USA > New York > Ulster County > History of Ulster County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers. Vol. I > Part 73
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Among Rondout's pioneers was George North, Sr., who for fifty years was prominently connected with its indus- trics and other interests. He came to Kingstou iu 1829, and for a brief period elerked for Edward O'Neil, following which he engaged iu making brick on a yard located where Major Cornell's carriage-house now stands. After a brief absence at Utica he started a grocery-store on the dock where the hide-store of James Van Baren now stands. About 1842 he bought the premises then known as the Major Swart property, aud now occupied by the Sampsou Opera-House. The two-story brick with basement, run- ning from Union Avenue to Canal Street, he occupied as a residence, and in the theo faruous " Arcade Store" he sokl " goods four feet lower than anybody else," and prospered. About 1849 he purchased the " Ponckhockie property," laid it out in lots, had it wrapped, aud laid the foundations
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HISTORY OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK.
for an abundant success. Hle graded the sharp bluff that then existed between Tompkins and Sycamore Streets, filled up the bay and bog. that swept well into the ravine, and started a market-garden and dairy on the hill. He continued business at the old " Arcade" until 1532, when Elting & Decker sueeceded to the dry-goods branch, and J. R. Stebbins & Co. continued the grocery and general trade in the basement, now (by the wash of the sand-hills ) ticice " four feet lower" than any store in town. Mr. North made his residence in the old stone house ( Poneklockie proper), and here for a time directed his milk business, garden work, and dock building, and soou added to it a promising lumber business on what is now Mr. Gokey's ship-yard, Isaiah Hutchings, of Esopus, joining him in the enterprise. He was now in a fair way to be speedily com- fortable and ultimately wealthy ; but the spirit of enterprise and speculation was restless within him.
H- purchased the A. Bruyn Hasbrouck property, reach- ing from what is now Abruyn Street to the brow of the hill above the Point swamp, and from the river to the Point road, embracing promising water-fronts of great extent. Mr. Crane joined him in this undertaking, and at once was commenced the work of grading and improving ly the building of the great doek that now curves the open water that then reached almost to the base of Mr. Crane's present place. But Mr. North's resources were severely taxed, and, although a man of remarkable capacity in the carrying of heavy financial burdens, he was only sustained by the help of his partner in the latest venture, and his associates in other business. The valuable and productive property at the Strand wa: sold. und its proceeds applied to the development of other property. In 1859 he bought out the store of A. K. Chandler, but ia 1860 he made an assignment. His affairs were ably adjusted by Mr. Crane and E. B. Newkirk, and after a little more than a year he found himself free from debt, and the possessor of some remnants of property that enabled him to hold the " Ponek- hockie" place as his home. He then spent several seasons in Washington, from 1863 to 1865, when he returned to Rondout. He invested about $20,000 in the South, but lost it all, to which misfortune was added the death of his wife and niece, while he himself was afflicted with malarial disease contracted " on the James." The wholesome air of Ulster soon brought back health, and with it the oldl quench- less spirit. He repurchased what remained of the Ponck- hockie property, and at onee revived his old plan of con- verting it into a sununer hotel. Hle, however, soon con- meneed new enterprises, purchasing property in the South, but financial disaster again rested upon the now old and empty-handed veteran of so many undertakings. Utterly crushed and discouraged, he retired to Longwood Planta- tion, S. C., where he died May 19, 1979. His works of improvement will long be his best monument in Ulster County, where he will be remembered as one of its most active, resolute, and capable business men.
RONDOUT COMMERCE.
The commeree carried on from Rondout is very exteu- sive, and the tonnage of the j ort exceeds that of any other place between Albany and New York.
The general freight and forwarding business, carried on by Thomas Cornell and by the firm of Romer & Tremper, is one of great magnitude, and dates back to the founding of the place. Thomas Cornell commenced business in Rondout in 1854, as agent for Mr. Dodge, who ran the " Norwich" and " Mohican." Mr. Cornell subsequently purchased the " Norwich" and other boats, and established the firm of Thomas & Thomas W. Cornell, employing sev .- eral steamers in their carrying trade and in general traffie.
Captain Nathan Anderson, with James Taylor, soou after the opening of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, started a store on the doek, as agents for Mr. Ketchum, owner of the stcamer " Emerald." Soon after the firm of N. & A. L Anderson was established, and engaged in gen- eral mereantile trade. A general freight and passenger forwarding business was established by Anderson, Romer & Co. about 1845-46, and was continued by them until March 1, 1853, when the firm was changed to Romer. Tremper, & Gillett. In 1856 the latter gentleman retired, and since that time, for a period of nearly twenty-five years, the firm has been Romer & Tremper.
