A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 69

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 69

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Williamsburgh was incorporated as a vil- lage in 1827. Its growth was comparatively slow until after the year 1840. At the taking of the census in that year it was found to con- tain 5,094 inhabitants, and since that time it has advanced with almost unparalleled rap- idity, having attained a population of 30,780 in 1850. It was chartered as a city in 1851. Within the comparatively short period of twenty-one years Bushwick, from a thinly set- tled township, has advanced with rapid strides,

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CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.

and yesterday contained within its limits two large villages, together numbering a popula- tion of about 7,000 persons. Williamsburgh, from a hamlet, become a city of about 50,000 inhabitants. Brooklyn, judging from its past increase, yesterday contained a popu- lation of about 145,000 persons, and on this day the three places consolidated into one municipal corporation, takes its stand as the third city in the Empire State, with an aggre- gate population of about 200,000 inhabitants.

The superficial extent of area included within the city limits is about 16,000 acres (or twenty-five square miles). The extent in length of the city along the water front is eight and one-half miles, along the inland bounds thirteen and one-half miles, and be- tween the two most distant points in a straight line seven and three-fourths miles, and its greatest width five miles. Within these limits 516 streets have been opened for public use. * * Thirty miles of railroad tracks, ex- clusive of those of the Long Island railroad companies, have been laid and are in use upon the streets of the city; besides twelve lines of stages or omnibuses. The city, to a great extent, is lighted by gas, supplied by the Brooklyn and Williamsburgh Gas Light Company, using ninety-five miles of pipes along the streets. The streets are lighted with public lamps, numbering in the aggregate 3,766, of which 2,609 are gas lamps. Thirteen sewers have been constructed, extending in length five miles. There are 157 public cis- terns and 547 wells and pumps. There are two public parks, one of which will rival in magnificence, as respects its natural position and commanding prospect. that of any other city in the Union.

Reference was then made to the formation ·of Greenwood and Evergreens Cemeteries; to

113 churches within the city; to 27 public schools, containing 317 teachers and about 30,500 scholars; to the Packer Collegiate In- stitute, the numerous private schools, the Brooklyn City Hospital, the Orphan Asylums, the Old Ladies' Home, industrial schools, dispensaries, etc .; also to nine banks, four savings institutions, eight insurance compa- nies, five daily and two weekly papers, etc. The assessed value of taxable property dur- ing the previous year was estimated: In Brooklyn-of real estate, $64,665,117; of per- sonal property, $8,184,881 ; Williamsburgh- of real estate, $11,242,664; of personal prop- erty, $11,614,559; Bushwick-of real estate, $3,106,864; of personal property, $109,000 ; making the aggregate in the whole city, $88,- 923,085.

Thirteen ferries, keeping up a constant communication with the city of New York, and the almost continuous line of wharves between Greenpoint and Red Hook, as well as the commercial facilities furnished by the Atlantic Docks, and the expensive ship build- ing at Greenpoint, were also alluded to. The police of the new city, under Chief John S. Folk, comprised seven districts, with an aggre- gate of 274 men ; the Eighth, Ninth and Eight- eenth Wards not being included, they having a special police at their own expense. The fire department was also on a good footing, the western district having twenty engines, seven hose-carts and four hook and ladder companies ; the eastern having ten engines, four hose-carts, three hook and ladder, and one bucket companies.

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CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR, 1865-1870.

A SUCCESSION OF CAPABLE EXECUTIVES-THE METROPOLITAN POLICE-J. S. T. STRANAHAN, PROSPECT PARK, STREET RAILWAYS, LIBRARIES- RAPID EXTENSION OF THE CITY-CHOLERA.

N THIS division it is proposed to treat of the history of Brooklyn-the Con- solidated City-as it was generally called from the date of that consoli- dation (January 1, 1855) until the beginning of 1870. That period may rightfully be called the era of the Civil War, for although that terrible conflict lasted only during four years out of the fifteen years thus included, yet the time of preparation and recuperation ought to be included. While it cannot be said that the preparatory events leading to that war had much more than a passing influence on the progress of Brooklyn, it must be admitted that, in keeping with all loyal, slavery-hating communities in the North she saw the dark clouds settle out of which was to issue that bolt which was to strike Fort Sumter, and felt the need of ample preparation to meet the storm. She had to grope in the darkening at- mosphere for a while, not knowing exactly what might be required of her, where the storm would break, or how far it might spread. She kept on as calmly as could be in the even tenor of her way, extending her boundaries, effecting improvements in her internal econo- my, and then, when the time did come, tak- ing her full share with the Northern cities in the grand work of preserving the Union of the States.

