USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > East Boston > History of East Boston; with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix > Part 55
USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > East Boston > History of East Boston : with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix. > Part 55
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" STEPHEN WHITE. "W. H. SUMNER for self, and as Trustee to Eliza Gerard. " FRANCIS J. OLIVER."
Two months later, an explanation of a clause in the above agreement was made, which was to this effect: -
615
PETITION FOR CHARTER.
1835.]
" Boston, January 1, 1836.
" The words, 'the ferry shall be carried on as heretofore,' inserted in our proposal of 31st October last to the Eastern Railroad Company, are under- stood by us to point to the perpetuation of the ferry for its present purposes, in order to secure a continuation of accommodation like the present to the classes of persons mentioned therein, and to the public generally.
" STEPHEN WHITE.
" FRANCIS J. OLIVER.
The next object of the subcommittee was to obtain a point of landing on the Boston side. This was a matter of consid- erable importance, and less easily effected than either of the other objects. The wharf property lying opposite the proposed depot at East Boston was extremely productive, and daily in- creasing in value. The Lewis' Wharf Corporation owned two or three wharves nearly contiguous, and these wharves were now being united so as to form one large wharf, with warehouses in the centre. A portion of these premises was at this time occu- pied by the ferry landing, and here seemed to be a favorable site for the passenger depot. The wharf corporation commu- nicated the terms upon which the land could be secured for the depot. These terms, dated on the 29th of October, 1835, were binding for six months; but as that time passed away before any definite action could be taken, it was decided that nothing further could be done before the granting of the charter by the legislature.
The location of the route beyond East Boston was then determined with general satisfaction to all parties.
But the principal thing, and the one upon which the whole undertaking depended, yet remained unaccomplished. The charter must be obtained. According to the expressed wishes of the subscribers, means were employed to bring the subject of the railroad before the legislature at the September session, 1835. Petitions were procured, containing twelve or fifteen hundred names, from the towns of Salem, Lynn, Marblehead, Beverly, Ipswich, Gloucester, and Newburyport, but the subject was referred to the next session. This delay gave the oppo- nents of the road ample time to organize and combine their hostility, and consequently, when the subject was called up at the January session, a formidable opposition was presented, and
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tee
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HISTORY.
[1836.
for a time seemed to threaten the speedy annihilation of all hope of securing the object. A committee of the legislature was in session seventeen or eighteen days, during which time every possible objection was urged which the ingenuity of ten or twelve professional gentlemen, with their friends, could de- vise. Efforts were also made to show that the sole object was to " get a road to Salem." On the other hand, the friends of the road, supported by able counsel, and an engineer well pre- pared on all points to meet and overcome objections, made the most vigorous efforts to demonstrate the feasibility and utility of the road, and to secure a charter for it. The whole subject underwent the most thorough investigation by the committee, and the evidence adduced to show the importance of the road left so little room for doubt, that the delay, which had obliged the projectors to meet the strong opposition with facts, statis- tics, and arguments, was eventually considered a fortunate oc- currence, as each day's examination only strengthened the claims for the road, and served to inspire a confidence in its ultimate success, seldom attainable short of actual experiment. Indeed, the chairman of the legislative committee, a gentleman of sterling sense, of great moral honesty and independence, did not hesitate to declare at the senate board, that, " notwithstand- ing he had been on the committee to consider every petition for a railroad granted in this Commonwealth, none had exhibited half the claims for a charter which had been presented by the Eastern Railroad."
Time has proved the correctness of the positions taken by the petitioners ; that the public necessity, the manufacturing and commercial interests, demanded the road; that the most direct and feasible route was over Noddle's Island ; that it would be a good investment for capitalists ; and that the future prosperity of New England would depend, in a great measure, upon the in- troduction of railroads.
On the 11th of April, 1836, the bill incorporating the " East- ern Railroad Company" passed the house of representatives by a vote of 159 to 20, having previously passed the senate by a vote of twenty to three. The strength of these votes is remarkable, especially when we consider the strong and persist- ent opposition to the enterprise ; and it shows the feeling enter-
-
617
THE RAILROAD OPENED.
