A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Part II, Part 9

Author: Orcutt, Samuel, 1824-1893
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: [New Haven, Conn.], [Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor]
Number of Pages: 904

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Part II > Part 9

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The Bridgeport and West Stratford Horse Rail- road Company was chartered in January, 1885, with right to build a road from the Depot of the Consolidated railroad in Bridgeport along Stratford avenue to Nesumpaws creek, also a branch through East Main street to Crescent avenue. The incorporators were: H. N. Beardsley, A. J. Beardsley, Warren B. Nichols, H. B. Drew, Samuel Wilmot, James Staples, V. R. C. Giddings, D. F. Hollister, Jacob Borstle- man and James Bounds. The company was organized June 13, 1885, by the election of the following officers: D. F. Hollister, President; H. B. Drew, Secretary and Treasurer ; and H. N. Beardsley, A. J. Beardsley, H. B. Drew, D. F. Hollister, W. H. Bunnell, Jacob Borstleman and Warren B. Nichols, Directors. Work was begun on the road about the first of August, 1885, and the cars commenced running Octo- ber 12th of the same year. The road has already proved to be a success in every respect.11

11 Further notices of manufactories may be found in the chapter following.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE CITY OF BRIDGEPORT. (CONTINUED).

UBLIC parks constitute a noticeable feature of the city of Bridgeport. The extent of ter- ritory in them, with the public greens-three in all-is about two hundred and forty acres, -Seaside Park having about one hundred, Beardsley Park about one hundred and twenty-five, and Washington Park, Pem- broke avenue-Old Mill Green-and the Parade Ground, over fifteen more. This extent of park territory gives one acre to every 170 persons of the city, if there are, as supposed, 40,000 inhabitants in it, which is, probably, a larger park area to the num- ber of inhabitants than in any city in the United States, and hence the propriety of i the name " Park City." It is said that "the park system of Chicago, Ill.,' is one of the most extensive in the world." It has 1,850 acres of parks to 500,000 inhabitants, or about one acre to 330 persons, and therefore Bridgeport has nearly double the acreage of parks to the number of in- habitants that Chicago has, and is so far ahead of that city.

Seaside Park lies along the shore of the Sound in the southern part of the city, about one mile from the post office, on State street. Public attention was first directed to the shore of Long Island Sound, in front of the city of Bridgeport, as an appropriate and picturesque place for a city park, by the encampment of the seventeenth regiment upon it in the summer of 1862, and the experiments of General Gillmore with the Ames gun in the same locality two years later. On

1 The Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. v, 613.

SEASIDE PARK.

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Bridgeport.

October 1, 1863, an article in the "Standard" urged the importance of one or more public parks for the city, and on September 9, 1864, another article in the same journal rec- ommended the purchase of this tract of land for such a pur- pose, describing it in the following graphic terms :

"It is a beautiful piece of land, free from rocks, skirted for a considerable part of the way on the north by fine forest trees, and bounded on the south for its entire length by the sparkling waters of the Sound. From this water-front, which is cool and pleasant in the hottest days, a picturesque and enchanting water view is obtained. On the left, as we stand facing the harbor, is the city, with its tall spires and chimneys pointing skyward from among the trees; the harbor, dotted with its sailing craft, and the wooded point opposite, with its cottages ; to the west the green, sloping shores of Black Rock stretch far around to the lighthouse. Far away to the south, across the Sound, rise the hills of Long Island in picturesque beauty, while upon the intervening, placid waters, float a constant panorama of white-sailed vessels, passing up and down these blue waters of the Sound."