During this period Brooklyn had five oc-

cupants of its civic chair, all men of marked individuality and in every way worthy of the honors heaped upon them by their fellow citi- zens. Of Mayor Hall mention has already been made and there is no need to dwell upon his career during the new term 1855-6 further than to say that he was elected upon a tem- perance and religious platform and zealously kept every plank in place. Possibly one of the proudest moments of his life was when, July 31, 1855, he broke ground for the reser- voir of the Nassau Water Company on Reser- voir Hill, Flatbush. That company had been chartered earlier in the same year and in June the Brooklyn Common Council had subscribed for $1,300,000 of its stock, thus giving the city a controlling interest in its management. Mayor Hall zealously put in operation all the laws he could find on the statute books which aimed at preserving the amenity of the Sab- bath, and in the poorer quarters of the city he aroused a strong feeling against himself by the determined manner in which he en- forced the regulations requiring the closing of all sorts of stores on the day of rest, while his determined refusal in spite of many urgent and influential appeals to permit the street cars to run on Sundays added to his unpopu- larity with the masses, although most of the old residents thoroughly approved his policy, so far as these public vehicles were concerned.

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THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR.

But long before his term was up he found himself decidedly a most unpopular personage among all classes,-particularly among the very classes who were most zealous in their use of the ballot-box. His rectitude and lofti- ness of purpose were unquestioned, but it was felt that his many peculiar views on pub- lic morals were not in keeping with the spirit of the times,-were too paternal and Puri- tanic for the nineteenth century.

cars to be run on Sundays and winked at' Sunday store trading so long as it was kept within bounds and was not only necessary to' the comfort of the poor, but was demanded by public opinion. As a result his popularity steadily increased, and he was triumphantly re-elected when his first term expired. After- ward, in 1871, he was again called to the Mayor's office and served a third term, and he' , was chosen Comptroller in 1874, a Park Com-

VIEW FROM BATTLE HILL, GOWANUS HEIGHTS, IN 1860. From drawing by James Smillie.

His successor, who entered upon office with the advent of 1857, was Samuel S. Pow- ell, a native of New York City. Mr. Powell had resided in Brooklyn since 1838, and for many years was engaged in business as a clothier. In 1845 he was elected for a term to the Common Council, but declined re- election and held no other public office until he was elected to the Mayoralty. He was a religious man, but not so strict in his notions as his predecessor, so he permitted the street

missioner in 1877, and County Treasurer in 1878, holding the latter office at the time of his death, February 6, 1879.

Mayor Powell was what would nowadays be called an independent Democrat, and had received the Mayoralty nomination in spite of "the machine" of the party, which then had its headquarters in the law office of Lott, Mur- phy & Vanderbilt. His successor, Martin Kalbfleisch, however, was elected in 1861 by more "regular" Democratic management, and

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as the War Mayor of Brooklyn deserves to be held in loyal and kindly remembrance. Mayor Powell, it should be said, had proved himself devoted to the national cause, and aided the Government to the best of his ability and the extent of his influence, but it was Mayor Kalbfleisch's fortune to be in office shortly after the storm broke, and he con- tinued to direct Brooklyn's loyal aspirations during what may be called the darkest period of the awful struggle. In him, a native of the Netherlands and a naturalized citizen, the Union had no more stanch advocate or the National Government a more single-hearted adherent. He could not understand for a long time, it was said, exactly what the contest was about, but he enjoyed the advantage of his citizenship, had found wealth and friends and home in the land of his adoption, and looked upon the schism-any schism-as a crime. He had settled at Greenpoint in 1842, and there built up a splendid business as a manufacturer of colors. He at once took a deep interest in local affairs, organized a school so that his own children and those of his neighbors might have the advantages of a good education, and paid the teacher's sal- ary out of his own pocket for a considerable time. In politics he became quite an active figure, and he was soon recognized in the local Democratic party as an indefatigable worker, being, as a noted Brooklyn politician said, "One of those Dutchmen who never let go until they have carried their point, and don't know when they are beaten." In 1851 he was elected Supervisor of the old town of Bushwick and held that office until Bushwick was "consolidated," of which project he was a stanch advocate. In 1855 he was chosen Alder- man of Brooklyn's new Eighteenth Ward, and held his seat in the Common Council until he becanie Mayor. While he held that office it may be said that war measures occupied his whole time, and he proved indefatigable in his efforts to strengthen the hands of the Govern- ment and at the same time fulfill all the active

