USA > New York > Queens County > History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals. > Part 57
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"The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
"Section 1. The village hereby incorporated shall be composed of all that part of the town of Newtown which lies within the following lines and bounds-to wit: Com- mencing on the East River at the point of intersection between the farms of John Lawrence and Charles Rich- mond and following the dividing line of said farms to the land of Stephen Hallett, deceased; thence following the line between said John Lawrence's land and the land of said Stephen Hallett, deceased, to the land owned by Henry F. Blackwell and G. C. Furman; thence following the line dividing last mentioned land of the before men- tioned John Lawrence to the land of one Rapelye, de- ceased; thence along the division line of the last men- tioned land and land of the before mentioned Blackwell and Furman, to the land of Jeromus J. Rapelye; thence along the line dividing land of the said Jeromus J. Rapelye and land of the before mentioned Rapelye, deceased, to the land of James McDonald; thence along the line di- viding the land of said James McDonald and land of the before mentioned Jeromus J. Rapelye, to the Flushing avenue; thence crossing the Flushing avenue and follow- ing the line dividing land of said James McDonald from land of Dr. Baylies, to the Newtown avenue; thence crossing said Newtown avenue and following the south side of the said avenue to the land of Abraham Polhe-
274
HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
mus; thence following the line dividing said Polhemus's land from land of the before named James McDonald, to the land now or late of Lewis Hartman and others; thence along the line dividing the land of said Hartman and others and the land of said James McDonald, to land of Samuel Stevens; thence along the line dividing land of said Samuel Stevens from the land of said James Mc- Donald and the farm of Samis, to land of William R. Prince; thence following the line that divides the land of said William R. Prince from the farm of said Abel Samis, to the ridge road; thence crossing the ridge road to the land of Richard Clark and following the line dividing the said Richard Clark's land from the farm of the be- fore mentioned Abel Samis, to the land of William R. Prince, known as 'the McDonough farm;' thence follow- ing the line dividing said McDonough farm from the land of said Richard Clark and of H. L. Penfield, to other lands of said Richard Clark; thence along last mentioned line to the land of Jacob Polhemus; thence along the line dividing land of said Jacob Polhemus from land of before mentioned Richard Clark, to Sunswick Creek; thence following the middle of the channel of said creek to Hallett's Cove or Bay; and thence follow- ing the line .of the cove and East River at low water mark to land of John Lawrence at the place of begin- ning-shall hereafter continue to be known and distin- guished by the name of the 'Village of Astoria,' and the freeholders and inhabitants residing in said village are constituted a body corporate by name of the trustees of the village of Astoria.
" Section 2 .- The corporation hereby created shall pos- sess all the powers and privileges and be subject to all the restrictions and limitations which are granted to or imposed upon the trustees of the village of Angelica by the act incorporating that village, May 2nd 1835."
The first charter election for the village of Astoria was held at the house of Benjamin Franklin Shaw, June 11th 1839, from 5 to 6 o'clock P. M. The following officers were elected: Homer Whittemore, Robert M. Blackwell, William H. Bolles, Alfred R. Mount and Stephen A. Hal- sey, trustees; Henry F. Blackwell, Hersey Baylies and John B. Reboul, assessors; William T. Payntar, treasurer; William T. Payntar, clerk; James O. Jackson, collector and constable.
After the counting of the ballots the board of trustees organized in the same room in which the election had been held. Homer Whittemore was chosen president. Trustees have served as follows: Homer Whittemore, 1839, 1840, 1843-48; Joseph M. McJinsey, 1841; Ste- phen A. Halsey, 1839, 1842, 1863; Nathaniel Felbey, 1849, 1850; Josiah M. Whitney, 1851, 1856, 1857, 1869; W. J. Townsend, 1852 ; Henry Baylies, 1853; C. R. Trafford, 1854, 1855, 1864; John R. Morris, 1858; John McAloney, 1859, 1860 ; A. Gallatin Stevens, 1861; Gabriel Mace, 1862; Charles W. Strang, 1865 ; R. M. C. Graham, 1866-68; W. R. Taylor, 1870 and until Astoria lost its corporate identity in Long Island City.
THE IMPROVEMENT OF HELL GATE.