These articles attracted the attention of leading citizens, who began to move in the matter, and Mr. Frederick Hurd called on the owners of the land and secured their pledges to give a number of acres for the purposes of a park. Messrs. Phineas T. Barnum and James C. Loomis favored the enter- prise from the first, and the former, especially, pushed it with his usual energy. Early in November, 1864, a survey of the land was made by E. R. Lambert and George Beckwith, and a map of it hung in the post office, showing the area of the proposed park to be about thirty-five acres, thirteen of which were located in the town of Bridgeport, and the remainder within the territory since annexed, but at that time a part of the township of Fairfield. Additions were made to this ter- ritory in 1868, for the purposes of a trotting park, so that there were about seventy acres, and the whole was gradually im- proved from year to year until the autumn of 1884, when Mr. P. T. Barnum gave nearly thirty acres more, by which the area and boulevard are extended west to Black Rock Harbor. This boulevard will eventually be one of the most beautiful

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and charming in the nation. The trotting course within this park is one of the finest of the kind, being an amphitheatre froin eight to fifteen feet below the carriage bed of the boule- vard, and the track passing around a placid lake, the surface of which is about on a level with the water of the Sound out- side the boulevard.

Two monuments already grace this park, very appropri- ately ; the one is the soldiers' monument and the other the statue of Elias Howe, Jr., the inventor; the latter was a present to the city upon condition that it should furnish an appropriate pedestal, which it did, and the statue was placed upon it, facing the ocean, in the autumn of 1884. The loca- tion of it is very fitting and advantageous in every respect.

The soldiers' monument is the pride of the city, for, while it is not the most expensive of its kind, nor grand in magni- tude, it is beautiful, appropriate, elegant as a work of art, and gives great satisfaction to all the people. It is a monument to all.the soldiers in the late war, although but the names of those who died during the war are inscribed upon it. This monument was secured by the ladies Soldiers' Monument Association, aided by a special appropriation by the town of Bridgeport, and cost about $30,000. At the close of the late war the Soldiers' Aid Society, composed of more than one hundred and fifty women, which had done a great and noble work during the war, resolved itself into the Soldiers' Mon- ument Association, and by a most successful career they raised more than $10,000, to which was added by the town about $18,500, and with this united sum the society placed in the park the very satisfactory monument as it now stands.

The Beardsley Park is located in the northeastern part of the city, bordering on the Pequonnock river and lake, and contains in all over one hundred and twenty-five acres of beautiful and appropriate territory, rich in soil and varied in its scenery. The Housatonic railroad passes on the opposite or western side of the lake, and there will eventually be a station to accommodate picnic parties and others in visiting the park, and soon the horse railroad will be extended north- ward to the southern end of the park, when all the city can reach it with ready and easy facility.

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Bridgeport.

The land contained in this park was donated by Mr. James W. Beardsley to the city upon certain conditions of improvement within a certain number-a few only-of years, which conditions have thus far been met, and there is not the least fear of failure in completing the same. The land-every acre of it-was purchased by Mr. Beardsley at different times and was no part of the old homestead which descended to him from his uncle, James Walker. The greater part of this land now included in the park was laid out originally to Robert Walker in 1715, and held in the Walker family nearly one hundred years, when it was sold, and after some years was purchased by Mr. Beardsley, and by him cultivated as a part of his farm a number of years and then given to the city, as above stated. The homestead which descended to him through his mother, Betsey Walker, daughter of James Wal- ker, Jr., who married Elisha H. Beardsley, father of James W., is now Mr. Beardsley's residence, kept very choicely as the home of his ancestors for three generations, or since 1739.' "The site of the Beardsley Park, compared with the Seaside Park, is elevated, broad, of diversified surface, and naturally of a pastoral, sylvan, and idyllic aspect. Al- though it commands a distant view of the sea, its best and most characteristic outlook is over a great landscape in the opposite direction. Except when broken by ledges of rock, the modeling of its surface is large, simple, and graceful, and the outcropping ledges present valuable elements and oppor- tunities for producing picturesque incidents. Fine views are to be had from the upper part of Walker's Hill, especially to the northward, eastward, and southward. At the north end of Walker's Hill there is a prominent, smooth-topped ledge, upon which people standing will have before them a rarely beautiful prospect, the finest from the park.""

