USA > New York > Columbia County > History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 34
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The " Highland turnpike" was chartered in 1804. The " Hillsdale and Chatham" was incorporated April 2, 1805, " for improving the road from the house of David Crossman, Jr., near the Massachusetts line, to intersect the Rensselaer and Columbia turnpike, or the present post-road leading from Kinderhook to Albany." After these were chartered the " Branch turnpike" to Aneram, 1805; the " Claverack and Hillsdale," in 1808; the " Canaan and Chatham," in same year ; the " Hudson Branch turnpike," to improve the road " from the house of Fite Miller, in the town of Livingston," to Hudson, in 1812; the " Farmers' turn- pike," Iludson to Troy, in 1813; and others, of which few
* This post-rider did a kind of express business in small parcels, etc., and was particularly requested by some of the enterprising traders or hair-workers of Hudson to bring in all the "long human hair" which he could collect on his route through the remote settle- ments.
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are now in existence, and few ever proved of any advantage, either to their corporators or to the people of the county.
STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION.
The first attempt to navigate the Hudson river, by the use of steam as a propelling power, was made, not by Robert Fulton, as has very generally been asserted and be- lieved, but by a resident of Columbia county, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. It appears that the chancellor, who, in addition to his pre-eminent legal and literary attainments, was endued with a mechanical turn of mind, had planned some improvements on Watt's engine, and afterwards con- ceived the idea of applying it to the purposes of navigation ; though whether this was an original thought, or whether it was suggested by the then recent experiments of Fitch upon the Delaware, or of Cartwright and other inventors in England, does not appear.
A boat intended for the application of his idea was con- structed for him at a place called De Koven's bay, south of Tivoli, in the year 1797, by a man named Nisbet ; and as the engineer in the enterprise he employed a Frenchman, who had fled from his own country in the revolution of 1793, and with whom Livingston had probably become acquainted in the course of his experiments directed towards the improvement of the engine. This Frenchman was Brunel, afterwards the engineer of the great Thames tunnel in London.
Confident of the ultimate success of his project, and with a view to secure to himself the material advantages to accrue from such a result, he procured the passage by the Legis- Jature of a bill granting to him the exclusive right to navi- gate by steam the waters within the limits of the State. The bill, introduced by Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, and passed March 27, 1798, recited in its preamble that " Robert R. Livingston is in possession of a mode of applying the steam- engine to propel a boat on new and advantageous principles ; but is deterred from carrying the same into effect by the existence of a law, passed March 19, 1787, giving to John Fitch the sole right of making the steamboat by him lately invented," and proceeded to repeal the said law in favor of Fitch, and to grant to the chancellor the exclusive privilege, as above mentioned, " for twenty years after the passage of this act, if he shall within twelve months build a boat of twenty tons, propelled by steam, and the mean of whose progress through the water, with and against the current of Hudson's River taken together, shall not be less than four miles an hour; and shall at no time omit for the space of one year to have a boat of such construction plying between the cities of New York and Albany." The boat, however, proved a failure, and the act expired by reason of non-ful- fillment of its conditions.
On Mr. Livingston's arrival in France as minister, in 1801, he came in contact with Robert Fulton, who had come to Paris for the purpose of bringing to the attention of the First Consul a marine torpedo of his own invention. Between these two there at once sprang up an intimacy, which at the end of about two years resulted in the con- struction of a small boat, which they propelled by steam upon the Seine, with sufficient success to justify a renewal upon the North river of Livingston's project of 1797-98.
Having both returned to the United States, Fulton com- menced, in 1806, the building of that small, but historic craft, the " Clermont," built with funds furnished by Mr. Livingston, and named for his Columbia county estate .* It is needless to repeat the well-known but melancholy story of her construction, of the jeers, the ridicule, the open in- sults which constantly assailed her heroic projector from the laying of her keel to the hour of her final triumph. " The project," wrote Fulton to a friend, " was viewed by the public, either with indifference or with contempt, as a vision- ary scheme. My friends indeed were civil, but they were shy. They listened with patience to my explanations, but with a settled cast of incredulity on their countenances. Never did a single word of encouragement or of bright hope, or a warm wish, cross my path. Silence itself was but politeness, veiling doubts or hiding its reproaches."
