USA > New York > Oneida County > Utica > Memorial history of Utica, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 34
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In July, 1880, the appeal from Utica and New Hartford to the State assessors against the supervisors of Oneida County for raising the valu- ation of the assessors on the appellants was heard, and after much evi- dence and argument the appeal was sustained. It was proved that values and rents had decreased instead of increasing. In this connec- tion it may be stated that a statement of the rents of some twenty stores on Genesee street for eight years from 1875 to 1882 showed a steady decrease in their rents from $20,700 to $11,775. It is proper to add that they subsequently picked up.
In February, 1882, the Reformed Church, situated on the corner of Genesee and Cornelia streets, was destroyed by fire with a loss of $25,- 000. It was handsomely rebuilt and its interior tastefully decorated. Other churches newly erected or rebuilt during this period are Plymouth, by the Congregationalists, on Plant street; Olivet, by the Presbyterians, on Howard avenue (1890) ; the Holy Cross, by the Episcopalians, in East Utica, and St. Andrew's Mission, on Faxton street (1891); St. Francis de Sales, by the Roman Catholics, corner of High and Eagle streets (1888) ; the Church of Our Father, by the Universalists, in East Utica (1891); of the Moravians, corner of Cooper and Cornelia streets ; the Century, by the Methodists; and the Highland, by the Presbyte- rians (1891). Grace Church also received in 1890 an addition to its length and extensive improvements within. The West Shore Railroad was in process of construction and was opened for travel in 1884.
Relatives of Baron von Steuben, who as guests of the nation had been present at the centennial celebration of the surrender of York-
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
town, came here soon after to visit the grave of the baron at Remsen in this county. They were received by delegates from the Oneida His- torical Society, who accompanied them in their visit, and were addressed by John F. Seymour. In April, 1882, the postoffice was removed to the still unfinished government building. The building was completed in the fall at a cost of upwards of $484,000 and received the court-room and the chambers ot the judge and clerk of the U. S. District Court. In September, 1882, the State Fair was again held in Utica ; its success was considerable, the receipts amounting to $15,540. In December, 1883, the match factory in the gulf was burned with a loss of $25,000, and not long afterward the Empire Brewery, whose loss was $35,000. A much more disastrous fire occurred on the 2d of the following March. Though not so extensive in reach as the fire of 1837 the loss incurred was probably twice as great. It extended from the store of Edward Martin, No. 123 Genesee street, as far along Genesee and Catharine as Peckham's furnace opposite Franklin street, sweeping away every build- ing on the southern side of both these streets and doing damage to the upper part of the First National Bank on the northern side. The loss to individuals has proved a fortunate gain to the community, inasmuch as the finer structures that replaced the former ones have added much to the beauty of the streets. The American District Telegraph and Tele- phone Company was organized in December, 1877, and in May, 1879, began using the Edison apparatus. In May, 1882, the Central New York Telegraph Company was organized with a capital of $500,000 and its center of operation was located .here. It soon absorbed the rights and the property of preceding companies, the District Telephone, the Baxter, etc., and greatly increased the facilities and the circuit of this business.
Another important enterprise of this era was the building of the hand- some and costly edifice for the Y. M. C. A., a brief account of which is given in another place in these pages. The destruction by fire of the Oneida National Bank on the 10th of June, 1886, caused its replace- ment by a finer and more desirable structure, which was finished in September of the following year. A home for the indigent and disa- bled Masons of the State, with their families, was in contemplation by the members of this organization as early as 1884. After deliberate ex-
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CONSTRUCTION IN THE LAST DECADE.
amination of numerous sites that had been offered them in different parts of the State it was determined to place this home on the eastern border of Utica. The ceremony of laying the corner-stone in the spring of 189I was made the occasion of a very large gathering of the members of the order and a public procession which has never been exceeded in this city in the magnitude and the imposing nature of its display. The presence of this institution, when completed and occupied, must tend materially to add to the prosperity of the city.
Another ceremony attended the unveiling of the soldiers' monument in the fall of 1891. The building of this monument to the memory of the Oneida County soldiers who had been killed in the war of the Re- bellion had been for a long time under consideration, and the raising of the necessary funds was the earnest work of a few persons. These funds were obtained through gifts, through public entertainments managed largely by the ladies, and finally by means of a direct tax authorized by public vote.
