by the state by withdrawing his petition, stating publicly that he "did not wish to press the matter further." Shortly afterwards, he disposed of the property abutting the pond to Charles R. Rogers, James Miller and Colburn C. Wood, all of Plymouth, and Dr. Edward H. Ellis of Marlborough.

Despite the failure of Gibbs' proposal, the idea of draining Benson's Pond for cranberry cultivation gestated for another twenty years. Eventually, George A. Cowen of Rochester, who had entered into partnership with the Benson's Pond proprietors, petitioned the state, once more, to acquire title to the pond so that it might be drained. As Gibbs had before him, Cowen argued the economic merits of the proposal, citing the amount of taxable property ($20,000) which would be created, a particularly convincing argument which understandably curtailed opposition to the plan given the worsening economic climate of that time.

An engineer for the state Department of Public Works which controlled the pond, submitted a survey favorable to the proposal and the inexplicable evaporation of the earlier advocacy of wildlife protection after 1911 removed what advocates of the proposal could only see as an impediment to draining the pond. By 1930, it was noted that "there is no opposition to this project now." Even the Middleboro Gazette enthused that the resulting bogland "will be a great addition to the cranberry acreage in this town."

Nonetheless, five additional years were required before the state agreed to surrender its rights in Benson's Pond to Cowen and his partners who were given until October 21, 1941 to complete the project. Cowen succeeded within the required timeframe in draining the pond and creating Benson's Pond Cranberry Bog. With the construction of the bog, Benson's Pond "disappeared." No longer would there be a spot of blue in the southeast corner of maps - or the landscape -of Middleborough.

Illustrations:
Benson's Pond Cranberry Bog, photograph by Mike Maddigan, June 9, 2005.
Benson's Pond Cranberry Bog dates from the early 1940s when Benson's Pond was drained to create new bog.  The view is from East Street.

Benson's Pond, map, 1855, H. F. Walling

Benson's Pond, map, 1885, United States Geological Survey

Benson's Pond, map, 1903

Experimental Potatoes & the Preacher Farmer

Though Middleborough might now style itself the "cranberry capital of the world," in the past, the town was noted for other agricultural products as well. One crop for which Middleborough received attention during the early years of this century was potatoes, with North Middleborough being the site of a United States government experimental potato station, known as the Eden Trial Grounds. The origin of the experimental station was the farm of Reverend J. R. Lawrence. Lawrence served as Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Middleborough at the corner of Bedford and Plymouth Streets in North Middleborough between 1903 and 1907.

Lawrence, who was born in Fall River in 1868, began his interest in farming at the time he entered the ministry. Ordained in 1890, Lawrence always occupied rural pastorates, the first three being at South Dartmouth, North Egremont, and Lanesboro. The interest in farming became all-consuming for Lawrence who came to consider himself, first and foremost, a farmer. "There is more room in the world for a farmer who can preach than there is for a minister who has a farm to get a living," Lawrence believed.

In 1896, Lawrence began his work in experimental farming, which he continued after his arrival at North Middleborough. Experiments in cross-pollination were rigorously conducted by Lawrence who argued that "every farmer should engage in experimental work and see what he can learn. I do considerable and have found it very beneficial and profitable."

Lawrence claimed to have under cultivation "probably more varieties than any other private place in the United States." This included 90 varieties of garden peas, 75 varieties of lettuce, 45 varieties of sweet corn, and, ultimately 300 varieties of potatoes.

Previously, potato experimentation had been conducted at the Arlington Trial Grounds, but, in 1904, were transferred to the Lawrence farm. Seed potatoes were planted under the direction of representatives of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and conditions were carefully noted. Each of the three hundred varieties was planted separately and marked with tagged stakes. Lawrence made weekly reports upon their progress. When the time came to harvest the potatoes, the work had to be done by hand so that each variety could be bagged and labelled for the following season. State and Federal agricultural experts would be present to oversee the work.

