History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Harris L. Crofut. neces.sary, and the tbilowiiig-nained were authorized "On the south side the hrst house was that now to rec<Mve subscriptions : Russell Hoyt, .larvis Brush, owned by Mrs. Betsy Rosebaum, on the corner of Aaron Seelev, Ephraim (iregory, Starr Nichids,( ieorge Rose Street. In the rear stood the Metliodist meet- t'lapp, Starr I'erry, Isaac H. Seeley. Nathaniel H. iug-house of that day. Wildinan, William .1. Strci't, and Henry Sherwuod. "(ieorge Lovelace lived next, where (ieorge W. The road was authorized to run from I )anbury by the Wilson now lives. most direct and feasible rollti' to some suitable point " The third and last house on that side was occupied at tiilc-watcr in cither the town of Fairfiehl m- the by Darius Barnum. It stood nearly opposite Mr. E. S. town of N(U-walk. Davis" place." "This was all down on paper and looki'd nice I enough, but the trouble had not licgiin. The charter was got and a survey made, and everything scemeil to indicate a speedy completion of the road. lUit a gen- erati(m was toiiassbel'me the lio]iefid project! n-s should DANBURY (Continued). ^^-e a railroad from Danbury to tide-water, and belbrc lutonml ln,i.r<.v.m<.nt.s-a»iul frum Dani.ury t„ Westi.<.rt-The Fuir- that glad consummation a mountain of worry, oppo- fleia Kailroad Ct>mpnTi.v—XfW Y.iik to .\lliany rill Diiiil.nry— Interest- sitioU, and disciiuragelnent was to be painfully scaled, iiig rigme.s— Tho Diiiit.nry an.l N.mvalk Ui.ilrt.ad— Tho Kidgidickl _^^ j,-j ,||^, |..|^,^, ,,f.,ll entill>rises l.emtitim;- a .•.inilliun- Branch — Mis.enaiieD.is. . ,. , ,. . .. i !■ ■ i i i-^ + i ity, a f.'W ..Illy ot its pn.fessed friends were l.dt to do " As the town grew and its business grew the demand the work, w bile the mass either stood idle or suggested for a better means of transportation began to make obstacles with a fertility of resource that was as amaz- itselffelt. There are in every age and in every com- , ing as it was exa.sperating. Conspicuous among the munity, fortunately, progressive spirits who are al- workers for the project were Eli T. Hoyt an.l the late ways restless, because they are always lo(d<ing I'or Aanm Seeley. something better than what is alri'ady jiossesse.l. "The r.iad as it was first contemi.latcd ami as it Danbury was blesse.l with this element, and those linally took shape wer.' twn .lillerent pr..jects. Most who composed it chafed under the limitations of the of our read.'rs are n.it aware that in Danbury's tirst stage-coach and the slow-plo.hling road-wag.ms. inception of railway communication with the outer "In bSio, when the Erie Canal project was being worhl the somcwdiat c.dossal project of a through-line agitated, the public attention throughout the country from New "i'ork to Albany by way of this (.lace was was directed to the snl)jeet of inside watcr-cimmuni- entertained, and that the Danl.iiry ami N..rwalk Rail- i cation, and the agitation reached Danbury, being way is to-day part of that selnine, ami all. in fact, [ drawn here by tlie iirogressive spirits of that day. It that is left of it, 'I1i.' propos.'d r..ute was to niii from ' was propo.sed to run a canal fr.mi Danbury to the t hi.'- New York by b.iat t.i Wils..irs I'oint, on tin' Snuml, CHAPTER XIX. 206 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. Idur iiiiK's l)eli)\v Xorwalk. Tlic harbor tliort' war* the best in that seetion, aiul would be acccssililc for the greater |)art of the most severe winter. From the Point to l)anl>urv the rail Wiis to run, and tliencc to West Stoekbridge, Mjiss., where the line would con- nect with what is now the Boston and Albany road, and whieli wa-s then liuilding from Albanj- to West Stoekhridge. This, of course, wa.s before the day of the Harlem road and in the beginning of railway en- terprise in this country, — at a time wlien railways were mainly opposed on the very substantial grounds that cattle would get on the tracks and be killed. " We shall speak first of the line from Danbury to tide-water, known in the charter as 'The Fairfield County Hailroail.' The survey was made by Alexan- der Twining, of New Haven, in the summer of lS;i5. "Two surveys were made, — one along the Sauga- tuck River to Compo Point below Westport, and the other along the present route to Belden's Neck (Wil- son's Point). The di.stanee on the Saugatuck route was about twenty-three miles, and on the Norwalk route to Belden's Neck it was twenty-six miles. In point of distance to New York, however, the latter route had tlic advantage in that it was seven miles nearer to that city by the cliannel than the former. It is not necessary to speak further of the Saugatuck route, as it was abandoned. "The Norwalk survey, as first made by Jlr. Twi- , ning, was considerably changed before the work on the road commenced. At this end of the route it was first designed to leave Bethel out, running