1838.]
tained by the members of the legislature of the superior advan- tages of East Boston for the termination of the road over the other routes by which it was proposed to enter Boston.
The charter was accepted by the stockholders on the 10th of May, 1836, and at their first meeting it was voted that "the directors be requested to proceed in the prosecution of the work committed to them with all possible despatch."
Ground was first broken on the Eastern Railroad on the 22d of July, 1836, and salutes were fired from Belmont square, East Boston, in honor of the occasion, and the work was thenceforth prosecuted with great energy.1 In a little more than two years, namely, on the 27th of August, 1838, the road was opened to Salem, where appropriate ceremonies were observed, and an interesting address delivered by George Peabody, Esq., the president of the corporation. Referring to the time in which the work had been accomplished, he says : " This rapid pro- gress, under ordinary circumstances, would have been a matter of surprise, but it is still more so when we reflect that it has been made during a depression of commercial affairs unprece- dented in this or any other country; a condition of things, which, we may venture to assert without arrogance, would have convulsed society and revolutionized government in any other civilized nation of the world. Yet, with all this acceleration, it is believed that no part has been slighted. Every improve- ment which experience could dictate or ingenuity suggest has been adopted, and the road constructed with special reference to strength and durability." In speaking of the origin of the road, he says : " A subscription was first opened for a railroad from Salem to Boston, and papers were circulated for another
1 In this road, as in some others, it was found necessary to borrow money from the State. The loan was effected, and on the 18th of April, 1837, the State authorized the issue of scrip in the name of the Commonwealth, to the amount of $500,000, at five per cent., redeemable in twenty years from the 1st of July. The corporation was to give a bond to save the State harmless from any liability on account of said scrip, and to pay the interest punctually, and pay the principal one year before the same should be redeemable by the Commonwealth, and to convey their entire road, and its income and property and franchise, as a pledge to secure the performance of the conditions of the bond.
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e
618
HISTORY.
[1837-42.
in continuation to the east. But it was soon thought advisa- ble to unite the two; and the project in the latter form was favorably entertained by many of the principal towns in the county, where a great number of shares were taken.
" The proprietors of East Boston, who had a few years pre- vious made an unsuccessful application to the legislature for a charter to build a road to Salem, were induced to subscribe largely to ours, as soon as they ascertained it would be located through their island. The success of the enterprise is, in fact, very much owing to the large interest taken by these gentle- men, and we hope their spirited action will be compensated by a full share of the anticipated benefits. The object sought, we believe, will now be achieved, since there can be no doubt of the extension of this road to the confines of the State, and, sooner or later, to the extreme eastern section of the Union."
The compliment here paid to the East Boston proprietors was justly deserved, as they had labored for a long time to secure a railroad over the Island and to the eastward, and had proved their interest by taking 3,250 shares in the road.
From the books of the East Boston Company we find, that, on the 2d of March, 1837, the president of the company was authorized to obtain from the legislature, authority for the com- pany "to purchase and hold such an amount of shares as a majority of its directors shall think prudent and expedient in the capital stock of the Eastern Railroad Company." By a report on the 22d of May it appears that such authority was obtained, the act of the legislature accepted, and that 3,250 shares were subscribed for by the company.
The railroad company built a pile wharf, on which they erected an expensive and commodious depot and car-house. On January 25, 1842, the first time the cars ran into the new building, and the first time the new boat went into the drop, at 12 M., the building took fire and was burned down, with a por- tion of the wharf. The fire caught from the heat which rose from the chimney of the engine coming in contact with the wood- work overhead. This danger had been entirely overlooked, and the quick destruction of the new depot was a blazing warning to the builders, that wood, if sufficiently heated, will burn.
619
CUNARD STEAM-SHIP WHARF.
1839.]
The history of the Eastern Railroad after this date - that is, from the time when its particular connection with the Island history ceases - is foreign to the subject of our work, and is easily accessible to those wishing information respecting it.