Later, Lawrence devoted greater attention to the growing of fruit. In the first years of his Middleborough farm, Lawrence cultivated seedless varieties of watermelons and apples, but he later turned to berry cultivation. As Mrs. Romaine notes in her history of Middleborough, "Lawrence drew wide attention by his experiments in berry growing." The experiments in question related to the possibility of the commercial cultivation of huckleberries, and these experiments were reported in the Boston Globe at the time. Lawrence transplanted a wild huckleberry bush from a nearby swamp to his farm, where it flourished, despite the lack of any special encouragement. It produced berries "almost as large as small cherries and which grew in clusters of 15 to 30."

Despite the scope of Lawrence's experiments and the number of vegetable and fruit varieties grown on his farm, only about four acres of land were cultivated. Specifically in regard to the experimental potato patch, this acreage contrasts greatly with the nearby State Farm at Bridgewater where some 65 acres were devoted solely to the cultivation of potatoes.

Lawrence was generally employed in farm work four or five days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m., and was assisted in this work by his father, James Lawrence (1835-1910). The remaining days would be utilized by Reverend Lawrence to prepare his Sunday work. "He frankly states that he can use this time to good advantage farming, and does not visit his parishioners when they are well, but when they are sick he is always on hand to offer consolation and assistance."

Lawrence also gave his parishioners practical demonstrations of farming, and shared agricultural advice with them, "and for this reason, if no other, he has come to be one of the most popular pastors of the Baptist Church in the north precinct of the town."

"For myself, I try to keep ahead of my members in all branches of farming, as many of my members are engaged in that pursuit, and then I can always give them points on farming, and by thus assisting them have a better hold upon them. I can teach the spiritual lessons on a broader scale if I have the outdoor training which is incidental to farm life, and many of my best inspirations for sermon topics have come to me while at work in the field," Lawrence believed.

Lawrence left his pastorate, potato patch and experimental farm in 1907.

Illustrations:
"Potatoes", photograph by Eleanor Martin, August 16, 2009.  Used under a Creative Commons license.

Joseph Reynard Lawrence (1868-1925), photograph, c. 1893, Emery, Rutland, Vermont.
Reverend J. R. Lawrence about the time of his wedding in 1893.

The Inhospitable Hotelkeeper

Jeremiah (“Jerry”) Cohan (1848-1917), father of George M. Cohan, was a noted vaudevillian during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though Cohan would later be best known as one of the “Four Cohans” which also included his wife Helen (“Nellie”) Costigan Cohan, son George and daughter Josie, Cohan toured successfully as a solo performer during the 1870s and 1880s, visiting many cities and small towns, including Middleborough. Though the date and details of Cohan’s visit are not known, it probably occurred during the mid-1870s. What is known is that Cohan enjoyed a less than satisfactory stay at one of the local hostelries, thanks to an inhospitable hotelkeeper, with Cohan later leaving his experience on record. The hotelkeeper in question was in all probability Levi B. Miller, who was proprietor of the Nemasket House on North Main Street during the period that Cohan is likely to have visited and who had previously kept a hotel at Malden, Massachusetts. Miller was born in Maine (thereby fitting Cohan’s characterization as a “’Way Down East’ landlord”). The daughter mentioned would have been Hattie Miller. Though Cohan may have felt poorly treated by the Millers’ lack of hospitality, he also found amusement in their country ways as indicated by the following account which appeared in the New York Times in 1903:

Jerry J. Cohan, of the Four Cohans, commenced his career when he was a boy about sixteen years old. He was a dancer, and in those days considered the champion clog dancer of the country. Mr. Cohan travelled with the Harrigan Hibernica Company, and besides doing his dancing specialty, also lectured on the panorama used in the show. They played many cities and towns from the Atlantic to the Pacific and seldom overlooked a “stand,” whether it was on the map or not and even if obliged to play in the school house. In relating his experience Mr. Cohan tells of many funny incidents that have happened en route; one in particular is concerning the town of Middleboro, Mass., where it is alleged the author of the “Country Circus” got his idea for that once famous play.

