Preface

Recently, the complete files of the Hartford Courant were made available in conjunction with newspapers.com.  I browsed the papers from 1820 to 1840 to find transportation related articles.  The following article was written to review the transportation options at the time in Hartford, which saw the peak of the stage coach era and the start of the railroads in Connecticut.  This may give some clues on why no direct rail route was constructed in northeastern Connecticut from Hartford to Worcester and Boston.

Background

After the Revolutionary War, transport of people and goods to the cities utilized sailing ships because the cities were located on the coast.  Overland travel generally consisted of short distances within a town by walking, horseback or with horse- or oxen-drawn wagons owned by farmers. The roads were at times so hard and rutted that they threatened to shake a vehicle to pieces and at other times, so muddy as to be virtually impassable. Travel over long distances was seldom made and required extensive planning. It took a week to go between New York and Boston.

Turnpike corporations formed and worked with the states along assigned routes to create roads suitable for improved travel. Connecticut chartered 77 turnpike corporations between 1790 and 1840 with the peak decade 1801 to 1810.  The large number of turnpike corporations resulted in the first large scale road building that linked cities overland in the new country.  More than 1,600 miles of turnpikes were built in Connecticut during this period and included the first bridge over the Connecticut River.

The most profitable turnpikes were from New Haven to Hartford, Hartford to Worcester and Boston, and Hartford to Albany.  By 1825, more than half of the turnpike ventures in the country were either partially or totally abandoned. In these cases, the town became responsible for maintaining the turnpikes. Most Connecticut turnpike corporations ceased before 1840, but most turnpikes remained open to the public. Many of the current state routes are closely aligned with the turnpikes.

The improvements in roads created a demand for better wheeled vehicles and allowed stagecoaches to become more regular during the early 1800s. The turnpikes allowed increased pleasure travel and commercial travel for farmers and allowed the textile industry to develop on inland rivers.  The building of the turnpikes significantly improved the comfort and speed for overland travel. Benjamin Silliman wrote in 1819 about his travels on a turnpike as: “The fine turnpike we commenced our journey was but a few years since a most rugged and uncomfortable road; now we passed it with ease and rapidity, scarcely perceiving its beautiful undulations.“

One of the earliest textile mills was built by John Warburton in 1795, powered by the Tankerhoosen River in Vernon, to make stocking yarns and threads.   Peter Dobson, a manufacturing genius who emigrated from England, settled in Vernon, set up the first cotton spinning machinery in the state in 1810 and it made a variety of cotton yarn to sell to farmers’ wives to be woven into cloth on hand looms. The women made bed sheets, and other types of cloth were made into clothes.  Later factories made finished linen products. When the factories were built on the rivers in eastern Connecticut, it was easier when they were located near a turnpike to obtain supplies and to send the final product to the population centers using heavy wagons drawn by four, six and eight horses or oxen.

Hartford: Hub for Water and Land Transportation

Hartford was a major harbor for schooners, sloops and steamboats that traveled to New York on a regular basis via the Connecticut River carrying freight and passengers. By 1835, some lines had their sailing ships towed up and down river when necessary to maintain the schedule. All travel on the

Connecticut River ceased when the river froze over in the winter for several months each year.  When the river closed, teams using covered wagons provided for the delivery of goods to Boston and New Haven. 

Active stagecoach lines came from New Haven on a daily basis via the Berlin Turnpike.  Most lines east to Worchester, Boston or Providence originated from Hartford because of the bridge over the river.  Other well-traveled stagecoach routes went to Albany and Massachusetts.   Hartford became a major junction for the land and water routes between New York and Boston. Hartford had hotels for food and relaxation, such as the Hartford Hotel, the National Hotel, and the United States Hotel.

The Courant listed nine Schooners and 16 sloops that arrived in Hartford in one week in 1835 with  25 departures.  (7 /27/1835).  The larger ships took up to 100 passengers and freight on their trips.  From the advertisements in the Hartford Courant, one or more were departing each day to arrive in New York the following morning.  By 1830 two steamships also traveled between Hartford and New York.  In the 1830s, the number of steamships increased and competition was fierce for passengers with a $2 fare to New York.  (HC 11/25/1835).  In the long summer days, the steamships could travel in daylight by leaving at 6 AM.  In 1836, the Bunker Hill and Cleopatra both left Hartford on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 PM for an overnight trip to New York.  However, the Bunker Hill published a notice it would leave at two minutes past two “to prevent the reckless destruction of their property and to place the traveling community in a situation where they shall not be necessarily exposed to injury.”  (HC 9/26/1836).

The stagecoach routes to Worcester and Boston departed daily, except Sundays.  In the 1830s, there were routes from four companies thru Tolland to Worcester departing Hartford at 9 PM, 3 AM, 6 AM and at 7 AM with some continuing to Boston.  Fares were $2 to Worcester and $4 to Boston. (HC 1 /13/1834).  There was also a direct route between Boston and New Haven that connected with a ship to New York over the Middle Turnpike with an overnight stay in Ashford.

Occasionally, stagecoach accidents were reported.  A serious accident occurred in Ashford when the coach descending a hill covered with ice slid from the road and was thrown over a railing and down a steep bank.  Several passengers were bruised and the driver broke his arm.  The horses became frightened and ran off with the front wheels.  One horse was badly damaged. (HC 1/13/1834)

The stagecoach allowed communication of news with the outside world and with the government centers in Hartford and New Haven and the commercial centers of New York and Boston to the small towns. The taverns at which stages stop were well kept and furnished with every accommodation.   The stage passed “ the most beautiful villages in New England and through a part of the county known for its beauty.” (7/6/1835)

Railroad: Hartford-to Worcester 

In 1830, the first railroad to transport passengers opened in Baltimore. By 1832, investors in Boston started to build railroads to Providence, Lowell, and Worcester.   By 1834, the Boston to Worcester railroad was 2/3 completed.  There were 9 stage lines between Hartford and Boston.  One stagecoach line adjusted their schedule to meet the railroad so that riders could leave Hartford at 3AM and be in Boston by 5PM with the stage meeting the railroad.