A home for old men, in connection with Faxton Hospital, was built in 1890, and in 1891 extensive additions were made to the State Hos- pital and to the Utica Orphan Asylum.
Another event of the latter part of the decade should here be re- corded. Edward D. Matthews came in possession of the Ballou farm, a tract of land lying west of the State Hospital, which had long been in litigation. It is elevated, healthful, and commands a wide and beautiful prospect. Most of it runs south from the Whitesboro road and alongside of the Hospital farm several thousand feet. It has been graded, laid out in three extended avenues and numerous cross streets, and is offered for sale for building purposes. A street through the upper part of the tract continuous with Hickory street and reaching westward to Louis street, cutting the Hospital farm some 1,540 feet to the rear of the hospital buildings, will probably soon be opened, and thus offer the shortest road to New York Mills. The lots are sold under desirable restrictions as to size and character of buildings, sale of liquor, gambling, etc., upon easy terms of payment. These highlands, so called, are in demand as future homes, while they present greatly needed facilities for the westward growth of the city. A new church and a few houses have already been erected thereon.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
Following are the principal officers of the city during the last decade : Mayors: 1880, Thomas J. Spriggs ; 1881, James Miller ; 1882, Francis M. Burdick; 1883, Charles A. Doolittle; 1884, James S. Sherman ; 1885-87, Thomas E. Kinney; 1888, Henry Martin ; 1889, S. J. Bar- rows; 1890, Alexander T. Goodwin. Clerks: 1879-84, Patrick J. Mc- Quade ; 1885-87, Thomas S. Geary ; 1888 to the present time, Patrick J. McQuade. Treasurers : 1879-80, Jacob Schwab ; 1881-82, James T. Mclaughlin; 1883-88, William F. Hoerlein ; 1889, Edmund A. O'Brien ; 1890, Patrick Griffin. Corporation counsel : 1879-83, Samuel J. Barrows; 1884, Edward D. Matthews ; 1885, Myron W. Van Auken ; 1886, Charles A. Talcott; 1887, Myron W. Van Auken ; 1888-90, Frederick B. Spriggs. Recorders: 1875 to 1884, Patrick F. Bulger. City judges ; 1884, Patrick F. Bulger ; 1888-90, Samuel A. Beardsley. Aldermen; 1880, William P. Carpenter, John D. Jones, Patrick F. Quinlan, Luke Hill, John Carney, William Reichert, John N. Siegrist ; 1881, Fred Haak, William H. Price, Joseph Tessey, Michael J. Dulan, James Hayes, John M. Siegrist ; 1882, H. Ray Barnes, John D. Jones, Patrick F. Quinlan, Horatio S. Van Valkenberg, George C. Helfert, William Reichert; 1883, Fred Haak, Moses Barney, Joseph Tessey, Gottlieb Zitzner, James Hayes, Michael Doll; 1884, H. Ray Barnes, George J. Buchanan, William McTiernan, Edward M. Brown, John F. Geerer, Joseph P. Davis ; 1885, Henry Kinzinger, Charles I. Williams, John S. Bach, John P. Murphy, James Hayes, David T. Jones ; 1886, H. Ray Barnes, Edward J. Dillon, James Hackett, Edward M. Brown, Horatio S. Van Valkenberg, William Reichert; 1887, Henry Kin- zinger, Daniel McGucken, Joseph Tessey, John P. Murphy, Willard D. Ball, Michael Doll ; 1888, H. Ray Barnes, John D. Jones, James Hack - ett, Thomas Heslan, Enoch Jones, Joseph P. Davis ; 1889, John L. Dowd, William G. McNall (to fill vacancy), Daniel McGucken, Joseph Tessey, John P. Day, Willard D. Ball, Michael Doll; 1890, H. Ray Barnes, Hudson Bidwell, James Hackett, John Redmond, James Mul- ligan, Joseph Hollingworth, jr. (to fill vacancy), Charles F. Clark.
Thus far an outline of the municipal and civil history of Utica has been presented, together with notices of many of its past innabitants, from the earliest settlement of the place down to the year 1891. It re- mains to consider the institutions and co-operating enterprises in which
36I
TRAVEL ON THE MOHAWK.
its people have been and are now enlisted. In the chapters which fol- low these will be briefly treated and in a manner that must needs be succinct and statistical. Other biographies will be found in these vari- ous chapters and in the Biographical Department of the work.