duties incumbent upon him as the lead of a municipality which, in spite of the civil com- motion, was extending itself in all directions and almost daily entering upon improvements and new enterprises all of which were adding to its reasons for civic pride. After a term in Congress he was again elected Mayor, in 1867, and held that office until 1871, two years be- fore his death.

Mayor Kalbfleisch's successor to that title, in 1864, was one of the local heroes made conspicuous by the war,-Colonel Alfred M. Wood. This man of many brilliant parts was a native of Hempstead, and what might be called a politician by profession. He was en- gaged in business in Brooklyn for a short time early in life, but was unsuccessful, and in 1853 was elected Collector of Taxes, and re-elected in 1856. In 1861 he was elected to the Board of Aldermen and was chosen as its president. When the war broke out he was the senior officer of the Fourteenth Regiment of militia, and, resigning his civic office, he devoted his entire time to filling up the ranks of the regiment and led it to the front. At the first battle of Bull Run he was conspicuous for his bravery, and was severely wounded just as the panic among the Northern troops began. While being removed from the field in an ambulance, Colonel Wood found himself forsaken, for the driver had cut the traces from the horse which had been hauling the vehicle and ridden away. With the help of some of his own men, whom he happened to fall in with, Colonel Wood contrived to reach a bit of woods, where they lay concealed for four days, when the little party was captured by some Southern soldiers. On partially re- covering from his wound, Colonel Wood was sent to Richmond and there ordered to be executed ; but the sentence was not carried out, and after a time he was exchanged. Return- ing to Brooklyn, he was received with all the acclaim due to a hero, and on October 20, 1863, received the nomination for Mayor and was elected by a rousing majority, his leading

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opponent being Mayor Kalbfleisch, who cer- tainly deserved better treatment at the hands of the voters. But it. was a time when war heroes were the idols of the public and could get anything they sought from an admiring populace. Although he did not go to the front, Kalbfleisch probably accomplished a thousand times the service that his rival could have claimed credit for, but then "the conse- cration of battle," as the orators used to call it, did not figure in his record. Wood made a good Mayor, devoted himself to the best in- terests of the city, and after his term was over filled several minor offices in the gift of the National Government, and then went abroad.

Samuel Booth, in 1866, succeeded Colonel Wood as Mayor. Mr. Booth was born in Eng- land in 1818, but was brought here while yet an infant, and had resided in Brooklyn from the tenth year of his age. He learned the trade of carpenter, and in 1843 started in business on his own account, steadily pressing upward until he was at the head of a flourish- ing establishment. After a long and honora- ble record in various public offices, and win- ning much personal popularity as chairman of the local Bounty Committee, which disbursed some $3,800,000 to the soldiers and their rela- tives, he found himself, on entering upon the office of Mayor, in 1866, in the awkward posi- tion of having the Board of Aldermen mainly made up of political opponents, and presuma- bly, for party purposes, ready to defeat any policy upon which he might enter. This posi- tion of things lasted during his entire term, but his own sterling honesty safely carried him through and he retired with the good will of the citizens generally. Afterward he be- came Postmaster of Brooklyn, and when he quitted that office, in 1874, enjoyed many honors as a private citizen,-honors which came to him willingly from all classes of his townspeople.

