USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Amherst > The history of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 38
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Early in December, 1846, the surveys of the road had been completed from Grout's to Hockanum. At a meeting of the stockholders held at Sweetser's hall, Jan. 28, 1847, a report was submitted of the location of the road. The route at Sunderland passed from 80 to 100 rods east of the church, thence crossed Dry Brook near the house of Zebina Hunt, passed a little east of the house of John Wiley, some So rods west of the " Plumb Trees," crossed the North Amherst and North Hadley road a little east of the home of E. Spear, and continued to a point some six or eight rods west of Elijah Boltwood's house, or about a half-mile west of the Amherst house, thence turning to the west. The length of the route as surveyed was 23.11 miles. The estimated expense of building, equip- ping and putting it in running order was a little more than $437,000. In February, 1847, the directors levied the first assessment, of $1.00 per share on the capital stock, payable before March 24.
The enthusiasm shown by the projectors of the road was shared to some extent by the general public, but while the residents of Amherst and South Hadley subscribed liberally to the stock the inhabitants of other towns along the proposed route failed to supply the money needed for carrying the enterprise to a successful conclusion. Earnest, almost heroic efforts were made to raise the necessary funds, but they were unavailing.
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SIMEON CLARK.
JOHN LELAND
MOSES B.GREEN
LT. ENOS DICKINSON
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SAMUEL NASH
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DANIEL DICKINSON
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AMHERST BRANCH RAILROAD COMPANY.
In April, 1848, the General Court passed a special act extending the time in which the road might be constructed to Feb. 1, 1850. At a meeting of the corporation, held in Amherst, July 3, 1848, to take action on this measure, $85,000 of the capital stock of the road was represented. After a full discussion of the matter, a vote was passed not to accept of the pro- visions of this act. The directors were instructed to collect all assessments and settle all claims as early as practicable. Thus came to an inglorious ending the first railway enterprise in which Amherst men and Amherst capital engaged. It is interesting to speculate on the possible results had the road been constructed along the route proposed. Sunderland and Montague Center would have been placed in railway connection with the outside world a half-century ago; what this might have meant to these towns in the way of progress and development can only be estimated by the stimulating effect of railway facilities upon communities of like character. Although the Hampshire and. Franklin railway had nothing but corporate existence, the labor expended in its behalf was not entirely fruitless. A popular interest was aroused in railway matters, and the public was educated in regard to the value of railway facilities so that when, a few years later, another road was projected it encountered but little of the opposition against which the original enterprise was forced to contend.
The next railway enterprise to enlist the attention of Amherst citizens was the " Amherst Branch Railroad Company." By an act of the General Court passed April 10, 1848, Samuel L. Hinckley, John Dickinson, Jr. and Jason Stockbridge, their associates and successors, were incorporated by the name of the Amherst Branch Railroad company, with power to locate, construct and maintain a railroad, with one or more tracks, from some convenient point in the town of Amherst, within half a mile of Amherst College, through the town of Hadley, to some point on the Con- necticut River railroad in Northampton, or in the southerly part of Hatfield ; they might also construct and maintain a bridge across the Connecticut river between the Northampton bridge and the site of the old Hatfield bridge. The capital stock was not to exceed $250,000, and unless the road should be completed in 18 months the charter would become void. The company was authorized to unite its road with the Connecticut River railroad. The company was organized under its charter at a meeting held in Amherst, Aug. 25, 1848. Samuel L. Hinckley served as chairman of the meeting and J. W. Boyden, Esq. as secretary. It was voted that the capital stock of the company should be $160,000. Subscription books should be opened in Amherst, Hadley and Northampton. As soon as the subscriptions to the capital stock should amount to $75,000, a meeting was to be held for the choice of directors, who should hold office until the cor-
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
poration became merged in the Connecticut River railroad company. Some two weeks later, announcement was made that Amherst citizens had subscribed to the capital stock to the amount of $31,300. From a map of the survey of the " Northampton and Amherst Railroad," made in 1847 and now on file in the State Library at Boston, the proposed route of the road may be ascertained. Two lines are marked out on the map, one leading to Northampton, the other to Hatfield. The route through Hadley passed near the southerly end of Mt. Warner, and entered Amherst con- siderably north of the line of the Central Massachusetts road. The same causes that led to the abandonment of the Hampshire and Franklin road proved fatal to the " Amherst Branch." The necessary funds were not forthcoming, and the project was abandoned. As the Hampshire and Franklin road was the forerunner of the New London and Northern, so the Amherst Branch may be regarded as a prophecy of the road which forty years later was to join the town of Amherst and the city of North- ampton in the bonds of commercial intercourse.