the road through Mountainville along the line of Simpaug Brook, and coming into the borough across South Street and parallel with Main on the east to Turner Street, where it was designed to have the station. Mr. Twining recommended, however, that, instead of fol- lowing the Simpaug, the road branch to the east and run through Ura-ssy Plain into Bethel, and thus secure an important station with but a little increase in dis- tance. The suggesti(m wa.s accepted so far as Bethel Wiis concerned, but the route at the south end of the village was not materially changed. Some one did speak of the line which is now occupied, but it was scouted at the time. The great flat between the lower bridge and Bethel was a bog, and some very wise citi- zen said at the time that two twelve-foot rails could be pushed down into it their full length without touching bottom. The route along the east of Main Street was strongly opposed by the owners of seven- teen homesteads, who gloomily anticipated destruc- tion to their cows and pigs by crossing the track. Mr. Twining hinted that the difficulty in building the road at Hubbell's Hill could be avoided by following the Norwalk valley into its extension Sugar Hollow and thus come into Hanbury on the west side; but this was not ftirther considered. " While tlii'se surveys were going <in the frieu<ls of the project had thel* heads full of a through New York and .Mbany lim', and, although their charter provided for a road from Danlmry direct to tide-water only, they dreamed of the through-line and worked for it. It wiis, to speak mildly, a stupendous enter- prise for a town of less than six thousand inhabitants to take hold of and attempt to carry through, for as yet there was no organized eftbrt in this direction out- side of Danbury. But the progressive ones of that day worked hard for success, and earned it even if they did not receive it." FROM NEW YORK TO ALBANY TM DANBURY. " .Vs we have said, during the project of a road from Danbury to tide-water the projectors never lost sight of the feasibility of a through winter route from New York to Albany. This was a crying demand in both cities, and the Hudson River for a railway-line was not thought of ; neither, in fact, was the route through Putnam County, now known as the Harlem road. .\nd a railway-line between the two cities by way of Dan- bury was not so much out of the way, after all. " The distance by the Hudson River, the most direct route, is one hundred and fifty miles; by way of Dan- bury it is but fourteen miles greater, as the following will show : MilcK. From Now York \ty stcamlwat to Boldon's Nock 40 B}' niilwny to Danttur>- 2G From Daiilmr)' to Went Stockliritlge 08 From West Stockbriilge to .\lbany 30 Whoto distance 104 " Mr. Twining recommended this through-route and Messrs. .Varon Seeley, Eli T. Hoyt, and .larvis Brush, to whom the surveyor made his report, pub- lished a card indorsing the .same. " It may not be uninteresting to our readers of thi.-- day to know what were some of the grounds on which was ba.sed a calculation in favor of a railway-line front Danbury to New York, and we herewith give the views of the gentlemen above named, as well a- their estimate of the through-business. It present- most interesting reading, we think, to thisgeneratii>n, and the figures contemplated and those realized make entertaining comparisons. The committee advance these views in favorof direct rail-communication with tide-water : "* Tlio town of Dftnliur.v* rolitiiiiiH a iHtpuliition of nlMillt GOtiO. ami th village of Danbury is tlie ccntnil |»oinl of ImsiiivM for a fertile an>i (lea^u'Iy-ixntnlated lerritor>* of 200 wiiiaro miles. The present nnnainl of Iranslxtrtation fnim this and the adjoining towns, as ascertained by intpiiry of |H'rs4Mis enxageil in bnsiness, is 7000 tons. This amount hM actually been lrans|Kiile.l diiHng the |>ast year. Much, however, hi* been necessarily overlooked in the estiniate, and the amount has l>e«n for the last ten years, unil is now, Kraduiilly incri'Hsing. Tliese conpider*- tions alone, without Inking into the i^slimale the imimlse which experi- ence has shown will l»e given by a railroad to nil bninchcs of buslni.ss,cn. able nstostjite with conlidence that the trans|H)rlation nisiii this rvuiil, U|ioD Its flnt o]tening, will l>e 10,tKHl tons. The regular price now pni<l fur fn'ight to those evclnsively engaged in transiHirtation from I>anbury to Saugatuck anil Norwalk is $.*i pi'r ton. Assuming the minimum price for trnnsportatinh n|N)n the railrxtad to Ite 93 per ton, the anninil revenne from this source alone will l.e SUV'*'. I" which may be adde.1 for freight from the towns sontli of Dunleiry, which will pr>il<aMy W nearly cpial upon eithor route, J'.ailK),— making in the whole Slj,ooo, and the ililTir- onco twtwoen that amount and tho price now paid, Iteing $20,000, will be * Tills inclnded Bethel. — EniToR .Vcirr. DANBURY. 2()'J