The succession to the Mayoralty again brought Martin Kalbfleisch to the front, and

that sturdy Hollander hell the reins of power when the period allotted to this chapter came to a close. He proved as safe and successful an administrator of the city's affairs in time of peace as he had during the eventful years of his previous administration when the issues of the war dictated everything, and in 1868 he had the satisfaction of seeing Brooklyn advance with greater strides than ever before to queenly rank among the cities of the country.

One of the most significant movements of this period was that tending to consolidation with New York, although consolidation itself was hardly more than broached in public. Much of this arose from the fact that Man- hattan Island was so overwhelmingly Demo- cratic that those opposed to that party could see no way of thwarting its influence other than by legislative enactment. In 1855 Fer- nando Wood was elected Mayor of New York City and held that office until 1858, when he was defeated by a fusion candidate, Mr. D. N. Tiemann. On the conclusion of the latter's term Wood again became a candidate and was elected, serving until the close of 1862, and afterward entering Congress. He was a man. of strong personality, a natural leader of men, and brim-full of ideas, progressive in his own way, determined to achieve his own purposes and overcome opposition, and without any of those nice scruples which sentiments of honor - and honesty inspire in lofty or even well- trained minds. Like so many other "local statesmen," Wood began political life as a re- former and ended as a partisan with all the - qualities which that designation implies in American politics. He had no broad views on any subject, he was not a statesman; nothing but a politician, and that, too, of a purely local type. He saw nothing beyond New York, and took no interest in the Nation, except as events in it affected his bailiwick. With a firm and united Democratic majority behind him in New York, he cared little for outside affairs, and it was this sentiment more than-

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any real approval of the threatened Southern secession that led him, when the crisis became acute, to publicly suggest that New York City should secede from the Union and become an independent State, dragging with her into her loneliness Brooklyn and Staten Island. After- ward public opinion, the only thing he feared in this world, showed him he had gone too far, and he slid down from his top-lofty posi- tion with all the skill he could command. It was this steady and crafty manipulation on the part of Wood and his followers to increase and solidify the Democratic strength. of Man- hattan Island that led the opposition party to concoct measures calculated to offset his schemes, and one of the first of these was to take the control of the local police out of his hand, for it was only too clearly self-evident that that force was being used by him as one of the most effective agents in perpetua- ting and strengthening his local party, and, as has been said, a strong local party was all that he cared about at that time. Accordingly, in 1857, a bill passed by the Legislature became law, under the signature of Governor J. A. King, which united the police of New York, Kings, Westchester and Richmond counties and the towns in Queens county into what was called the Metropolitan District, and which was to be governed by a board on which the Mayor of New York had only an ex-officio seat, as well as had the Mayor of Brooklyn, while the real power over the entire force was vested in the appointed commissioners, the most notable of whom was the late J. S. T. Stranahan. For a long time Mayor Wood tried to defy the Legislature and endeavored to retain intact the old municipal force in his immediate jurisdiction, thereby giving to the world the spectacle of two sets of Dogberrys doing exactly the same work and often coming into actual collision in doing it. In the long run Wood was forced to bow to the superior authority of the State and yielded ungracious- ly, but Brooklyn from the first loyally accepted the mandate. It was this union that was gen-

erally regarded as the first actual step toward consolidation, and it was his experience as a Commissioner that led Mr. Stranahan to be- come impressed with the view which governed his later years that the destinies of Brooklyn and New York were one and the same, were inseparable, in fact, whatever they might be in name, and that neither could reach the full fruition of metropolitan greatness until they were united into one compact municipality. It must be said that under the Metropolitan Police law, bad as it was, Brooklyn was much better protected than under her former inde- pendent force; but the enforcement of the measure led to another unexpected and un- bearable evil. Like New York, Brooklyn was a"Democratic stronghold, although its type of Democracy was purer and less identified with municipal scandal than had been prevailing for some time on Manhattan Island. But the police law demonstrated the ease with which local affairs could, when occasion required or party exigencies demanded, be directed from the headquarters of the State Government, and as a result of the devious ways of politics Brooklyn for a long time,-virtually during the period covered by this chapter,-was deprived, on many and important occasions, of the priv- ilege and right of home rule which had hitherto been her boast. But the system of meddling in purely local affairs on the part of the State was discovered, after a few years of practical test, to be a bad one for both parties, equally dangerous to both, and Republicans as well as Democrats proclaimed against it with grati- fying results when the Tweed gang obtained a foot-hold in State politics and ran things to suit themselves in a manner that finally aroused the people to action irrespective of party.