Acceptance of the Park by the City.

"OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK, BRIDGEPORT, April 18, 1878. JAMES W. BEARDSLEY, EsQ .:-

Dear Sir :- At a meeting of the Common Council of Bridgeport, held on Monday, March 25, 1878, the following Resolutions, offered by Councilman Mid- dlebrook, were adopted :

? See page 555 of this book.

* Extract from the Report of the Landscape Architects, F. L. and J. C. Olm- stead, September, 1884.

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History of Stratford.

Resolved, That the heartfelt thanks of the City of Bridgeport are due to and are hereby, through their representatives, the Common Council of said City, tendered to their fellow citizen, James W. Beardsley, for his magnificent gift to the City of a public Park, and that the appreciation of this body and of the public of his public spirit, may be perpetuated, it is further

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the City Records, and a copy thereof be presented to Mr. Beardsley.

Attest,

BERNARD KEATING, City Clerk."

Mr. James Walker Beardsley, son of Elisha H. and Betsey (Walker) Beardsley, has been a farmer all his life, and is still actively engaged in the same. He is a native of the town of Monroe, where his father pursued the same occupa- tion, and is descended in regular line from William Beardsley, one of the first settlers of Stratford; and on his mother's side from the Rev. Peter Prudden, of Milford, by his great great great grandmother, Abigail Prudden; also from the Rev. Richardson Minor, of Unity, by her mother, Prudence Minor, wife of Philip Benjamin, as also through his mother's father, from Robert Walker, one of the founders of the Old South Church, of Boston, in 1669. Mr. Beardsley is not only interested in his ancestry, searching them out by diligent inquiry, but has carefully preserved many old manuscripts and books which have been of much assistance in presenting a number of items in this history in a much more correct form than they otherwise could have been.

It cannot be doubted that he takes great satisfaction in seeing the improvements which the city is making from year to year in the Beardsley Park, and to which he gives consid- erable attention by way of consultation by special request of the Park Commissioners.

Officers of the Bridgeport National Bank."

Munson Hawley, President ; F. N. Benham, Cashier ; Directors : Munson Hawley, Thomas B. Bartram, Plumb N. Fairchild, Carlos Curtis, Thomas B. DeForest, David M. Read, John M. Wheeler, Rowland B. Lacey, Frank N. Benham.

" This list of officers should have appeared on page 608 of this book, in con - nection with the history of the bank to which they belong.

James M.Beurchley

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Bridgeport.

The City Savings Bank .- The petition for the incorporation of the City Savings Bank, of Bridgeport, was drawn up and presented to the legislature by D. F. Hollister, and a charter was granted for the institution in May, 1859. At the first meeting of the corporators, held at the city council rooms July 16, 1859, the following officers were elected : President, Hanford Lyon ; Vice-Presidents. Russell Tomlinson, D. H. Sterling, Ira Gregory, D. W. Thompson ; Secretary and Treasurer, S. M. Middlebrook ; Trustees, Sherman Hartwell, P. C. Calhoun, Hor- ace Nichols, D. F. Hollister, George P. Stockwell, Stephen Lounsbury, H. N. Hayes, John Brooks, A. A. Pettengill, E. B. Goodsell, Burr Knapp, R. T. Clarke, Thomas Hawley, Josiah Baylies, and S. C. Booth.

To commence business rooms were hired on Wall street, near the corner of Water, and several of the trustees deposited one hundred dollars each in the new bank. Two of these accounts, those of Horace Nichols and George P. Stockwell, are still open. Two others, those of Hanford Lyon and Josiah Baylies, were allowed to accumulate for about twenty-four years, and when closed amounted to nearly $400 each, the increase being due to interest solely, no additional deposit having been made. In this connection it may be mentioned that the sum total of the fifty-three dividends declared by the bank from January, 1860, to January, 1886, is about $1,700,000. Mr. Middlebrook continued to act as treasurer until his death, in 1883, and to his prudence and fidelity the success of the bank was largely due. He was a man highly respected in this and adjoining communities. Soon after the decease of Mr. Middlebrook the trustees made choice of William B. Hincks as treasurer, and William N. Middlebrook as secretary.

