Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 29

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374

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September 7, 1785. Resolved, That the Postmaster-General be and is hereby authorized, and instructed, to enter into contract for the conveyance of the mails by stage-carriages from the City of New York to the City of Albany, according to the accustomed route.

No paper money to be received for postage.

The history of the Albany post-office as a government institution begins in 1783, when Abraham Yates was appointed postmaster. There is a tradition that Col. Henry Van Schaick performed the duties of postmaster in Albany in 1775, but if so it was only in a partially private capacity. The early mail facilities were confined largely to individual enterprise; messages were sent to New York by river con- veyance and by post-riders to other points. The post-riders met at certain points and exchanged their letters and papers, a custom that prevailed in some localities as late as 1820. The building of steamboats and the construction of railroads worked a marvellous change. The policy of the government was from the first, and still continues, to give the people the best and cheapest postal facilities, even at a heavy out- lay. In 1785 Albany was mail headquarters for Greenbush, Schenec- tady, Cherry Valley, Orange and Dutchess counties, and Vermont letters were advertised here. In 1786 mails came twice a week from New York and once a week from Springfield, Mass. In 1789-90 routes were opened westward, the old stages which have been described car- rying the mails along the line of what is now the Central Railroad. In 1792 post routes were extended eastward to Bennington and Burling- ton, Vt. In 1798 regular mails were carried between Albany and

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Philadelphia, 280 miles, and delivered in three days; in the same year mail facilities were extended west into the Genesee country, and post- riders began to traverse the county in various directions to the hamlets and settlements.

The earliest post-office in Albany of which there is reliable record stood in 1784 a few doors above Maiden Lane on the east side of Mar- ket street (now Broadway), and was kept by Abraham Yates, During the war of 1812, on the corner of State street and Broadway, was Jacob Mancius's drug store, in rear of which, in a small room, was located the post-office. The clerk mingled the selling of drugs and the handling of mail. In 1823 the post office was situated on North Market street (Broadway) a little north of the site of the Government building. The office was removed to the Exchange building in 1840 and there remained until 1862. During repairs in that building the office was temporarily located on State street above Green, and in 1863 went back to the Exchange, where it remained until 1873. Its next location was on the east side of North Pearl street, south of Columbia, where it continued until 1877, when it was removed to the Delavan block on Broadway. There it remained until it was placed in the new government building, January 1, 1884.

The postmasters in Albany have been as follows: 1795, George W. Mancius, Jacob Mancius; 1812, James Mayer; 1815, Peter P. Dox; 1816, Gerrit L. Dox; 1821, Solomon Southwick; 1822-39, Solomon Van Rensselaer; 1839-40, Azariah C. Flagg; 1842-43, Solomon Van Rensselaer; 1843-49, James D. Wasson; 1850-58, James Kidd; 1858 -- 61, Calvert Comstock; 1861-65, George Dawson; 1865-69, Joseph Davis; 1869-71, Morgan L. Filkins; 1871-77, John F. Smyth; 1877-85, William H. Craig; 1885-89, Dr. D. V. O'Leary; 1889, James M. War- ner; January 1, 1894, Francis H. Woods.

The Government building, corner State street and Broadway, con- tains the post office and all other Federal offices. The first definite action relating to its erection was taken by Congress March 21, 1872, when an act was passed providing for such a building and limiting the appropriation to $350,000. The appropriation was not made at that time, as it was required that a site be donated by the city. The city subsequently purchased the Exchange building for $100,000 and the site was accepted by the government. It was afterwards determined that the site was too small, and in 1873 (March 3) an appropriation of $150,000 was made for the purchase of the Mechanics' and Farmers'

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Bank property on the north and separated from the Exchange site by Exchange street. Another appropriation of $5,000 was made June 3, 1874, making the total cost to the city and government $225,000. . In March, 1877, an act was passed limiting the cost of the building to $500,000, but meanwhile work had progressed in demolishing the Ex- change building. In June, 1877, work was resumed, and the corner stone was laid May 7, 1879. The building is of granite in the Italian renaissance style of architecture. It was first occupied during 1883-84.

