The Romance of Norwalk

In 1824, the “General Lafayette’’ commenced trips be¬ tween Norwalk and New York and this community was thus officially connected by steam with the rest of the world. The “General Lafayette” was succeeded later in the season by the “John Marshall,” named in honor of the Chief Justice of the United States. The “John Marshall” made three trips each way every week and the fare charged was one dollar. Three years later, Cornelius Vanderbilt put on a boat and reduced the fare to $.25. Other boats which ap¬ peared on the line in the next few years were the “Balti¬ more,” the “Citizen,” the “Fairfield,” the “Nimrod,” in 1836 and the “Westchester.” The latter was taken off the Norwalk route after a while and became one of the first boats to join the “People’s Line” on the Hudson river. After the departure of the “Westchester,” the “Nimrod” and the “Fairfield” continued in service, doing a very prosperous business. “At this juncture of Norwalk’s steamboat success,” says Historian Selleck, “the ‘Napoleon’ was put upon the route and the climax of enthusiasm was reached. This boat was denominated ‘Peck’s Get-Up’ and the evening of its arrival at Old Well South Norwalk was a memorable one. At the close of the trip the captain appeared and made a five minutes’ speech ending with: ‘Be true to the Napoleon and she will be true to you.’ The multitude was then invited aboard and taken up to the bridge. (Norwalk) The people still clung to the boat and were carried back to Old Well, (where the vessel was to remain over night) and walked home again.” About this time, steamship lines were extended from Nor¬ walk up to Bridgeport, the “Fairfield” making the trip one week, the “Nimrod,” the next. 2l8 ROMANCE OF NORWALK It is interesting to know that the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic Ocean was built by men with Norwalk family connections. The ship “Savannah” was constructed by Fickett and Crockett, shipbuilders, at Erie Basin, New York city, in 1 8 1 8, according to the New York Mercantile Ad¬ vertiser of March 27, 1819. Gardner Fickett was grand¬ father of the late Samuel Fickett of Rowayton and William Crockett was grandfather of Major William G. Crockett of this city. The ship, which weighed 350 tons, had pad¬ dle wheels and a wheelhouse made of canvas stretched over an iron rim. It made the voyage to Liverpool in 22 days, 14 of them under steam, in 1819. When the boat was seen puffing into the English harbor, the citizens ran down to the wharf to put out the fire! The first small gasoline launch in town was owned by Judge John Keogh and his brother Thomas Keogh some 30 years ago. The good ship was called the “Sara K.”, in honor of the boys’ sister, Sara Keogh, now Mrs. Sara E. Lane. The year 1929 finds the Norwalk harbor dotted with craft of all kinds, steam, gasoline, sail. During the summer time, there are passenger boats which make daily trips between Norwalk and New York, mostly for excur¬ sions. There are no longer regular all year round lines between the two cities, commuters finding trains much faster. However, there are a number of the more wealthy residents who use their own private yachts to go back and forth to New York every day. FIRST TRAINS While Norwalk watched steamboats grow out of long clothes into short and advance from the infant stage, at least to the adolescent, railroads were making faint tootings from the cradle. Danbury became interested in the “dread¬ ful steam cars” even before Norwalk. For some time, the inland town had been seeking a means to connect itself, easily and profitably, with the Sound. In 1825, when the Erie TRANS POR TA TION 219 Canal project was first agitated, it was proposed that a canal be built from Danbury to the Westport tidewater. A survey was made, the line of route following close to that of the present railroad as far down as Redding, where it crossed over to the Saugatuck Valley and then continued to Westport. The project was abandoned because of the heavy locking necessary. In 1830, the canal idea again bobbed to the surface and was promptly squelched. Five years later, Danbury, still struggling to make its Sound con¬ nections, considered the building of a horse railroad from its town, to Norwalk. Agitation was begun in 1835 by a group of men who shortly formed a company. The new organization was in¬ corporated as the “Fairfield County Railroad Company” with a capitalization of $300,000. A charter was obtained for the proposed road which was to run from Danbury to a suitable point at tidewater in Fairfield or Norwalk. An elaborate survey was made but nothing happened. It de¬ veloped afterwards that the backers of the scheme had in mind a much larger project than at first might appear for they planned a through line from New York to Albany by way of Danbury. The Danbury-Norwalk railroad today is all that is left of that project. The route was to com¬ mence in New York. There passengers would take the boat to Wilson’s