Documentary History of American Water-works

Brunswick

Brunswick, Maine

Brunswick was originally settled by Europeans in 1628 and was originally called by its Indian name, Pejepscot, which was changed to Brunswick in 1717.

The Brunswick Force Pump Waterworks was incorporated in 1825 by Abner Bourne, Jonathan Page, and Jonathan Kidder. This company installed a water-driven pump that forced water from the river into a large tank, from which it was distributed by gravity. This system was still operating in 1846 when water was used to extinguish a fire.

The Pejepscot Water Company was incorporated in 1881 by Charles J. Gilman, Benjamin Green, John Furbish, Eliphalet W. Dennison, Albert G. Page and Samuel D. Bailey, "for the purpose of conveying to the towns of Brunswick and Topsham and the city of Bath a supply of pure water, for domestic and municipal purposes, including the extinguishment of fires, the supply of shipping and the use of manufacturing establishments."

The Pejebscot Water Company built a new system pumping water from the Adroscoggin River to a stand pipe using steam engines. This company was leased to the Maine Water Company in February 1891.

The Brunswick and Topsham Water District was formed in 1903 to supply water to those communities. The district took the property of the Pejepscot Water Company by eminent domain on January 1, 1904, and subsequent proceedings determined the value of the system to be $196,162.

Water in Brunswick is currently supplied by the Brunswick and Topsham Water District.

References
1825 An act to incorporate the Proprietors of the Brunswick Force Pump Waterworks. February 25, 1825.

1878 History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine: Including the Ancient Territory Known as Pejepscot, by George Augustus Wheeler
Page 272: In the summer of 1828 or 1830, a force pump was erected at the upper dam. It was operated by water power, and it forced water from the river through pipes, into a large tank which was situated on the high ground west of Union Street, about where the corn-house of the Honorable C. J. Gilman now stands. From thence the water was carried, by its own gravity, through pipes to Maine Street, just north of Lincoln Street, where it flowed continuously through a standing pipe, and thence along the gutter at the side of the street to the cove, where it entered the river. This arrangement worked well in summer. but when winter came the water froze in the gutter, the street and sidewalks were overflowed and covered with ice for a long distance, and the experiment was abandoned. It was probably a private enterprise to secure the property of individuals from loss by fire, as there is nothing in the town records to indicate that the town had anything to do with it.
Page 274: In 1875 the town purchased the two and a half inch iron pipe which had been laid by the Compressed Air Company, from the bridge to the railroad station. It was connected with the force pump of the Pulp Company, and was found to throw a powerful stream of water for a long distance, through two hundred feet of hose.
Page 260: [1846.] On February 12, Humphrey's Dye House was burnt. On February 18, Major Willett's house, near the factory, was partially destroyed. Partly insured. The fire was extinguished by the Force--Pump Water Works. The fire was the work of an incendiary.

1881 An act to supply the people of the towns of Brunswick and Topsham and of the city of Bath with pure water. March 9, 1881.

1885 An act to amend the charter of the Pejepscot Water Company, March 4, 1885.

1888 "Brunswick," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 1.

1889 An act to amend the charter of the Pejepscot Water Company, February 12, 1889.

1890 "Brunswick," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.

1891 An act to amend the charter of the Maine Water Company, February 6, 1891

1891 An act in favor of the Bath Water Supply Company and the Pejepscot Water Company, March 31, 1891.

1891 "Brunswick," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.

1897 "Brunswick," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 4.

1903 An act to incorporate the Brunswick and Topsham Water District. March 11, 1903.

1904 Lewiston Evening Journal, Mar 22, 1904, Page 5.
Pejepscot Water Co. The plant, property and franchise of the Pejepscot Water Company having been seized by the Brunswick and Topsham Water District, under the right of Eminent Domain, the bonds of the Pejepscot Water Company will be redeemed at par and accrued interest at the office of the Maine Trust and Banking Company, Gardiner, Maine.

1904 Brunswick & T. Water Dist. v. Maine Water Co. 99 Me. 371. Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, December 14, 1904.