Now a beautiful planter in front of the new Williamsburg Public Safety Complex, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union watering trough first stood at the intersection of Main Street (Route 9) and South Street. (This old postcard shows a view looking east.) Its original function was to provide water for humans and animals large and small. It was installed in 1910 and stood for years in front of the former Helen E. James School.
The tub was a gift of the local W.C.T.U., including town benefactor Helen E. James, and was part of the national movement whose original mission was to outlaw alcohol. It is inscribed: “Taught by that Power that pities me, I learn to pity them. 1910”. The words are a quote from “A ballad” (sometimes called “The Hermit”), a poem that is part of Oliver Goldsmith’s novel “The Vicar of Wakefield.” Oddly, it appears from the image on the vintage postcard that the tub originally had the word “one” instead of “me” carved in the stone. It seems to have been corrected at some point in the tub’s journey. Daria D’Arienzo, Meekins Archivist. #throwbackthursday; #tbt.
