Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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Geology in Essex County By Shirley Knowles L atin is regarded by many as a dead language. It is, in the sense that scholars fifty or a hun- dred years from now who study the language will be using the same works that we are using today. There will have been nothing new written for them to use. They will have at their disposal the same works we have — the same, and no more. Geologists, on the other hand, in their study of the earth will have to aid them the records of former geologists and the earth itself, con- stantly changing with a never-end- ing opportunity for study. Since the beginning of time down through the ages, the earth has gone through numerous changes. By studying the formations of the mountains and bodies of water, the land and the sea itself, geologists are able to dis- cover what did happen and what is likely to happen to this world on which we live. Earthquakes are one factor which contributed to changes in the forma- tion of the earth. A theory has been advanced which would account for the changes wrought by the earth- quakes in the Rocky and Appala- chian Mountain ranges. It is be- lieved that the Rocky Mountains are much younger than our mountain ranges on the eastern coast. The earthquakes are more frequent on the west coast because the Rockies are in the process of being made. They are pushing up through the ground and gradually increasing in height each year. The Appala- chians, however, are completed and are now in a process of degenera- tion. The first severe earthquakes in this vicinity recorded in human his- tory was in Boston, June, 1638. An account of it is given as follows in Bradford’s History: “This year about ye 1. or 2. of June was a great and fearfull earthquake ; it was in this place heard before it was felte. It came with a rumbling noyse, or low murmure like unto remoate thunder: it came from ye norward, pased southward. As ye noyse aproched nerer, the earth begane to shake and came at length with that violence as caused platters, dishes, such like things as stood upon shelves, to clatter and fall down; yea persons were afraid of ye houses themselves.’’ He goes on to say that the people believed it was a sign of the Lord’s displeasure. The earthquake did not last long, but it was especially severe, being felt along the coast as well as on the land. About a half an hour later there was one more shock of less violence. The account closes say- ing, “So powerful is ye mighty hand of ye Lord as to make both the earth and sea to shake, and the mountains to tremble before him when he pleases; and who can stay his hand ?’’ An earthquake of perhaps more local interest to us occurred in New- buryport in October, 1727. In those days the ministers kept the records of the shocks. From the record of Reverend Mathias Plant we learn that it occurred on a Sunday night about twenty minutes of eleven. The chimneys and fences, and dishes and pottery in the houses 23

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In recent years, a strong tendency has developed to employ convicts, without intervention of private con- trol, on highways or public works. Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah use this plan. The results have been highly favorable. In Arizona recently, one hundred fifty-seven miles of raihvay have been built at a cost of $298 a mile, or one-fifth the cost if the same work were done by private concerns. Having in mind the development, the growth, and the gradual im- provement of our prison system in the past, it is pertinent at this time to take into consideration further penal reforms that have been sug- gested by experienced criminolog- ists. It is the opinion of most of these experts that our method of sentencing a convicted person must be improved. It is an established fact that the present jury system has many inconsistencies. Too much responsibility is placed on the jury, which is usually composed of men v ho are not familiar with criminal problems. Attempts should be made to assist the judges in their work by field investigations, by psychopathic laboratories, and by other social agencies. It is clear that such in- vestigations need to be extended very greatly, and to these agencies should be transfered most of the work of deciding what to do with the person after conviction. Fur- thermore, more power should be given to the boards of parole. These bodies should be allowed to act without the intervention of politi- cians. These bodies are usually composed of men who are more capable of passing judgment on criminal problems than are inex- perienced outsiders. The crime situation in this coun- try has become so appalling during the past few years that those who are acquainted with the problem are urging the prevention of crime. These believe that our efforts in re- ducing the number of crimes would be more fruitful if we gave more at- tention to the preventive aspects than we have been giving in the past. After numerous studies and investigations criminal experts are generally agreed that proper educa- tion can do much to decrease the number of crimes. These men have learned that the great majority of our prison population consists of men and women who have had little or no schooling, practically no basic religious training, and whose crim- inal careers can be traced to earlv vouth. It is evident that if we are to get anvwhere in preventing crime, it will reouire the co-opera- tion of the home, the church, and the school. The success of anv ef- forts in crime prevention rests snuarely upon the shoulders of these three social agencies. In the future, it is hoped that thev will meet their responsibilitv and make America safe for the law abiding citizen. 22

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were thrown down. He mentions particularly the fact that in the places where the ground was cracked open some earth of a differ- ent color from that on the surface was thrown up. During the week there were fifteen shocks and then no further disturbances. As a re- sult of this earthquake there was a religious revival because the people, smelling the sulphur, believed that it was the work of the devil. In November, 1775, about seven- teen days after the earthquake at Lisbon, another earthquake oc- curred in Boston. This one v as the worst in the history of the city. In one place the eruptions caused a spring to flow out of the ground which has continued flowing to this day. The springs of Essex County are called boiling springs because they come out of the ground with such force. The water of all the springs of Essex County is soft and good to drink and in some cases is sold commercially as mineral v ater. The early settlers built their houses near these springs in order to obtain their water supply easily. The land which was dry and sandy or rocky was used for public buildings and burial grounds. Another force that contributed to the changing of the earth was the glacier. Ordinarily we speak of but one glacier, but according to rec- ords of geologists there were two The character of Essex County, a hard uneven surface of rock and lit- tle soil, is due to the work of the second glacier. A number of years after the glacier there was an uplift of land which in Essex County amounted to about two hundred feet. When the land was thus raised, it caused the rivers that had been formed from the ice and gla- ciers t o cut deep ridges in the ground. Rafe’s Chasm in Magnolia, named after a certain Ralph, an early settler, is an example of this. Ipswich has the largest area of all the towns and cities in Essex County, forty-one square miles. The next largest city in area is Glouces- ter having thirty-four. The small- est town is Nahant having but one square mile. The highest hill in Essex County is Holt’s Hill in An- dover having an elevation of 400 feet. In Ipswich the highest is Turn- er’s Hill v.flth 260 feet. The lowest drumlin in Essex County is Little Neck in Ipswich with an elevation of only eighty feet. It might be of interest to note that before the glacier the forma- tion of Gloucester Harbor was en- tirely different from that of to-day. The inner harbor was entirely dry, and Norman’s Woe, celebrated in Longfellow’s poem, and Eastern Point were separated by only a very small stream. Eastern Point was also connected to Thatcher’s Is- land and Londoner’s Rocks off Rock- port. The beach at Ipswich is supposed: to be one of the most beautiful in this part of the country. In Profes- sor Sears’s book, Ipswich Beach is given as an example of the perfect beach in the formation of sand, wa- ter, and land. A number of years after the glaciers there was a pe- riod when much land sank into the sea. The sea was disturbed by storms, and the breakers caused ridges of gravel and sand to form. 24