USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > Trenton > History of Trenton, New Jersey : the record of its early settlement and corporate progress. > Part 19
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In October, 1876, the City railway was empowered to extend its tracks from Perry street to Warren, thence to Ferry street, thence to Bridge street, thence to Centre and thence to the lands of Dr. J. P. Turner (near Riverview Cemetery). They were also authorized to connect their Bridge street tracks from Centre to Broad street. In October, 1885, the City railway had a further ordi- nance passed for their benefit, extending their line from Broad street through Bridge street, thence to Centre street, thence to Lalor street and thence to the Delaware and Raritan canal. In 1886 a further ordinance gave them power to build a road on Hamilton avenue. In this year the borough of Chambersburg extended the City railway's franchise to Jennie street, Hudson street, Elmer street, Chestnut avenue, Cummings avenue, Coleman street, with a spur through Cummings avenue to Division street, to car sheds and stables.
At a later period the Trenton Horse railroad passed into the hands of Colonel Lewis Perrine, who substituted electricity for horse-power. This was in 1892. He acquired control of the City Railway Company in 1891 and consolidated the roads on September 30th, 1891, under the name of "The Trenton Passenger Railway Company (Consolidated)." The first experimental trip by electricity was made at 11:30 P. M., on May 22d, 1892, from Fred. Walter's corner to Olden avenue and to Perry street.
The East Trenton end of the road was opened for business May 24th, 1892. The company has no standard of construction. The present management is as follows : Henry C. Moore, President ; Thomas C. Barr, Vice President ; John L. Kuser, Secretary and Treasurer ; the Directors being Henry C. Moore, Thomas C. Barr, John L. Kuser, Ferdinand W. Roebling, E. J. Moore, Jonathan Blackwell, Anthony R. Kuser.
Under the present management the traction company has won the confidence of the public and has, in its preparations to extend its lines into new territory, awakened a vast amount of local interest in the development of the suburbs. The road at present is well equipped and well conducted.
CHAPTER XXII.
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
POST-OFFICE-STATE HOUSE, LIBRARY AND GREAT SEAL-STATE SCHOOL FOR DEAF-MUTES -- ARSENAL AND STATE PRISON-STATE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS-MERCER COUNTY COURT HOUSE-STATE NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOLS-MASONIC TEMPLE-CITY HALL-ST. FRANCIS, MERCER AND CITY HOSPITALS-STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE-ODD FELLOWS' HOME -- Y. M. C. A .- W. C. T. U .- TAYLOR OPERA HOUSE-INTER-STATE FAIR ASSOCIATION-UNION INDUSTRIAL HOME-NEW JERSEY CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY-CITY ALMSHOUSE.
RENTON'S public institutions, to the visitor, are indeed a source of great attraction. The Capitol having been located in the city in 1791, a period long before philan- thropie and penal establishments were in any sense a part of State life, Trenton offered convenient sites for buildings when such institutions were erected. The memories which cluster about the State House, the Egyptian hieroglyphics upon the facade of the prison, the architectural beauties of the various schools, the classic front of the Court House and the beauty of the Federal Building, not to mention the grounds of the Normal and Model Schools and the Asylum, are among the most interesting objects of the city, particularly after the customary visits to the potteries and the iron works.
The introduction of the post-office system in the vicinity of Trenton was due to the philan- thropy of William Penn. The settlers on both sides of the Falls were in close association, and western Burlington and eastern Bucks practically might have been in one Province. In the " Friends' Miscellany " (Vol. VII., p. 29), it is stated that the Quaker leader issued, in 1683, an order for the establishment of a post-office, requesting Phineas Pemberton carefully to publish the information on the meeting-house door ; that is, on the door of the private house in which the Society of Friends were accustomed to meet. It was usual for Friends settled about the Falls to assemble at the houses of William Yardley, James Harrison, Phineas Pemberton, William Biles and William Beakes.
No definite system of mail distribution had yet been inaugurated, and the letters were usually sent by some trustworthy carrier from Philadelphia or Amboy. No elaborate system of stamps, post-marks or sealing had been devised. This early post-office was indeed a very primitive affair.