The United States Arsenal was located in the town of Watervliet, with - in the bounds of the present city of Watervliet, in 1813, upon twelve acres of land, constituting the original purchase. The arsenal was commenced in 1814 under direction of Col. George Bumford, of the ordnance department ; later its supervision was given to Major Daliba, and still later at different periods to various other officers of the gov- ernment. In 1825 James Gibbons offered to sell the government forty acres of land at $300 an acre, to constitute an addition to the arsenal property. The purchase was effected from his widow after his death, on April 28, 1828. Some minor additional lots have been since pur- chased. The arsenal is under charge of the Ordnance Bureau of the War Department at Washington, and is fully equipped for the rapid production of every description of heavy ordnance for the army. The cost of the buildings for arsenal purposes, including machinery and all fixtures, is estimated at $1,500,000, and the cost of all the land was about $57,000. During the war of the Rebellion the arsenal employed 1,500 men, many of the departments running day and night. The average number employed in recent years has been about 150, though this number is increased at the present time.

The New York State Library, for the use of the government and people of the State, was established April 21, 1818, in charge of the governor, lieutenant-governor, chancellor and chief justices of the Su- preme Court as trustees. By an act of May 4, 1844, the Legislature placed the library completely in the custody and control of the Regents of the University as trustees ex officio, thus protecting it from the political dangers which have nearly ruined many other State libraries. The rapid growth in size and usefulness under the Regents' control resulted in the erection of a fine new library building just west of the Capitol and connected with it by a two-story corridor. Into this build- ing, 114 by 48 feet, the library was moved in 1854, where it remained till the building was demolished in 1883 to make room for the ap-

GEORGE ROGERS HOWELL.

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proaches to the new Capitol. For the following six years the library was in temporary quarters under the present Assembly chamber.

In 1889 there was a radical revision of the laws governing the library. All existing laws were repealed, and the library was made an important and integral part of the University of the State of New York. Early in the same year it was moved to its present magnificent quarters in the west end of the Capitol. By day the reading rooms are flooded with light, and the dark places in the stacks have electric lights, avail- able at all hours both day and night. Electric student-lamps light the tables, and carefully shaded ceiling or bracket lamps light the shelves, aisles and alcoves.

The Capitol Library-a new feature which has amply justified itself -is a lending library, free to every State employee residing in Albany or vicinity. It has the choicest books in the best editions, and the State's mechanics, porters, and laboring men are as welcome as the clerks or officials to any assistance the library can give in finding the most entertaining or profitable reading. This collection is largely used and highly appreciated.

There are also nearly five hundred similar collections of about one hundred volumes each which are called traveling libraries and which are lent for periods of six months to any community in the State wish- ing access to the best reading. This system has been productive of so great educational results for the expenditure that it is being rapidly copied by the other leading States of the country.

Through the paid help department any person in New York or in any part of the world may have any service in the library for which he is willing to pay actual cost. The least expensive assistant competent to do the work is assigned to it, and the charge is simply enough to prevent its being a burden on the taxpayers.

The library now contains 201, 799 volumes besides 29,861 volumes in the traveling libraries and 142,225 duplicates. It is open every week day from 8 A. M. to 10 P. M., except Saturdays and holidays, when it closes at 6 P. M.

The Albany Institute .- This useful institution is the direct successor of similar organizations with different names, the inception of which dates back to 1791. On February 27, 1829, a charter was granted under the present title, the Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts, and the Albany Lyceum of Natural History being consolidated to form it. The Institute has a library containing about 7,000 volumes, and many

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valuable papers. It has published ten volumes of Transactions, be- sides volumes of its proceedings.