In 1847, the Connecticut Legislature chartered the New London, Wil- limantic and Springfield railroad company, authorizing it to locate and construct a railroad from New London to Willimantic, and thence to the " North line of the State towards Springfield in the State of Massachu- setts." It was subsequently deemed advisable to make Palmer, instead of Springfield, the northern terminus of the route. In 1848, the company was granted a charter by the Massachusetts General Court for continuing the road from the state line, a distance of nine miles, to the Western rail- road at Palmer. Sept. 20, 1850, the road was opened from New London to Palmer, a distance of 66 miles. The road was successful from its beginning. but its owners and operators early felt the need of an extension of the line to the north. Herein lay Amherst's opportunity, an opportu- nity promptly recognized and embraced. The Express, in its issue for March 7, 1851. called the attention of its readers to the railway route for which a petition was then pending before the General Court. It was esteemed a better route, in many respects, than others previously planned to pass through Amherst, and would, when completed, form an important link in a great railroad chain reaching across New England.
The General Court. by an act passed in May, 1851, incorporated Edward Hitchcock, Ithamar Conkey, Edward Dickinson, Myron Lawrence, Luke Sweetser and others, under the name of the Amherst and Belcher- town railroad company. Hon. Myron Lawrence was a resident of Bel- town, the others named of Amherst. They were empowered to locate, construct and maintain a railroad from the depot of the New London, Willimantic and Palmer railroad in Palmer, crossing the Western railroad at or near its depot in Palmer, by the most convenient route northerly through
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AMHERST AND BELCHERTOWN RAILROAD COMPANY.
the towns of Palmer, Belchertown, Amherst, Leverett, Sunderland and Mon- tague, to the Vermont and Massachusetts railroad at the point most con- · venient to intersect the same in the town of Montague. The capital stock was not to exceed $600,000, in shares of $100 each. Within five years after the completion of the road the General Court might reduce its tolls. or profits, but the same should not be reduced, without the consent of the corporation, to less than ten per cent. on the capital stock subscribed for and paid in. Other. roads might enter upon and use its tracks under reasonable conditions. The road must be located in two years and com- pleted in four years. Under certain conditions, the New London, Willi- mantic and Palmer road could unite with the Amherst and Belchertown railroad, and become one corporation under the name of the New London, Palmer and Amherst railroad. The corporation, so far as its road was situated in Massachusetts, should be subject to the general laws of the state. No shares in its capital stock should be issued for a less sum or amount, to be actually paid in on each, than the par value of the shares first issued. For purposes of construction, the road should be divided into two sections, one reaching from Palmer to Amherst, the other from Amherst to Montague. A moiety of the capital stock authorized by the act should be set apart for the construction of each section, and work was not to begin on either section until a certificate had been filed in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth, signed by the president and a majority of the directors, stating that all the stock appropriated and set apart for the construction of such section had been subscribed for by responsible parties, and that twenty per cent. of the par value of each and every share so set apart had actually been paid into the treasury of said company.