" Boston REF These are to give notice, That Her Majesty in regards to the great Expense She is at in maintaining the Correspondence by Letters between England and Her Plantation-Islands in America and for the further improvement and benefit of Trade, Hath settled Packet-Boats for the West Indies-
"This is likewise to give Notice-All persons Corresponding with New England, New York, Jersey, Pensilvania, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina and Bermuda, may have their Letters to the Respective Governments put up in bags apart,-
"These are also to give Notice, That Letters will be taken in at the General Post Office in London, directed for New England, New York, New Jersey-on the same Post nights as those for the Plantation-Islands."-" Boston News Letter," October, 1705.
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
The "New York Gazette" (July 31st, 1732) speaks of the General Post-Office as having been established about thirty-eight years previously by Colonel Hamilton, of New Jersey. Postmaster- General Alexander Spotswood extends the service to Williamsburg, Virginia.
An abstract of act passed in the ninth of Anne, from the "Boston News Letter," January 28th-February 4th, 1711, relative to the "Establishing of a General Post Office for all Her Majesty's Dominions," shows the following rates for all "Letters, Packets &e. to or from any Places beyond the Seas :"
From New York to Perth Amboy and Bridlington [Burlington] and from each of those Places to New York and from New York to any Place not exceeding
Double 1
Treble 1 6
100 English Miles and from cach of those Places to New York Ounce 2 0
S. (1.
Single C
4
Double 0)
8
Treble 1 0
Ounce 1 4
s. d.
Single 0
6
From Perth Amboy and Bridlington to any Place not exceeding 100 English Miles and thence back again
Double 1 0) Treble 1 6
Ounce 2 C
The first notice of the establishment of a post-office at Trenton, which has yet come to the attention of the writer, is in the "American Weekly Mercury," September 5th-12th, 1734. Therein a "Publick Notice" is given of a post-office "settled at Trenton at the House of Joseph Reed Esq ; his Son Andrew Reed being appointed Post-Master." Andrew Reed had already qualified, and was empowered to deliver letters to all persons, if the missives were "directed for that County." The inhabitants could "put in their Letters directed to any Parts and due care will be taken to send them."
Probably the first advertisement of uncalled-for letters at Trenton post-office, is under the date March 25th, 1755, and is as follows : "William Carnegie, near Kingston; John Clark, (Attorney, ) Trenton ; John Hyde, Hopewell ; Joseph Morton, Princetown ; Richard Patterson, Princetown ; John Stevens, Rocky Hill; Ares Vanderbelt, Maidenhead.
"Letters not taken up within three months from this date will be sent to the General Post Office at Philadelphia."
The town of Trenton slowly grew as a mail distribution center. During the Revolution Abraham Hunt was Postmaster, and from this city were dispatched some of the post-riders, especially those hired by the Legislature to carry the official communications of Governor Livingston and the Council of Safety. The authentic records of the Federal Post-Office date from the year 1790.
In 1791 there were only six post-offices in the State of New Jersey, and these were at Newark, Elizabethtown, Bridgetown (now Rahway), New Brunswick, Princeton and Trenton. The amount of receipts for the year ending October 5th, 1791, was $530, of which sum the Postmasters received $108.20, leaving $421.80 as the net revenue. During General Washington's Presidential adminis- tration John Singer received the appointment. The office at this time was kept in a house on the corner of Warren and Hanover streets.
Major Peter Gordon had his office at the corner of State and Warren streets. Major Gordon retained the office only during part of Jefferson's administration, when, having received from Governor Bloomfield the appointment of State Treasurer, he at once resigned the office of Post- master, and Charles Rice was appointed. He continued the office at the same place where Major Gordon had established it. He remained in office during the administrations of James Madison and James Monroe.
In the year 1821, a new appointment was made in James J. Wilson as Postmaster of Trenton. In 1824 Mr. Wilson died, and his wife served out his term of office. She continued in the office until General Jackson's second term, when Joseph Cunningham received the appointment on the
s. l.
Single 0 6
From Perth Amboy & Bridlington to any Place not exceeding 60 English Miles and thence back again
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
third day of January, 1835. During his term the office was kept in his own house, upon the spot occupied by the late William Dolton and Jonathan Blackwell as a wholesale grocery. He held the office during part of Jackson's last term and Martin Van Buren's single term.