The Dudley Observatory stands in the western part of the city, on high ground, 215 feet above mean tide, and a short distance from Washington Park. It was founded through the munificence of Mrs. Blandina Dudley, widow of Charles E. Dudley, with co-operation of leading citizens of the city. The act of incorporation was passed in 1852, and the first Observa- tory building was formally dedicated in August, 1856, under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Geologi- cal Hall, Albany, was opened on the previous day, as elsewhere explained. The address commemorating the inauguration of the Observatory was delivered in Academy Park by Edward Everett. Previous to the address an additional and unexpected gift of $50,000 was received from Mrs. Dudley. The total donations to the Observatory exceed $200,000, of which sum $105,000 came from Mrs. Dudley. More than $100,000 was expended on the old buildings and their equipment and about the same sum is invested for a permanent fund. While the first Ob- servatory served its purpose for many years and gained celebrity, the time came when it was deemed necessary that the former buildings should be superseded by more modern structures, located on a more desirable site. Land was selected on Lake avenue, about two miles southwest of the former site, in the southwestern part of the city, and efforts were begun to collect the necessary funds for the new institu- tion. Among the contributors was Miss Catherine W. Bruce, of New York city, who offered to donate $25,000, chiefly for permanent endow- ment, provided the change was made as contemplated. Other contrib- utions raised the fund to more than $70,000. The work of erecting new buildings was prosecuted in 1892-93. In October of that year Miss Bruce added $10,000 to her first gift, to be used largely in supplying additional equipment to the institution. The site was donated by the city of Albany from property in possession of the Park Commission, and it also gave $15,000 in exchange for the original property. The sons of the late Thomas W. Olcott provided means for refitting the Olcott Meridian Circle, for remounting it on the new site and for housing it in a proper manner. The sons of the late Robert H. Pruyn gave $6,000 for the construction of a new equatorial telescope, to be twelve inches in aperture, and adapted both to visual and photographic use. Both instruments are in position, and are in active use. The new establish- ment was formally dedicated to the advancement of astronomy in

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November, 1893, the National Academy of Sciences taking part in this ceremony. The institution is now doing work of high scientific value under the director, Lewis Boss, A. M. The observations and studies of the institution relate principally to the motions of the stars, and to the motion of the sun in space. These researches of the Observatory have been aided for several years by appropriations from the Bache Fund of the National Academy of Sciences.

Young Men's Association .- This is the oldest institution of its char- acter in the United States; it was founded with a memebrship of about 750 on December 10, 1833. Amos Dean was its first president and was re-elected in the second year. The association was incorporated March 12, 1835, its chief purpose being the maintenance of a library, a reading room, literary and scientific lectures, and other means of mutual improvement. During twenty two years it sustained a debat- ing society through which much good was effected. Its rooms were in Knickerbocker Hall on Broadway until 1840, from where it was re- moved to Exchange building, site of the Government building, remain- ing there until 1852; it was next located until 1870 in the Commercial Bank building, and from there went to the Music Hall building un- til 1877. In that year it first occupied rooms in the Bleecker building on North Pearl street. Harmanus Bleecker died in April, 1849, and his widow created a fund, retaining only a life interest in same, and made John V. L. Pruyn, of Albany, N. Y., sole trustee, with power to name his successor. This trust consisted of real estate and securities, which in course of time had a value of about $80,000, though ultimately it attained a value of over $130,000. This property came under control of Mr. Pruyn in 1852. He died in 1877, and his will, recorded January 17, 1878, transferred all this property to Amasa J. Parker. On the 13th of December, 1886, Judge Parker addressed a communication to the association, that he had at his disposal for the benefit of the association, this property, if the necessary arrangements could be made for funds towards the building in the city of Albany of a large public hall. Besides this property there was a fund of $10,000, left to the association by will by Erastus Corning in 1872. The Board of Managers of the association on December 14, 1886, adopted the following resolution:

Resolved, That the generous proposition of Hon. Amasa J. Parker giving to the Y. M. A. the use of the Bleecker fund, for the building of a public Hall and Library Building, to be under the management of the Association be accepted, and that the Association will endeavor to carry the same to a successful completion.

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In January, 1887, a committee from the association was appointed to formulate the views and wishes of the body relative to this subject, who reported March 9, 1887. One feature of the suggested plans for using the fund was the raising of $50,000 additional, which was ac- complished after considerable effort. Upon the raising of this sum Judge Parker transferred the whole Bleecker property to the associa- tion, on January 7, 1888, a part of the property consisting of land on Washington avenue, on which the hall of the association has since been erected. The building erected is finely adapted for its purposes, and is called Harmanus Bleecker Hall. It is capable of seating about 2,500 persons.

