History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 27

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > New York > Orange County > History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 27

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Whatever may have been their connection with original trails, or whatever the date of their construc-

* A king's highway was simply a road opened and worked according to law as public roads now are.

+ A braoch from this road ran from Fort Lee to Stony Point, where the Hndson was crossed by the king's (public) ferry to Peekskill. The road then ran down through Westchester and crossed the king's (public) bridge at Harlem. Before the Revolution it was a much-traveled ronte to Philadelphia from New England, and it was this fact that led to the fortifications at Verplanck's and Stony Point.

# See Chapter II.

¿ This road was opened in 1735 by Zacharias Hoffman, Benjamin Smedes, and Johannes Decker, commissioners of highways " for the pre- civet of Shawangunk and the neighborhood of Wallkill." It ran "hy or near" Goodwill church, and through Neelytown to the Gosben line, or " outil it meets the road laid out by the inhabitants of Goshen to the south line of the said county of Ulster." It was laid ont under ao act of the Assembly, entitled " An act for the continuing of an act entitled an act for the better clearing. ascertaining, and further laying ont public i high roads in the county of Ulster."

111

TURNPIKES.

tion, they were famous old roads in their day. The militia moved over them in the French and Indian war, and they were traversed by them and by the " ragged Continentals" during the Revolution. Mrs. Washington, with her earriage, servants, and escort, en route for New Windsor and Newburgh, Morgan and his riffemen en route for Boston in 1774, congress- men from New England en route for the Continental Congress," prisoners en route for Easton, passed over the line from New Windsor or Newburgh to Sussex Court-House, and from thence to their destination, while the first mail-routes through the district ran over the king's highway from Rhinebeck and Kings- ton to New Paltz, and from thence via Shawangunk, Goshen, and Warwick to Sussex. " The establishing of this post-road," wrote Cornelius C. Schoonmaker, who then (1792) represented the Orange and Ulster district in Congress, "will, I am in hopes, conduce much to the circulating of newspapers and other use- ful information through our State on the west side of the Hudson, the inconvenience attending which we have long experienced." Surrounded by the facili- ties of the present era, and educated to their con- veniences, it is difficult to realize that it was not always so,-that mail matter was first delivered to the people of Newburgh at Ward's Bridge, in the town of Montgomery, and continued to do so until some time in 1795.+ From whatever point they may be viewed, these old roads are clothed in a halo of local historic interest,-even their roughest stones have ser- mons in them. Our reference to them here, however, bas a definite purpose, and that accomplished, we may not wander into other fields.

* The following, from the diary of William Ellery, member of the Con- tinental Congress from Massachusetts, who left Dighton on horseback, Oct. 20, 1777, for York, Pa., is of interest in this connection :

" Nor. 7th .- Breakfasted at Adriance's, and sat off for Fishkill where we arrived at noon. Could get no provender for our horses, but at the Contl (Continental, i.e., military) Stables. Waited upon Gen. Putnam who was packing up and just abont setting off for White Plains. Chatted with him a while, and then put off for the Contl Ferry at the North River. (Fislikill is eleven miles from Adriance's, and the ferry six miles from Fishkill.) In our way to the Ferry we met President Hancock in a sulkey, escorted by one of his Secretaries and two or three other gen- tlemen, and one Light-horseman. This escort surprised us as it seemed inadequate to the purpose either of defence or parade. But our surprise was not of long continuance, for we had not rode far before we met six or eight Light-borsemen on the canter, and just as we reached the Ferry a boat arrived with many more. These with the Light-horsemen and the gentlemen before mentioned made up the escort of Mr. President llancock .- Who would not be a great man? I verily believe that the President, as he passed through the Country thus escorted, feels a more triumphant satisfaction than the Col, of the Queen's Regiment of Light Dragoons attended by his whole army and an escort of a thousand Militia, We had a pleasant time across the Ferry, and jogged on tu Major Dubois a Tavern abunt 9 or 10 miles from thence, where we put up for the night We were well entertained, bad a good dish of tea, aund a good beef-steak. We lund neither ate nor drank before since we break- fasted. Dr. Cutter invited us to dine with him at Fishkill; but it was not then dinner-time and we were anxious to pass Iludson and get on."

