USA > New York > Kings County > Flatbush > A history of the town of Flatbush, N.Y. > Part 6
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dispensation (March, Isot) and warrant (dated JJune 18, 1801) for a lodge, called Kings County Lodge, No. 511, F. and .1. V. The charter members were : Win. Mas. wws, F. I. Dallon, John V. N. Bergen. Jonath. Longmire, H. Brown, Jr., Henry Wall, J. Sutherland, J. G. Sunth, W. H. Hubbard, Jas. J. Foden. The lodge was duly organized by the election of the following offers: Wm. Mathews, We Naar ; Francis L. Dallon, S. 1. Warden ; John V. N. Bergen, Jr. Worden. From its organization until the present, the following persons have been its W. Masters (one serving two or more terms) : Wm. Matthews, F. 1 .. Dallon, Henry Wall. AAbraham Lott, Homer J. Bart- lett, M. D., Adrian Vanderveer, Rev. Coru. L. Wells. D. D., Heury G. Marshall, Wm. P. De Forest, Win. L .. Keese. Its present officers are Win. Matthews, W .... Henry J. Johnson, Set. W., and John Kerswell, Jr .. W., and II. L. Bartlett. Treas. The lodge rooms are in Selroommaker Hall, Flatbush. Until about Ist5 the lodge held counnumeations weekly, but since then twice a month. It now numbers sixty-five members. and its work and itluence in the village has been ered- itable to itself and beneficial to the community. .
Flatbush Gas Company .- The introduction of gas for illuminating purposes was a new era in the his- tory of the village. The dense foliage of the village rendered locomotion, upon moonless nights, not only difficult, but to a greater or less degree dangerous. In order to obviate this evil, a number of the residents. about the year 1800, procured frames of street lamps and placed them upon suitable. posts, along the street line, in front of their dwellings. In them were placed large kerosene lamps. These lamps were attended to daily, and lighted cach dark night, by the family in front of whose residence they were placed. This at- tempt at street-lighting, imperfect as it was, gradualiy emphasized in the mind of prominent citizens, the necessity for a more perfect system ; especially as, after the novelty of the thing had somewhat worn away, many neglected to light them. In the Winter of 1863-64 the matter was much discussed, and on April 14, 1864, the Flatbush. Gas Company was formed, with a capital of $40,000,00. Eight hundred shares were issned at $50 per share; subsequently the capital wa- increased $15,000.00 by the issue of three hundred more shares at $50 per share. The charter members of the company were : Hon. John A. Lott, John J. Vander- bilt, Win. Brown, Jr., Henry Wall, John Lefferts. J. V. B. Martense, and J. Furman Neefus. The first officers of the company were, Hon. John A. Lott, President : J. Furman Neefus, Secretary ; John Lefferts, Treasurer. In 1872 there were twenty-two street lamps which were lighted at a cost of $17.00 a year for each light. The company then had reven miles of mains, and a capacity for supplying thirty thousand cubic feet of gas every day. At first, consumers were charged $1 per thei- sand feet, which rate was subsequently reduced tothree
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF FLATBUSHI.
dollars. The company now have 200 af reet lamps and nine miles of mains, and supply a large majority of the residences in the village. The present officers of the . company are John J. Vanderbilt, President ; Abram I. Ditmas, Secretary, to whom we are indebted for these facts ; John Lefferts, Treasurer. W. S. Burnett has acted as Superintendent of the Gas Works sinee their first construction.