The little vessel was launched in the East river, in August, 1807. Her dimensions were-length, one hundred feet ; width, twelve feet ; depth, seven feet. After receiving her engine-built in Birmingham, England, by Boulton & Watt-she was taken into the North river, and laid upon the Jersey side, from whence she was to take her first de- parture for Albany. The following advertisement, copied from a newspaper of the 2d of September, 1807, announced the expected event :
"The North River Steamboat will leave Pauler's Hook [Jersey City] on Friday, the 4th day of September, at 9 o'clock in the morn- ing, and arrive at Albany on Saturday, at 9 in the evening."
The trip, however, was not made on the specified day, on account of a failure of some part of the boat's machinery, which occurred when but a short distance out, and com- pelled her to return to the dock for repairs. These being completed, she again started on her voyage, and this time accomplished it triumphantly, in four hours less than the advertised time, arriving at Albany at 5 P.M. of the second day.
" The morning I left New York," said Fulton, "there were not perhaps thirty persons in the city who believed that the boat would ever move one mile an hour, or be of the least utility." But it would appear that the doubters were soon converted, if we may believe the somewhat extra- vagant and ridiculous account given by Fulton's biographer. " Before the boat had made the progress of half a mile," he says, " the greatest unbeliever was converted. Fulton was received with shouts and acclamations of congratula- tion and applause. She made this her first voyage from New York to Albany at an average rate of five miles an hour, stopping for some time at Chancellor Livingston's dock at Clermont to take in wood. The whole voyage up the river was one continued triumph. The vessel is de- scribed as having the most terrific appearance. The dry pine fuel sent up many feet above the flue a column of
In 1793, the Count St. Hilary and his wife, the Countess of Cler- mont, fled from the terrors of the Revolution in France, and found a secluded asylum upnn the shores of Oneida lake, in New York. Here they were found by Chancellor Livingston, who insisted on their ac- companying him to his estate upon the Hudson. This invitation they accepted, and remained at the chancellor's country home until the Reign of Terror had passed. The estate of Clermont was so named by its owner in honor of the countess.
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ignited vapor, and, when the fire was stirred, tremendous showers of sparks. The wind and tide were adverse to them, but the crowds saw with astonishment the vessel coming rapidly towards them ; and when it came so near that the noise of the machinery and paddles was heard " the crewos of many sailing vessels shrunk bencath their decks at the terrific sight, while others prostrated themselves and besought Providence to protect them from the approach of the horrible monster which was marching on the tide and lighting its path by the fire that it vomited."
This writer would have us believe that the skippers and crews of the North river sailing craft, in 1807, were as simple-minded and untutored as those natives of San Salva- dor who hid themselves away from the flash and report of Columbus' guns, believing them to be the fiery eyes and the thundering voice of the Great Spirit. But, divested of its extravagance, the account shows simply that all along the route the people flocked to the river-side to gaze in curiosity (though not in fear) at the strange-looking vessel as it passed,* and that they gave unstintingly to Fulton the tribute of applause and admiration which is always extorted by success.
That the " Clermont" was at once, and largely, patronized by the traveling public is shown by the following item from the New York Evening Post of October 2, 1807 : " The newly-invented steamboat, which is fitted up in a neat style for passengers, and is intended to run from New York to Albany as a packet, left here this morning with ninety passengers, against a strong head-wind. Notwith- standing which, it was judged she moved through the water at the rate of six miles an hour."
Before the close of the season (in which, however, she made but two or three trips) the travel which offered was largely in excess of the "Clermont's" accommodations. She was, therefore, taken to what was then called lower Red Hook, where she was hauled out on ways, and during the winter of 1807-8 was entirely rebuilt and remodeled, by ship-carpenters from the city of Hudson ; her length being increased from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, and her beam from twelve to eighteen feet. About the first of May she was re-launched, re-christened as the " North River," and, in charge of Captain Samuel Jenkins, was taken to New York, where she received her cabin-work and machinery, which latter had in the mean time been put in what was then considered thorough repair, though at the end of her first succeeding trip her boiler was found worth- less, and was replaced by a new one of copper.
One of the passengers (and the latest surviving one) of the " North River," on her first trip to Albany, was the late Francis Sayre, Esq., of Catskill, who, in a letter written in September, 1857, made the following mention of that event : " Commodore Wiswall was now in command. At the hour appointed for her departure (nine o'clock A.M.), Chancellor Livingston, with a number of invited friends,
came on board, and, after a good deal of bustle and no little noise and confusion, the boat was got out into the stream and headed up the river. Steam was put on and sails were set, for she was provided with large square sails, attached to masts, that were so constructed that they could be raised and lowered as the direction and strength of the wind might require. There was at this time a light breeze from the south, and with steam and sails a very satisfactory rate of speed was obtained, . .. and, as the favorable wind continued, we kept on the even tenor of our way, and just before sunrise next morning we were at Clermont, the resi- dence of the chancellor, who with his friends landed, and the boat proceeded to Albany, where she arrived at two or three o'clock P.M."