CHAPTER XII.
MODES OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION.
The Mohawk River as a Public Waterway -- The Genesee Turnpike -- Early Stages -- Construction and Opening of the Erie Canal - Early Railroads East and West --- The Plank Road Era -- Northern and Southern Railroads.
S ETTLERS in a wilderness country are never long located before they feel the pressing necessity of roads of some description, and this is true even in those favored localities where nature herself has supplied waterways over which may be transported the meager belongings of the pioneer. As far as relates to the early settlements on the site of the city of Utica the Mohawk River, then a stream of much larger vol- ume than at the present time, was a natural highway, and the first one over which the pioneers of this locality transported their little stores with comparative ease and later their surplus produce to the markets of the East. This river was used for those purposes before as well as long after there were any roads in the vicinity of its upper waters that deserved the name of highways. There were of course Indian trails extending the entire length of the immediate territory over which ruled the powerful nations of the Iroquois, but probably few of them were used as roadways in this vicinity, either in their primitive condi- tion or after subsequent improvement. Indian trails were as a rule tortuous in their courses to an extent that would make the white pio- neer shun them. The Indian would make a detour of miles around a swampy locality where the white man would build a corduroy road across it ; the red man would go around a hill rather than climb it.
46
362
MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
The earlier boats in use upon the Mohawk were Canadian batteaux, clinker built, and capable of carrying one and a half to two tons up the stream and five tons downward. They were known as three-handed or four-handed boats, according as they required three or four men to propel them, or, with reference to their capacity, two or three hogshead batteaux. They were forced over the rapids with poles and ropes, the latter drawn by men on the shore. Such was the mode of transporting merchandise and Indian commodities to and from the West until some time after the Revolution.
The early navigation of the Mohawk and contiguous waters was greatly facilitated in 1796 by the improvements of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, which was incorporated under an act passed March 30, 1792. The project of connecting the Hudson River with Lake Champlain and Western waters by means of canals was discussed before the Revolutionary war; but that struggle in which the whole energies of the new country were involved put an end to the matter for a time. When the company was finally organized a list of nearly thirty directors pushed ahead the work. The plan contemplated a canal and locks around the Little Falls on the Mohawk, a canal across the portage at Rome, and the improvement of Wood Creek and the Oneida, Sen- eca, and Oswego Rivers. The work was completed, as stated, and proved a very useful improvement in developing the western part of the State. About the year 1812 it was estimated that 300 boats with 1, 500 tons of merchandise went through the canal across the Rome portage in a single year. With the completion of the Erie Canal this waterway was abandoned.
After the enlargement of the locks by this company the boats carried twenty tons or more in high water and eight to ten in what was called " full channel " water, which meant twenty inches over the rifts. These latter boats were known as Durham boats, and were in shape not unlike a canal scow, being low and open, fitted with a walking-board along the gunwale, and with a mast that could be raised when required. They were propelled by means of long poles thrust into the river and pushed from the shoulders of men, who walked from end to end of the boat, bowed almost to the face in their efforts to move it forward. The poles had heads that rested against the shoulder, which was often galled like that
363
EXTRACT FROM SCHULTZ'S TRAVELS.
of a collar-worn horse. Down the stream advantage was taken of the current, and along the straight reaches of the channel and when the wind was favorable a sail was hoisted. The crew consisted of five or six hands, who considered themselves fortunate when they made ten miles in one day. The delay of unloading at Little Falls had been obviated, but it was found more difficult to force large than small craft over the rapids. Several boats usually went in company, and if any arrived first at a rift they awaited the approach of the others that the united strength of many might aid in the labor, before them.1 From a Schenectady paper of 1803 we get an idea of the dimensions of one of these Durham boats then on her first trip: "She is sixty- three feet keel, eleven feet wide, and two feet three inches deep. When loaded she draws two feet of water and will carry twenty four tons. She now brought down 250 bushels of wheat and will next trip bring 800." In 1791 it cost from $75 to $100 per ton for transportation from Seneca Lake to Albany ; in 1796 the cost was reduced to $32 per ton and to $16 on returned cargoes.