Mr. Lyon died in 1879, and was succeeded as president by Ira Gregory, who died in 1883. Horace Nichols, who is now president of the bank, has been one of its officers for nearly twenty-seven years, and has witnessed its increase until its depositors number over 6,300, and its assets amount to about $2,400,000.

An interesting event in the history of the bank was the run, which took place February 17th and 18th, 1877, during which about $150,000 was drawn out by depositors who had become alarmed without any apparent cause. All calls were promptly met by Mr. Middlebrook, the treasurer, the bank being kept open two hours later than usual for the purpose. Offers of loans from individuals and institutions to the amount of nearly a million dollars were declined, the help not being needed.

About the beginning of the year 1884 it was felt by the trustees that the rooms on Wall street which had hitherto been rented for banking purposes, though twice enlarged, had become entirely inadequate, and that the City Savings Bank should possess a permanent home of its own. After careful deliberation it was decided to purchase one-half the lot of the Bridgeport National Bank, on the corner of Main and Bank streets, and that both institutions should unite in erecting a structure to be known as the United Bank building, of Bridgeport. Messrs. Nich- ols, Hollister and Hincks were appointed a building committee on the part of the City Savings Bank, to cooperate with Messrs. Read, Wheeler and DeForest, the committee of the Bridgeport National Bank, and full powers were given to them by the trustees. The utmost care was taken by the committee ; all the leading build- ings in New York City, and not a few in New England, were visited, with a view of combining as many desirable features as possible in the new edifice. Plans embodying these features were prepared by W. R. Briggs, architect, and on the 27th of August, 1884, contracts were signed. Sixteen months later, on December

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History of Stratford.

15, 1885, the building was fully completed and occupied for business. The cost · of the north half, which is owned and occupied by the City Savings Bank, includ- ing land, furniture and its massive fire and burglar proof vault, is some $43,000, upon which amount the rentals received yield a return of about four and a half per cent. The new banking rooms are well lighted, heated and ventilated, and may safely be said to be second to none in New England in point of convenience and beauty of fitting up, while their location is the best in the city.

Following are the officers of the City Savings Bank for the year 1886 : Presi- dent, Horace Nichols ; Vice-Presidents, D. F. Hollister, David M. Read, Court- land Kelsey, John M. Wheeler ; Treasurer, William B. Hincks ; Secretary, Wil- liam N. Middlebrook ; Trustees, Horace F. Hatch, F. W. Parrott, Burr Curtis, C. K. Averill, Levi B. Booth, George P. Stockwell. D. F. Hollister, Horace Nichols, George K. Birdsey, Edwin Banks, David M. Read. John M. Wheeler, Edward A. Lewis, Courtland Kelsey, W. N. Middlebrook, William B. Hincks ; Bookkeeper and Teller, Willard S. Plumb.

L CANFORD

The People's Savings Bank, represented in the above cut, was organ- ized in May, 1860, under the laws of the State of Connecticut, with the following persons as corporators, " by the name, style and title of the People's Savings Bank, of Bridgeport, Conn. : " Nathaniel Wheeler, James C. Loomis, Sherwood Sterling, Ira Sherman, P. C. Calhoun, George B. Waller, Frederick Wood, Samuel B. Ferguson, Robert T. Clarke, Abijah Hawley, Thomas Ransom, James Daskam, Elbert E. Hubbell, William G. Lineburgh, William H. Perry, Henry Burr, and

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Bridgeport.

