Incorporating history
Hitching Post Donation Makes it a 'Square for a square'

By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Thanks to a donation from Marie and Paul Desautels in the town’s north end, the fourth — and most important — antique hitching post is now available for use in the upcoming Union Square Courtyard park.
The town recently received state funding of more than $1.5 million for safety/sidewalk improvements on the seven streets between Grove and South Main streets. The total cost of the project, according to Economic and Community Development Director Mary Ann Chinatti, is $1,610,403. The balance would be the town’s share, surveys and plans. She expects the project to begin in the spring.
Sidewalks on two of the streets in line for improvement, Pleasant and Fremont, have three sentinels from the past — old metal hitching posts. 
They are expected to be removed when the project commences and Chinatti said they could be incorporated in the Union Square Courtyard park project if there were four. So they would form a square.
The Desautels had a hitching post in their garage for a long time and donated it. Last week the highway department came and got it. 
This fourth post is special. It’s cast iron, of course, but with very little rust. What stands out is that the chain attached to the post. Turns out the chain is very old and it’s hand forged. 
The chain gives riders options to adjust a horse’s lead rope. That prevents the horse from stepping on it or getting tangled. In addition the chain reduces friction on the horse’s lead rope. The metal post or the ring may fray the rope.
The safety/sidewalk project calls for a complete redo of the sidewalks on seven streets: Bradley, Center, Chapman, Fremont, King, Pleasant and Seward. Some of the streets only have a sidewalk on one side of the street. Most of the sidewalks are old and cracked and heaving up.

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