In further illustration of boat traveling on the Mohawk in former times is inserted the following from the journal of travels made through several of the inland States in 1807-08 by Christian Schultz, jr .: 2
" I have noticed but three different kinds of boats used in navigating the river. Those called Schenectady boats are generally preferred and will carry about ten tons burthen when the river is high ; but when it is low, as at this time, they will not take more than from three to four ; they generally advance against the stream at the rate of from eighteen to twenty or twenty- five miles a day. These boats are built very much after the model of our Long Island round bottom skiffs, but proportion ately larger, being from forty to fifty feet in length, and steered by a large swing oar of the same length. They have likewise a movable mast in the middle. When the wind serves they set a square sail and top sail, which, at a few miles distance, give them all the appearance of small square rigged vessels coming down before the wind. Our galley which I am just now informed is called the Mohawk Regulator, has gone at the rate of six miles an hour against the' stream; and during
1 Simms's History of Schoharie County.
? See illustration on another page of this work.
----
---- --
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
this time, believe me, nothing can be more charming than sailing on the Mohawk.
"It is not often, however, that a fair wind will serve for more than three or four miles together, as the irregular course of the river renders its aid very precarious; their chief dependence, therefore, is upon their pike poles. These are generally from eighteen to twenty-two feet in length, having a sharp pointed iron, with a socket weighing ten or twelve pounds, affixed to the lower end; the upper has a large knob, called a button, mounted upon it so that the poleman may press upon it his whole weight without endangering his person. This manner of impelling the boat forward is extremely laborious, and none but those who have been for some time accustomed to it can manage these poles with any kind of advantage. Within the boat on each side is fixed a plank running fore and aft, with a number of cross cleats nailed upon it for the purpose of giving the poleman a sure footing in hard poling. The men after set- ting their poles against a rock, bank, or bottom of the river, declining their heads very low, place the upper end or button against the back (front ?) part of their right or left shoulders (according to the side on which they may be poling); then falling down on their hands and toes creep the whole length of the gang-boards and send the boat forward with considerable speed. The first sight of four men on each side of a boat creeping along on their hands and toes apparently transfixed by a large pole is no small curiosity, nor was it until I had observed their perseverance for 200 or 300 yards that I became satisfied they were not playing some pranks. From the general practice of this method as likewise from my own trials and observations I am convinced that they have fallen upon the most powerful way possible to exert their bodily strength for the purpose required. The position, however, was so ex- tremely awkward to me that I doubt whether the description I have at- tempted will give you an adequate idea of the procedure. I have met with another kind of boat on this river which is called a dorm or dorem; how it is spelt I know not [Durham]. The only difference I could ob- serve in this from the former one is that it is built sharp at both ends, and generally much larger and stouter. They have likewise flats simi- lar to those you have seen on the Susquehanna, but much lighter built and longer. On all these they occasionally carry the sails before men- tioned.
VOYAGING ON THE MOHAWK.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
"The Mohawk is by no means dangerous to ascend on account of the slowness of the boat's progress; but as it is full of rocks, stones, and shallows there is some risk in descending it of staving the boat, and at this season is so low as to require it to be dragged by hand over many places. The channel in some instances is not more than eight feet in width, which will barely permit a boat to pass by rubbing on both sides. This is sometimes caused by natural or accidental obstructions of rocks in the channel, but oftener by artificial means. This which at first view would appear to be an inconvenience is produced by two lines or ridges of stone generally constructed on sandy, gravelly, or stony shallows, in such a manner as to form an acute angle were they to meet, the extrem- ities of which widen as they extend up the river, whilst at the lower end there is just space enough left to admit the passage of a boat. The water being thus collected at the widest part of these ridges, and contin- ually pent up within narrower limits as it descends, causes a rise at the passage, so that where the depth was no more than eight inches before a contrivance of this kind will raise it to twelve ; and strange as it may appear a boat drawing fifteen inches will pass through it with ease and safety. The cause is simply this: the boat, being somewhat below the passage, is brought forward with considerable velocity, and the moment it dashes into the passage its resistance to the current is such as to cause a swell of four or five inches more, which affords it an easy passage over the shoal."