Board of Improvement .- Until 1-71 there was no competent and legally appointed body, other than the Commissioners of Highways, to whom the care of the streets and avenues of the town coubl be intrusted. If new streets were opened the work was undertaken by the property owners on either side of the proposed street, who were thus not only compelled to give the land for public convenience, but also to incur the ex- penses of opening. This, in itself, might not be eon- sidered an unjust burden upon the property, where the street was opened at the free will of the owners for its improvement. When, however, by act of the legislature, the whole county was surveyed and mappel into streets, Flatbush, being situated near to the city, a demand soon arose for the opening of many of these projected streets, whether the owners of the property desired it or not. To avoid endless contentions and secure jus- tiee to all, as well as to prevent this important matter from falling into the hands of mere scheming politicians, at whose hands the property-holders would be fleeced, it was necessary that some competent Board should be appointed, whose special business it should be to attend to this whole interest of opening streets in the town and laying assessments. Foreseeing this, the Hon. John A. Lott had already prepared a law providing for this important interest of the town. Through his in- strumentality an act passed the legislature April 19. 1871, providing for the creation of a Boardl of Improve- ment for the Town of Flatbush. The act was entitled " An act providing for the opening and improvement of new roads and avenues, and closing old highways in the town of Flatbush, Kings Connty." It provided for " a board composed of seven residents of the town of Flatbush, to be called The Board of Improvement of the Town of Flatbush, the members indicated being John A. Lott, Philip S. Crooke, Jacob V. B. Martense, John Lefferts, John J. Vanderbilt, John L. Zabriskie, M. D., and Abraham I. Ditmas. The members of the board were to hold office for five years ; vacancies through resignation or death to be filled by the Presi- dent of the Board, the Supervisor and the Town Clerk. The successors of those who have held office for five years to be appointed by the Supervisor, Town Clerk, and the Assessor of the town having the shortest term to serve ( Chap. 567 of the Laws of 1871). In accordance with this act, the Board of Improve- 1 ment was organized April 20, 1872 ; Hon. John A. Lott, President ; Abram I. Ditmas, Treasurer, and Lefferts Vanderbilt, Clerk. Upon the death of Hon.
John A. Lott, July, 1878, Gen. Philip S. Crook" was elected president, August 12, 1878, and Mr. Abra- ham Lott was appointed a member of the board to fill the vaca .. y occasioned by the death of his father. After the death of General Crooke, in the Spring of 1><1. Mr. Abraham Lott succeeded to the Presidency of the Board. Mr. Win. E. Murphy was appointed April Is, 1881 in the place of General Philip S. Crooke. Dur- ing the ten years of its existence, the Board of Improve- ment has accomplished much toward the permanent improvement and development of the town, and has saved thousands of dollars to the inhabitants of the village.
Through the assistance of the Clerk of the Board we are able to give a summary of the result of the work for ten years, sinee the organization of the Board. They have opened and improved Franklin avenue, from the city line to Washington avenue. They were next called upon to open and improve Malbone street, from Flatbush avenue to New York avenne. These were important and expensive improvements and by the careful management of the Board many thousands of dollars were saved to the town. They have also opened and improved the following streets and sections of streets, viz .: Caton avenue to the Coney Island roa l; a section of Nostrand avenne; Grant street to Canirsic avenue; Lefferts avenue to New York avenue; a section of East New York avenue; Avenue B, from Flatbush avenue to the western town boundary line ; Vanderbilt street; Albany avenne, and elosing the Clove road from East New York avenue. The ereetion of a suitable building for a Town Hall was committed to their charge. In the snecessful completion of this work we have a lasting monument of the faithfulness with which these gentlemen discharged their duties as members of the Board of Improvement. There is no provision in the law for a salary to the members of the Board. The members have cheerfully given their services and time for the welfare of the village.
First Village Newspaper .- In the year 1872. a proposition was made to Mr. HI. J. Egleston that he should nn lertake the editorship of a village paper. He consented; and, on April 20, 1872, the first copy of the Kings County Rural Gazette was issued. The first edition (of 2000 copies), was given away among the in- habitants of Flatbush and the neighboring towns. 1 demand immediately arose for its continuance ; yearly subscriptions came in rapidly, and in four weeks the size was increased. After several enlargements, it is now a respectable sized sheet of twenty-eight by forty- two inches. Mr. Egleston's interest was bought out in 1873, and a joint stock company formed with a cajata! stock of $1,000, since increased to $10,000. Mr. H.T. Egleston was elected president of the company, ani has since continued to be its editor and manager, with Mr. Wm. B. Green as associate editor. For a long time the issue averaged 1000 copies per week, but for
TELEGRAPHI COMPANY-ANNEXATION QUESTION.
several years past has been about 2000 per week. For several months the office was at the drug-store of Win. HI. Douglas, corner of Clarkson street and Flatbush avenue, and the paper was printed in Brooklyn. In course of time building-lots were secured on the corner of Diamond street, and a small gothic building, pur- chased from the Willink estate, was moved to and lo- cated upon the corner of Diamond street. The com- pany now own a large steam power press, 31x48, a large Gordon job press, and a nine-horse power engine. Six compositors are constantly employed. Two weekly papers,-the "Rural and Brighton Gazette," and the "American Business Journal,"-are issued by the com- pany. The paper has exercised considerable influence in local matters, and many village improvements were first suggested, discussed and brought to completion, largely through its influence. During the first year of its existence, the subject of a local telegraph company was frequently discussed in its columns.