“There were about fifteen people in our company,” relates Mr. Cohan, “and we were all obliged to stop at one hotel. At the dinner table all our company had been seated, including Mrs. Cohan, when I appeared in the dining room, and the landlord’s daughter, who was head waitress, assistant, and, in fact, the entire force of waiters, insisted ‘that I set at a separate table.’ I did.

“This caused a great deal of merriment among the folks, and I decided for the fun of the thing to raise Cain with the proprietor, the girl’s father, so when the dinner was over I hurried to the office and confronted the “Way Down East” landlord and started in to the full extent of my ability. For fully ten minutes I roasted, stormed, and swore at the treatment I received and, after being thoroughly exhausted, I quit. To my surprise the old landlord yawned, stretched his arms over his head, and replied:

“'Wa’ll, I don’t know as your talk is goin’ to scare anyone ‘round here.'

“After the laughter died out I asked for writing paper and envelopes and was informed by Mr. Hotelkeeper that he did not run a stationery store. Oh! The place was an exceptional hit to all of us. Harry Steele, one of our company, asked to be called at 7 A. M. and was informed that he would be called when they saw fit, but we were all obliged to wake up at 5:30 A. M. and catch an early train. When we came down stairs to the office the county Sheriff stood at the desk until all our board bills were settled, and then we departed wondering when we would play Middleboro again.”


Illustration:
The Four Cohans, photograph, 1888.
The photograph depicts Jeremiah and Helen Cohan with their son George M. and daughter Josie about 10 years after Mr. and Mrs. Cohan visited Middleborough.  The foursome would later become nationally famous as the "Four Cohans", and Jerry would draw upon his experience in Middleborough when performing the country "rube".

Source:
New York Times, “Stageland Gleanings from Here and There”, May 24, 1903

A Middleborough Naturalist in Florida, 1874

Among the earliest Middleborough visitors to Florida was John Whipple Potter Jenks (1819-94), a naturalist, professor at Brown University and resident of Middleborough. Jenks had gained local prominence as the principal of Peirce Academy at Middleborough, a private college preparatory institution whose reputation improved steadily during Jenks’ tenure. While at the Academy, Jenks also pursued his interest in natural history, at one time assisting the noted naturalist Louis Agassiz with the acquisition of freshly-laid turtle eggs which Agassiz required for the compilation of his landmark study on the embryology of turtles. In 1870, Jenks resigned his position at Peirce Academy and later assumed the directorship of the museum at Brown University where he lectured on agricultural matters. In late summer, 1874, Jenks would be named professor of Zoology and Agriculture at Brown.

At the time Jenks moved to Brown, Florida had been popularized as a destination for naturalists through earlier visits by such naturalists as William Bartram, John James Audubon, and Titian Ramsey Peale had. Reports noted the rich variety of flora and fauna, and the appeal to a naturalist like Jenks was easily understood. This increasing interest in Florida as a naturalist’s paradise was fostered following the Civil War by the burgeoning post-war development of natural history as a field of study and the requisite need for the collection of scientific and popular specimens. A noted local naturalist himself, who had established a fine collection of specimens at Peirce Academy, and later Brown University, Jenks was drawn to Florida, and specifically the region north of Lake Okeechobee in early 1874. The object of Jenks 1874 tour of Florida was to secure scientific and popular specimens, many of which undoubtedly made their way into the display cases at Brown.

Additionally, Florida by the mid-1870s had achieved some notoriety in the north as a destination thanks to reports by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and it was rapidly acquiring fame as a refuge for invalids, though little was known of the interior or the southern portion of the state. As a naturalist, Jenks was determined to know the region first hand, taking exception to those academics who explored only from the comfort of their studies. “Into such a wild region you must go if you would study nature first hand instead of second. Hence the reason so few naturalists do anything more than study books and take the observations of others and use them second-handed.” Accordingly, in January, 1874, Jenks set out upon an expedition to Florida, the object of which was to visit Lake Okeechobee in the center of the southern peninsula, and his adventure would be documented in Hunting in Florida 1874 which Jenks published privately in 1884.