Two or three days were spent at Albany in repairs upon the boiler, which nevertheless gave out entirely on the re- turn trip, some thirty miles above New York, and the remainder of the voyage was accomplished under sail. The boat was then laid up for about two months, awaiting the completion of her new copper boiler, as before mentioned. Her trips were then resumed, and from that time were ac- complished with regularity, fairly inaugurating the era of steamboat navigation upon the Hudson.
The project, from its inception to its consummation, owed more to Columbia than to any other county ; more than to oll others, excepting New York. The boat was named for a town and estate in Columbia; a citizen of tlie county had first conceived the idea of her construction, and had furnished the means to execute it ; her captain was a ship-master of Hudson ; and her first pilot (David Mande- ville) was a resident of the same city; and when she was rebuilt as the " North River" the work was performed by Hudson mechanics.
The " Car of Neptune" was the next steamboat built to navigate the Hudson after the remodeling of the " Cler- mont." Fulton owned an interest in her, though to what extent is not known. Following her came the " Paragon," and then came others in rapid succession. In 1826 there were some sixteen steamboats plying the river, taking pas- sengers only. The sloops monopolized the freight business. The following is a list of the steamboats that competed for the traveling patronage of the river :
Union Line .- " Olive Branch," " Niagara," " William Penn."
North River Line .- " Chancellor Livingston," " James Kent," " Richmond," and "Saratoga."
Connecticut Line ; Hudson Steam Navigation Com- pany .- " Swiftsure" and "Commerce."
Troy Line .- " Chief-Justice Marshall" and " New Lon- don."
North River Association Line .- " Constellation" and " Constitution."
The safety-barges "Lady Clinton" and " Lady Van Rensselaer," Captains Seymour and Peck, were towed in the rear of the respective steamers "Commerce" and "Swiftsure." The passage was performed chiefly by day- light, giving the passengers an opportunity to view the interesting scenery of the Hudson, and affording to trav- elers an unrivaled degree of comfort and entire security from those disasters to which steamboats and sailing packets are
* " A farmer living on the banks of the Hudson hastened bome to apprise his wife and neighbors that he had seen the devil going up the river in a saw-mill." The writer before quoted says, "She excited the astonishment of the venerable Dutch burgomaster, who almost dropped his precious pipe as, with strained eyes, he exclaimed, ' Dunder en blieksen !' "
17
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HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
exposed. These passenger-boats made stops at Hudson and other important landings, and, throughout the summer months, formed the only means of publie conveyance to the people of this county up to the time of the opening of rail- roads.
Among the boats which succeeded those already named were the "De Witt Clinton" (launched in 1828), the " Oliver Ellsworth," " Henry Eckford," " United States," " Sandusky," "Ohio," " Albany," "Captain Jenkins," " Rochester," " Robert L. Stevens," "Diamond," " Hen- drik Hudson," " Oregon," "Empire," " Erie," and "Cham- plain," four-pipe boats ; " Francis Skiddy," at one time made two trips a day ; " Arrow," " Napoleon," cigar-boat, built by Burden, which proved a total failure ; " Emerald," " New Philadelphia," " North, and South America," " West- chester," " Knickerbocker," " Niagara," " Isaac Newton," " Armenia," " Alida," "Kosciusko," " Washington," "Cur- tis Peek," " Wave," "Portsmouth," "General Jackson," " Illinois," " Metamora," "Iron Witch," " Roger Wil- liams," " Confidence," " New Jersey," "Sun," " Express," and " Columbia." The " Rip Van Winkle" was a favorite boat, and was commanded by Captains Abell, George Riggs, and Roe, now in command of the " Dean Rich- mond."