Mr. Post had several boats employed in conveying produce and ran three stage boats for passengers. In 1812 Eri Lusher & Co. were run ning during the season a weekly line of boats from Schenectady for Cayuga, Seneca Falls, and Oswego, and by means of wagons also, which were kept in constant readiness, they were enabled to "transport from Albany to any part of the western country either by land or water what- ever property might be directed to their care." Parties living at a dis- tance from the water communication were assured that their goods would be delivered at any place they might designate. They adver- tised also stage boats to run between Utica and Schenectady for the accommodation of passengers, which, leaving Utica twice a week at 5 A. M., were to arrive in Schenectady the following morning in time for breakfast, and thence the passengers were to be conveyed in carriages to Albany.
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EARLY HIGHWAYS.
Turning our attention to the early overland roadways we find that in 1794 Jegislative action was taken and three commissioners were ap- pointed to lay out a road from Utica via Cayuga Ferry and Canandai- gua to the Genesee River at Avon, and in that and the following years appropriations were made to aid in its construction. The portion of the road from Albany to Utica was doubtless constructed first and was gen- erally known as the "State Road," while that section from Utica to the Genesee River was called the " Genesee Road." The road was not im- mediately constructed, and in 1797 Colonel Williamson, who traveled through the country as agent for English landowners, characterized it as little better than an Indian trail. But early in 1797 the legislature passed an act authorizing the raising of $45,000 by a lottery for the benefit of the various roads in the State, $13,900 of which sum was to be appropriated to the use of the Genesee road. This action resulted in the rapid completion of the road, which was so far advanced by the 30th of September, 1797, that a coach of four passengers left Old Fort Schuy- ler (Utica) and arrived at Geneva, Ontario County, a distance of 100 miles, on the 2d of October. This section was the first opened west of Utica, the inhabitants along the line subscribing 4,000 days' work to aid in its construction. The road was sixty-four feet wide and built of earth and gravel, with numerous sections of " corduroy" over swampy places, and bridges over ravines and streams. Imperfect as this early road undoubtedly was in many respects it was still a wonderful im- provement, and the inhabitants of the western part of the State rejoiced greatly over its completion.
But in a short time it was seen that a more perfect highway than this was a necessity, and in 1800 the Seneca Turnpike Company, with a capital of $110,000, was chartered by the legislature. The shares were $50 each. The commissioners were Jedediah Sanger, of New Hartford, and Benjamin Walker, of Utica, for Oneida County, Charles Williamson and Israel Chapin, of Ontario County. According to the journal of John Maude, an English traveler who passed through Utica on his way to Niagara Falls, one mile of it only was completed in July, 1800. This road passed through the villages of New Hartford, Kirk- land, Lairdsville, Vernon, and Oneida Castle. The road leading into Utica from the East seems to have been still unfinished at this time, as
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
would appear from an advertisement of the Mohawk Turnpike and Bridge Company, published in the village paper of October 21, 1800, in which the said company solicited proposals for a bridge over the Mohawk, at Schenectady, for completing the road for the ten miles lying immediately east of Utica, and for finishing other portions farther east.
Up to the date of the organization of the Seneca Turnpike Company the road leading across the Mohawk bottom between Utica and Deer- field had been very tortuous and at times nearly impassable. About this time it was straightened across this intervale and otherwise im- proved, but it was several years before it became a tolerable road. The building of the great western thoroughfare was the first important fac - tor in the growth and advancement of Utica, for it virtually made it the head of navigation and the principal landing place on the Mohawk River for the emigration then just beginning to seek the fertile regions in West- ern New York, and the embryo commerce destined to expand in the swift-coming years to fabulous proportions. The opening of this road ten miles to the south forced Rome to take the second place in the county in commercial importance and give Utica the preponderance which she still retains. Over this thoroughfare ran the early stages, some of whose owners, managers, and drivers became in later years leading citizens of this and other cities. Prominent among them was Jason Parker, who came here in 1794 from.Adams, Mass., of which place he was a native. His first employment was as post-rider between Canajoharie and Whitestown. These journeys were made on horseback and sometimes on foot, and his wife now and then assisted him, eking out the trip between Utica and Whitesboro. The contract from the government for carrying the mails, which had been given the year prev- ious to one Simeon Pool, soon passed into his hands. It is related that on one occasion when Mr. Parker arrived with the mail from Albany it contained six letters for the inhabitants of Old Fort Schuyler. This remarkable fact was heralded from one end of the settlement to the other, and some were incredulous until assured of its truth by the post- master, John Post. In August, 1795, Mr. Parker began running a stage between the above mentioned places, and thus announced his under- taking :
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