Canton Historical Society Starts ‘Trough Trend’

Early members of the Canton Historical Society, as well as those of today, were concerned with preserving mementos of days gone by. It is highly unlikely, therefore, that any of its members who voted, in 1879, to erect a watering trough to commemorate the accomplishments of John Eliot, had any ideas of establishing a precedent for the future. Yet that is precisely what happened.

Although the Eliot Trough, at the intersection of Washington and Randolph streets, has remained the most familiar to Canton residents, the "fad" became almost a habit at the time. Throughout the town similar monuments sprang up overnight.

The Society, when it was formed was made up mostly of men of the Gibbon Club, an organization which had been meeting for years for the purpose of reading ancient history. Mostly natives of Canton, they joined together to form the Historical Society with the simple goal of obtaining and preserving any piece of material which might help shed light upon the history of the town.

To achieve that end, plans were formulated to transcribe all records not already copied and to trace the markings on all the older gravestones in town. It was also proposed that the organization obtain all documents, sermons, diaries, account books, town reports…anything which would offer insight to the people, events and places of the community.

Through the years the Society has made several pleas to the people of Canton to aid in the never ending search for historical data. The content of these pleas, as seen from the following excerpt from the very first, has varied no great deal.

"We want to treasure up all the old traditions from the time of the Indians to the present day. We should like, above all things, to rummage in forsaken attics, to ransack those mouldering papers which the good housewife has declared time and time again she will sell to the ragman…"

The Historical Society was also responsible for starting another tradition in the annals of Canton’s pregnant past. Under the inspired leadership of its first President, Daniel T. V. Huntoon, the group soon established the practice of Fast-Day walk.

It was then the habit that each year a different part of the town was visited. All Maps, deeds and other documents pertinent to the visited site were taken along to aid in acquainting the hikers with unfamiliar territories. Following the vigorous tramping through the woods and fields, the group would end the day at the meeting house, where everyone shared a boxed lunch. The day would conclude with an equally vigorous discussion of the places visited during the day.

The watering trough erected to the memory of "the labors of the Apostle Eliot among the Indians of Ponkapoag…" did, in fact, serve two purposes. Not only did it perpetuate Eliot’s memory, but at the time of its construction, offered cooling refreshment to man and beast. The cost of the granite monument was borne equally by the leading citizens of town.

In addition, several other similar gifts were given to the town by noted men of the day, among whom were Elijah Morse, William O. Chapman and Edwin Wentworth.