Rumors once existed, heard by those who lived then, saying that before the Child Street dam was built in Warren, there was only a ditch, stretching north between Child Street, along Serpentine Road, to Kinnicott Avenue. The dam caused the ditch to swell into a large body of water, and flood all property that abutted the entire length of ditch.

Needless to say, this left affected property owners irate, probably farmers — Warren being a farming town. Never having been compensated for their loss, many considered themselves cheated, and owners still of the land under water.

Occasionally later, some fishermen actually reported having had shots fired overhead — for trespassing.

All this is only rumor, of course.  But if true, who, then, owns the land under the water?

As we try to decide, let’s have no shooting!

I’m no engineer, so that should excuse me for asking dumb questions:

We all know that water flows downhill. Now, if the body of water on the north side of the Child Street dam is much higher than the body on the south side, won’t it naturally spill, empty into the lower south side, once the dam is removed? Is this what we want? Drain it into the ocean which, since the construction of the hurricane barrier in Providence, pushes higher up than ever to the dam; complete destruction of what many consider an object of beauty, and back to a marsh, a brackish ditch 6-year-olds can jump over? Just think, many consider Burr’s Hill Park one of Warren’s best held secrets. Another is this body of water along Serpentine Road.

Towns, recognized for their beauty, normally have a body of water like the Kicky.

There’s recreation — like freshwater fishing— or just plain walking ... fowl like squawking ducks are an attraction; motorists stop to watch a crabbing mother goose file her dozen clueless goslings across the road for a swim; as if they had never seen one before, photographers and excited strollers are attracted to the white, long-necked swans, frequent visitors, all year, for a swim, or whatever swans visit for.

Remember, no shooting; or try to keep it down, at least.

Leon Urban
Warren