By Elizabeth Malloy, Executive Director, Haddam Historical Society.
(Sept. 25, 2020) — Prior to the 20th century few Haddam homes had indoor running water and relied on an outside hand-dug, shallow well to provide water for everyday activities including cooking, cleaning and washing. Multiple times during the day water would be lugged inside in buckets by older children or adults. The well was dug on the property near enough to the house for convenience but far away from the privy for health reasons.
Early wells were dug to a depth just below the water table (anywhere from 15 to 100 feet), were circular in shape and lined with stone. Sometimes a nearby spring or brook could supply water when necessary. Some homes had cisterns in which collected water could be stored.
The early hand dug wells were covered with a well cap, a circular or slab piece of stone, piece of wood or a simple wooden well house to prevent people or animals from falling into the well. Water was retrieved by lowering a bucket on a rope into the well or a windlass. These were later replaced by hand pumps, which can still be found some yards today.
By the 1930s electric water pumps were available to most homeowners and the shallow wells and well houses were abandoned. Most well houses seen today are a decorative feature, but if you drive around slow enough you can still spy some older ones watching guard over the old well.
