History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

turers landed, and each would be surrounded with a throng of friends and relatives eager to bid him wel- come. These vessels made quite a numlicr of voyages with varying success, but, upon the wdiole, tlie busi- ness was not profitable, and after a few years it was discontinued. The late Deacon Sherwood Sterling was the hist secretary of the coiii|iaiiy. THE R.'ilLRUAD EPOCH. Bridgeport, from its geograjihical position, is the natural depot for the products of the valleys of the Housatonic and the Xaugatuck, and it was in order to secure the trade of Liteiifii'hl County that the New- town turnpike was cluirtiTeil, in ISOl. Elforts were made from time to time, however, lo divert this trade from Bridgeport to other ports, such as Black Rock and Norwalk. New roads were opened for this jiur- jiose, and in 1827 a company was charti'red by the Legislature with power to build a canal from the Hous- atonic River at New Milford to tide-water at Sauga- tuck Harbor. The desire to eounteraet such plans was one reason wdiy the people of Bridgeport were inclined to take an active interest in tlie project of a railroad running northward to the Massaidiusetts line when that measure was first proposed. Otlurs may have originally suggested the idea of sui-li a railroad, but to the late Alfred Bishop ludongs the credit of first taking steps to carry it into practi- cal efl'ect, and to him, as the author of its coni]ilete system of railway communication, T>ridgeiiort is cer- tainly much indebted, and owes no small degree of its present jirosperity. Mr. Bishop was born in Stamford, Conn., Dee. I'l, 179.S, but in early manhood removed to New .Tcrsey, where he engaged in fiirming. Upon his fiirni he nnide numerous personal experiments with pickaxe, shovel, and wheelbarrow, obtaining in this way exact estimates of the cost of moving masses of earth to a distance, wdiich he afterwards turned to good account in his business as a railroad contractor. Before leav- ing New Jersey he had already become known as the builder of the Morris Canal and the bridgi' over tlie Raritan at New Brunswick. In 1831!, ^Mr. Bislio|i re- moved to Bridgeport, where he built the residence upon Golden Hill Street until rec-ntly oecupiecl liy his widow. His connection with the Housatonic, New York and New Haven, and the Naugatuck Railroads is related elsewdiere. Had his life been spared, it was his intention to present to I'ridgeport a tract of land in the centre of the city fiir a jiuhlic park, but on the 11th of .Tune. 1849, at tlii' coiii]iaiatively early age of fifty-one years, be died, at Saratoga, whither he had gone for liiuidi-needed rest. .\t the funeral, which was on .Tunc 13th, his jiastor, Rev. Dr. Ilewit, preached the sei'mon, and the (Vmi- mon Council, wdiich had previously [lasscd resolutions of respect, attended in a boily. Mr. Bishop left a large estate to his family, and in his will, besides an annuity to the Rev. Dr. Hewit, 96 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY/CONNECTICUT. was a legacy of eight thousantl dollars to the American Bible Society, and another of five thousand dollars to the Ladies' Charitable Society of this city, the in- come of which is still aiiplied to benevolent i>uri)Oses. In Marcli, IS'Mi, a little gatliering of gentlemen met in the parlors of the old Sterling Hotel, to discuss the need of a railroad from Bridgeport to the northern line of the State. Eventually, they thought, this road would not only bring to Bridgeport the trade of the Housatonic valley, but would be extended from it-s southern terminus to New York, and thus become the great medium of freiglit and passenger communica- tion between that city and Albany during the winter season, when the Hudson River was closed by ice. Railroads were then in their infancy, it being but seven years since the first locomotive in the country was imported, and but two years since the Boston and Albany — the pioneer road of New England — was opened for travel, but Mr. Bishop succeeded in infus- ing some of his own enthusiasm into the gentlemen present, and before the meeting adjourned a petition for the proposed road Iiad been signed by nearly all of them. Two montlis later Enoch Foote, William Peet, W. C. Sterling, and their successors, were incor- porated by the Legislature of Connecticut under the name of "The Housatonic Railroad Company," witji authority to build a road from Sheffield, Mass., to Brookfield, Conn., and from thence to tide-water at Bridgeport, or such otlier point as might be deemed expedient. In order to aid tlie undertaking, the city of Bridge- port, at a meeting held March 2, 1837, voted to sub- scribe for stock of the new company to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, and individuals resid- ing in otlier towns ujion the route subscribed for two hundred thousand dollars more. Ex-Governor (rideon Tondinson acted for a time a.s president of the coni])any, but at the first regular election, April 5, 1837, the following persons were chosen officers of the road : William P. Burrall, President; William H. Noble, Secretary ; Jesse Ster- ling, Treasurer; William P. Burrall, Edwin Porter, Samuel Simons, Stephen Lounsbury, Charles De Forest, of Bridgeport, Anan Hine, Asa Pickett, of New Milford, Alpheus Fuller, of Kent, and Peter Bierce, of Cornwall, Directors. Mr. Horace Nichols subsequently became trea.surer of the road, and held the position until his resigna- tion, in 1848. A contract was made by the board of directors with Messi-s. Bishop and Sykes to build the entire road for the sum of $93(!,000, — viz., ca.