The citizens of Amherst were not the only ones to appreciate the advantages of a railroad extending north from Palmer. As early as May, 1851, no less than three routes had been petitioned for and charters for each had been granted. In addition to the road leading by way of Amherst to Montague, the General Court authorized the construction of a road via Enfield to Athol, also a road via Ware, Barre and Templeton to the New Hampshire state line. The Amherst and Belchertown railroad company was organized under its charter, June 30, 1851. Luke Sweetser, Edward Dickinson, Ithamar Conkey, Myron Lawrence and Joseph Brown were chosen directors. At a meeting held by the directors, Luke Sweetser was elected president and John S. Adams clerk and treasurer. The directors. voted that a survey should be made with reference to the construction of the road between Palmer and Amherst. They engaged the services of Gen. James N. Palmer as engineer : his report, with estimates for construc -. tion, was as favorable as had been anticipated. Books of subscription were opened, and up to Aug. 22, 1851, persons resident in Amherst had
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
subscribed upwards of $50,000 for stock in the road. At the annual meeting of the stockholders, held at Sweetser's hall in Amherst, Feb. 6, 1852, about 400 persons were present. Announcement was made that, by the energy of the agents employed, the whole amount needed for the · construction of the section between Amherst and Palmer had been sub- scribed. A contract for building the road had been made with Willis and George W. Phelps of Springfield. Nearly all the stock subscribed for had been taken by persons living on or near the line of the road. A contract had been made with the New London, Willimantic and Palmer railroad · company, by which the latter was to equip the road and run it for a term of years on conditions favorable to both parties. The officers originally · chosen were re-elected, T. W. Williams and J. C. Lippett of New London being added to the board of directors.
Early in February, 1852, J. S. Adams, treasurer of the corporation, gave notice that the first assessment of $20 per share had been made by the directors, payable on or before March 10. Ground was first broken on the line of the road in February, and the road was fully completed by May 1, 1853. There was some dissatisfaction with the management of the road. Thomas Hastings, a stockholder, petitioned the Supreme Court for an injunction against the company, for issuing stock below its par value, and beginning to construct the road before the necessary amount of stock had been subscribed. He also charged that the survey as filed located the terminus of the road at a distance of one-half mile from the village. The · case was argued before the Supreme Court at its September term, and the petition was dismissed. May 3, 1853, the first locomotive was run over the road from Palmer to Amherst, making the trip in 55 minutes. The first passenger train- passed over the route Saturday, May 14; George Ford was the conductor and William Bond the engineer. The first time-table went into effect Monday, May 16. Trains left New London for Amherst at 10 A. M. and 1-45. P. M .: returning. left Amherst at 5 A. M. and 1-15 P. M. Connections were made, at Palmer, for Boston, Albany, Worcester and Springfield ; at Willimantic, for Hartford and Bristol: at Norwich. for Worcester and Boston ; at New London, for New Haven and New York, and for New York by boat. Through tickets were sold at the following rates : From Amherst to Springfield, $1.00; to Worcester, $1.75; to Boston, $2.85 ; to Albany, $3.75: to New York, cabin passage, $3.50 : deck, $3.00. The road was operated by the New London. Willimantic and Palmer company a little less than six months, but the arrangement between the companies proved unsatisfactory, and early in November, 1853, the Amherst and Belchertown company assumed control. The first passenger train run under the new management passed over the road Nov. 7; George L. West was the conductor and John Rich, now a resident of Palmer, the
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SOLD TO THE BONDHOLDERS.
engineer. The locomotive was the " Amherst," a fine machine, new from the Taunton locomotive works.
For four years the. Amherst and Belchertown company operated its. railroad, with varying success. Considerable business was transacted, but expenses were heavy and the balance on the wrong side of the ledger grew greater with every passing year. In December, 1857, friends of the road sent copies of a circular to every voter in the towns of Belchertown and Amherst. This circular stated that the Amherst and Belchertown company, in order to complete its road, had issued bonds for $60,000, payable in five years and had mortgaged the road as security for their payment. A second mortgage of $40,000 had been given to secure bonds issued to raise funds for the purchase of locomotives, passenger and freight cars and to dispose of a floating indebtedness, amounting in all to $25,500. The first mortgage bonds became due January 1, 1858, if they were not paid, the trustees would take possession of the road and rent it to the company's directors until Oct. 1, 1858, at which time, according to the provisions of the mort- gage, the trustees would sell the road for the benefit of the bondholders .. The friends of the road proposed that the towns of Amherst and Belcher- town should guarantee the bonds for twenty years, with interest payable semi-annually, each town in proportion to its state valuation, which would make Amherst's share $50,500 and Belchertown's $35,000. In return for this guarantee, the company would give a mortgage on all its property to secure the towns from loss. It was apprehended that if the bondholders gained possession of the road they would probably sell the property and discontinue the road. As the road had cost more than $350.000 it was surely worth more than $85,000, without considering the damage that would be done the towns by the loss of their railway facilities. A special town-meeting was held in Amherst, Dec. 4, 1857, and a resolution was offered that the town petition the General Court, in connection with the town of Belchertown, to afford material aid to the Amherst and Belcher- town railroad in order that the road might be kept in operation. This resolution was voted down, yeas 86, nays 138.
