The Remarkable Life and Career of Ellen Swallow Richards: Pioneer in Science and Technology

Chapter 11

Applied Scientists at Work

“Love of home and of what home stands for converts the drudgery of daily routine into a higher order of social service.”

~ Ellen Swallow Richards

“It is imperative that fresh air, not used-up, breathed-over-and-over-again air, should flow through the lungs,” Ellen stressed as she and Robert began work on the home they moved to after their wedding. She wanted them away from the pollution of Boston, and so they chose a neighborhood in Jamaica Plain just outside the city. The house they bought on Eliot Street was on a corner lot with air and light on all sides. It also had plenty of room for a garden. Across the street was an alley leading to a stable where Ellen and Robert were able to keep a horse.

Right away, Ellen tested their water to make sure it was clean. So many people, she said, were living at or “just above the diphtheria level.” Jamaica Pond, which had supplied water to Boston from as far back as the late 1700s, had been found to be polluted at times and had been the cause of multiple epidemics. No doubt, Ellen conscientiously kept abreast of its water quality.

She and Robert worked feverishly to bring their home up to a healthy standard that would set an example for others. Number 32 Eliot Street was not just their home, it became a living laboratory for the kind of life that Ellen and Robert felt nourished body and soul. Being knowledgeable applied scientists, they applied their scientific knowledge directly to their daily lives, ...