Flatbush Telegraph Company .- In the Autumn of this year, 1872, H. J. Egleston published a card calling a public meeting to consider the subject of the establishment of a village telegraph. This meeting and two subsequent ones were largely attended, at which stock was subscribed to the amount of $3,000, and a com- pany was forthwith organized. Hon. John A. Lott, John Lefferts, Wm. Matthews, R. L. Schoonmaker and H. J. Egleston were elected Directors ; Hon. John A. Lott was chosen President ; H. J. Egleston, Secretary, and John Lefferts, Treasurer. A contract was made with the Western Union Telegraph Company to con- struct and work the line. Miss F. K. Pike, was the first operator. The first message was sent June 21, 1873, by Mr. John Lefferts to Hon. John _1. Lott, who then, as a member of the Court of Appeals, was staying temporarily at Congress Hall, Albany, N. Y. The mes- sage read as follows : "See 3rd Epistle of St. John, 13th and 14th verses." The second message was from the editor of the Rural Gazette to the editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, viz : " Flatbush, the banner-town of the county, is annexed by telegraph." There were ori- ginally sixty shares at $50 a share. The interest upon the invested capital pays the deficiency of $200 in the annual income of the office. Thus another bond was formed which unites the town to the city, and to the great world beyond. An attempt was made during this year to strengthen this bond of union.
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Annexation Question .- The subject of the an- nexation of the county towns to the City of Brooklyn was earnestly discussed in the papers of Brooklyn and by the various local newspapers of the county towns. During the Winter of 1872-73, the subject was brought before the legislature of the State; and, in June 28, 1873, an annexation aet was passed. According to this law (Chap. 861 of the Laws of the State, for Is73), a call was issned for the supervisors to meet and ap- point commissioners who were to draft a plan for con- i
solidation. They were required to assemble on (or be- fore) the first Monday of August, 1573, and appoint tive commissioners, one for each county-town ; who, with six conunissierers to be appointed by the Mayor of Brooklyn, were to form a Board of Commissioners of Annexation. The law provided that they should meet . on the second Monday of August, 1873, and begin their work of drafting a plan for the consolidation of the county-towns, and their annexation to the City of Brooklyn. The Mayor and Board of Supervisors met on the last Monday in July, 1873, and named the Com- missioners, as directed in the act of legislature. The Mayor appointed, to act on the part of the city, J. N. Wyckoff, Jr., E. J. Lowber, A. G. Bayliss, Edmund Briggs, George C. Bennett and George L. Fox. The appointments of the Supervisors were : Hon. John A. Lott for Flatbush ; C. Warren Hamilton, for Nar Lots ; Peter Lott, for Flatlands ; William Bennett, for Gravesend, and Teunis G. Bergen, for Nos Utrecht. On Monday, August 11, the commissioners held their first meeting for organization. The Hon. John A. Lott was chosen President ; W. G. Bishop, Clock ; and Stephen Ryder, Sergant-at-Arms. The duty assigned to the counissioners was a most difficult one, viz., the amicable arrangement and harmonizing of many im- portant and conflicting public interests. The first de- mand came from the county-towns, requiring a charter which would give to them equal rights. At the meet- ing of August 30, a new difficulty presented itself. While the towns and city might be consolidated under one corporation, still the county, although wholly en- braced within the proposed city limits, must also have its representative officers. Thus two boards of officers would be employed in governing the same territory, a presnmable cause of future conflict of jurisdic- tion. A third difficulty presented itself in relation to Flatbush and the Prospect Park lands. By an act of legislature, this land, lying within the limits of Flat- bush village, and a part of Flatbush territory, had been made a portion of the City of Brooklyn against the will of the inhabitants, and in the face of their remon- strance to the legislature ; and now the town would be called upon to bear an assessment and pay taxes upon the land of which it had been forcibly deprived. The same difficulty existed in the case of Flatbush and Gravesend in reference to the New Boulevard or Ocean Parkway, which had been taken in like manner by the county. The Flatbush representative was at first opposed to the movement; but becoming, at length, convinced that the matter could be satisfactorily ar- ranged for all parties, he prepared an elaborate and com- prehensive digest of the case, in all its bearings, and which was marked by incredible study, research and legal ability. To him alone belongs the credit of > presenting the matter as to secure a satisfactory settle- ment of the various and conflicting interests involvol. The committee completed their labors in October; and
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF FLATBUSHI.
on November 4, 1873, the subject of annexation was sub- mitted to the towns at the Fall elections. The result of the elections showed that the towns either did not thoroughly understand the subject, or were not pre- pared for annexation. The vote in Brooklyn gave a majority of twenty thousand in favor of it. The ma- jority in the towns against it, however, was one thou- sand five hundred and sixty-eight ou the whole number of votes in city and county. Thus ended the first at- tempt at a permanent union between the city and its rural neighbors.