One of the most notable steamboat disasters upon the Hudson river occurred in the evening of the 7th of April, 1845, in the Athens channel, opposite the city of Hudson. The Hudson Rural Repository of April 12 gave the fol- lowing account of the calamity :
"On Monday evening, April 7, the steamboat 'Swal- low,' Captain A. H. Squires, was on her passage from Albany to New York, and when opposite this eity, in the Athens channel, ran upon a little, rocky island,* broke in two, and in a few minutes sank. The alarm was imme- diately spread in Athens, and a large number of citizens soon rallied to the scene of disaster, and happily succeeded in rescuing many lives. Soon after the steamboats ' Ex- press' and ' Rochester' came down and promptly rendered what assistance was in their power, taking many passengers with them to New York. The 'Swallow' had on board a large number of passengers, but the exact loss of life is at present unknown [the number lost proved to be about fif- teen]. The night was excessively dark, with a heavy gale,
snow and rain, and very cold. Our citizens are yet busy about the wreck."
On the morning of July 4, 1861, the " New World," from New York for Albany, was sunk off the Stuyvesant shore, but without loss of life. She was soon after raised, towed to New York, put in order, and used as a hospital boat in the vicinity of West Point. The steamboats now running through between Albany and New York are the magnificent night-line, the " St. John" and " Dean Rich- mond," and the day-line, composed of the " Drew" and "C. Vibbard," which make stops at all the principal landings. The lines having their termini within this county are else- where mentioned.
No river in the world has been so extensively and ex- pensively navigated as the Hudson. Some of the largest, fleetest, and most costly steamers ever built have plied, and are still plying, upon this beautiful stream.
RAILROADS.
In the matter of the location and construction of railway lines, at a period when such projeets were regarded by many as of doubtful expedieney, if not absolutely chimerical, Columbia is entitled to take rank among the pioneer coun- ties of New York, as we think we shall show in the brief account which we here give of the building and opening of the various lines within her domain.
THE HUDSON AND BERKSHIRE, AND BOSTON AND ALBANY, LINES.
As early as the year 1826 a few enterprising men, with a boldness which even yet seems amazing, conceived the idea of uniting the valley of the Hudson with the Massa- chusetts capital by means of a railroad track, which must climb the aeclivities of Taghkanie and surmount the for- bidding summits of Berkshire. It is not strange that the scheme was freely ridienled, and denouneed as a manifesta- tion of insanity, but, nevertheless, it had no lack of enthu- siastic supporters, and from the very first was received with especial favor in the county of Columbia, and in the neigh- boring portions of the adjoining State.
The Legislature of Massachusetts, at its June session, in 1827, appointed commissioners " to cause the necessary sur- veys, plans, and estimates to be made on the best practicable route from Boston to the New York line, and thence (with leave obtained) to the Hudson river at or near Albany," and $10,000 was voted to defray the expense of the survey.
Through the summer and fall of 1827 the " railroad agitation," as it was termed, continued to increase, until, in Columbia county at least, opposition to the enterprise was nearly extinet ; and at a railroad meeting held at Canaan, Jan. 25, 1828, the attendance was so large, and the enthu- siasm so boundless, that it was said that if an authorized corporation had then and there asked subscriptions for the construction of a road from Hudson to West Stockbridge, the entire amount of stock would have been taken upon the spot.
In April, 1828, the New York Legislature passed an act authorizing the survey of a route or routes from the Hud- son to the Massachusetts line, and pledging that if Massa-
That little islot had heen formerly known as "Noah's Brig," especially among the lumbermen who ran rafts of logs and lumber down the river. The circumstance from which it derived this name is the following. One night a large number of rafts were coming down the west channel, one of them being under the command of a man who was known among his comrades by his Christian name, "Noah." As the rafts neared this point Noah espied in the dim light a dark objeet riding upon the waters, which he at once decided to be a hrig under sail, and as soon as he had approached near enough he hailed it, " Brig ahoy !" No response. Again, in stentorian tone, his hail rang out upon the night air, but still no attention was paid, and the mysterious craft kept unswerviogly to its course. This ex- asperated Noah, and his third hail was "Brig ahoy ! Answer, or I'll ruo you down !" and, as no reply was given, true to his word he did run down the island ; two trees standing widely apart having deceived him as to its character. Probably neither Noah's brig nor his raft sustained serious injury, but the poor "Swallow" met a more cruel fate. A large portion of the island has been taken away, and the rock material was used in constructing the embankments of the canal through tho middlo gronod.
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chusetts should build her road to that point from Boston, this State would continue it to the river, or authorize and incorporate a company to do so.