" Travels in North America," by M. de Chastellux, may also be re- ferred to.

t The date of the establishment of the post-office at Ward's Bridge has not been ascertained. From an advertised list of letters it appears that John Mckinstry was postmaster in 1793.

TURNPIKES.

With the opening of the present century came a new era in roads,-the construction of turnpikes, of which the Orange turnpike was the first (1800). The incorporators to the company were William Wickham, Jolin Steward, James Everett, James Carpenter, Thomas Waters, James W. Wilkin, David M. West- cott, Anthony Dobbin, Jonathan Sweezy, John Wood, Solomon Smith, and John Gale, Jr. Its capital stock was $6250, and its line ran " from the house of Moses Cunningham, in the town of Cheescocks (Monroe), to the intersection of the roads leading from Stirling Iron-Works, near the house of Stephen Sloots," run- ning in the bed of the old road as far as circumstances permitted. By act of 1806 the capital was increased $46,750, and permission granted to the company to extend the road "southerly to the line of the State of New Jersey, on the route to the city of New York, and also to construct a new road from the northerly part of said turnpike-road to the intersec- tion of the Warwick road, near the village of Chester, on the route to the city of Albany," the entire two taking the name of the Orange turnpike.

An undertaking of greater magnitude followed in 1801,-the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike. In reciting the history of this enterprise some traditional errors may be repeated, but in the main our glean- ings will be found substantially correct. At the time of its incorporation there had grown up in Newburgh a body of active and enterprising men, who, finding themselves in the possession of advantages which New Windsor did not enjoy, determined to make the best. possible use of their opportunities. In this they were favored by circumstances in a remarkable degree. The ancient rivals of their town-Kingston and New Windsor-had grown fat in trade, and became slug- gishi and indifferent, while they were fresh and ready for venture. In the western part of Ulster were large unoccupied sections of the Minisink and Harden- burgh Patents. In these lands John De Witt, of Du- chess, became interested, and, after examining them with a view to their sale, resolved upon the expedient of opening them to market by means of a turnpike- road to tide-water. Failing to enlist the people of Kingston in his plans he came to Newburgh, where he met with that encouragement which induced him to remove his family thither and to embark in the undertaking, in which he was especially joined by Johannes Miller, of Montgomery, who was also a large holder of lands in the new district. Under their efforts a company was organized and application made to the Legislature for a charter, which was granted March 20, 1801, constituting Robert Bowne, John DeWitt, William Seymour, Levi Dodge, Johan- nes Miller, Hugh Walsh, George Clinton, Jr., Wil- liam W. Sackett, Jacob Powell, John McAuley, Charles Clinton, Samuel MeCoun, George Gardner, and all such others as should associate for that pur- pose, a body corporate and politic by the name of

112

HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

" The President, Directors, and Company of the New- burgh and Cochecton Turnpike Road," with a capital limited to $80,000, and authority to construct a turn- pike-road "in the nearest, most convenient, and di- rect route from the village of Newburgh, on Hudson's River, to Cochecton, on the Delaware River." The stock was soon taken and the road constructed, run- ning a line of sixty miles, with substantial bridges, and all the appointments of a good road. Though for a time unprofitable to the holders of its stock, who were ready to sell at a loss of fifty per cent., though De- Witt lost his life in the work, and Miller became financially crippled, the road ultimately resulted in immense advantages to Newburgh and to the district which it opened. It may have been the outgrowth of a land speculation, but it gave population and legal being to the county of Sullivan (1809), as well as birth to other'undertaking> of a similar character, which as justly deserve the title of internal improve- ments as the most substantial of modern railroad systems.