In January, 1858, the road passed into the hands of trustees who were chosen by the bondholders to represent their interests. By special act of the General Court, passed in March, IS58, the company was empowered to issue any of the remaining shares of its capital stock, already authorized by law to be issued, not exceeding 1,000 in number, as a preferred stock for the purpose of paying the bonds and the debts of the company. Of this preferred stock, 600 shares should be entitled to such dividends as the company might determine, not exceeding eight per cent., and the remainder to dividends not exceeding six per cent., said dividends to be paid out of the first net earnings of the company. If the company's
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
railroad, fixtures and franchise, already mortgaged to the trustees for the security of the bondholders, should be lawfully sold by the trustees for the benefit of the bondholders, then the purchasers at such sale were authorized to associate themselves under any name they might assume, and the said purchasers, their successors and assigns, should remain a body corporate with all the powers and privileges of the original corporation. This act was to take effect when ratified by a majority of the stockholders.
In October, 1858, the road and all its belongings were purchased by Samuel F. Cutler and Charles Adams acting in the interest of the bond- holder, for $42,500, about half the amount for which the property was under mortgage. Preparations were at once made for a reorganization under a new name, as permitted by the special act of General Court. The name selected was the Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer railroad company. The stock of the new company was fixed at $85,000, of which the holders .of the first mortgage bonds proposed to take $60,000, and the holders of the second mortgage bonds $25,000, exchanging the bonds for stock at par. In March, 1859, the Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer railroad company began to operate the road, continuing in possession some five years. When the road was opened to Amherst, the first agent at the Amherst station was Samuel C. Carter: Many amusing incidents occurred in the earlier history .of the road. The Express, under date of July 3, 1857, tells of a "scrub " race between a train and a belated passenger. The passenger hailed from North Amherst and his wife was on board the cars; the train had one or two minutes start when it left the station, but the passenger was a sprinter, had run for office several times and never been defeated, and he caught up with that train "in the deep cut in Judge Dickinson's pasture." The Express naively. remarks at the conclusion of the paragraph that the locomotive drawing the train was not the best in the company's service : had it been the " Vermont " instead of the " Bates," the result might have been different. In 1858, the managers of the road advertised that passen- gers in the village, with their baggage, would be taken to and from each train for a sum not exceeding twelve cents each way, within limits as prescribed in the books at the hotels. In January, 1858, the trustees secured the services of J. K. Parsons as superintendent. Under his .efficient management, the road earned, over and above all expenses, from $800 to $900 per month.
By special act of the General Court, passed in 1864, the Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer railroad company was authorized to lease its road and franchise to the New London Northern railroad company, and the companies thus united were empowered to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding $300.000, for the construction of the road from Amherst to Grout's in Montague. At a meeting of the stockholders of the Amherst,
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THE NEW LONDON NORTHERN ROAD.
Belchertown and Palmer railroad company, held at Palmer, Feb. 22, 1864, it was voted unanimously to unite with the New London Northern railroad company .. The basis of union was two shares of the N. L. N. stock for three shares of the A. B. & P. The union, or sale, was ratified by the stockholders of the New London Northern railroad company. The Gen- eral Court had, from time to time, granted extensions of time during which the section of the road from Amherst to Montague might be constructed. When the New London company assumed control, it was decided to begin work immediately upon the extension. A survey of the route was made by A. R. Field of Greenfield. In October, 1864. the company advertised for 35,000 railroad ties to be delivered along the line between Amherstand Grout's Corner. The road was completed as far as Grout's Corner, (Miller's Falls) in 1866, and the company having purchased of the Ver- mont and Massachusetts railroad company an extension of its line from Grout's to Brattleboro, Vt., began, Oct. 8, 1866, to run through trains between New London and Brattleboro. Three passenger trains were run over the line daily in each direction. In November, 1871, the Vermont Central railroad company leased the New London Northern road for a period of 20 years, paying $240,000 per annum ; at the expiration of this lease in 1891, a new lease was executed for a period of 99 years.