A charter for a railroad was granted from Hartford to Vernon to Bolton Notch to serve the quarry at the notch and the Vernon mills.  The Hartford and New Haven Railroad was raising money to start construction.  The railroad estimated the number of passengers using the stages between New Haven and Hartford were 18,000 per year and by steamboats between New York and Hartford to be about 30,000.  The number of passengers by steamboat from New York to Providence was estimated to be 50,000.  The railroad estimated there would be 7000 tons of freight annually from Meriden and Wallingford.  The railroad estimated that the manufacturers in Vernon used 10,000 tons of raw materials and returned it in manufactured articles.

A letter to the Hartford Courant from ‘S’ on Nov 24, 1834 indicated he attended the opening of the second section of the Boston-Worcester railroad with the Governor and many officials in attendance.  It was indicated the railroad would be extended westward beyond Worcester.  The officials of the present Worcester and Boston Road see “so much in favor of the route through Tolland to Hartford, that nothing but opposition, or apathy, on the part of our citizens will prevent it from coming here. “

On Dec 15, another letter indicated the Massachusetts legislature might decide on a route in January.  In March, the petition to the Massachusetts legislature for the Hartford Worcester railroad was referred to the following session.  Several cities organized meetings to discuss details for proposed routes to Boston or Worcester

Jan 26, 1835, ’W’ wrote to the editor:

“It is astonishing that there is so much apathy and indifference on the subject of a railroad from Hartford to connect with the Worcester railroad.  Delays are dangerous and surely it is in the case before us:  for the citizens of Hartford may be assured that if there is not a united effort made to retain and improve the advantages that we process, they will be improved by others.”

A series of meetings were organized to present the merits of the proposed routes and the effects on the local citizen.  A meeting in Hartford wanted to connect the New Haven Hartford line by the shortest practical route to Worcester.  The proposed direct route went from Worcester to Southbridge, Sturbridge, Brimfield, and Wales in MA and Stafford, Tolland, Vernon, Manchester, East Hartford to Hartford. 

Delegates from all the affected towns met on March 16 in Hartford to consider the construction of such a line. It was stated that the work would increase the population, advance trade and commerce, and more fully develop local resources.

A meeting in Windham considered the route proposed from Bolton Notch through the Hop River valley in Coventry to Windham, Chaplin, Ashford, Woodstock to Southbridge to meet the railroad proceeding west from Worcester.   The meeting wanted the proposed route surveyed to develop a cost estimate.

Norwich on January 12, 1835 proposed that an existing charter from Norwich to Boston be changed to Worcester and go through Ward, Oxford, Webster and Dudley in MA and the Quinebaug Valley in CT. This could be combined with a new road from Norwich to Windham to Bolton to connect with the charter from Hartford to Bolton.  There were many manufacturers along these routes that benefit from the railroad. 

The fourth route was to have the road go through Springfield and connect with a road south to Hartford along the Connecticut River.  This route would be 75 miles, longer than the direct route of 50 miles.

A convention was held in Worcester on July 2^nd to discuss rail routes to Hartford with 300 delegates.  About 60 delegates were named from Central Connecticut for each of the towns that for which a proposed railroad line would transverse.  Hartford named 34 men.  Nine men represented Vernon and Stafford and six represented Windham.  (No delegates were named from Tolland.)  Additional delegates represented the Norwich proposal and Massachusetts towns.  Reports were presented for each of the routes.

The convention decided that “it is inexpedient to express any opinion as to the best mode for extending the railroad from Worcester towards New York.”  Reports were given for each of the routes.  One resolution recommended the terminus of the Norwich line be Worcester, instead of Boston.  The supporters of the direct route had few particulars on the route compared to the other routes but seem to have the most support. (HC 7/13/35).

‘Charter Oak’ wrote a lengthy letter (HC 7/20/1835) extolling the virtues of the direct route to Hartford from Worcester.  He wrote “Citizens of Hartford!  Are you willing to let the other projects go forward and you remain silent?”

The rail line was completed to Worcester from Boston in the spring of 1835 with the total trip, including stops, taking three hours. 

The final Route from Worcester to Springfield was decided at the end of the year and the work was put under a contract for construction.  It was completed in 1840 to Springfield and Albany by 1842.  The Norwich and Worcester railroad was completed in 1840.  The road from New Haven to Hartford was completed in 1839 and extended to Springfield in 1840.  The Hartford, Bolton, and Windham route was completed as part of the Newberg to Providence Railroad in 1850.

However, neither the direct route from Vernon to Worcester or the route south from Southbridge to Windham were started.  Why were these routes never built?  One may have been the apathy of the investors and citizens of Hartford and the towns along the route.  The other was the opposition from investors that were making money from the continuation of the stages.

At the time, Tolland had a large political influence on state politics and none of the leaders attended the Worcester Convention.  And opposition came from the tavern owner, Elijah Smith, where at least two stage routes changed their horses.  In 1836, the Hartford and Worcester Railroad Turnpike Corporation was formed to develop a turnpike from the Centre Turnpike in Willington or Ashford to the Worcester Railroad Station. Elijah Smith, the tavern owner was a founder of the corporation and Loren Waldo was on a committee to determine the final route. This was an effort to continue traffic on the Centre Turnpike with connections to the Worcester rail line. The turnpike was never built.

By 1851, the last stagecoach traveled from Hartford to Worcester and travelers transferred to the railroads.