Hell Gate is the name given to the narrow ship chan- nel between Long Island and Ward's Island which con- nects Long Island Sound, by means of the East River, with New York Bay. It is of sufficient depth to permit the passage of the largest vessels at either tide were it not for numerous reefs and sunken rocks and the swift changing eddies of the tide among them. Owing to these obstructions Hell Gate was impassable for large ships and very dangerous for smaller craft. It was the scene of many wrecks and of great destruction of life and property. It will be remembered that it was on Pot Rock (which is now being mined, preliminary to its destruction) that the English ship "Hussar" was wrecked, as related on page 270. The removal of these destructive obstacles to navigation was an urgent necessity, not only to open a shorter and safe commercial highway to the east, but also to facilitate the defense of New York city in case of war and blockade. The United States govern- ment and the merchants of New York city had turned their attention to this object long before any effective means of removing submarine obstructions was known. In 1848 Lieutenants Commanding Charles H. Davis and David Porter of the navy made a careful survey of Hell Gate, and pointed out the Gridiron as the most danger- ous reef and the Pot and Frying-Pan Rocks, Way's Reef and the Bread-and-Cheese Reef, by Blackwell's Island, as also very dangerous. They recommended that the first three named be destroyed by blasting. Lieutenant Davis further advised that the middle of the channel also be cleaned out by blasting, but Lieutenant Porter questioned the feasibility of this operation. He pro- posed the destruction of part of Hallett's Point Reef. He also advised that the large reefs should be faced with walls or piers, conforming to the outline of the rocks and provided with spring fenders that would turn vessels striking against them into the channel. No effective method of submarine blasting was then known, and these officers suggested no new devices for carrying out the provisions of their report.
The first effort at opening the channel was made in 1851, when about $14,000 was contributed by the citizens of New York and expended in surface-blasting different rocks in Hell Gate. M. Maillefert, the inventor of the method, superintended the work. His plan consisted simply in exploding charges of powder on the surface of the rocks by means of the electric current. At first this method was successful, but after the rough projections of rock were removed and a smoother surface reached it was very difficult to go deeper. Although M. Maillefert accomplished a valuable work his method proved wholly insufficient to remove any considerable portion of the obstructions. In the following year Congress was in- duced to appropriate $20,000 to carry on the work. Of this sum $18,000 was consumed in lowering Pot Rock two feet. In 1856 the advisory council to the "commis- sion relative to the encroachments and preservation of New York Harbor" in their report upon the improve-
275
THE IMPROVEMENT OF HELL GATE.
ment of Hell Gate recommended that Pot Rock, the Frying-Pan, Way's Reef, part of Hallett's Point Reef and numerous small rocks near shore be removed by drilling, instead of by the Maillefert process, and that sea walls be erected, similar to those proposed by Lieutenant Davis. No improvements were undertaken, however, for several years. In 1866 Brevet Major-General New- ton of the United States Engineers was commissioned to examine Hell Gate. He made a survey and reported to Congress the following year. In 1868 Congress made the first appropriation ($85,000) for carrying out General Newton's plans for the work. The contract for the re- moval of Pot and Frying-Pan Rocks was awarded to Sidney F. Shelbourne. He worked unsuccessfully upon these rocks with a machine driven at first by water power and afterward by steam. It was finally destroyed by a collision. The Maillefert contract expired with the year 1869. After Way's Reef had been lowered to the depth of 171/2 feet and Sheldrake to 18 4-5 feet, General New- ton assumed control of the work. In May 1871 a scow drilling-machine was put in operation, after long and careful experiments to determine the proper weight of drills and size of points, and also upon the explosive power of nitro glycerine. The Frying-Pan was leveled in July 1872. August 5th work was commenced upon Pot Rock. Forty holes were blasted. During the work sixteen collisions occurred here, and two of the vessels were sunk. Work was then suspended until stricter regulations should be enforced upon pilots. Way's Reef was removed to the depth of 26 feet below mean low tide during 1874.
Hallett's Point Reef was a particularly dangerous ob- struction in the east channel, as it did not leave sufficient seaway for vessels floating down with the ebb and steer- ing clear of Flood Rock. It also created dangerous eddies at either tide. The reef was of semi-circular form, 720 feet across and extending 300 feet into the channel. Since surface blasting had proved of so little avail it was determined to sink a shaft down into the rock and cut diverging lateral tunnels that should pene- trate the rock in all directions, something like the work- ings in a coal mine. The walls of the tunnels were then to be charged with explosives, these to be connected with an electric battery, the water admitted, and the charges fired.