That the Metropolitan Police act proved a benefit to Brooklyn was due more than all else to the energetic and public-spirited labors of Commissioner Stranahan, who then began to acquire that degree of public confidence and personal popularity which later won for him

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the unquestioned title of "First Citizen of Brooklyn." Mr. Stranahan was born at Peter- boro, New York, in 1808. In 1832 he became associated with Gerrit Smith in business in Oneida, and in 1838 was a member of the State Legislature. In 1840 he took up his residence in Newark, New Jersey, where he remained four years, engaged in railroad pro- motion and the actual building of railroads. In 1844 he settled in Brooklyn, which contin- ued to be his home until the time of his death.

Mr. Stranahan at once took an active part in local affairs, ran for Mayor and was badly defeated, and from 1854 to 1857 was a Repre- sentative in Congress ; but his first real work for the city was accomplished on the Police Commission, of which he was a member. Thenceforth until laid aside by the weight of years his life story was really a part of the history of Brooklyn. It was in 1860 that he began his association with the public improve- ment with which his name is yet closest con- nected and which accomplished the most last- ing good,-the inauguration of the movement which gave to the city its famous Prospect Park.

That beautiful enclosure now contains some 516 acres, and is not only a park for health and recreation, but a memorial of the famous battle of Brooklyn, for that sanguin- ary episode of the War of the Revolution was fought mainly within its boundaries and those of the adjacent Greenwood. At Prospect Hill, or Lookout Hill, a stately shaft was erected by the Sons of the American Revolution in 1895, in memory of the 400 Maryland soldiers who fell in that battle while defending the re- treat of the American army to the Brooklyn fortifications, when it was seen that the day was to end in the defeat of the Patriot cause. This memorial helps to remind the visitor that he is treading historic ground. The first Board of Commissioners appointed by the act to "lay out a public park and parade ground for the city of Brooklyn" comprised J. S. T. :Stranahan, T. H. Rodman, E. W. Fiske, R.

H. Thompson, Thomas G. Talmadge, Stephen Haynes and Cornelius J. Sprague; but it is no disparagement to the services of the others to say that the leading spirit among them all, the most persistent and indefatigable worker, the one who was least disheartened at delays and annoyances, was Mr. Stranahan.

As soon as the commission was organized Egbert L. Viele, who had prepared the plans for the laying out of New York's Central Park and saw them carried through their in- itiatory stages, was appointed chief engineer of Prospect Park and drew up the original plans on which work was commenced, the park territory being then bounded by Ninth avenue, Douglass street, Washington avenue and the Coney Island road. The outbreak of the Civil War summarily arrested this great public improvement, Viele resigned his office and hurried to the front, and until the conflict was over little could be done with the scheme but to watch and plan and wait. With the re- turn of peace came renewed effort, and in 1865 a revised plan for the enclosure was prepared by Olmsted & Vaux, the most famous firm of landscape architects then in the United States. This plan suggested the addition of new lands and the abandonment of some parts of the original scheme, and by successive legislative enactments the suggestions were all given practical endorsement and accomplishment by 1868, and in 1871 most of the general im- provements were completed and the grand peo- ple's garden and playground was dedicated to public use. Mr. Stranahan continued to act as president of the Board of Commission- ers until 1882, when a new board was ap- pointed by the Mayor, of which Mr. William B. Kendall became chairman, and that body continued to direct its fortunes until it was placed in charge of the Commissioner of Parks, when the entire system of Brooklyn's breathing places was ruled as a department of the municipal government.

Since 1865 the story of Prospect Park is one of continuous improvement, beauty added

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to beauty, and the work is still going on, every year developing some fresh charm, see- ing the completion of some design, and the whole being carried on with a liberal expendi- ture which speaks volumes for the tastes of the city; for the history of the park belongs to the city, the now existing borough merely carrying on and maintaining the work. The principal entrance, the Plaza, is on Flatbush avenue, where stands the magnificent arch

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 69

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188