Town Hall .- While this matter was under consid- eration, the subject of a Town Hall was repeatedly agitated in the local village paper. After the destruc- tion of the County Court House, at Flatbush, great difficulty was experienced in finding a suitable place to hold the village courts, the town elections and other public meetings. For many years the elections were held at the hotels of the village; and the Justices held their courts either at their own houses, or in the parlor of one of the numerous hotels of the village. There being no place in which to contine prisoners, or persons awaiting trial, constables were compelled to take such persons to the jail in Brooklyn, and then return them for trial to the village. After the crection of the pub- lic school-house, in 1842, the elections and Justices Courts were held, for nearly twenty years, in its upper story. . Abont the year 1861 it became necessary to use this room for school purposes. During this year Schoonmaker's Hall, on Flatbush avenue, was com- pleted, and was used for ten years as a place for all public gatherings, church fairs, sessions of court and for election purposes. The discussion of this subject in the local paper brought the matter prominently before the public. A call for a publie mecting to con- sider the subject of a Town Hall appeared in the Rural Gazette of February 14, 1874. Pursuant to this call a large and enthusiastic meeting of prominent citizens was held at Schoonmaker's Hall on Thursday, February 19, 1874, Supervisor J. V. B. Martense being Chair- man, and Abraham Lott, Secretary; at which, after various motions and considerable discussion, the matter was referred to the Board of Improvement, with power, the expense for land and building being limited by resolution to $40,000. At this meeting the town au- thorities were directed to issue thirty-year bonds, and provision was made for payment of interest and prin- cipal by taxation. The Board of Improvement imme- diately entered upon the accomplishment of the task assigned to them. A building committee, consisting of John Lefferts, John J. Vanderbilt and John L. Zabriskie, M. D., was appointed. Architect John Y. Cuyler was engaged to draft plans for the building. On May 18, 1874, the Board procured the enactment of a law authorizing them to proceed legally in their work (Chap. 456 of Laws of 1874 of State of N. Y.) A section of land (100 feet front and 200 feet deep)
was purchased on Grant street ( then Union Place) two hundred feet east of Flatbush avenue, at a cost of $5,800. The contract was let to Wm. Vanse for $29,- 000, the building to be completed September 1, 1875. Though not completed, the building was nevertheless used on November 2, 1875, for the annual fall election. On February 7, 1876, the new Town Hall was formally transferred by the Board of Improvement to the town authorities. On this occasion a large and enthusiastic meeting was held. The formal transfer was made by Hon. J. A. Lott in an able address, a portion of which, in these days of robbery in high places, is worthy of historical record, and is as follows : " It was found, on adjustment and settling of the interest realized on the money deposited in the bank, and in making up the final account, that the said expenditure exceeded the sum of forty thousand dollars borrowed, and the interest realized thereon, by the amount of ninety-eight dollars. That excess was paid by the seven members of the Board, out of their own pockets, in equal sums, to the Treasurer, who was thus enabled to defray and pay the entire expenditure incurred without leaving any outstanding indebteduess therefor, beyond the amount authorized by the law under which the Board acted."
Temperance Societies .- For many years promi- nent citizens had interested themselves in the securing of good government for the town and in the suppres- sion of Intemperance. Now and again, np to the year 1875, temperance societies had been organized and efforts made to control the terrible evil. During the year 1870 a temperance society was organized and chartered, with a large membership, by the name of Golden Star Division No. 459, Sons of' Temperance. The society continued in active operation for several years. In December, 1871, the Father Matthew Total Abstinence Benevolent Society of the Church of' the Holy Cross was founded, which is still in existence, having fifty-eight members, with James MeCarthy as President, Maurice Dwyer, Vice- President ; Edward Mackey, Andrew Short and Michael Murphy, Secre- taries, and F. Bollinger, Treasurer. Through the in- fluence of these agencies the subject of the proper excention of the excise laws was frequently brought before the public. Under the auspices of the " Golden Star Division," several public meetings were held, at which this, and kindred subjects, were discussed. In hearty sympathy with the work of the societies, a call was issned by a number of prominent citizens, not members of these organizations, for a public meeting to be held at Schoonmaker's Hall, July 5, 1873. The call invited " All the people of Flatbush who wished to have Excise Laws in relation to licenses and the sale of liquor on the Sabbath," to meet and discuss the subject.