Having secured the construction and operation of a railway running through Amherst to the north and south, the residents of the town next turned their attention to gaining railway connection with the towns and cities to the east and west. By a special act of the General Court, approved April 13, 1864, the act passed in 1848, incorporating the Amherst Branch railroad company, was partially revived, and Leonard M. Hills of Amherst and Thaddeus Smith of Hadley were added to the list of incorporators. The capital stock was limited to $200,000. The company was authorized to locate, construct and maintain a railroad, from some convenient point connecting with the New London Northern road in Amherst, within one- half mile of Amherst College, through the towns of Hadley and Hatfield, crossing the Connecticut river and connecting with the Connecticut River railroad at any point between the station of said road in Northampton and " Cutter's Crossing,"-so-called, in Hatfield. It might cross the Connec- ticut River railroad and connect with the New Haven and Northampton road on land owned by the latter in . Northampton. The company must tile the location of its road on or before June 1, 1866, and complete it within two years thereafter. Special acts were passed in 1866 and 1869, extending the time-limit for construction. In March, IS70, an act was passed authorizing the company to increase its capital stock by an amount not exceeding $100,000. The company might locate its road as authorized in the act of 1864, or wholly within the towns of Amherst, Hadley and
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Northampton. Any part of the road located in "Hadley meadows." so-called, should be constructed under direction of the board of railroad commissioners, and in strict compliance with such requirements as they should deem essential to secure a free and uninterrupted flow of the waters of the Connecticut river at all seasons. The towns of Amherst, Hadley, Northampton and Hatfield were authorized at town meetings called for the purpose, to subscribe for and hold shares in the capital stock of the company to an amount not exceeding five per cent. of the assessed valuation of said towns, if a two-thirds vote was passed in favor of such subscription. The towns might pay for such stock out of their town treasuries, and were authorized to raise money by loan, upon bonds, or by tax or otherwise, and might hold and dispose of the stock like other town property. The selectmen, or any agent especially selected for the purpose, might repre- sent the towns at meetings of the company, and might vote upon the amount of stock held by said towns. The company might by vote adopt as its corporate name the Northampton and Amherst railroad company. This charter was accepted at a meeting held in Amherst, Nov. 2, 1870. The incorporation of the Massachusetts Central railroad company at about this time caused a suspension of effort towards building an independent road, by the incorporators of the Amherst Branch railroad.
By a special act passed by the General Court in 1867, approved by the governor, March 23, Thomas E. Hastings, Eleazer Porter, Levi Stockbridge and others were incorporated as the Northampton and Amherst Street Railway company, for the purpose of constructing and using a street railroad from the town of Northampton to the town of Amherst. Its capital stock was not to exceed $200,000. By a special act passed in 1868, the town of Hadley was authorized to subscribe to stock in this company to an amount not exceeding $6,000. In 1868, the original act was amended so that the capital stock might not exceed $75,000. The town of Hadley might subscribe to this stock an amount not exceeding one-half of one per cent. of its assessed valuation. There are no existing records to show that any further action was ever taken under this charter.
The Massachusetts Central Railroad company was incorporated by an act of the General Court. approved May 10, 1869. The names of the incorporators were as follows : Edward Denny, Joel Hayden, Francis Brig- ham, James S. Draper, Constance Southworth, Edward Atkinson, Francis Edson, B. H. Tripp, Charles A. Stevens, C. C. Aldrich, Lafayette Maltby, Henry F. Hills and Philo Chapin. They were authorized to locate, con- struct, maintain and operate a railroad with one or more tracks, beginning at some convenient point in the town of Williamsburg, thence running by the most convenient route through the towns of Northampton, Easthampton, Westhampton, Hatfield, Hadley, South Hadley, Amherst, Granby, Ludlow.
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