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VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN IN 1816
A HISTORY
OF THE
CITY OF BROOKLYN
AND
KINGS COUNTY
BY
STEPHEN M. OSTRANDER, M.A.
LATE MEMBER OF THE HOLLAND SOCIETY, THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THB SOCIETY OF OLD BROOKLYNITES
EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, BY
ALEXANDER BLACK
AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF OHIO," ETC
IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II.
BROOKLYN
HHtbltfiljra bv> Subscription i894
Copyright, 1894, Bv ANNIE A. OSTRANDER.
All rights reserved.
(£f)i£ ^BtJttion ijj limitcb to JFtbc Copied, of tnbict tibijj tjj &*.A.
IS
CONTENTS
CHAPTER IX
BROOKLYN AFTER THE REVOLUTION 1784-1810
Effect of the British Occupation on Life and Business in the County. Brooklyn particularly disturbed. Town Meetings resumed. The Prison Ships and their Terri- ble Legacy. Tragedies of the Wallabout. Movement to honor the Dead. Burial of the Remains. The Tammany Enterprise and the Removal of the Bones. Further Removal to Fort Greene. Organization of the Brooklyn Fire Department. The Ferry. The Mail Stage. New Roads. Planning " Olympia." Early Advertisements. Circulating Library and Schools. The Rain-water Doctor. Kings County Medical So- ciety. Flatlands. Gravesend. Flatbush, the County Seat. Mills. Erasmus Hall. New Utrecht. Bush- wick, its Church, Tavern, Graveyard, and Mills. The Boundary Dispute. The Beginnings of Williamsburgh. Rival Ferries. « The Father of Williamsburgh " . .
CHAPTER X
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 1811-1833
Brooklyn during the " Critical Period " in American His- tory. The Embargo and the War of 1812. Military Preparations. Fortifications. Fort Greene and Cob- ble Hill. Peace. Robert Fulton. The "Nassau's" First Trip. Progress of Fulton Ferry. The Village incorporated. First Trustees. The Sunday-School Union. Long Island Bank. Board of Health. The Sale of Liquor. Care of the Poor. Real Estate. Vil-
610267
CONTENTS
lage Expenses. Guy's Picture of Brooklyn in 1820. The Village of that Period. Characters of the Period. Old Families and Estates. The County Courts re- moved to Brooklyn. Apprentices' Library. Prisoners at the Almshouse. Growth of the Village. The Brook- lyn "Evening Star." Movement for Incorporation as a City. Opposition of New York. Passage of the Incorporation Act 47
CHAPTER XI
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 1834-1860
Government of the City. George Hall, first Mayor. Plans for a City Hall. Contention among the Alder- men. Albert G. Stevens and the Clerkship. The Jamaica Railroad. Real Estate. The "Brooklyn Eagle." Walt Whitman. Henry C. Murphy. Brooklyn City Railroad. The City Court established. County Institutions. The Penitentiary. Packer Institute and the Polytechnic. Williamsburgh becomes a City. Progress of Williamsburgh. Mayor Wall and the Aldermen. Discussion of Annexation with Brooklyn. The "Brooklyn Times." Consolidation of the Two Cities. Mayor Hall's Address. Nassau Water Com- pany and the Introduction of Ridgewood Water. Plans for New Court House. Proposal to use Washington Park. County Cares and Expenditures. Metropolitan Police
CHAPTER XII
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR I86I-I865
Election of Mayor Kalbfleisch. The Call for Troops. The Militia. Filling the Regiments. Money for Equip- ment. Rebuking Disloyalty. War Meeting at Fort Greene. Work of Women. The County sends 10,000 Men in 1861. Launching of the Monitor at Green- point. The Draft Riots. Colonel Wood elected Mayor. Return of the "Brooklyn Phalanx." The
CONTENTS V
Sanitary Fair. Its Features and Successes. The Calico Ball. Significance of the Fair. The Christian Com- mission. Action of the Supervisors of the County. The Oceanus Excursion. Storrs and Beecher at Sum- ter. News of Lincoln's Death. Service of the Na- tional Guard. The "Fighting Fourteenth." The Newspapers. Court House finished 117
CHAPTER XIII
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 1866-1876
Administration of Samuel Booth. Metropolitan Sanitary District created. Cholera. Erie Basin Docks. The County Institutions and their Work. The Gowanus Canal and the Wallabout Improvement. The Depart- ment of Survey and Inspection of Buildings. Estab- lishing Fire Limits. Building Regulations. Prospect Park. The Ocean Parkway. The Fire Department. The Public Schools. The East River Bridge. Early Discussion of the Great Enterprise. The Construction begun. Death of Roebling. The Ferries. Messages of Mayor Kalbfleisch. Erection of a Brooklyn Depart- ment of Police. Samuel S. Powell again Mayor. A New City Charter. Movement toward Consolidation with New York. Henry Ward Beecher. Frederick A. Schroeder elected Mayor 132