The Cochecton turnpike was followed, in 1805, by an act incorporating " The President and Directors of the Newburgh and Chenango Turnpike Road Company." Its incorporators were Richard B. Church, Asa Sto- wel, Nathaniel Locke, David Cooper, Anson Carey, Elijah Stowel, and all such others as should be asso- ciated with them, who were authorized to issue stock to the amount of $162,000, and to construct a turnpike- road " from the village of Oxford, in the county of Chenango, and run by the most direct, practicable route to the Susquehanna River, at the place desig- nated by law for the Jerico toll-bridge; thence across the same to the road leading to the court-house ; thence to the west branch of Delaware River, at or near the house of Coenrad Edict, and from the oppo- site side of the said branch to the east branch of said river, and from the opposite side thereof by the most direct practicable route to intersect the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike-road." The object of the projectors of this road, who were residents of Che- nango County, was to open to settlement the military tracts, and especially the " twenty township" tract, purchased for the State from the Indians in 1788. We include it in this review as a part of the con- necting road of the Cochecton.

And it may be noted here that the opening of the military tract to settlement was a matter in which there were many interested parties. As a reward for services in the Revolution, these lands had been given to officers and soldiers, to many of whom they were practically worthless, and who sold their locations for merely nominal sums. Gen. James Clinton, of New Windsor, was a large original holder, as well as a subsequent purchaser, as well also his nephew, Sur- veyor-General Simeon DeWitt, and there were not a few Newburgh capitalists who had made similar in- ' vestments. Clinton had had large experience in bring- ing lands into market in Orange and Ulster, and from

that experience he had, long previous to the Che- nango extension, advocated a similar project. When the Cocheeton road was nearly completed, he ob- tained a bearing from his Newburgh neighbors. His proposition embraced a road crossing Sullivan County to Oxford, Chenango Co., and thence westward, to be known as the "National Appian Way." In 1807, Newburgh sent John DeWitt, Francis Crawford, Samuel Sackett, and Daniel Stringham to explore the route, at least in part, and report upon its feasi- bility. After performing their tasks, the committee submitted a favorable report ;* but it was deemed that the county was then too weak to engage in a work of such magnitude, and its further prosecution was dropped, although by the Cochecton and its sub- sequent connections it was partially accomplished.

Aroused from their indifference to progress, parties in Kingston determined if possible to counteract the enterprise of Newburgh, and to that end obtained in- corporation for the "First Southwestern Turnpike Company." But scarcely was their undertaking under way when the "Ulster and Orange Branch Turnpike Company" was chartered (April 11, 1808), the act for the incorporation of which authorized Walter Bur- ling, Elnathan Sears, Henry Patmore, Jr., David Mil- liken, Elias Miller, Charles Johnston, John Crosby, Alexander Thompson, Jr., and their associates to build a turnpike-road from the Newburgh and Co- checton, in the town of Montgomery, to the "Great Southwestern," in Liberty, by the way of Newkirk's Mills, on the Shawangunk River, Roosa's Pass, and the falls of the Neversink. The capital was fixed at $30,000. With the " Great Southwestern" as the ob- jective-point, the " Newburgh and Sullivan Turnpike Company" followed in 1810, with a capital of $35,000. James Rumsey, Cornelius Bruyn, Abraham Jansen, John D. Lawson, John McAuley, Moses Rosenkranse, Nicholas Hardenburgh, and Johannes T. Jansen, its incorporators, and their associates, were authorized to construct a turnpike " from the northern part of the vil- lage of Newburgh," on the most direct and convenient route, "through Rocky Forest and New Hurley, cross- ing the Wallkill at or near Bryan's bridge, thence on either the southerly or northerly bounds of lot No. 2, granted to Gerardus Beekman, where the ground will admit, to the Hoag-bergh road; thence to the Sha- wangunk Kill, crossing the same at or near Nicolas

* " Erpenses of Appian Way.

