Businesses Past
by Richard D. L. Fulton
Emmitsburg Water Company
The incorporation and first board of commissioners of the “Emmitsburgh (sic) Water Company” was initially approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 1816. The board consisted of Robert L. Annan, Patrick Reid, John Agnew, Lewis Motter, and Daniel M. Moore, according to waterworkshistory.us.
A Private Corporation
The approval also authorized the now-incorporated “Emmitsburgh (sic) Water Company” to issue stock to raise the funds needed for the new fledgling operation, noting, “That the capital stock of said corporation shall not exceed ten thousand dollars, to be divided into five hundred shares of twenty dollars each.” It also established that, once the sale of stocks had been concluded, a date could then be set for the election of five directors to be elected from the pool of stockholders. Once the directors had been seated, the board would then vote for a board president.
Also in the same action, the General Assembly established penalties for anyone interfering with the operation of the water company, including throwing any dead bodies or other impure substances into the water system, a violation of which carried a $100 fine per incident (further elaborated upon by the assembly in 1884).
For whatever purpose, the incorporation of the Emmitsburg Water Company was again approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 1823, with a much more detailed dissertation on how the new company would function, including restating information relating to the sale of stocks, which the assembly had stated that the amount of stocks was not to be less than $3,500, nor exceed a value of $4,000.
Lewis Motter, James Hughes, Henry G. Water, Robert L. Annon, and Patrick Reid were appointed to sell stock. As an aside, the Assembly had also clarified that “throwing any dead bodies” in waters had referred to the bodies of dead animals.
Yet, nothing relating to any actual construction of any aspect of the proposed water company had been implemented. The proposed operation had managed to exist only on paper.
A Quasi-Private Corporation
In 1884, the General Assembly authorized Emmitsburg to establish a “joint stock water company” with the Emmitsburg Water Company and authorized the town to charge patrons of the water supply system with a water tax.
The approval was also conditioned on the installation of fire plugs or hydrants.
The above information represents a summation of Maryland state law via waterworkshistory.us.
One of these company’s fire hydrants became the center of some controversy when, during the March 1885 fire at Saint Joseph’s, Emmitsburg Water Company President Isaac Annan who, according to an article in the March 21, 1885, issue of The (Frederick) News, sat “astride of the hydrant” refusing to allow one of the fire companies attending the fire to use the water company’s hydrant, reportedly stating that he was the president of the water company, and that “not a drop of water should be used without his consent.” However, he subsequently “reluctantly” gave his permission.
Now that the Emmitsburg Water Company had actually and physically come into existence, the company began to aggressively expand its service area. The Catoctin Clarion reported on April 21, 1887, that “the Emmitsburg Water Company is continually extending its connections.”
A Municipal Water Company
The Town of Emmitsburg bought the water system in 1963 for $168,000, according to the December 30, 1964, issue of The (Frederick) News.
The official notice of the articles of dissolution of the Emmitsburg Water Company was filed on April 17, 1964, with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, according to the June 15, 1964, issue of The News.
The downside of the acquisition of the water company by the town was that they had found themselves a poorly maintained water delivery system.
The town has literally spent millions of dollars replacing aging water mains and upgrading old equipment, not including the installation of the drinking water treatment facility “modernization” improvements, such as a new clarifier. Such upgrades and improvements are ongoing, and still, technically, a work in progress.
The Emmitsburg Water Company provided the water for the fountain (seen in the lower left hand corner of this early 1900s postcard) that once served as the centerpiece in the town square. Source: Collection of Richard D. L. Fulton