CHAPTER XIV
THE MODERN CITY 1877-1893
Rapid Transit. James Howell, Jr., elected Mayor. Work on the Bridge. Passage of " Single Head " Bill. John Fiske on the "Brooklyn System." Seth Low elected Mayor. His Interpretation of the " Brooklyn System." Reelection of Low. Opening of the Bridge. Bridge Statistics. Ferries and Water Front. Erie Basin. The Sugar Industry. Navy Yard. Wallabout Market. Development of the City. Prospect Park. Theatres and Public Buildings. National Guard. Public
Vi CONTENTS
Schools. Brooklyn Institute. Private Educational Institutions. Libraries. Churches, Religious Societies, Hospitals, and Benevolent Associations. Clubs. Lit- erature, Art, and Music. The Academy of Music. " The City of Homes " 167
APPENDIX 264
INDEX 271
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME II
VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN IN 1816. (From the Village Map of Jeremiah Lott, 1816, and the Map by Pop- pleton and Lott in 1819, showing Pierrepont and adjacent Estates) Frontispiece
EARLY FERRY ADVERTISEMENT. (From Historical Sketch of Fulton Ferry and its Associated Ferries, 1879) Facing page 28
FERRY PASSAGE CERTIFICATE, 1816 40
FULTON FERRY BOAT WM. CUTTING, BUILT IN 1827.
(From Historical Sketch of Fulton Ferry) .... 62
GUY'S SNOW SCENE IN BROOKLYN, 1820. (From the
Painting owned by the Brooklyn Institute) ... 70
FAC-SIMILE (same size) OF LETTER BY WALT WHIT- MAN IN POSSESSION OF CHARLES M. SKINNER, ESQ., BROOKLYN 90
CRUISER BROOKLYN, BUILT IN 1858 122
STATUE OF HENRY WARD BEECHER IN FRONT OF
CITY HALL. (From a Drawing by H. D. Eggleston) 140
STATUE OF J. S. T. STRANAHAN AT THE ENTRANCE TO PROSPECT PARK. (From a Drawing by H. D. Eggleston) 180
STATUE OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON IN FRONT OF
HAMILTON CLUB HOUSE 200
APPENDIX CHART SHOWING EAST RIVER SOUNDINGS AND PIER
LINES . ... . 262
HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
CHAPTER IX
BROOKLYN AFTER THE REVOLUTION
1784-1810
Effect of the British Occupation on Life and Business in the County. Brooklyn particularly disturbed. Town Meetings resumed. The Prison Ships and their Terri- ble Legacy. Tragedies of the Wallabout. Movement to honor the Dead. Burial of the Remains. The Tammany Enterprise and the Removal of the Bones. Further Removal to Fort Greene. Organization of the Brooklyn Fire Department. The Ferry. The Mail Stage. New Roads. Planning "Olympia." Early Advertisements. Circulating Library and Schools. The Rain-water Doctor. Kings County Medical So- ciety. Flatlands. Gravesend. Flatbush, the County Seat. Mills. Erasmus Hall. New Utrecht. Bush- wick, its Church, Tavern, Graveyard, and Mills. The Boundary Dispute. The Beginnings of Williamsburgh. Rival Ferries. " The Father of Williamsburgh."
DURING the whole period of the Revolution Brooklyn had been peculiarly disturbed. More than any other of the county towns, it had been distracted and prostrated. Farms had been pillaged and the property of exiled Whigs
2 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
given over to Tory friends of the Governor. Military occupation naturally resulted in great damage to property. " Farmers were despoiled of their cattle, horses, swine, poultry, vegeta- bles, and of almost every necessary article of subsistence, except their grain, which fortu- nately had been housed before the invasion. Their houses were also plundered of every article which the cupidity of a lawless soldiery deemed worthy of possession, and much furni- ture was wantonly destroyed. At the close of this year's campaign, De Heister, the Hessian general, returned to Europe with a shipload of plundered property." 1 While the other towns were receiving pay for the board of prisoners, and thus being justified in maintain- ing their crops, Brooklyn remained a garrison town until the end.
After the evacuation, Brooklyn's farmers and tradesmen at once turned their attention to the restoration of the orderly conditions existing before the war. It also became neces- sary to reorganize the local government. In April, 1784, was held the first town meeting since April, 1776. Jacob Sharpe was chosen town clerk, and Leffert Lefferts, the previous clerk, was called upon to produce the town
1 Stiles, i. p. 326.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 3
records. The result of this demand has already been described in the reference to the missing records.