Dr. John MeKelway removed his office to the building on West State street next to the Mechanics National Bank. Joseph Justice kept the post-office in the brick house on Warren street where James J. Wilson had formerly served the citizens. John S. McCully's office was on East State street, midway between Broad and Warren, on the south side of the street and contiguous to the old Mansion House. For a few months William A. Benjamin kept his office where Mr. McCully had it, when it was moved to the City Hall. The office was kept by Joshua Jones on Broad street, just below State, and at one time on the corner of Warren and Front. Frederic S. MeNeely moved the office to Taylor Hall, where it was continued by Israel Howell. Upon the completion of the Govern- ment Building the migratory character of the office ceases, and it becomes a permanent institution. The Govern- ment Building, located upon the corner of State and Montgomery streets, was completed at the time of the Centennial anniversary of the independence of the United States. A commodi- ous structure of great archi- POST-OFFICE BUILDING. tectural beauty fits the building for the transaction of all the business of the United States. Here meet the Federal District and Circuit Courts, with apartments for the United States District Attorney, Marshal, Clerks and for juries in civil and criminal cases properly triable before the Federal Judges. An electric elevator, good ventilation and lighting make this a model building of its type.
The following is an accurate list of the Postmasters of this city, as furnished by the Post-Office Department :
POSTMASTER.
DATE OF APPOINTMENT.
John Singer, . February 16th, 1790. Peter Gordon, Charles Riee, . James J. Wilson, September 25th, 1792. November 28th, 1803. March 22d, 1821.
Jane Wilson, Joseph Cunningham, John MeKelway,
. August 7th, 1824. January 3d, 1835. June 17th, 1842. July 6th, 1843.
.
Joseph Justice,
John S. MeCully, . April 25th, 1849. William A. Benjamin, Joshua Jones, . April 6th, 1853. April 17th, 1861. October 12th, 1866.
Frederic S. MeNeely, Israel Howell,
Charles H. Skirm, . Eckford Moore, Alex. C. Yard,
. February 28th, 1871. February 27th, 1883. December 3d, 1886. May 7th, 1889.
Frank H. Lalor,
April 5th, 1894.
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
Frank H. Lalor, present Postmaster of Trenton, was born April 6th, 1852, on the old Lalor homestead. When a boy he located in Ohio, where he attended the public schools, and in 1868 was graduated from the High School at Toledo. He returned to Trenton and took a course in the Model School, preparatory for college. In the fall of 1869 he entered the Sophomore Class at Princeton College, graduating from that institution in 1872. After completing his college course he entered the drug busi- ness with Mr. G. A. Mangold. In 1874 Mr. Lalor engaged in business for himself, pur- chasing a half interest in the wholesale drug establishment of George F. Wilson. He is now proprietor of two stores, one on the corner of South Broad and Market streets, and one at No. 12 North Warren street.
In 1883 Mr. Lalor was elected a member of the Board of Education, and was President of that body during the years 1885 and 1886. In 1890 he was made City Superintendent of the public schools, in which capacity he served four years. In 1894 he was appointed Postmaster, a position for which he is well qualified. Mr. Lalor is Secretary of the Lodge of Elks, a position he has successfully filled for several years. He has been Presi- dent of the Mercer County Wheelmen for two years and a prominent member of the National Guard since 1872, having served under Captain Belville in Company A. On FRANK H. LALOR. November 20th, 1879, Mr. Lalor married Anna L. Titus, daughter of the late B. W. Titus, of Trenton. He is one of the most public-spirited men in Trenton, and the many positions of honor he has so successfully filled have never been sought by him personally.
THE STATE HOUSE.
In spite of the recommendations of Governor Livingston in his message of September, 1776, to the end that the Capitol of New Jersey be conveniently located, no definite legislative action was taken on this subject until November 16th, 1791, when a bill was introduced in the House of Assembly, entitled "An act to provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of the Legislature and public officers of this State." The old East and West Jersey feeling cropped out in the efforts to have New Brunswick and Woodbury inserted in the place of Trenton. This was to no avail, for on the twenty-fifth of November, 1790, the seat of State government had been fixed at Trenton. On November 22d, 1791, Joseph Cooper, Thomas Lowery, James Ewing, Maskell Ewing, George Anderson, James Mott and Moore Furman were appointed commissioners, with power to purchase or accept such quantity of land at the seat of government as they might deem proper for the use of the State. They were authorized to draw on the Treasurer for any sums not exceeding £1,500, and were furthermore empowered to accept grants of money for the purposes aforesaid.
