'Sconset Pump
How oft at this dear sparkling fountain of waters,
Our fathers of old slaked their thirst with a will,
And now their brave sons, and the islands fair daughters,
Drink deep from the nectar which flows from it still.
Arthur E. Jenks, "The New Wooden Pump" (1882)
In the 1770s, 'Sconset was a seasonal fishing village surrounded by grazing land and the sea. Although there was little focus of village life around formal institutions, there was an overwhelming need for the most basic necessity: water. Water to clean and dress fish, water to replenish the horses that carried people from town and hauled the catch back to market, and water to refresh the herds that roamed the meadows— more precious than gasoline today. An astonishing 160 citizens of Nantucket contributed £20, 4 shillings, and 9 pence, to the digging and construction of a well in 'Sconset. Previously, water had been pooled into cut-down hogsheads from rooftop runoff, a tradition that continued long after the well's construction. The Siasconset well and pump became the new meeting place and focal point of the community.
According to the short-lived 'Sconset Pump newspaper (1888), the "well has been in constant use ever since [its foundation], and to the best of our knowledge has never been dry."This was an excessively optimistic verdict, since much of the history of the pump revolves around the community rallying to support the repair of the iconic village water source. A celebration in 1882 was marked by a speech about the pump by Gen. Henry A. Barnum of New York, while "Mrs. Everett and other visiting ladies at 'Sconset, covered the pump with wreaths and festoons of flowers which had been generously furnished by Miss Eunice S. Barney."
In 1886, ten years after its hundredth anniversary, the pump was sorely in need of repairs, which were undertaken by a certain "Tucker of the Hub." A report of 1890 says, "The old 'Sconset pump is again in working condition, but there is an innovation about it that does not give universal pleasure. This is the railing that has been placed...." This was not the first "innovation" for the beloved waterworks. In 1857, the pump was converted from a "two-snout" operation, with an upper and lower outlet, to a "single-snout" device. The snouts, whether single or double, always gave out into a "half-hogshead, resting upon a group of cobblestones," to which wagons, or "tip-carts" could back up to receive water in their barrels.
The system worked intermittently through the decades, but in 1923, a group of concerned 'Sconset citizens led by Mrs. Frederick P. Hill created a fund to "keep this choice relic of bygone days in order." Whatever the results of those efforts, by 1951 the pump was again sorely in need of repair, when former selectman Ernest Coffin was appointed to uncover the original cobblestones under the surrounding grass and to repair and rebuild the mechanism, with the help of Kenneth Eldridge. Coffin also added a drinking trough. As 1976 approached, and bicentennial activities were planned for 'Sconset with a focus on the 200th anniversary of the pump, Kenneth Eldridge and his son, Nelson "Snooky" Eldridge, set about to overhaul the system and put it in proper working condition. The bicentennial celebration was a resounding success: clamshell tickets, delightful corsages, children in Revolutionary-period dress, ladies in homemade dresses and caps, cookbooks, and festivities—the entire 'Sconset community came together around the old pump once more. Since that memorable celebration, members of the Eldridge family have continued to serve as custodians of the pump, while others in the community, including Sheila Todd and Joan Brown Porter, have lovingly tended to the plantings and flowers that adorn it.
Snooky Eldridge has graciously taken it upon himself to create a full-scale replica of the pump for the exhibition. We would like to thank you, Snooky, and all who love the pump!
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A digital exhibition by the Nantucket Historical Association