Excise Commissioners Appointed .- As a result of this meeting a committee was appointed, through whose agency a law (Chap. 444, Laws of 1874) was passed in ISTA, providing for the organization of a
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EXCISE COMMISSIONERS-LAW AND ORDER ASSOCIATION.
Board of Excise Commissioners for the town of Flat- bush. Licenses previously had been granted by the Town Board, consisting of the Town Supervisor and Justices of the Peace. In accordance with the law, the new board was organized April 22, 1875. Abram J. Van Dyke, E. H. Steers and Michael Ken- medy were chosen as Commissioners. The Board organized with A. J. Van Dyke as President, E. II. Steers, Secretary, and Michael Kennedy as Treasurer. The law required that the Commissioners should meet on the first Monday in May, in each year, to organize; and once a month thereafter to grant licenses. The salary was fixed at three dollars for each commissioner for every meeting thins attended. The following list comprises the names of members of the Board from 1876-'82, viz .: 1876, E. H. Steers, A. J. Van Dyke and Felix MeGloin ; 1877, A. J. Van Dyke, J. Quevedo, E. H. Steers; 1878, J. Quevedo, E. H. Steers, James Haywood ; 1879, E. H. Steers, Henry Cook, James Haywood ; 1880-'82, James Haywood, Henry Cook, Wm. Staite. Under the former plan, when the matter was under control of the Town Board in 1873, there were fifty saloons in the town in which liquor was openly sold in violation of law every day in the week. There were only seventeen licenses issued for the whole town. Apparently there was no desire, and no power, on the part of the Town Board to enforce the law. In 1872 thirty licenses were granted; and, in 1874, before the Exeise Board was organized, only ten out of the sixty saloons in the town were licensed. During the first year of the new Excise Board twenty- seven places were licensed and a large number of the unlicensed compelled to cease selling. The check given to unlicensed liquor traffic by this new excise law was, however, but temporary. Watchful of their interest, the saloon-keepers soon understood that the Exeise Commissioners did not intend to disturb them. The completion of two additional street railroads to the city line, the increased travel upon the Ocean Parkway, the opening of the Brighton Beach Railroad and the enforcement of the excise laws in the City of Brooklyn, were agencies which brought to the village, on Sabbath and all holidays, thousands of people, a large proportion of whom were patrons of liquor saloons. "Hotels" sprung up like mushrooms on every side. Houses of ill- fame increased with alarming rapidity on the Boulevard and vicinity. The village seemed in a fair way to be over-run by the crowds of pleasure-seeking, drinking, lawless Sabbath-breakers, that had placed all laws at defi- ance in at least two of the other villages in the County.
Law and Order Association .- In the year 1880 there were 52 licensed liquor saloons and a large num- ber of unlicensed places, making an average of one saloon to every 150 residents, counting men, women and children, within a radius of less than half a mile from the south-west entrance of the Park. On the Coney Island road were six houses of ill-fame. At this
crisis, Mr. C. C. Martin, engineer of Brooklyn Bridge, who had been fighting this evil alone on the West Side of the town for a year, conceived the plan of a Law and Order A wciation for the town of Flatbush. At his call a munber of the most prominent citizens met, May 10, 1880, at the residence of Mr. William Mat- thews, and organized the " Lar and Order Association of the town of Flatbush," the aim of which was: (1). To prevent indiscriminate granting of licenses in vio- lation of law ; (2). To enforce observance of law in relation to persons holding licenses, especially the law in relation to sale of liquor on the Sabbath ; (3). To enforce the law which prohibits sale without license ; (4). To enforce the law in relation to houses of ill- repute ; (5). To take all legal means by advice of counsel to accomplish their ends. Rev. C. L. Wells was chosen President, Mr. C. C. Martin, Secretary, and Mr. John Lefferts, Treasurer, who were all re-elected at the end of the year. The sum of $900 was sub- scribed for carrying on the work of the association, counsel was immediately employed, and active opera- tions begun. As a result of the first year's work, the number of licenses was redneed from fifty-two to thirty - eight "hotel," and two " beer " licenses. All the dis- reputable houses (six) have been closed and the occupants driven out of the town ; and several subsequent at- tempts at their re-establishment have been frustrated by the vigilance of the association. Eleven convictions were secured for violation of excise law, and six liquor saloons have been closed.
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