"HUGH WALSH, chairman of the meeting of the inhabitants of New- burgh in account with John De Witt, Francis Crawford, Samuel Sacket, and Daniel Stringham :

"1807. June 24, to am't of our expenses for

ourselves and horses.

£16

168. 8d.

To cash paid shoeing Sacket's horse .. 7 (

To cash paid setting shoes, Mr. Crawford's horse ..

To one State map,

4 0

To cash paid Hiram Weller for the use of his

6 0 0 borss per J. D. W. 15 days.

To cash paid Sacket .. 5 9 10

£30 0 0

1807. June 10, By cash received by Jacob Powell ($75). £30

0 0"

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TURNPIKES.

Jansen's saw-mill ; thenee on to Shawangunk Moun- tains, crossing the same at or near Sam's Point, or pass thence through Wawarsink, to a point at or near Neversink Falls." The expressed object of the com- pany was "to open a communication through the western country," but its true purpose was to tap the " Great Southwestern," which had been extended to Chenango Point, where a bridge was to be constructed.

Chauncey Belknap, Thomas Belknap, Samuel F. Jones, William A. Thompson, William W. Sackett, Samuel Preston, and Francis Crawford, directors. The company was authorized to build a substantial bridge, twenty-five feet wide, "aeross the Delaware River at the Narrows, in the Big Eddy, in the county of Sullivan," and to collect tolls. It was the con- necting link between the Mount Hope and Honesdale In 1809 an important connection with the New- burgh and Coehecton turnpike was chartered under the name of "The President, Directors, and Com- pany of the Minisink and Montgomery Turnpike Road." Its incorporators were James Finch, Jr., Reuben Neely, Benjamin B. Newkirk, Benjamin Woodward, David G. Finch, Jacob Mills, Alsop Vail, roads, and although both have ceased to be turnpikes the bridge company and its bridge remain, the pres- ent structure having been erected in 1847. "These improvements," Mr. Quinlan adds, "were for the double purpose of providing an outlet for a territory of Sullivan rich in valuable timber, and to bring towards the Hudson the agricultural products of the Jr., Jacob Cuddeback, Richard Shinser, and their . county between the Delaware and the Susquehanna, associates, and its capital $35,000. The line of the to be exchanged for merchandise." . road began "at the New Jersey State line, near the house of Benjamin Carpenter, in the town of Mini- sink," and from thence ran " across the Shawangunk Mountains to the house of David G. Finch, in the town of Deerpark ; from thenee to or near the house of Benjamin Woodward, in the town of Wallkill, and thence on the most direct and eligible route to inter- sect the Newburgh and Coehecton turnpike-road west of the eastern line of Union Street, in the village of Montgomery."

A northwestern branch or connection with this rcad was chartered in 1812, under the name of the " Mount Hope and Lumberland Turnpike Company." The capital of this company was $35,000, and its in- corporators were James Finch, Jr., Elisha Reeve, William A. Cuddeback, William Young, Jr., Rich- ard Penny, Charles Murray, Thomas Everson, and Lebius Godfrey. The line of the road began " on the Minisink and Montgomery turnpike, between the dwelling-house of Dr. Benjamin B. Newkirk and the store occupied by Benj. Dodge, in the town of Wall- kill," and ran thenee aeross the "Shawangunk Mountains at the pass near Jonathan Sares', in the town of Deerpark; thence to the Bush Kill landing on the Neversink River, in the county of Sullivan ; and thenee to the Big Eddy, or Narrows, on the Delaware River, or to intersect the contemplated road from Big Eddy to Snooks' bridge over the Nev- ersink River." Mr. Quinlan states that George D. Wickham, of Goshen, who owned three-fourths of the land in the present town of Tusten, was the father of this road, and himself and John Duer, of Goshen, Benjamin Woodward, Benjamin Dodge, and Benja- min B. Newkirk, of Mount Hope, and William A. Cuddeback and Abraham Cuddeback, of Deerpark, were its directors. Work was not commeneed until after the war of 1812 had elosed, when the road was completed as far as Narrowsburgh, and under an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania was extended to Honesdale. Two years previous to its charter (1810) a charter was granted to the "Narrowsburgh Bridge Company,"-Jeremiah Lillie, Jonathan Dexter,