In 1854 it was thought great advantages would be realized, especially in the freight department, by changing the station from the Island to the city, and consequently a branch was made through Chelsea, entering Boston at Causeway street near Andover street, where the passenger depot is now situated. This change, which went into operation on the 19th April, 1854, was made at an expense of $1,200,000; a considerable detour, of necessity, was made to avoid the ferry, and in the result nei- ther the company nor the travelling public are so well accommo- dated as formerly. The anticipated advantages in the freighting business was not secured, and in August, 1855, that department was returned to the Island, where it still, and probably perma- nently, remains. It is now apparent to all, that the departure from the original plan was inexpedient and unfortunate, a great expense being incurred, convenience sacrificed, and ample grounds being relinquished for contracted accommodations, and no corresponding benefit received ; but the great outlay of money made in the removal renders it improbable that the pas- senger station will ever again be changed, while it is equally probable that the freight will continue to be carried over the Island, where the extensive grounds and ample arrangements belonging to the railroad corporation afford every facility for the speedy transaction of business, and the convenience of the trading and travelling community.
CUNARD STEAM-SHIP WHARF.
Probably no one cause has operated more powerfully upon the prosperity of East Boston, and has had such an influ- ence upon the commerce and consequent growth of the city, as the establishment of the line of British steamers between Liverpool and Boston. The impetus thus given to trade by opening new and important channels of intercourse be-
and zing
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, ar
ey se.
620
HISTORY.
[1839.
tween the two great nations of the world cannot be over- estimated ; the benefits received are felt throughout New Eng- land and the whole country. An outlet is thus made for our products, and an inlet for imports, indispensable for our use and comforts, which give a healthy and rapidly increasing circu- lation to our commercial system. The Hon. Samuel Cunard, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a far-sighted, enterprising merchant, has the honor of originating and carrying into successful opera- tion this grand project. In the early part of 1839 he entered into a contract with the British government, for a term of years, to convey the North American mail from Great Britain to Halifax and Boston by vessels propelled by steam. Ocean steam navigation was then considered in the light of an experi- ment, the success of which was yet to be demonstrated.
The first steamer that ever crossed the Atlantic was the " Savannah," a paddle-wheel boat of three hundred tons burden, built in New York in 1818, by Messrs. Fitchet and Crockett, and commanded by Captain Moses Rogers. The engine was built by Stephen Vail and Daniel Dod, of New Jersey, and of ninety-horse power. She sailed from New York on the 29th of March, 1819, to Savannah, Georgia, where she was owned. Thence she went to Charleston to take President Monroe to Savannah; and from Savannah, on the 25th of May, 1819, sailed for Liverpool, where she arrived in twenty-two days. She was a full-rigged ship, and a fast sailer ; had steam up four- teen days of the voyage, and by steam alone could make eight knots an hour.
Singular as it may seem, nineteen years elapsed before any further efforts were made to cross the ocean by steam, and the fact of this successful voyage appears to have been entirely overlooked. But this means of communication between nations was eventually undertaken, and successfully tested, against the calculations of scientific men who had examined the subject. The great philosopher, Dr. Lardner, proved that steam vessels never could cross the Atlantic; that a ship could not carry suf- ficient coal to propel her across the ocean! Finally, in Bristol, England, a line of steamers was projected, and the first vessel, the " Sirius," arrived in New York on the 23d of
621
ARRIVAL OF THE UNICORN.
1840.]
April, 1838,1 and the " Great Western " arrived on the same day.
The earliest vessels, the Sirius, Great Western, Royal Wil- liam, City of Liverpool, British Queen, and the President, were none of them long in the trade. The line established by Mr. Samuel Cunard, and to this day bearing his name, was the first permanently successful line of transatlantic steamers ever set afloat. Now, after the lapse of twenty years from the sailing of the Sirius, there are fifteen lines of steamers, numbering forty-six vessels, trading between this country and Europe, and during this time not far from three hundred thousand persons have crossed the Atlantic by steam, of which the loss of life has been about one third of one per cent., or one voyage in three hundred.
Mr. Cunard and his associates, full of faith, and having made all the preliminary arrangements, tried the experiment by send- ing the " Unicorn " to Boston, in June, 1840, as a pioneer of the regular line. Its arrival was appropriately celebrated by the city authorities by a public dinner at Faneuil Hall, a brilliant pro- cession, etc. She made the voyage in sixteen days ; and as she came into port, the wharves were lined with citizens, who had flocked thither to witness her arrival. She was welcomed by salutes and a display of flags from the United States ship of the line Columbus, which was moored in the channel, and the revenue cutter Hamilton. As the Unicorn passed the Columbus, the band played "God save the Queen " in a spirited manner.