By a report of a committee of the House and Council, made one year later, it appears that the commissioners received £3,500 from the treasury of the State, together with £12 16s. received from sale of articles belonging to New Jersey. There was obtained from the inhabitants of Trenton and the vicinity, by subscription, the sum of £307 18s. 6d. in cash, together with land and materials for building, to the value of £340 9s. 5d.
It was found that the commissioners had expended £3,820 19s. 52d. on the State House.
143
THE CITY OF TRENTON.
The State House, as erected by the commissioners, stood upon the lot occupied by the present edifice. Delaware avenue was not laid out until sonic years later, when the street was donated to the city of Trenton by ex-United States Senator Garret D. Wall, of Burlington.
The whole front of the State House lot is two hundred and forty-seven feet six inches on State street, and the whole depth from State Street to low-water mark is six hundred and sixty feet.
The whole land contains three and three-quarter acres, and the entire cost was £250 5s. At this period the Secretary of State and Clerk of the Supreme Court were provided with separate offices, at a cost of £310, as a committee report of November 4th, 1796, shows. Benjamin Smith was the commissioner appointed to erect these offices. By 1796 the original State House was finished at a further cost of £729. In 1798 Moore Furman inclosed the State House lot, and in 1799 a brick pavement was laid around the edifice. On the fourth of November, 1801, a legislative committee reported that paint on the platform, banisters, belfry and windows, with new steps, was needed, at a cost of $200. During the year 1803 the inhabitants of the city of Trenton greatly annoyed the Legislature, as the following resolution by the General Assembly will show : "That a committee be appointed to inquire into the cause and conduct of the mob assembled in Trenton in the month of February last, and also by whose direction or approbation the State House was occu- pied as a ball room on the 4th of July, and of the riot in Trenton in said month, and whether the magistrates of Trenton used all due diligence in suppressing said disorders ; and likewise whether any and how many of the principal inhabitants of said town, as far as can be ascertained, appeared at the time to approve or discountenance such conduct, and that they report to this house their opinion thereon, and what measures, if any, would be proper in order to prevent such disorders in the future ; and that the committee have power to send for such evidences as they think necessary."
The first legislative action practically establishing custodians of the State House was passed on the tenth of November, 1803, and doubtless was suggested by the obnoxious ball on Independence Day of that year. It was then
"Resolved, That on the adjournment of the legislature, the clerk of assembly and Moore Furman, Esq., or either of them, be requested to take charge of the State House, with directions not to permit it to be occupied for any other purpose than for the accommodation of the constituted authorities for which it was erected."
November 11th, a resolution was passed by both Houses, placing the State House yard in the care of James J. Wilson, reserving the use of the buildings in said yard for the necessary occasions of the officers of government. James J. Wilson was Clerk of the Assembly.
In the early part of the present century, when the legislators remained permanently in Trenton during the session, and when the legislative hours were long and the legislative week included six days, the members of Council and Assembly were called to their duties by the ringing of a bell. On March 3d, 1806, a law was passed appointing commissioners to make certain repairs to the State House and to provide and hang a suitable bell.
Upon November 3d, 1807, the commissioners reported "that the repairs had been made and a bell weighing 381 pounds had been hung."
In 1848, the Capitol was altered by the removal of the roughcasting. The "Legislative Manual" thus describes the changes : Neat porticoes were placed over the front and rear entrances, and two additional buildings, adjoining the main one, erected, as offices for the Clerks of the Chancery and Supreme Courts. The rotunda was also erected, and the grounds fenced, graded, laid out and shade-trees planted, all at a cost of $27,000. The commissioners under whose directions the work was completed were Samuel R. Gummere, Samuel R. Hamilton and Stacy A. Paxson. In 1863, 1864 and 1865, appropriations were made and expended in building additions for the State Library, Executive Chamber, &c. In 1871, Charles S. Olden, Thomas J. Stryker and Lewis Perrine were appointed commissioners to cause a suitable addition to be built-more commodious apartments for the Senate and Assembly, &c. The sum of $50,000 was appropriated, and the buildings for the Legislature were ready for occupancy in time for the meeting of the Legislature of 1872. In 1872, $120,000 was appropriated for completing the building, $3,000 for fitting up the Executive Chamber, $4,000 for fitting up the Chancery and Supreme Court rooms, and $2,000 for fitting up the offices on the first floor of the east wing. In 1873, the sum of $43,000 was appro- priated for the improvement of the front of the building, completing unfinished repairs and improvements, and for fitting up the Library, &e. On March 18th, 1875, the sum of $15,000 was
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THE CITY OF TRENTON.
appropriated for the purpose of putting a new three-story front to the building, and to fit up offices on the second floor for the Clerks of the Court of Chancery and Supreme Court, and for providing a suitable museum for geological specimens. The battle-flags of New Jersey volunteer regiments, carried during the War of the Rebellion are tastefully arranged in oak cases in the central hall. The rotunda is being devoted to the purposes of a State portrait gallery.