The construction of turnpikes was by no means confined to the Sullivan County lines. "The New Windsor and Blooming-Grove Company" was char- tered April 3, 1801,-capital $7500. Its incorporators were John Chandler, Richard Goldsmith, William Adams, James Carpenter, William A. Thompson, Abraham Schultz, Hezekiah Howell, Johannes Decker, Jonathan Brooks, Jr., Thomas A. Thompson, Isaac Schultz. and John Gale, Jr. The line of the road was "from the village of New Windsor to the , intersection of the Goshen and Warwiek road." In 1809 the "Goshen and Minisink Turnpike Company" was chartered,-capital $20,000. Incorporators, Wil- liam Thompson, William Wiekham, Reuben llop- kins, George D. Wickham, Peter Gale, James Eldred, Increase B. Stoddard, and Benjamin Sawyer. The line of the road "began at the Delaware River, near the house of Benjamin Carpenter, in the town of Minisink, and ran from thence to or near the house of Inerease B. Stoddard, and from thence on the most eligible route to the court-house in Goshen, intersect- ing the Wallkill River near the outlet bridge." June 1, 1812, the company was authorized to extend the road from Goshen to the New Windsor and Bloom- ing-Grove turnpike. In 1816 the "Blooming-Grove and Gray Court Turnpike Company" was incorpo- rated,-capital $60,000. Incorporators, Hector Craig, Samuel Moffatt, Selah Strong, John Brooks, and their associates. The road ran from the Blooming- Grove and New Windsor turnpike, "near the dwell- ing-house of Samuel Moffatt; thence to or near the Blooming-Grove church," etc., "keeping the track of the present road as nearly as may be convenient," to the dwelling-house of Joseph Brewster; thenee to the grist-mill of Heetor Craig, and thence to the Warwick road. In 1810 "the Warwick and Minisink Turnpike Company" was chartered,-cap- ital $22,500. Incorporators, John Hathorn, John Wheeler, Jacobus Post, Robert Farrier, Cornelius Lezear, Jeffry Wisner, John Wisner, Jr., Inerease B. Stoddard, David Christie, Riehard Whitaker, and their associates. The line began "between the

114

HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

twenty-ninth and thirtieth mile-stone" on the bound- ary line of New York and New Jersey, and ran thenee northwesterly through the village of Amity to the Pochuck bridge; thence to the southerly margin of the Drowned Lands; and thence "on the most eligible and direct route to intersect the Goshen and Minisink turnpike-road on the east side of the Sha- wangunk Mountains, between the house of Inercase B. Stoddard and the great bog-meadow, commonly called Green's bog-meadow." In 1812 the "Goshen and Westtown Turnpike Company" was incorporated, -capital $17,500. Incorporators, Reuben Hopkins, Freegift Tuthill, Benjamin Strong, Stephen Jackson, James Carpenter, David M. Westcott, John G. Ilur- tin, and their associates. The line began "at the line which divides the States of New York and New Jer- sey, between the fortieth and forty-first mile-stone," and extended thence to the village of Westtown; thence to Rutgers' Kill, near the mill of Jones & Van Cleft ; thence to Pellet's round hill, near the edge of Wallkill; and thence on the most eligible route to intersect the Goshen and Minisink turnpike near the village of Goshen." It will readily be observed by those familiar with the lines described that the New Windsor and Blooming-Grove turnpike, through its connections, became a trunk line from Minisink to the Hudson, with intersecting branches traversing an extensive district in the western part of the county.