Point, Norwalk, a harbor which was open all winter. The new railroad was to commence at Wilson Point from where it would run up to Danbury, thence to West Stockbridge, Mass. Here the line would connect with what is now the Boston and Albany railroad which was then being built from Albany to West Stockbridge. The Norwalk-Danbury railroad of 1835 was to be horse- drawn and expenses were to include “the horse path” at $123 a mile, six carriages, 30 horses, two depots with car¬ riage houses and stables and one half way house with car¬ riage house and stable. Two trips were to be made each day, it being estimated that the trip would take about three hours. It now takes 50 minutes. After all these elaborate 220 ROMANCE OF NORWALK plans nothing happened for the progenitors simply went to sleep. Meanwhile Bridgeport awoke and in 1840 built a railroad into New Milford, thereby securing for herself for some time, the Housatonic Valley trade, which Danbury might well have secured had she not lagged while building her railroad. Bridgeport’s move killed the colossal plan of a road from New York to Albany by way of Danbury. In the year 1850, intensive work was commenced on the Danbury-Norwalk railroad which we know today. Equip¬ ment was to include three locomotives, four first class and two second class passenger cars, eight box, 16 platform and three hand cars. March 1, 1852, trains were running. When the road was opened between Danbury and Redding, the rails in this section were laid on the ground because the earth was so frozen it wasn’t possible to dig down at all. Nor did the road owners dare to wait until spring would thaw the ground, for the people had become impatient to see the trains go through, and it was considered wiser not to delay the opening any longer. E. T. Hoyt of Danbury was first president of the road until August 25, 1864, at a fixed salary of $250 a year. He refused any increase. Ed¬ win Lockwood of Norwalk was the second president, con¬ tinuing in office until June 18, 1873. In 1882, the Danbury and Norwalk railroad was extended from South Norwalk to Wilson’s Point, three miles to the south on Long Island sound, and large docks and transfer bridges were built on the shore. Before the idea was put into practical operation, the line was leased to the Housa¬ tonic Railroad company for a term of years. This took place October 1, 1886. Danbury now sent its produce by trains as far as Wilson Point in South Norwalk where it was loaded on boats and shipped to Oyster Bay. From this point, the produce was sent over the Long Island railroad to New York city where it was distributed for points west and south. Although at first high hopes had been enter¬ tained for the plan, it did not work, for there were many storms on the Sound which caused delays. Passenger traffic TRANS P OR TA TION 221 fell off and then freight traffic became less and less until it almost ceased. October 31, 1892, the whole Housatonic system passed into the possession of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and the plan was abandoned. Although Danbury became interested in a railroad many years previous to Norwalk, the latter boasted regular train service long before the hat city. When the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad first ran its wooden cars through Norwalk, in December 1848, Canal street, New York city, was the terminal. The Grand Central was still an untouched dream. By July 15, 1857, the terminal had been moved up to 27th street and Fourth avenue and by December 1872, to 42nd street, the present line termination. Excited crowds gathered in the center of this town on the advent of the railroad’s first trip through Norwalk. Some came to scoff, some to applaud and still others out of plain curiosity. Down the line, around the curve, puff puffing as hard as it could, came the brand new train, the engine, a queer little thing not weighing much more than six tons, with a great smoke stack and a high pile of pine logs for fuel. In the front stood the engineer, a man of vast importance, in tall hat and frock coat. Behind the engine dragged a half dozen cars which looked for all the world like enlarged Concord stage coaches. The people who had gathered in the center to watch the marvel of science, held their breath in one accord when it drew near, and then, finding that the thing really did go and that Norwalk actually had a railroad right through its “midribs,” they all burst into cheers. It was a great day for Norwalk which con¬ sidered itself, from that day on, “made.” Early railroad travel was anything but pleasant. Riding was dirty and uncomfortable; there was a constant jarring with no springs to soften the bumps, and passengers often complained of headaches. Accidents were frequent and the trains were continually breaking down and requiring the as¬ sistance of farmers and oxen in order to complete the jour¬ ney. Trains were stopped by hand or foot brakes. Some- 222 ROMANCE OF NORWALK