BOSTON (WHDH) - A massive sinkhole found in Dorchester’s Ronan Park on Sunday turned out to be a historic well.
Using an iPhone, a paint roller and some flashlights, archaeologist Joe Bagley conducted a video inspection of the hole on Tuesday afternoon and determined it is a well that is 6.5 feet deep and under 10 feet of fill.
The well is associated with the house of a woman named Mary Pierce and would have been in use until the home received running water in the late 19th century, according to the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.
The house was demolished between 1910 and 1918 to create the park.
Bagley estimated that the well was at least double its current depth but that it was partially filled by the soils that collapsed into the well when its cover failed during the weekend rainstorm.
Bagley is taking the data his team collected and will file a final detailed report to determine when Mary Pierce’s house was built to get an approximate date of the well’s construction, learn exactly where the well is located, and compare the site to the Pinckney Street well, which Bagley’s team documented on Beacon Hill.
A fence is currently blocking the site of the hole but there are plans for it to be filled.
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