Stephen Hawley. The action of the legislature was approved June 15, 1860, and on the second day of July following, at four o'clock P. M., the following corpora- tors met at the office of Sherman and Marsh for the purpose of organization : P. C. Calhoun, Ira Sherman, George B. Waller, Frederick Wood, Samuel B. Ferguson, Robert C. Clarke, Abijah Hawley, Thomas Ransom, James Daskam, Elbert E. Hubbell, William G. Lineburgh, Henry Burr and Stephen Hawley. P. C. Calhoun was chosen chairman, and Stephen Hawley, secretary. Stephen S. Booth and G. Bradley Sanford were voted in as corporators. The following offi- cers were elected for the ensuing year : Ira Sherman. President ; George B. Wal- ler, Vice-President ; Stephen Hawley, Treasurer ; and Abijah Hawley. Thomas Ransom, Nathaniel Wheeler, S. B. Ferguson, James Daskam, Elbert E. Hubbell, William G. Lineburgh, William H. Perry, G. Bradley Sanford, and Stephen S. Booth, a Board of Trustees. A seal was adopted with the inscription, People's Savings Bank, of Bridgeport.

Rooms over the Pequonnock Bank were rented and the first loan made July 9, 1860, which was on a house and lot on Myrtle avenue, and on July 1, 1861, the first semi-annual dividend was declared, which was three per cent.

In addition to the above the following named persons have served as corpo- rators : Samuel W. Baldwin, Egbert Marsh, William E. Seeley, D. W. Kissam, Edward W. Marsh, Stephen S. Booth (deceased), G. Bradley Sanford (deceased), Russell Tomlinson (deceased), Philo H. Skidmore (removed), Salem H. Wales (removed), Charles B. Hotchkiss, Francis W. Marsh, Eli C. Smith, John E. Pond, William H. Rockwell. Ira Sherman, the first president, died in May, 1869, and was succeeded by George B. Waller, the first vice-president, and is still the presi- dent of the bank, having occupied that position nearly seventeen years.

In July, 1869, William G. Lineburgh was elected first vice-president and William E. Seeley, second vice-president. The former resigned his position as vice-president and trustee in 1878, and Mr. Seeley was elected first vice-president, which position he still holds, and James Daskam was elected second vice-presi- dent, and continued in that office until his decease, in November, 1879. In the December following Russell Tomlinson was elected second vice-president, and served until his decease, in April, 1885. Mr. Egbert Marsh, the present incum- bent was elected second vice-president in July, 1885.

Mr. Stephen Hawley, the first secretary and treasurer, died in November, 1861, and Mr. Egbert Marsh was elected to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the year. In January, 1862, Courtland Kelsey was elected secretary and treasurer, and served until May, 1862, when he resigned, and Philip E. Lockwood was chosen his successor. He resigned in June, 1864, and was succeeded by Mr. J. F. Han- ford, who served until 1868, when he resigned. At the January meeting Mr. Egbert Marsh was elected secretary and treasurer, and served thirteen years, when, in July, 1881, his resignation was reluctantly accepted. His successor was Mr. Francis W. Marsh, who had been several years teller of the bank, and he resigned, to take effect June 1, 1886, and Edward W. Marsh has been elected to this position.

On January 1, 1872, Mr. Homer S. Curtis was appointed the first teller in this bank, but found it necessary to resign in July, 1873, on account of ill health. He was succeeded by Mr. Francis W. Marsh until July, 1881, when he was elected secretary and treasurer, and Mr. Orange Merwin succeeded him as teller. He has resigned, to take effect June 1, 1886, and Mr. Frank Hubbard has been

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appointed his successor. Messrs. F. W. Marsh and Orange Merwin retire from this bank, having associated with them Mr. H. C. Lemmon, for the purpose of doing a general insurance and banking business, with a safe deposit vault.

The present officers are : President, George B. Waller ; first Vice-President, William E. Seeley; second Vice-President, Egbert Marsh ; Secretary and Treas- urer, Francis W. Marsh ; Teller, Orange Merwin.