On the 8th day of July 1869 was commenced the con- struction of a coffer dam, which was of irregular pentag- onal form, reaching out 95 feet on the rock with a breadth of 145 feet at the shore. A shaft 95 by 105 feet was sunk 33 feet below mean low water. Ten tunnels were then driven into the rock and connected by cross-cut gal- leries at regular intervals. These tunnels extended from 51 to 126 feet before any of the transverse sections were made. They radiated from a center, and the galleries formed concentric lines around the shaft. As the dis- tance between the tunnels increased additional branch tunnels were excavated, until the whole number was 35. There were 10 galleries, whose mean distance apart was 25 feet. The area covered by the tunnels and shaft was
25/8 acres. The number of piers left standing was 172. The total length of tunnel was 4,857 feet, and of gal- leries 2,568 feet, making 7,425 feet in all. The inclina- tion of the tunnels was raised so as to leave an average thickness of 10 feet between the mine and the water above. Constant pumping was necessary to keep the tunnels free from water. Great care had to be exercised not to leave too thin a roof and not to break through the roof by too heavy explosions. The variable inclination and foliation of the rock-a hard hornblende gneiss, with intersecting quartz veins-greatly enhanced the dif- ficulties of the work. Of the total expense blasting rep- resented 46 per cent., and the removal of the rock to the shaft 17 per cent .; 47,461 cubic yards of rock were exca- vated and carried away through the shaft. When the works were ready for the explosion which was to destroy the remaining shell of the reef the pillars and roof were charged with thousands of small deposits of explosives, which were connected with an electric wire, except a certain number which were to be exploded by the con- cussion. In the later part of the work the engineers in charge were John Newton, lieutenant-colonel of en- gineers, brevet major-general; James Mercur, captain of engineers; Joseph H. Millard, first lieutenant of en- gineers; Julius H. Striedinger, civil engineer, assistant; Bernard F. Boyle, mining engineer, overseer; James Quigley and Robert S. Burnett, assistants.
The whole quantity of explosive material employed in the final blast was 52,20672 pounds, consisting of dyna- mite, rend-rock and vulcan powder, and was contained in 13,596 cartridges, each about 3 inches in diameter and from 9 to 18 inches in length. There were 4,462 separate blasts and 4,427 charged holes in the rock. These holes were of the average depth of 9 feet, and were made from 6 to 10 feet apart. The blasts were connected by 100,000 feet of wire and with the batteries by 120,000 feet of leading wire.
On the day before the blast the water was let into the tunnels by means of a syphon over the side of the dam. All precautions were taken to insure the success of the explosion. A bomb-proof was erected for the protec- tion of the batteries, 24 in number, and the wires were conducted over a plate in the bomb-proof in order to effect the simultaneous ignition of all the charges. Wires were laid to the shore, where the key for completing the circuit was located. The plate before mentioned was suspended over the cups of a battery containing mer- cury, and when the projections on the under surface of the plate dropped into the cups the electricity would be generated to explode the mine. This suspended plate was dropped by a current from the shore. After all the preparations had been completed with great care the 24th day of September 1876 at high tide was selected as the time for firing the charges. The day being Sunday, and the event having been announced in all the news- papers, an enormous crowd-probably greater than has witnessed any other spectacle in this region-gathered at all the favorable points of observation in New York city and on the neighboring islands, while speculators
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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
reaped a harvest by providing seats on boats, which lay as near the mine as was deemed safe. Signal guns fired according to a published plan warned the spectators when to expect the explosion. A few minutes before 3 in the afternoon the little daughter of General Newton, at her father's direction, pressed the key of the battery, and in less than two seconds a tremor of the ground was felt, a sound, sharp though not loud, was heard, and great col- umns of water were thrown up 50 feet or more over the area of the excavation, together with fragments of rock and a dense black cloud of smoke and mist and the gases formed by the explosion. A chorus from the whistles of the steamboats hailed the crowning act in the great enterprise, and many of the small boats hastened to be first at the spot where the dreaded reef had been. The vibration of the earth was slight, as predicted by General Newton, yet was felt in New York. The immediate result was more satisfactory than had been anticipated. The rock was broken up into finer portions than was expected, which rendered its removal comparatively easy. Submarine dredges were soon put in operation and the higher portions dragged down into deeper water. In this work the remainder of the appropriation which had been made by Congress was expended.