«h, $«)3(;,0(Kt, and stock of the company at par, !?300,000. Work was commenced in .July, 1837, about three liundrcd men being employed by the contractors. Owing to the panic of 1837, which caused nearly all the banks and moneyed institutions of the countrv to suspend specie payments, sulwriptions for stock were not receive*! as rapidh' as had been anticipated, and the progress of the roan was delayed. In February, 1840, the southern division of the road — viz., from Bridgeport to New Milford — was completed and opened for travel. Tlie cost up to that time had been, for the road [iroper, iH7<),000; for cars, engines, depots, tanks, etc., $99,000; total, §575,000. The remaining portion of the road was opened Dec. ' 1,1842. Much annoyance was caused by the original track, which consisted of an iron straj) fastened upon wooden sills by spikes, which fiften became loose, when the weight of pa.ssing trains caused it to curl up into "snake-heads." In 184(5 it was replaced by iron rails of the present pattern. March 25, 1838, the city of Bridgeport voted to eon- firm the previous subscription of one hundred thou- sand dollars, and authorized an additional one of fifty thousand dollars, and Jlessrs. Henry Dutton, F. C. Ba.ssett, and Lockwood De Forest were appointed agents for the city to raise the necessary funds by I issuing coupon bonds. These bonds were paid to the railroad company in lieu of cash, and by the company were disposed of to other parties. At the May session in 1838 the Legislature by a special act validated the action of the city of Bridge- port, referred to above, in suhseribing for the stock of the Housatonic Railroad Company, and in issuing bonds in payment for the stock. This act of the General Assembly was api)roved at a city meeting held for the purpose, but no provision was made for the i)ayment of the bonds or of the coupons as they fell due. The action of the majority' was viewed with alarm by many of the leading tax-payers, who in January, 1839, api)ointed a " Council of Safety" to advise as to what measures .should be taken in regard to these bonds. This council was composed of thirteen mem- bers, Pliilo Hurd being chairman and Isaac Sherman secretary. Eminent counsel were also retjiiued by the city, and an effort was made to secure the services of Daniel Webster, but Mr. Webster was obliged to de- cline the case on account of otlier engagements. No active effort seems to have been made by any one to reinidiate the debt, but a very general <lesire was man- ifested that some competent tribunal should decide to what extent the private pro|)crty of citizens in the minority could be taken to satisfy' a debt created by the vote of a majority, many of whom were not tax- payers. In June, 1843, the railroad com|)any obtained judg- ment against the city in the Superior Court, and, an appeal to the Supreme Court of Errors having been decided in favor of the plaintiff, an execution on this judgment was issued and i)laced in the hands of Deputy Sheriff Smith, of Norwalk, to be by him levied and collected. This officer then first demanded payment of the amount from the mayor, clerk, and trea.surer of the city in turn, and then, payment not having been made, called upon them to exhibit goods, chattels, or lands belonging to the debtors, — viz., the BlUDGEPORT. 97 Mayor, Common Council, and freemen of the city, — wiiic-h they were cither unable or unwilling to do. The deputy sheriff then, acting under legal advice, broke oi)en the dry goods store fif I5ronsiin R. lieards- ley and the wholesale grocery of Niles, Thor|i i*c ( 'o., and, seizing a (|iiaiitity of gmids from the former, sold them at the post. Mr. Beardsley brought an action against the dei)uty sheriff for taking his jiroperty un- liiwrully, but in .Tune, 1844, the ease was ilecided against him. It was then carried to the Supreme Court of the State, where the decision in I'avor of the defendant was affirmed, .Tndge Church, in giving the opinion, using the folhiwing languag<> : "The city of I5ridgeport, with great delilieration anil unanimity, and under sanction of the (icneral Assembly, has contraeti-d a delit. The securities is- sued by the city have been purchased by /loiin-jii/r holders, with its assent, and upon the faith of the city and the laws. No funds, either liy taxation or otiierwise, have been providi'd for pavment. A right witho\it a remedy is not an a<lmitted priiici]ile. We know of no other practical remedy but the one to which this plaintiff has resorted."