The Board of Trustees are : Samuel W. Baldwin, Edward W. Marsh, D. W. Kissam, Eli C. Smith, John E. Pond, Elbert E. Hubbell, C. B. Hotchkiss, William H. Rockwell, Henry Atwater, F. A. Bartram.

In December, 1864, this bank purchased the lot on the corner of Main and Bank streets, and in 1870 erected the building on it which it now occupies, the bank being located in the front rooms, on the second floor. The First National Bank have rented the first floor, and the remaining portion of the building is rented for various purposes.

The bank has 5,000 depositors. Its investments are carefully selected under a conservative management, and its officers, to whom this trust is committed, and upon whom the responsibility of its prosperity depends, represent many of the important financial institutions and industries of the city.

The First National Bank, of Bridgeport, is located on the corner of Main and Bank streets, and was organized March 18, 1864; being a successor to the Farmer's Bank. At the organization Mr. Edmund S. Hawley was elected president, and William E. Seeley, cashier, and they still occupy the same posi- tions. The following persons have served as directors, the terms indicated by the dates, those with the dates 1886 are still in office : Edmund S. Hawley, March, 1864, to 1886; Asahel L. Lyon, March, 1864 to 1874 ; Henry Beers Glover, March, 1864, to March, 1870; Salem H. Wales, March, 1864, to August, 1867 ; Lewis W. Burritt, March, 1864, to 1878 ; Allison A. Pettengill, March, 1864, to 1867; Rus- sell Tomlinson, March, 1864, to 1885 ; Samuel B. Ferguson, March, 1864, to 1873 ; Bartlett Doten, March, 1864, to 1869 ; William E. Seeley, August, 1867, to 1886 ; Horace Nichols, August, 1867, to 1886 ; Thomas Lord, January, 1868, to April 30, 1870; Egbert Marsh, January, 1871, to 1877; Edward Sterling, December, 1871, to 1886 ; Charles K. Averill, January, 1877, to 1886 ; Stephen S. Booth, 1878 to 1880; Charles A. Granniss, January, 1880, to 1886 ; Horace L. Fairchild, January, 1880, to 1886 ; Alexander Hawley, January, 1881, to 1886; Enoch P. Hincks, November, 1885, to 1886.

The bank organized with a capital of $210,000, and has accumulated a surplus of $130,000, and has divided $531,300, an average dividend during the twenty-two years of eleven and one-half per cent. per annum. The statement to the comp- troller of the currency, March 1, 1886, shows investments drawing interest of $920,000, and deposits of $450,000. The present officers are : Edmund S. Hawley, President ; William E. Seeley, Cashier ; O. H. Brothwell, Assistant Cashier ; Tracy B. Warren, General Bookkeeper ; Frank R. Sammis, Deposit Bookkeeper ; Robert E. Wheeler, Clerk. This bank occupies the first story of the People's Savings Bank building, on the southeast corner of Main and Bank streets.

The Pequonnock Bank of Bridgeport was incorporated in May, 1851, with a capital of $200,000. The subscription book was opened on the first Tues- day of August, 1851, under the supervision of three commissioners, Charles Adams, John Gould and W. A. Judson. The first meeting of the stockholders was

SWIFT

BRIDGEPORT SAVINGS BANK. ERECTED IN 1878.

Es frawley

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------

Edmund Summers Hawley, son of Captain Wilson and Charity (Summers) Hawley, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., June 15th, 1813. His father was for many years mem- ber of the firm of Abijah Hawley & Co. The firm was com- posed of Abijah, Aaron and Wilson Hawley. They were engaged in the West India trade, and carried on the Boston Coasting, Grain and Lumber business; their store and wharf being on Water street, south of State, near the site now occu- pied by the Grain elevator, owned by Mr. John Hurd.

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A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Part II, Part 9

Author: Orcutt, Samuel, 1824-1893 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: [New Haven, Conn.], [Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor] Number of Pages: 904

Author: Orcutt, Samuel, 1824-1893
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: [New Haven, Conn.], [Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor]
Number of Pages: 904