On March 21st, 1885, the front portion was destroyed by fire, and the Legislature appropriated 850,000 for rebuilding, and, in 1886, an additional appropriation of $225,000 was granted.
The new building was finished in 1889. It is of rectangular shape and of the Renaissance style of architecture, with a frontage of one hundred and sixty feet on State street, a depth of sixty-seven feet, and three and a half stories high, with a rotunda thirty-nine feet across, which connects the new section of the Capitol with the original part. The rotunda is surmounted by a gilded dome one hundred and forty-five feet high.
The building is constructed of solid fire-proof brick masonry, faced with Indiana oolite, with foundations and trimmings of New Jersey freestone. The portico and balcony are supported by massive pillars of polished granite and are surmounted by the coat-of-arms of the State. The offices are thoroughly equipped and to each suite is attached a fire-proof vault.
The old State Library apartments are now occupied by the Attorney-General, State Super- intendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Banking and Insurance and the State Bureau of Statistics. In 1891, owing to the many inconveniences of the room, a new Assembly Chamber was erected, and necessary improvements were made in the Supreme Court rooms and the Court of Errors and Appeals. The new Assembly Chamber covers the site of the former room, and has a frontage of one hundred and twenty feet on Delaware street and a depth of seventy-five feet ; is of brownstone, from the Stockton quarries, and the trimmings of light Indiana stone. The interior is finished in Trent tile, quartered oak and Italian statuary marble. It is a fire-proof building throughout, and is specially ventilated. The committee-rooms are ample and convenient.
The other new addition to the Capitol provides a consultation-room for the Judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Errors and Appeals and a private room for the Governor, a room for the Museum of the Geological Survey, and other offices.
An electric light apparatus was also placed in the Capitol. Every department in the building is now lighted by electricity.
A new Otis elevator in the front part of the building gives easy access to all the upper floors.
THE STATE LIBRARY.
Upon the eighteenth of March, 1796, by resolution, Maskell Ewing, Clerk of the House of Assembly, was ordered to procure a case, to keep and preserve the books belonging to the Legis- lature. On February 18th, 1804, William Coxe, of Burlington ; Ezra Darby, of Essex, and John A. Scudder, of Monmouth, were appointed a Committee on Rules. In cataloguing the library, they found one hundred and sixty-eight volumes. In 1813, the first act was passed relative to the State Library, and in 1822, for the first time, a joint meeting created the office of State Librarian. Previ- ous to this time, the Clerk of the House had control of the books. A Law Library Association, a close corporation, composed of members of the bar, kept their library in the Supreme Court room until 1837, when the two libraries were consolidated.
From time to time, various appropriations have been made by the Legislature toward increasing the number of volumes. At the present time, the shelves contain one of the best-selected law libraries in the United States, the sets of early English reports being particularly complete. The law and equity reports of the various States are also extremely comprehensive. One of the most perfect sets of all the United States Government reports yet collected is here found. A valuable series of books relating to the industrial arts-particularly that of pottery-was obtained through the interest that ex-Governor George B. Mcclellan evinced in this matter. Reference-books, Jerseyana, State and local histories are indexed for public consultation. In 1890, the present well-lighted library, excellently managed by the efficient Librarian, Colonel Morris R. Hamilton, was opened. It occupies the entire third-story front of the Capitol building.
145
THE CITY OF TRENTON.
Morris R. Hamilton, State Librarian, is a native of this State, having been born at Oxford Furnace, Sussex county, May 24th, 1820. His father, Samuel R. Hamilton, was Quartermaster- General of New Jersey for twenty-five years, and was a prominent citizen of Trenton. He traces his ancestry to John Hamilton, who was Provincial Governor of this State from 1736 to 1747, and to Andrew Robeson, who was Surveyor-General of the Province at the same time. The original immigrants were residents of Scotland, whence they emigrated to America about 1700.
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