The East Boston Company and Eastern Railroad Company, at the time the line of steam-ships was established, jointly owned the ferry, which in its infancy was not a paying concern, and were also largely interested in real estate in the vicinity, and, rightly judging it to be for their interest to secure the land- ing of the steamers at East Boston, offered for that purpose the accommodations which they have ever since occupied, free of rent for twenty years. These accommodations then consisted of two pier wharves of fifty feet by 250 feet, making a dock between,
1 Ocean Steam Navigation, by Pliny Miles, Boston, 1857, gives this date ; Putnam's World's Progress gives June 17, 1838.
he ely ons the ect. sele
stol first
1
622
HISTORY.
[1842.
and connected with the main land by a bridge twenty feet wide and nine hundred feet in length, the improvements costing the companies $40,000. Three years after this, namely, in 1842, the owners of the property finding that the structures (being of wood, and perishable) must in a few years be repaired, and not being in the receipt of any money from the same, sold their interest in the property, with the incumbrance of twenty years lease upon it, to Wm. H. Sumner, Robert G. Shaw, and Samuel S. Lewis, one third to each. The agreement to pur- chase the steam-ship wharf was made between Sumner and Lewis on the 24th of October, 1842, and on the 26th of the same month, Robert G. Shaw was admitted as a party to the extent of one third part, and by mutual agreement he was to take the title to the same until the parties should pay their pro- portions. The half of the property owned by the East Boston Company was purchased on the 26th of October, 1842, for $6,120, and the half owned by the Eastern Railroad Company on the 1st of November, 1843, for $5,000.1 A lease was then made to the Steam Packet Company, on the 13th of April, 1844, for seventeen years from the 1st of August, 1843, that is, until the 1st of August, 1860, at a yearly rent of $1,000, to be paid quarterly, and taxes, and $600 yearly for repairs, the lessor agreeing to keep the property in repair for that sum. The premises, consisting of wharves and docks, are thus described in the lease : " Beginning at a point 434 feet south-westerly from Marginal street, and running thence south-easterly 666 feet unto the channel, or as far as the line established by law, thence turning at a right angle by the water 350 feet, thence turning at a right angle, and running about 666 feet, more or less, thence turning and running at a right angle 350 feet to the point of beginning." The Steam Packet Company released that part of the estate which they had heretofore used, lying between the above described premises and Marginal street, being 450 feet long and 350 feet wide. This was subsequently sold, and makes a part of the Grand Junction Railway prem- ises. The one third owned by Gen. Sumner was conveyed by
1 Lib. 511, fol. 102.
623
CUNARD FESTIVAL.
1840.]
him to Mr. Lewis, on the 10th of July, 1847, for $27,500, reserv- ing a right of way forty feet wide, running to the wharf and docks of the steam-ship company.1
On the 4th of July, 1840, an auspicious day, the " Britan- nia," the first ship of the line, sailed via Halifax for Boston, where she arrived on the 18th, making the passage, including the stoppage at Halifax, in fourteen days and eight hours. When we consider the crude state of the science of ocean steam navigation at that time, we must call this a remarkably suc- cessful voyage, and as being an auspicious beginning of a singularly successful undertaking. A great display was made upon its arrival and the reception of Mr. Cunard. This " Cunard Festival," as it was appropriately called, was on the 21st of July, 1840. A beautiful and elegantly decorated pavilion was erected in front of the Maverick House, East Boston ; there was a magnificent public dinner, at which two thousand persons were seated, while from the balconies of the hotel, which opened into the pavilion, crowds of ladies witnessed the ceremonies and festivities of the occasion, and listened to eloquent speeches. The scene at the table was beautiful and impressive, and long to be remembered by those present. The day was an epoch in the history of Boston, and thousands collected to celebrate the occasion. Here was the statesman, the merchant, the manufacturer, the exporter, the importer, indeed representatives of all classes interested in an enterprise the success of which would open new channels of trade, increase the commerce and prosperity of the city, and, with its many benefits, reach far back into the country, and affect all classes of society. The highest talent in the land was present, and the statesman and the orator united their enthusiasm with the merchant and the capitalist. Webster and Everett, Judge Story, George Bancroft, Josiah Quincy, senior and junior, Mr. Grattan, the British consul, Geo. S. Hillard, and many others, distinguished in their particular spheres of action were here, and made appropriate speeches, in which they indulged in
1 Lib. 581, fol. 68. These premises were conveyed to Gen. Sumner by Rob- ert G. Shaw, 14th November, 1844, lib. 543, fol. 62.