Captain A. L. Anderson, of the " Mary Powell," resides in Esopus. This is a favorite steamer, and both the boat and the captain have been well known by the traveling pub- lic for many years.
The Cornell Steamboat Company run the boat " Thomas Cornell," for freight and passengers, commanded by Captain W. H. Cornell. This line also includes another boat, the " William Cook," Captain George Gage. This is devoted to the milk irade exelasively.
Romer & Tremper run the " James W. Baldwin," Cap- tain Tremper, from Rondout to New York. This boat alternates with the " Cornell," forming a daily live. Romer & Tremper are also interested in the Albany and New- burgh line, which consists of two boats, the ". Eagle" and the " M. Martin," forming a daily line each way. The " Eagle" is commanded by Captain E. Rogers, and the " Martin" by H. Fairbanks.
The leading merchants of Rondout, who have long been in business and who together extend back in their opera- tions over nearly the entire period of modern Rondout, are the following: R. Deyo, P. A. Canfield, John R. Stebbins, Van Deusen Brothers, Thomas H. Tremper.
XIV .- KINGSTON IN 1880.
In a work devoted so largely to pioneer settlement, and illustrating so fully the past, no lengthy description of the present ean be given. Yet the Kingston of to-day has many elements of attraction, and many business interests of importance. It is a city with many pleasant and even elegant private residences, with stirring business- places, with active commercial interests, and with lines of trade extending in many different directions. It has many of the modern improvements naturally expected in a city, but lacks some usually deemed of great importance. It has no water-works and no general system of electric fire-alarm. There is no public library for free reference and quiet study. These will doubtless ere long be supplied. Indeed, they could not all be reasonably expected in a city incor- porated ouly eight years since.
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CITY AND TOWN OF KINGSTON.
The history of the churches and of general Christian work, already given, shows a degree of moral and religious advancement which is not probably equaled in any other county of the same relative rank in population. The nuimti- ber of leading publie men in Kingston who not only sup- port the churches, but are aetnally members of them, is unusually large. Men high in publie office and men of vast business concerns are in the churches and Sunday- schools, and in all forms of moral and benevolent work. In many of these features Kingston is a model city.
Some of the various features of the present time are briefly mentioned below.
HOTELS.
The following are the principal hotels of the city :
Eogle Hotel, A. E. and J. S. Winne, proprietors .- This excellent public-house is located upon Main Street, a few steps from the route of the house-ears as they pass the county clerk's office. It is a fine brick building of three stories, having pleasant rooms and a well-supplied table. The proprietors give their personal supervision to every department of their business, and guests are sure of atten- tive and courteous treatment. Simmer tourists bound for the mountains can find no pleasanter route than through Kingston, and no better place of entertainment than the Eagle. The house is near to all the prominent historic spots in this ancient town, and is itself situated upon the south line of the old stockade ot 1660. Before visiting the mountain scenery travelers should stop one or more days in Kingston, and from the Eagle walk round about tite old fortified quadrangle; stand where George Clinton
HOT
THE EAGLE HOTEL.
took the oath as the first Governor of the State; look at the building whose walls first echoel to the eloquence of the Senate; go out to the " mill-gate," through which the solitary horseman of June 7, 1663, came dashing in with the fearful tidings of the approaching savages; or travel the other way, along Albany Avenue out to the site of the manor-house of Thomas Chambers, near the residence of the late Col. Kiersted.
The Eagle is the successor of an old tavern of forty years ago or more,-a tavern which in the sharp campaign of 1840 was a rallying-point for the processions which, on a wave of hard cider and wafted by fluttering coon-skins,
swept into the Presidency William Henry Harrison, "and Tyler too." Thomas Clark was then the proprietor ; sub- sequently the property was owned by Daniel L. Decker, and afterwards by Henry Winne. The house was destroyed by fire July 13, 1876 Benjamin Winne, the present owner, then bought the site, and erected in the summer and fall of 1877 the present hotel.
Mansion House, G. P. Stephan, Manager .- This is the principal hotel at Rondout, occupying the same relation to the eastern part of the city that the " Eagle" does to the western. It is a large and commodious building, eligihly situated on Union Avenue, corner of the " Strand." The horse-cars pass each way on Union Avenue every twenty minutes. soon to be changed to once in ten minutes, thus rendering the house casy of access from the railroad depots, from the Rhinebeck and Sleightburgh ferries, and from the steamboat-landing at the doeks. The arrangements for entertaining guests are ample. The office is well supplied with papers, telegraph facilities are convenient, hair dressing rooms adjacent, and all the accessories of a good hotel.