In due time the commissioners of both States reported surveys to their respective Legislatures. Through the terri- tory of New York two routes had been considered and sur- veyed, one from Troy to the Massachusetts line, near Adams, and the other to consist of two branches, starting respectively from Albany and Hudson, to unite at Chatham, and proceed thence to the Massachusetts line, near West Stockbridge .*
Earnest disputes and much rivalry ensued between the advocates of the northern and the southern routes, and this was even more the case on the east than on the west side of the State line. But all of middle and southern Berkshire was united in the resolve not to wait for a final decision upon the route of the through road, much less for the dis- tant event of its completion. If it were commenced at once, weary years must be spent in its construction, and meanwhile a short and comparatively inexpensive line might be built over a familiar route to their old and favorite mart of trade, the city of Hudson, from whence the river offered its noble highway to New York; and at that day none thought of questioning the superiority of the steamboat over the railway as a means of travel and transportation.
The people of Hudson had been awake and active in the promotion of this enterprise. In January, 1828, they had sent delegates to the interested Berkshire towns, and on the 31st of that month a meeting attended by the principal citizens of both counties was held at West Stockbridge, and resulted in the presentation of petitions to the Legislatures of New York and Massachusetts asking for acts of incor- poration. New York responded by an act, passed May 1, 1828, incorporating the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad Company, with a capital of $350,000. Massachusetts de- layed, and finally refused to charter the portion of the line within her jurisdiction,-a course of action doubtless prompted by the fear of diverting trade to New York, but in marked contrast with the prompt co-operation which this State extended to Massachusetts in authorizing the exten- sion of her proposed line to the canal at Albany. This, however, did not discourage the friends of the project in that State, and they continued to press the matter with so much vigor and persistency that their Legislature at length yielded, and granted the charter in 1831.
No organization was effected by the Hudson and Berk- shire company until 1835 ; their charter in the mean time having expired and been renewed by the Legislature. On the 5th of May, 1835, the following announcement appeared in the Hudson Gazette in reference to the opening of the books : " Hndson and Berkshire Railroad .- The books for
subscription for stock were opened yesterday at the Hudson River Bank, and we are happy in having it in our power to state that when our paper went to press the sum of $217,550 had been subscribed." The entire amount sub- scribed during the three days the books remained open was $746,550; this being more than double the sum required. The allotment of stock was immediately made, and the company organized May 27, electing the following board of directors, viz. : John Delafield, Robbins Kellogg, Oliver Wiswall, Rufus Reed, Silas Sprague, Robert A. Barnard, William A. Dean, Gouverneur Kemble, James Mellen, Elihn Gifford, John W. Edmonds, Samuel Anable, Am- brose L. Jordan. The final survey was commenced at onee, and the work was placed under contract during the follow- ing antumn.
From the letter of a correspondent of the American Trav- eller, published in that journal in May, 1837, while this road was in process of construction, we make the following quotation, as showing the expectations which were then based on the opening of this pioneer line. Those portions which refer to the probable establishment of a travelers' route between New York and Boston, to make the journey in twenty-one hours, by way of the city of Hudson, and of a through route from Boston to the great west via Catskill and Canajoharie, read strangely enough at the present day. This correspondent says, " This road passes through a beau- tiful valley embracing one of the richest farming districts in the State. At Stockbridge it will connect with the great Western railroad from Boston, and at Catskill with the railroad leading to Canajoharie, and thence to Buffalo. Through this avenue the east may be supplied with the produce of the fertile west, and the latter with the manu- factures of the east. It will also afford a new route for travelers from the 'Commercial' to the 'Literary Empo- rium.' They may then leave the city of New York at five o'clock P.M., reach Hudson at four A.M., and arrive at Bos- tont at two P.M. of the following day. But independent of all travel and eastern and western transportation, it is esti- mated that the county of Berkshire will support the road and more than pay the interest of the capital. . . . Individuals acquainted with the marble business have offered to contract to deliver to the company at Stockbridge, from the quarries of beautiful marble in that village, 100 tons per day for nine months in the year, and to insure the sale of the same amount when delivered at Hudson. But for safety I will assume but half that amount at $2 per tou for transporta- tion, where they now pay $5; say 50 tons per day for 240 days, pays $24,000. The other tonnage to and from the Hudson river was ascertained two years since to exceed 25,000 tons, which, at $2, would amount to $50,000, giving a total of $74,000. To secure the marble business to this company an association of the railroad stockholders have purchased nearly all of the principal quarries in the vicinity of Stockbridge. The marble of which the Girard College at Philadelphia is built was transported from the quarries over a hilly road to be shipped at Hudson.
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