The Young Men's Association has been of incalculable benefit to the city of Albany in many directions. Among its officers have been many of the leading citizens of the city, an indication of which fact is gained in the list of presidents, which is as follows:

Amos Dean, Robert E. Ward, Charles A. Hopkins, John Davis, Robert H. Pruyn, Denison Worthington, William E. Bleecker, Charles P. Smyth, Walter R. Bush, Arthur C. Southwick, Rufus King, Charles H. Stanton, Franklin Townsend, William A. Rice, Hooper C. Van Vorst, George B. Steele, William Dey Ermand. Rufus G. Beardslee, James I. Johnson, Theodore Townsend, Gilbert L. Wilson, George C. Lee, Ralph P. Lathrop, Richard Merrifield, Clinton Cassidy, Charles T. Shepard, Robert L. Johnson, Charles P. Easton, Edmund L. Judson, John T. McKnight, John Templeton, Samuel Hand, Franklin Edson, William D. Morange, Edward De Forest, Frank Chamberlain, Robert Lenox Banks, Grenville Tremain, John S. Dele- van, Frederick T. Martin, John Swinburne, Henry C. Littlefield, Charles A. Robert- son, Amasa J. Parker, jr., Fred W. Brown, Jacob S. Mosher, Thurlow Weed Barnes, John M. Bigelow, William P. Rudd, George E. Oliver, Frederick Harris, Oren E. Wilson, Eugene Burlingame, Isaac D. F. Lansing, Harmon P. Reed, Curtis N. Douglas, Charles B. Templeton, C. V. Winne.

The Albany Penitentiary .- This institution was incorporated in April, 1844, and on December 19, of that year the supervisors author- ized the purchase of a suitable site and the erection of buildings. The site selected comprises now about forty-five acres, to the south of Wash- ington Park. Work on the first buildings was commenced at once, and was largely performed by prisoners who were taken to and from the jail for the purpose. It was opened in 1846. Amos Pilsbury was appoint- ed superintendent in 1844, and held the position until his death in 1872. During his administration of almost thirty years he established a system of government for the penitentiary that was so wonderfully successful as to give it and its author a world-wide reputation. The system has been perpetuated under subsequent management. Orig-

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inally the prison had only ninety cells, but this number has been in- creased to more than 600. Many new workshops have been erected and the grounds enclosed by a high wall. The penitentiary has been made a paying institution through its acceptance of prisoners from other counties, and from contract labor done by convicts. General Pilsbury was succeeded by his son, Louis D. Pilsbury, who held the office of superintendent until 1879, when John McEwen was appointed. He held the position until 1889, when James McIntyre was appointed. He was succeeded in 1896 by Chester F. Dearstyne. On May 11, 1885, an act was passed by the Legislature, which relieved the super- visors and the mayor and recorder of the city of responsibility for the management of the penitentiary, which was vested in a Penitentiary Commission.

Albany County Almshouse .-- The office of overseer of the poor is one of the oldest in the State, being in existence long before the beginning of the present century, and has always had an important bearing upon Albany county and city. Unlike most other counties of this State, Albany county has never made any material distinction between the poor of the towns and those of the county. The poor laws are exe- cuted by the superintendent of the almshouse, the overseers of the poor, and to some extent through a few of the charitable institutions. The powers of the office of overseer of the poor were considerably en- larged by the act of 1703, and so continued through the colonial period and were retained nearly intact by the legislative act of March 7, 1788. This act made provision for establishing an almshouse in Albany, which was the first one in the State established under State law. The . churches had, previous to that time, maintained parish almshouses, one of which is described in the act of August 10, 1720, incorporating the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in Albany. The act of 1788 gave the overseers of the poor, with consent of the towns, authority to build, purchase or hire houses for the poor, and to provide work for them. An act of April 2, 1819, amended the former act extending the powers and duties of the overseers to lunatics, habitual drunkards and poor children. The supervisors have the power under certain restric- tions, to abolish the distinction between town poor and county poor, making them all chargeable to the county. This law provides that in those counties where the poor are made a charge upon the counties, there shall be a superintendent of the poor, with the same powers and rights as the overseers of the poor in respect to compelling relatives to

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care for their own paupers, the seizure of property, etc. There are no superintendents of the poor in Albany county. The charter for 1883, and the city ordinances under it, passed in May, 1884, provide that the overseer of the poor in the city of Albany shall have charge of and apply and distribute funds for the temporary relief and support of the poor of the city.