The Mansion House was opened by Mr. James MeEntee in 1832, soon after the completion of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. For this purpose he obtained the old Maj. Swart dwelling, a building of sufficient size to provide very comfortably for the traveling public at that time. This house stood somewhat in the rear of the present Mansion House, and was in time removed to make way for the present large and imposing structure. The contrast be- tween Rondout when Mr. MeEntee first opened the Man- sion House and the Rondout of 1880 is somewhat illus. trated by a similar contrast between the unpretentious tavern of 1832 and the first-class hotel of to-day.
Kingston Hotel, M. Haaver, proprietor .- This is located on Crown Street, Nos. 22, 24, and 26, and is a very old stand, and one well known. It is pleasantly situated on a quiet street, but sufficiently near to the business portions of the upper part of the city to render it a convenient place of board. Many old Kingstonian incidents cluster around this ancient hostelry.
Hill's Hotel, W. D. Hill, proprietor, North Front Street, No. 90 .- This is a commodious building of brick, conve- niently situated for those who desire to be near the busi- ness portion of the city, and yet not too far removed from the depot of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad. The house is about half-way from the court-house or the busi- est portion of Wall Street to the station above mentioned.
Zeincken Hotel, Seba Zeineken, proprietor, 215 Wall Street .- This is a convenient stopping-place on the route to Wilbur over the well-known Stone road.
Other hotels in the city are the Excelsior House, Peter Weaver, proprietor, corner of Strand, Hasbrouck Avenue, and Ferry Street, Rondout ; Freileweh's Branch Hotel, 40 Wall Street ; Freileweh's Hotel, Green Street ; Germau Hotel, Fred. Gottstein, proprietor, 215 Strand ; and Hum- phrey's Hotel, Washington Avenue.
PUBLIC HALLS.
The city is very well supplied with places for public lee- tures, for dramatic purposes, and for concerts. Sampson Opera- House is centrally located in Rondout, in the hand-
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IHISTORY OF ULSTER COUNTY, NEW YORK.
some new block opposite the Mansion House. Washington Hall is also in Rondont, 100 and 102 Abeel Street. Music HIall is in the upper part of the city, conveniently located near the post office. On Wall Street, corner of John, is located Crosby's convenient hall; while Voorhees' Hall is in quite a different location, on Clinton Avenue. near Al- bany. Several of the lodges and societies also have hand- somely furnished halls.
CITY TELEGRAPH.
This was an enterprise of the Winter Brothers, and has been in active operation nearly twenty years, forming a rapid line of communication with all parts of the city. It is, however, being almost entirely superseded by the telephonie lines now opened, so that, as far as special city telegraphic lines are concerned, they are of the past, and have no place in this chapter.
CITY BAGGAGE EXPRESS.
This was established by the Winter Brothers about 1866. They handle baggage in all parts of the city, transport it fromn and to all the hotels, and all the various depots and steamboat-landings. They also do a general package busi- ness, and handle considerable freight. Their telephone connections are rendering communication, with reference to the express business, very prompt and certain.
KINGSTON POST-OFFICE.
Kingston was a post-town undoubtedly before the Revo- Intion. Bat of the colonial arrangements, or even of those immediately following the Revolution, we have little or no account. At the present time Kingston belongs to the second class of offices in the divisions recognized by the postmaster general. The building now occupied was com- meneed in 1SUS and completed in 1869. Nearly all the mails are canied by the railroads. The mail-routes still provided for, as in oll times, are only three, --- Kingston to Ellenville, Kingston to Rifton, Kingston to Esopus. Kingston is a money-order office, both domestic and for- eign, the latter including Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and Switzerland.
The " Co-operative Mail and Passenger Company," in this county. carry the mail over the following routes: No. 6190, Rondout to Rifton Glen, six round trips per week ; No. 6191, Rondout to Ellenville, six round trips per week ; No. 6198, Sangerties to Palenville, six round trips; 199, Sangerties to Glasco, six round trips per week ; 6200, Sau. gerties to Hunter, one round trip per week. The route to Ellenville is owned by a sub-contractor, residing there.