ce
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HISTORY.
[1858.
strong imaginations, which have since been more than realized. As evening came, the revenue cutter, lying at anchor opposite East Boston, was beautifully decorated with variegated lamps hung in her rigging, and sent up rockets from her deck, while brilliant fireworks were displayed from the hills of the Island. The ceremonies passed off with great eclat, and gave unmis- takable evidence of the interest felt in the success of the Steam-ship Company by the citizens of Boston, and particularly the mercantile community.
The accommodations of the Steam-ship Company being in- sufficient for the rapidly increasing business, Messrs. Sumner and Shaw made a contract to fill up and make solid a portion of the leased premises, so that suitable storehouses might be erected thereon.1 In consideration of this improvement, the company agreed to give the additional rent of $1,000 a year, as soon as the contract should be fulfilled.
Soon after, at the request of the company, Messrs. Sumner and Shaw extended the two pier wharves fifty feet further into the channel, and for this an additional rent of $600 was paid ; so that, from the 1st of December, 1848, to the present time, the annual rent has been $3,200, in equal quarterly payments.
The pier wharves are now built out to the commissioner's line, enlarged by widening, and wholly rebuilt of oak piles. Many improvements in buildings, railway tracks, and general accommodations, have been made upon the premises. The docks are sufficiently ample for two steamers at a time, and have twenty feet of water at low tide. Rails are laid to the side of the ships, and the cargoes are discharged on railway trucks and run up by horse-power to the government bonded warehouses, a few rods distant, into which, on arrival, the cargo is immediately discharged under a general order from the cus- toms; and from the front and rear of these warehouses, goods may be taken into cars and carried to any part of the United States or the Canadas. Of course, the facilities are just as well adapted for bringing goods from all parts of the country to this wharf for exportation. The convenience of these wharves, with
1 August, 1845, lib. 525, fol. 98,
1840-58.] THE CUNARD LINE ESTABLISHED. 625
their tracks running to the sides of the vessels, and connected with all the roads radiating from Boston, is unequalled in any commercial city. The time and labor of loading, unloading, and reloading, as the goods are passed from one road to another on their way to the seaboard, and the vast expense thus incurred in the transfers, which, on some articles, takes away nearly all the profits, are, by this simple and efficient plan, all saved; and the importer, producer, manufacturer, and trader feel and im- prove the benefits which necessarily follow.
The premises now occupied by the Steam-ship Company under lease are six hundred and fifty feet in length and three hundred and fifty in width, containing two hundred and twenty- seven thousand five hundred square feet, and are the most com- modious docks for their purposes in Boston.1
The Britannia was followed every succeeding two weeks by the other ships of the line, the Acadia, the Caledonia, and the Columbia; and thus the first line of steam-ships was estab- lished between Old and New England, and from that glo- rious day, July 4, 1840, regular passages have been made to and from Liverpool and Boston every fortnight, with remarka- ble promptness and success, for eighteen years; and during that time only one ship has been lost, namely, the " Caledonia," on Seal island, swept there in a dense fog by an unusual and unaccountable current running into the Bay of Fundy. All on board, - the passengers, crew, baggage, and cargo, - were saved unharmed, and also every thing movable on board the ship, except the heavy parts of the machinery. During the seventeen years which have elapsed since the first voyage was made, two of the ships have constantly been at sea, on the inward and outward voyage, and not a single passenger has been harmed, nor a pound of his luggage lost, by the danger of the sea; and only in one instance has a general average becn made on cargo, and that for about $10,000.
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