The site of the almshouse is south of Washington Park and west of the penitentiary. A farm of eighty-six acres belongs to the institution. Here are the poor house, hospital, pest house, and other structures for proper care of the poor. The expense is borne in the ratio of sixty per cent. by the city and forty per cent. by the county. The lands granted under the Dongan charter have all been alienated to the city, excepting the farm before mentioned, and the parade ground and old burying ground which are included in Washington Park. The first buildings for the poor were erected in 1826, at a cost of $14,000. The poor house proper of to-day was built about 1850, and other structures and improvements have been made as necessity de- manded.

Albany County Agricultural Society .- The first agricultural society in this county was formed in 1818, and thereafter held three annnal fairs. The county was then without an organization akin to an agri- cultural society until the organization of the Albany and Rensselaer Horticultural Society, which held its first exhibition in the Geological rooms in September, 1847. Fairs and exhibitions followed in 1848, 1849 and 1850. In 1851 the town of Coeymans organized an agricultural soci- ety, with James W. Jolley, president ; this was afterwards merged into the county society. On May 14, 1853, a meeting was held in Albany, in which James W. Jolley was chairman, and Joseph Warren, of Albany, secretary. After some discussion an organization was effected with the following officers: President, James W. Jolley; treasurer, E. E. Platt; secretary, Joseph Warren; with a vice-president from each town. The first annual fair of this society was held at Bethlehem Center, October 4-6, 1853. While this was in a measure successful, it was seen that the fairs must be held in or near the city; the second fair accordingly was held on the Washington Parade Ground in No- vember, 1854. A number of succeeding fairs were held on these grounds. On May 8, 1862, was organized the Town Union Agricul- tural Association of the County of Albany, with the following officers: President, Jurian Winne; vice-president, James W. Jolley ; treasurer,

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William H. Slingerland; secretary, Samuel C. Bradt. In the next month the title of this association was changed to Albany County Ag- ricultural Society. In 1863 a fair was held by the society on the Wash- ington Parade Ground. Fairs continued to be held down to 1870, with the exception of one year, some of which were moderately suc- cessful, but as a whole they were not very generously supported. In June, 1873, the Albany Agricultural and Arts Association was organized with the following officers: President, Thomas W. Olcott; vice-president, Maurice E. Viele; treasurer, William H. Haskell; secretary, Volkert P. Douw. This society purchased about forty-four acres of land four miles north of the city, a tract which was happily adapted to the pur- poses of the organization and where it was hoped permanent buildings might be erected and the institution start upon a long career of useful- ness. The land was properly laid out and buildings were erected at a cost of $30,000. The State Agricultural Society held its fair of 1873 on these grounds. In 1874 this society and the Albany County Society held a joint fair September 22-25, with Volkert P. Douw, superintend- ent. The county society held no fairs after that year. The other association continued in existence and held exhibitions several years. The grounds are now in market for sale.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE CITY OF ALBANY.

The general history of Albany county, which has been traced in the preceding pages of this volume, necessarily includes very much of the history of the city of Albany down to the close of the Revolutionary war; but a few salient facts relating to that period of about 150 years must be briefly noticed here.

It cannot be truthfully stated that the topography of the site of Albany was originally favorable in all respects as a situation for a great city. Consisting of a narrow level tract along the Hudson River, low enough to be sometimes partially overflowed, backed by a slope extending westward for nearly a mile, quite steep in some sections and divided into four well-defined ridges, separated by deep valleys or ravines,

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this much of its area was not especially inviting to the early seekers for a city site. Still farther westward extended a sandy plain, into which the ravines mentioned cut their way for some distance. But causes other than favorable topographical conditions have often deter- mined the situation of large communities. If the land on which Albany was to be built seemed forbidding as necessitating vast labor to render it suitable for close settlement, it on the other hand offered in its sloping hill sides and parallel ravines, the best of conditions for per- fect drainage, excellent facilities for military fortifications, which were so important to the early residents, and picturesque natural attractions. It is not probable that the future drainage facilities or the beauties of nature awakened remarkable enthusiasm in the Dutch settlers, but the proximity to the Indians and their rich furs, facilities for self-protection and for traveling and shipping southward on the great river and west- ward on the Mohawk, were something tangible.

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 29

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374