Postmasters .- In the early part of this century Conradt Elmendorf was postmaster for many years, and was sue- ceeded by William Cockburn, who was followed by the several successive ineumbents named below : Jacob K. Trumpbour, 1829-39; Benjamin M. Hasbrouck, 3$39- 41; William Culley, 1841-45; Isaae Van Buren, 1845- 48; Daniel Young, 1818-49; William II. Romeyn, 1849 -53; William Kerr, 1853-61; Caleb S. Clay, 1861-09; Joseph S. Smith, 1860-73; Daniel Bradbury, 1873 to the present time.
The post-ofice at Rondout occupies a central and couve- nient place. The postmasters for quite a series of years
past have been Edmund Suydam, William Sims, John Hudler, John H. Stratton, Rensselaer Acley. William Winter, 1871-77; Andrew N. Barnes, 1877-80.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
Among those not already mentioned under other heads. the City Hall is a prominent feature. It is eligibly situ- ated, on high ground, in the vicinity of the modern " Wilt- wyck," as it was called for a few years before the formation of the city government. The City Hall thus occupies a central position on Union Avenue, easily accessible from all parts of the city. It is a fine brick building, erected the year after the organization of the city, affording ample rooms for the various city offices, and for the Supreme Court cham- bers, the latter of which include the excellent library estab- lished by the State in this judicial district. The library consists of about 3000 volumes, and has been in charge since it was founded, in 1874, of Wallace HI. Smith, Librarian. The building cost $75,000, and occasioned much criticism by the taxpayers, yet it is a fine specimen of architecture. well adapted to the wants of the city, and really needed for its various offices, reference being had not only to the present, but the fature. The grounds in front are hand- somely graded ; considerable rock remains to be removed on the west side, and more grading to be done, to bring the entire grounds into a condition adapted to so fine a public building.
NEW YORK STATE ARMORY.
Another handsome edifice is the armory, erected by the State in the city of Kingston. The expense of maintain- ing it, keeping it in order, and lighting is to be borne by the local authorities. The seenring of this expenditure by the State in this city is largely due to the efforts of Lieut .- Col. Tremper after he took command of the Twentieth Bat- talion, aided by the members of the Legislature from this county. Col. Tremper called the attention of the Board of Supervisors to the matter. being well satisfied that it would! be impossible to maintain a good degree of fficiency in the eonunand without a convenient drill-room and furnished headquarters. The supervisors declining to undertake the expense in these times of other heavy taxation, application was made to the Legislature, and at the session of 1878 an appropriation of $15,000 was made for the object desired. The commissioners of the State, consisting of Adj .- Geu. Townsend, Insp .- Gen. Woodward, and Com .- Gen. Wylie, were placed in charge of the matter. Much credit is given to assemblyman Searing for his ability in " grasping the situation" and securing favorable action at Albany upon this appropriation. The sum was not deemed sufficient to erect a building of the proper dimensions and substantial character required, and upon application the Legislature granted $10,000 more at the session of 1879. The build- ing was then put under contract, and completed the follow- ing summer and fall. The contractor was Henry W. Otis, of Kingston ; the architect, John A. Wood, of New York. Lieut .- Col. Tremper had taken command of the battalion July 23, 1877, and on the 19th of February, 1880, he bad the pleasure of taking charge of this new armory by order of the State authorities. The building is located upon Union Avenue, a short distance from the City Hall. Its
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CITY AND TOWN OF KINGSTON.
general dimensions are about 95 feet front and 40 depth for the main portion of the building, having two stories and a basement. The drill-room, in the rear, is 75 feet by 150. The armory is the headquarters of the 20th Battalion, and solely in their charge, subject to the State authorities.
The city almshouse was built in 1873, at a cost of about $30,000. It stands on the high ground in the northeastern part of the city, and is a handsome edifice, under the con- trol of the almshouse commissioners.
PROFESSIONS.