The next great obstruction to be removed was Flood Rock. It lies due north from Hallett's Point, almost directly in mid channel, 1,200 to 1,500 feet from the shore, and has an area of about 8 acres. Of this only 250 square feet showed above high water mark. The same general plan of operations was adopted here that had been so successful at Hallett's Point. Around the highest point of the rock a sea wall was built, and the enclosed area was filled with broken stone to afford space for erecting the necessary buildings. This artificial island is about 7 feet above high water, and in its center is the main shaft, which has been sunk to the depth of 67 feet. There is also a second shaft, 40 feet deep, open- ing into the same heading as the main shaft. This is used for machinery and tubes of the compressed air which drives the drills, while the excavated rock is re- moved through the larger shaft. The work is under the care of Major-General Newton, and Captain James Mer- cur has the immediate supervision. About two-thirds of the way down the main shaft the first series of headings is passed-four black mouthed openings diverging at right angles. At the bottom of the shaft headings also diverge in four directions directly beneath the others. This double system of headings is employed in order to gain a sufficient depth after the explosion without the labor and expense of dredging to remove broken rock, as was necessary at Hallett's Point. These headings in both tiers branch at right angles every twenty feet or thereabouts.
The main headings now are some 20 in number and run from north to south. They are 1,200 feet long, from 7 to 10 feet high and about the same in width. The II cross headings vary from 100 to 400 feet in length. These headings are about 20 feet apart each way, so that
the whole rock is honeycombed with tunnels. In exca- vating eight drills are employed, which are run by the power of compressed air. In blasting, holes are drilled in the rock horizontally from 20 to 30 inches apart, and cartridges of dynamite weighing from half a pound to two pounds are inserted. The broken rock when exca- vated is raised through the main shaft, and is dumped into the deep water at the south end of the reef. Some. times in blasting a seam in the rock is reached through which the water runs in. In such cases the seam has to be carefully worked around and avoided. The progress of the work is necessarily slow, owing to its difficulty and the character of the rock, which is very hard. During the year 1880 the amount of work done was greater than in any previous year; 43,000 blasts were made and 24,000 cubic yards of rock removed. In 1881 7,312 feet of headings were driven and 18,080 cubic yards of rock taken out. At this rate it was expected that the excava- tions would be finished about the close of 1882, and that one year will be consumed in inserting explosives in the roof and sides of the mine, so that the final explosion will not occur before 1884, or possibly late in the year 1883.
The total area of the rock to be penetrated by tunnels is eight acres, or a space three times larger than Hallett's Point Reef. The amount expended upon the work in 1879 was $140,000. The Congressional appropriation in 1880 for the improvement of the East River was $200,- 000, and about the same in 1881; $350,000 had been ex- pended on the work prior to September 1878. The estimated cost of the whole work is two millions of dollars. An appropriation of $50,000 was secured in the spring of 1882, when the tunneling, which had been progressing at the rate of some six hundred feet monthly, was about being suspended for lack of funds. This amount enabled the engineers to continue the work until the larger appropriation made by the river and harbor bill of that year became available.
The reef at Hallett's Point has been freed fromn broken rock to a depth of 26 feet at mean low water. Since its removal the number of vessels passing through Hell Gate has more than doubled. It is hoped that when Flood Rock is removed the ocean steamers will take the East River route, at a saving of so miles in distance. The steam drilling scow has been kept steadily at work upon the smaller rocks, and has removed Diamond Reef and Heel-tap Rocks. The two remaining, Pot Rock and the Frying Pan, will shortly be destroyed. When all the work is completed there will be a ship channel from 1,200 to 1,500 yards in width, navigable for ocean vessels of the largest class. Work has also been commenced in the removal of a large shoal near Brooklyn wharves, esti- mated to contain 570,000 cubic yards, on which the depth of minimum low water was 9 feet. With these improve- ments carried into effect the waterway of New York city on the east will approach the excellence of the Hud- son on the west.
The latest project for the improvement of the naviga- tion of Hell Gate is the establishment of an electric light.