Jenks’ companions on the excursion were “an experienced collector of forty, inured to all the hardships of camp life, and recognized by naturalists as Doctor P., and the other two, youths of eighteen, inexperienced, but enthusiastic, whom we will call Erwin and Fred.” Though Jenks was reticent about revealing the identities of his companions, Doctor P. was likely Alpheus Spring Packard (1839-1905) a noted entomologist who would later serve as professor of zoology and geology at Brown Later, in 1885, Jenks and Packard would travel to Mexico. The “two youths of eighteen” were Erwin Isaac Shores (1854-1906), a Brown University student from Suffield, Connecticut, whose interest in ornithology was fostered by Jenks, and possibly Frederick Tingley Jencks (1856-1948), a distant relation who would later become the junior partner in the natural history specimen dealership Southwick & Jencks of Providence.

For the trip, Jenks was outfitted in a canvas hunting suit and equipped with a double-barrelled breechloader, revolver and claw-hatchet. “For preserving and transporting specimens, I found a tin knapsack, constructed with various apartments for alcoholic vials, lunches, medicine-box and eggs, very convenient. “ Ten gallons of alcohol, twenty pounds of arsenic and “hundreds” of muslin bags were included for preserving specimens, as well as instruments for skinning birds and animals and blowing eggs.

Jenks visited the state in 1874 just 9 years following the Civil War which remained fresh in the minds of the people, and he visited the battlefield at Olustee in northern Florida. Like later travelers, Jenks commented at first upon the contrast in the weather he found in Jacksonville, with that he left behind in Middleborough. “At 10 A. M. arrived at Jacksonville – four and one-half days from snow and ice, to orange groves laden with fruit.” Jenks speaks of Florida as being known as a land of invalids, making note of his unexpected encounter with a colleague at Jacksonville who sought the southern climate for his health.

Despite the fact that the coasts of Florida were relatively well known (though sparsely settled outside the few cities such as Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Pensacola), the interior was largely a mystery. Jenks went in search of Lake Okeechobee which like the source of the Nile remained unknown and unmapped. One of Jenks’ informants told him, “It is said to be there, but I have never met one who has seen it. Should you find it and return, having escaped its miasma and reptiles, do not fail to give me a call…”

Common practice among visitors to Florida was the shooting of wildlife from the decks of steamers plying the rivers, and Jenks’ companions were no different. “Once more on the St. John’s, we found its breadth steadily narrowing, till it was reduced to less than 200 ft., an advantage to the hunters on board, of which they were not slow to avail themselves, in popping away at every alligator and large bird that appeared at short or long range.” Clearly, Jenks found the slaughter of local wildlife senseless.

Jenks experienced a number of adventures as he and his party travelled southward towards Okeechobee through the prairies, cypress swamps and everglades. Eventually, guided by a Seminole Indian named Tommy, Jenks reached his objective. Fighting their way through tall grass, and wading through waist-deep water, the party transferred to canoes, eventually finding its way through a bramble-tangled cypress swamp, their course impeded by fallen logs and confused by the lack of a perceptible current. “After toiling another hour in forcing our way through the cypress, and disturbing not a few ‘’gator, moc’sins and such like varmin,’ as my ‘Cracker’ companion called them, we found ourselves suddenly debouching on the lake, with only a water horizon in front, and limitless banks on the right and left. The problem is solved – there is a Lake Okeechobee, and even my ‘Cracker’ guide, who had been five years searching for it, is obliged to give up his doubts and confess that I had enabled him to find it.”

Surprisingly, once Jenks reached Okeechobee, he appears to have spent little time investigating it. An expansive, yet shallow body of water (Jenks’ native guide assured him is was no deeper anywhere than eight feet), the vegetation of the surrounding cypress sloughs held greater interest for Jenks, “the gigantic ferns and flaming epiphytic air plants. Overarching vines and Spanish moss festooned the trees, while variegated leaves of beautiful lilies tinted the waters. But hideous snakes and repulsive alligators alone represented the animal kingdom to enjoy these rare charms of the vegetable – leading me often to ask, ‘Why does the Creator so frequently display His selected skill in places inaccessible to mortal man?’”