The " Newburgh and New Windsor Turnpike Com- pany" was chartered April 2, 1806,-capital $5000. Charles Clinton, Daniel Stringham, John McAuley, George Monell, Hugh Walsh, Isaae Hasbrouck, Selah Reeve, Joseph Morrell, Abraham Shultz, Richard Trimble, Jonas Williams, John D. Nicoll, and Samuel Lockwood were its incorporators. The road ran from the south side of Renwick Street, in the village of Newburgh, "along the margin of Hudson's River," to the village of New Windsor, with a toll-bridge over Qanssaick Creek. In 1809 the "New Windsor and Cornwall Turnpike Company" was chartered,-cap- ital $30,000. Its incorporators were Michael Smith, William A. Clark, William Jackson, Nathaniel Sands, Joseph Morrell, Zebulon Townsend, John Coffey, and those who should be associated with them. Its line ran "from the south end of the Newburgh and New Windsor turnpike, in the village of New Windsor; thence crossing the Murderer's Creek at or near where the toll-bridge now stands; thence through the village of Canterbury, near the house of Stephen Crissey ; thence through the town of Monroe, passing near the mills of Zebulon Townsend, till it shall intersect the Orange turnpike-road at or near the house of Adam Belcher, in the said town of Monroe." For the con- nection which this road established reference can be made to the Orange turnpike, the Goshen and Mon- roe turnpike, and the Monroe and Haverstraw turn- pike.

Powell, Daniel Smith, John Wells, Jonathan Bailey, Justus Cooley, and Henry Butterworth were its in- corporators. Its line ran north from Newburgh to Plattekill, in Ulster County, where it was connected with the New Paltz and Plattekill and the Marlbor- ough and Plattekill turnpikes, the main line through New Paltz extending to Kingston.

In 1815 the "Snake Hill Turnpike Company" was chartered,-capital $14,000. Jonathan Hasbrouck, William Taylor, Hiram Wheeler, Nathaniel Du Bois, and Jonathan Hedges were its incorporators. Its line ran from the Cochecton turnpike to DuBois' grist- mill at West Newburgh, and thence along the foot of Muchattoes Hill to the New Windsor and Blooming- Grove turnpike. In 1819 its line was extended by the "Clove Turnpike Road,"-capital $3000; incor- porators, Nathaniel DuBois, Jacob Carpenter, Jona- than Hedges, and Jonathan Hasbrouck,-which ran from the point where the Snake Hill turnpike-road intersected the New Windsor and Blooming-Grove turnpike-road, and thence to the New Windsor and Cornwall turnpike-road at the foot of the mountain, , near the house of Samuel Seaman. The entire line crossed every road from the west to the village of New Windsor. Its special object was to develop the lands of Nathaniel DuBois and Jonathan Hasbrouck, who were incorporators in both companies.

In 1809 the "Dunderberg and Clove Turnpike Company" was chartered,-capital $20,000. Incor- porators, Alexander McComb, William Bell, John Coffey, Thomas Donavan, Robert Lamoreux, and Zebulon Townsend. Its line began "at Joshua Cald- well's ferry, at the cast point of the Dunderberg Mountains," and ran along the west side of Hudson's River to or near Doddletown; from thenee to Queensborough Furnace; and from thence northwest- erly to the road running through Smith's Clove at or near the house of Robert Lamoreux, in the town of Monroc. By subsequent legislation the company was authorized to extend the road "from the northwest end thereof to the stage road leading from Albany to the city of New York, to intersect the said stage road at or near the dwelling-house of John Smith, in the town of Monroe."

The " Fort Montgomery Turnpike Company" was chartered April 9, 1814. Its incorporators were Nathan Smith, Benjamin Roosa, Selah Smith, Robert Davenport, David Havens, and James Davis. Its capital was $10,000, and its road began "at or near Fort Montgomery, and near the landing" then "occu- pied by Nathan and Selah Smith," and ran from thence northwesterly "to the Forest of Dean mire- hole; thence southwesterly to the Dunderberg and Clove turnpike, near or at the house of Isaac Hollet, in the town of Monroc."

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 27

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1336

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336