277
REASONS OF INCORPORATING LONG ISLAND CITY. -
In April 1882 a committee of the House of Repre- sentatives favorably reported a bill appropriating twenty thousand dollars to this object.
While some are sanguine enough to expect that the improvements above described will divert the tide of transatlantic commerce from the Sandy Hook to the Hell Gate channel, it would hardly be safe to predict such a result with confidence. The Hell Gate course must remain comparatively narrow and tortuous, and traffic is notoriously difficult to divert from established routes. Only by slow degrees will commerce betake itself to the new channel; but the existing coastwise trade will be sufficiently benefited by the unprovements to abundantly pay the cost of those improvements, great as it will have been, while they assume prospective importance also in view of the possible development of a great commercial center on the Harlem River as the result of the projected deepening and widening of the channel of that river. On the Harlem also immediate connection is made with the railroad systems east of the Hudson River.
THE INCORPORATION OF LONG ISLAND CITY.
The westerly portion of the township of Newtown, extending from the limits of Brooklyn on the south to Long Island Sound on the north, separated from New York only by the East River, could not fail to become a place of considerable importance in point of popula- tion and the increased value of its property. The ex- traordinary growth and importance of the two great cities of New York and Brooklyn have within the last quarter of a century given such an impetus to property within twenty miles of New York as was never before witnessed around any cities of the world .. This ex- traordinary development could not fail to reach that portion of the town of Newtown which is now called Long Island City. The terminus of the Long Island Railroad having been located at Hunter's Point, the ferries having been established for nearly all important points in New York, Calvary Cemetery having been selected as the burial place of the Catholics of the city of New York, numerous and wealthy corporations and individuals having established manufactories on a most extensive scale along the banks of Newtown Creek and on the easterly shore of the East River, all con- spired to increase the population and the value of property in this vicinity.
Already there existed the two important villages of Astoria and Ravenswood, and the surrounding districts, though occupied as farm lands, had a large population. In addition to these there soon sprang up the villages of Hunter's Point, Dutch Kills, Laurel Hill and Blissville; so that in 1869 there was a population of 15,000 inhab- itants living between the old Bowery Bay road and the East River. As the population steadily increased and houses were erected on the farm lands without the lay- ing out of streets, sewers, or water-mains, the roads soon became impassable; and, the town government being un- able to supply the much needed improvements for want
of legislative authority, the people suffered, and many of them petitioned the Legislature for relief. For many years the town had been heavily taxed for improve- ments which were forced upon the people through the influence of officials and politicians who, it is said, were sometimes unscrupulous in their charges, and in audit- ing their accounts. The expenses arising therefrom, together with the war debt, created grave cause of com- plaint by the people. The residents of that portion of the town now called Long Island City felt this oppres- sion all the more because, as they alleged, their portion of the town had been for many years unfairly assessed. Those who paid most of the taxes complained of the manner in which elections were held and improvements made, and of the general administration of the govern- ment of the town. Fifteen years previous to the in- corporation of Long Island City a number of liquor dealers of the town of Newtown formed a combination to resist through the courts the enforcement of the liquor law of the State. They finally succeeded. They continued their organization, but changed its object to politics, and were commonly known by the name of the " Newtown Ring." It became powerful and therefore successful; it controlled the elections, and it was stated that the votes polled were seldom counted, that the lead- ers of the ring declared those persons elected whose election they considered most advantageous to them- selves or their party. A criminal having influence with the members of this ring would rarely be arrested for minor offenses, and if arrested his conviction was almost impossible. Exorbitant fees were charged and audited by officials for imaginary services. The district was the prey of thieves and the worst elements of the neighbor- ing cities of New York and Brooklyn, and the number of town constables was entirely inadequate to the wants of the district. Among all these the greatest want felt was a sufficient supply of good water. For many years during the summer months the people were obliged to go over into Brooklyn for water to cook their meals. The water obtained through many of the pumps in Hunter's Point was evidently but the drainage of marsh lands. In the summer of 1874 there were 207 cases of typho-malarial fever traced by physicians to one pump in Seventh street near Central avenue. During seasons of drought there was but one pump in Third street to supply the wants of nearly 4,000 people, and not unfre- quently from 50 to 100 persons might be seen awaiting their turn for water from this pump, and it was generally from two to three o'clock in the morning before all had obtained it.
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