Rail Ports: the Collaboration of Railroad & Coastal Steamboat
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University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 2016 Rail Ports: The Collaboration of Railroad & Coastal Steamboat Companies in New England in the 1840s Laura K. Hoglund University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Hoglund, Laura K., "Rail Ports: The Collaboration of Railroad & Coastal Steamboat Companies in New England in the 1840s" (2016). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 855. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/855 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RAIL PORTS: THE COLLABORATION OF RAILROAD & COASTAL STEAMBOAT COMPANIES IN NEW ENGLAND IN THE 1840s BY LAURA K. HOGLUND A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2016 MASTER OF ARTS THESIS OF LAURA K. HOGLUND APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor Rod Mather Michael Honhart Kristine Bovy Nasser H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2016 ABSTRACT Prior to the development of railroad travel in New England, the primary mode of transportation was the stagecoach, a slow and uncomfortable vehicle. Steamboats traveled between coastal cities, but were more limited in their routes than stagecoaches and averaged the same amount of travel time. Desire for faster travel times, specifically between New York City and Boston, accelerated technological advancements that led to the development of a fledgling railroad network in New England by the second quarter of the nineteenth century. It also led to increased collaboration between railroad and steamboat companies, each offering combination routes to save time. The Long Island Railroad Company (LIRRC) was one of many railroad companies that took part in this transportation revolution. It was also one of many to experience financial hardship and one of the few to escape complete failure following the economic Panic of 1837. LIRRC trains departed Brooklyn and arrived in Greenport, at the northeastern end of Long Island, three hours later. Passengers then took a ferry across Long Island Sound to either Stonington or Norwich, Connecticut and then continued to Boston by railroad. This route was poised to cut travel time between New York and Boston nearly in half, but lasted only two and a half years. This study will examine the impact of financial hardship on the LIRRC’s quest to offer the fastest route between New York and Boston. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am extremely grateful to my major professor, Rod Mather, his guidance helped give this thesis direction and shape. And also to my committee members, Kristine Bovy and Michael Honhart, for their input from a perspective outside of maritime history. I would like to acknowledge my parents, Andy and Chris Hoglund, who supported me in one educational endeavour after another in the Midwest and New England. I would also like to acknowledge my grandmother, Mary Geraghty Hoglund, for encouraging my interest in history and imparting to me the grammatical wisdom of her years as a high school English teacher. Finally, I would like to thank Robert Ballard and Ken Marshall for authoring and illustrating Exploring the Titanic which book I read in the third grade at my elementary school library and which first sparked in me an interest in maritime history and specifically my interest in steamships. The narrative of the Titanic is an unyieldingly fascinating one that has now held my interest for 20 years with many more to come. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ...................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................. v Introduction: The Past and Present of Transportation ................................ 1 A New Company: The Future of Transportation ......................................... 7 Business Plan & Stockholders ................................................................. 15 Relationship with the B&J ......................................................................... 21 Beginning Construction (1836-1840) ........................................................ 27 Finishing Construction (1840-1844) ......................................................... 35 Steamboats .............................................................................................. 42 Cornelius Vanderbilt ................................................................................. 48 Conclusion: Downfall ................................................................................ 55 Bibliographic Essay .................................................................................. 57 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 61 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Southern New England ............................................................... 6 Figure 2: Counties of Long Island (1832) ................................................. 12 Figure 3: Counties of Long Island (2016) ................................................. 12 Figure 4: David Bates Douglass ............................................................... 13 Figure 5: The Brooklyn & Jamaica section of the LIRR ............................ 13 Figure 6: Map showing the United States within North America ............... 14 Figure 7: Map showing New York State within the United States ............. 14 Figure 8: Map showing Long Island within New York State ...................... 14 Figure 9: LIRR Stock Certificate ............................................................... 20 Figure 10: Map showing the entire route of the LIRR ............................... 33 Figure 11: Topographic map of Long Island ............................................. 34 Figure 12: Valentine Hicks ....................................................................... 41 Figure 13: Map showing the LIRR’s steamboat connections .................... 46 Figure 14: Map showing Southern New England railroads....................... 47 Figure 15: Map showing the LIRR’s railroad connections ........................ 47 Figure 16: Cornelius Vanderbilt ................................................................ 54 Figure 17: List of members of the LIRRC’s Board of Directors (1845) ..... 55 Figure 18: Map showing route of Vanderbilt’s Independent Line .............. 56 v Introduction: The Past & Present of Transportation Traveling between Boston and New York City in the early-nineteenth century was a daunting task. It required a days-long commitment to travel and several interruptions along the way. In 1830, the fastest form of transportation in the eastern United States was the stagecoach. Three types of stagecoaches operated during this time: mail-only and mail and passenger, were both referred to as ‘mail coaches.’ The third type was passenger only or ‘accommodation’ coaches. Most accommodation coaches left their departure point early in the morning, traveled for between 12 and 17 hours, stopped at a tavern overnight, and left early the next morning for another long day of travel arriving at their destination on the evening of the second day. On longer trips a third day or partial day of travel was required. Most mail coaches, however, followed a different schedule. They usually left late at night, traveled all night, made stops along the way, and arrived at their destination on the morning of the third day. Return trips usually followed the same route in reverse stopping at most, if not all, of the same places.1 A typical stagecoach route between Boston and New York traveled through and stopped at several cities along the way including Worcester, Springfield, Providence, Hartford, New Haven, or New London (Figure 1). Each of these routes took over 24 hours to travel the entire distance of about 200 miles. One specific mail coach traveling between Boston and New York left Boston at 10pm, stopped in Worcester at 3:30am, Hartford at 1pm, New Haven at 8pm, and arrived in New York at 10am the 1 Badger and Porter, comp., Stage Register (Boston: Badger and Porter, 6 Sep 1825), 1-14; Badger and Porter, comp., Stage Register (Boston: Badger and Porter, 7 Mar 1826), 1-16; Badger and Porter, comp., Stage Register (Boston: Badger and Porter, 2 Mar 1830), 1-27. 1 following morning; 36 hours later. A Boston accommodation coach followed a similar route leaving Boston at 5am, arriving in Ashford, Connecticut in time “to sup and lodge,” departed Ashford at 5am the next morning, arrived in Hartford at 11am, and New Haven at 7pm in time to travel to New York by steamboat from New Haven.2 Even before the collaboration of railroad and coastal steamboat companies, similar arrangements existed with stagecoach companies. Looking at a stagecoach route listing for New England from the 1830s, it is clear that Boston and New York were the most important cities in the region. They were the hubs of travel for New England stagecoaches just as they continue to be hubs of travel today.3 Prior