Stepped Into Well

BAKER, NEELY

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 9/1/2012 at 15:52:44

The Grinnell (IA) Herald; July 17, 1923

STEPPED INTO WELL
Miss Adelaide Baker Discovers Abandoned Well While Raking Lawn Saturday.
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LOCATED ON LAWN OF NEELY PROPERTY.
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Was Covered With Sod Three Inches Thick--Filled with Water and Slime.
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To step into an abandoned well covered with only three inches of sod and located in the midst of a spacious lawn was the unusual experience of Miss Adelaide Baker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Baker of Searsboro.

Miss Baker was raking the lawn of their Grinnell home, 1126 Summer street, Saturday when she suddenly felt the ground give way under her foot. Before she could move from the spot she had sunk through the sod up to her knee but by throwing herself to one side managed to extricate herself.

On investigation it was found that she had discovered an abandoned well. The sod, covering the well, was not over three inches thick and was the only support. The well was filled with water and slime up to about ten feet from the top, but its depth could not be ascertained. It was bricked practically to the surface of the ground.

Presumably the well had been filled when it was abandoned and the dirt had settled leaving an open space between the sod and the surface of the filling. Children have played over the spot for more than ten years without discovering its existance.

The well was located on the property owned by E.M. Neely, now of Long Beach, California.