Jenks’ 1874 visit to Okeechobee would pave the way for later explorers, including editor Will Wallace Harney, author Frederick A. Ober and naturalist John Kunkel Small.

Illustrations:
John Whipple Potter Jenks, photograph, F. J. Walsh, Trenton, New Jersey, c. 1874
Jenks appears in this photograph dressed in the outfit he described in Hunting in Florida 1874: "For hunting-dress outfit, I was provided with a suit of sail cloth, colored yellowish brown or butternut, to resemble dead leaves, the sack coat prepared with ten pockets, besides one, full size of the skirt, for large specimens, the pants with six pockets, two blue flannel shirts, with inside pockets for watch, money and photographs, all wrapped in oil silk bags (carefully keeping paper money from contact with the oil silk surface, by first enclosing it in an envelope), military boots and brogans, and four pair of thick woolen socks."  Jenks cradles his double-barreled breechloader used "for obtaining game".

Hunting in Florida 1874, title page, privately printed by John Whipple Potter Jenks, 1884
Jenks' account of his 1874 trip to Florida, and his search for Lake Okeechobee was published ten years after the event and was distributed to friends and colleagues.  The slim volume, however, is one of the earliest accounts by a naturalist of the Okeechobee region.

Map of Florida Showing the Route of the Jenks Party in 1874
The green line marks the route followed by the Jenks party between Jacksonville and lake Okeechobee.  Much of the route followed the course of the St. John's and Indian Rivers.  While the St. John's was navigable by steamer and proved relatively comfortable for the group, the final leg of the journey between Fort Capron and Lake Okeechobee was through rough, relatively unknown, territory characterized by difficult terrain and teeming with snakes and alligators.

Dr. Stockbridge's Tribute to Prof. Jenks, 1894

The following is an excerpt from Reverend J. C. Stockbridge's eulogy of Professor John Whipple Potter Jenks which was published in the Brown University magazine at the time of Jenks' death in 1894 and excerpted in one of the Middleborough newspapers shortly thereafter.

Rev. J. C. Stockbridge, D. D., writes a tribute to the late Prof. John Whipple Potter Jenks, in the Brown magazine, from which we are privileged to make the following excerpts:

Let me begin by saying that he sprang from an honored ancestry. He was the great grandson of Jonathan Jenks, whose wife was the great-granddaughter of Roger Williams, He also numbered among his ancestors William Jenks, who was Chief Justice of the colony of Rhode Island, the founder of the family in this colony. Joseph Jenks came from Buckinghamshire, England, in 1643. We are told that “tradition traces the ancestry back to a Welsh Chieftain, Elystan Glodryd of the 4th Royal Tribe of the year 750, and still farther back, by tradition, to the year 150 B. C. Certain it is that the stock is of Welsh origin.”

When in the thirteenth year of his age his father consented to give up his time, he determined to support himself while fitting for college, and he did it, with some help from a friend, who became deeply interested in his desire and purpose to obtain an education. Subsequently he repaid this friend all he had advanced him.

The work of preparation was at last completed, and young Jenks, then a little more than fifteen years of age, left Middleborough, Mass., on the fifth of July, 1834, to enter Brown University. He had thus far, paid his way, and, as he tells us, had “only twenty-five cents in his purse.” His sister, however, lent him money enough to pay his stage fare to providence. He was examined, and having been matriculated, took the head of his class as was then the custom, on its roll. He then returned to his home in Southbridge, spent the eight weeks of the vacation in hard work, earned fifty dollars, forty of which at the commencement of the college year, he deposited in compliance with the regulation requiring such deposit, with the steward, Mr. Elliot. Out of the remaining ten dollars he repaid the loan made to him by his sister, and appropriated the rest, so far as it would go, to the purchase of books and the furnishing of his room, then No. 4 South Division of Hope College. What was the condition of his finances when he came to his first recitation, he tells us in the following words: “I entered upon my first recitation with six and a quarter cents, an old-fashioned ‘fourpence halfpenny’, in my pocket, which at night I had to give as postage on a letter from one on my Academy masters.’”

Illustration:
John Whipple Potter Jenks, photograph, late 19th century.