The physicians of Kingston at the present time (May, 1880) are George Basten, Gill Street, near Union; A. P. Chalker (homeopathie), 182 Strand ; Calvin C. Covel, 22 Heury Street ; Crispell & Smith, Mansion House building, Strand; Garrett D. Crispell, 94 Fair Street (homeopathie) ; C. L. Dodge, 2 Clinton Avenue ; A. T. Douglass, 172 Strand; Alexander Gippert, Abeel Street, near Hone ; Stephen L. Heath, Ehnendorf, near Union Avenue ; Augustus Huhne, Abeel, opposite Wurts; Frederick W. Ingalls, 73 Fair Street ( homec pathie); C. F. Keefe, Wurts Street, corner of Union ; David Kennedy, Union Avenue, corner of Mill ; E. H. Loughran, 12 Fair Street ; Robert Loughran, 30 Fair Street ; A. II. Mambert, Wurts Street, corner of Uniou; W. D. L. Moutanye (homeopathie), 182 Strand; Jesse Myers, 2 John Street ; Miles J. O'Reilly, Union Avenue, corner of Mill; Ebenezer K. Perkins, Abeel, near Union Avenue : Oscar R. Quentel, 5 Hone Street ; Julius Quentel, 95 Abeel Street; Levi Shafer, Maiden Lane, near Pine Street (homeopathic), S. N. Shafer, Wilbar Avenue, above Dunn Street ; Jacob D. Terwilliger, Hemy Street, corner of Oak ; Henry Van Hoevenburgh, 60 Clinton Avenue ; Dr. Murphy.
For the legal profession, see present bar of Ulster County, in the chapter of the general history relating to the bench and bar.
TELEGRAPH LINES.
An office of the company now known as the Western Union was opened at Rondout twenty-five years ago or more by William Winter, who is said to be one of the old- est telegraph operators in the State. About five years later, Edward Winter opened an office in Kingston. At the present time there are two Western Union offices in the rity,-one at the Mansion House, Hondout, the other on John Street, Kingston, near Fair Street. The new com- pany, American Union, have an office also on John Street.
RONDOUT AND KINGSTON GASLIGHT COMPANY.
This was established about 1854. At the present time (May, 1880) Thomas Cornell is president of the company, and S. D. Coykendall secretary and treasurer. W. W. Hagar was. a very active promoter of the original enter- prise, and John F. Rathbone, of Albany, owned most of the stock at that time. The works are ample for the supply of the city, having about fifteen miles of gas-pipe.
The management has been steady and thorough. Joseph W. Beatley was the first superintendent, Henry G. Beatley the zeeoud, and the present superintendent, William H. Turner, has served the company and the people acceptably for fourteen years.
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.GENERAL EXPRESS COMPANIES.
The city has been fully supplied with express agencies for nearly thirty years. The Winter Brothers were the first to take charge of this business, when the packages could wellnigh be carried ia a single carpet-bag. Subsequently they retired from this to prosecute more fully their various special eity enterprises. Mr. M. L. Rawson has been con- nected with express business in this city for fifteen years or more, and is now in charge of the special business over the Wallkill road from Kingston to New York.
The United States Express Company and the American both have offices in this eity. At 423 Fair Street both companies are represented by Mr. A. L. Rider, the Ameri- ean having also an office at Rondout, in charge of MI. Newcomb.
THE KINGSTON CITY RAILROAD.
This company run horse-cars frem the Rhinebeek ferry to the intersection of John Street with Green. The off- eers of the company (May, 1880) are James G. Lindsley, President ; S. D. Coykendall, Vice-President ; John Ro- meyn, Secretary.
TELEPHONES.
The Ulster County Telephone Exchange, Winter Brothers, proprietors, was formed in March, 18So. They began to put in telephones about the first of April. There are two principal offices, one at the bookstore of William Winter, Rondout, the other at the bookstore of Edward Winter, Kingston. The instruments used are those of the National Bell Telephone Company.
The principal public buildings are already in connection, as the City Hall, the court-house, clerk's office, Supreme Court chambers, surrogate's office, and a few business places. The general plan contemplates bringing into the exchange a hundred or more places, so that cach may have prompt and easy oral communication with any one of the others. This latest and, in some respects, the most wonderful of all modern inventions is thus being brought into practical use.
The Winter Brothers are not confining their operations to Kingston, but are putting up instruments in Saugerties, and have already been applied to with reference to putting a transmitter into one of the country churches of the county, so that an invalid some distance away may hear the sermon in her own room.
XV .- THE NEW TOWN OF KINGSTON.
Of this small territory it is proper to add a paragraph, though the general account given in this volume covers this section as well as that of Ulster, and the " civil history" ineludes the facts of organization relating to all the forms under which Kingston appears.
Its boundaries are given in another place, but it will be necessary to consult the map before the form and situation of the town ean be fully understood. It is a rocky, rough portion of the county, and its principal industrial pursuit is quarrying.
A few of the carly names of Ulster County are found represented in this town, as Osterhoudt, Brink, Van Aken, Elneudorph, and others, either as proprietors or residents. The majority of the population is, however, composed of citizens of hish nationality. They are representatives of
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