Before proceeding further with the narrative of Brooklyn's growth after the Revolution, it will be necessary to return for a moment to certain sad circumstances that followed the battle of Brooklyn and other successes of the British. The battle of Long Island was fought August 27, 1776, and Fort Washington was captured in November. These victories gave the British between 4000 and 5000 prisoners. At that time there were only two small jails in New York city. One was called the Bride- well, and was situated in Broadway near Cham- bers Street, and the other was known as the New Jail. These prisons could not accommo- date the daily increasing number of prisoners. It was a dark hour in American history ; suc- cess seemed to perch upon the banners of the enemy. Large accessions of prisoners were made, and quarters had to be provided for them. The churches were taken without ceremony and converted into receptacles for the captives. The sugar-houses were used for the same pur- pose. One of these was situated in Liberty Street, adjoining the old Middle Dutch Church. That church was also used. Within its walls
4 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
thousands of prisoners were placed, regardless of comfort or sanitary rules. If its walls could speak they would tell a tale which would make a sad record.
The old North Dutch Church on the corner of Fair Street and Horse and Cart Lane (now Fulton and William streets) was also used as a prison pen, and within its walls a thousand persons were held. Within a few years this venerable landmark has succumbed to the march of progress.
The infamous Cunningham was at this time provost marshal of the city. He possessed the instincts of a brute, and often seemed to own the spirit of a demon. The sick and dying received no sympathy or care from him. Healthy men were placed in the same room with those having the smallpox and other maladies. Prisoners were not allowed suffi- cient food or bedding, and their clothes were scanty. The food was not fit to give to the beasts. The men must have reached the verge of starvation to induce them to partake of the unwholesome mess of wormy and mouldy food dealt out to them. The allowance made to the men was a loaf of bread, one quart of peas, half a pint of rice, and one and a half pounds of pork for six days. Large numbers
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 5
died from want, privation, and exhaustion. So crowded were these prisons that there was no room to lie down and rest. The impure atmosphere engendered disease. Every morn- ing the cry was heard, " Rebels, bring out your dead." All who had died during the night were carelessly thrown into the dead-cart and carried to the trenches in the neighborhood of Canal Street, and buried without a vestige of ceremony.
But the horrors of the city prisons were more than repeated in the tragedies of the prison ships in the bend of the Wallabout. The first vessels used were the freight trans- ports which had been employed in conveying troops to Staten Island in 1776. These trans- ports were for a short time anchored in Grave- send Bay, and received the prisoners taken on Long Island. When New York was con- quered they were removed to the city. The Good Hope and Scorpion for a while were anchored off the Battery, and subsequently were taken to Wallabout Bay, and with other vessels were used as prisons. Two vessels at a time were kept in this service. Among the vessels thus used were the Whitley, Fal- mouth, Prince of Wales, Scorpion, Bristol, and Old Jersey.
6 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
In 1780 one of the vessels was burned by the unhappy captives, who hoped thereby to regain their liberty. The effort was unsuc- cessful, and the prisoners were removed to the Old Jersey, which continued in service until the end of the war.
Wallabout Bay had the shape of a horse- shoe. The Jersey was anchored at a point which is now represented by the west end of the Cob Dock. If Cumberland Street were continued in a straight line to a point between the Navy Yard proper and the Cob Dock, it would pass over the spot where this vessel was anchored.
Historians agree in saying that the treat- ment on all these vessels was alike, and that the Jersey was not exceptional. The Jersey was the largest of all, and having remained in service for so long a time had the most prison- ers. On that account she has attracted the most attention.
The crew on board each ship consisted of a captain, mates, steward, a few sailors and marines, and about thirty soldiers. Each prisoner on his arrival was carefully searched for arms and valuables. His name and rank were duly registered. He was allowed to re- tain his clothing and bedding, and to use these,
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 7
but during confinement was supplied with no- thing additional. The examination having been completed, he was conducted to the hold of the vessel, to become the companion of a thousand other patriots, many of whom were covered with rags and filth, and pale and emaciated from the constant inhalation of the pestiferous and noxious atmosphere which im- pregnated the vessel. Strong men could not long resist inroads of sickness and disease. Many were taken down with typhus fever, dys- entery, and smallpox. The vessel was filled continually with the vilest malaria. The guns were removed, portholes securely fastened, and in their place were two tiers of lights to admit air. Each of these air holes was about twenty inches square, and fastened by cross- bars to prevent escape. The steward supplied each mess with a daily allowance of biscuit, pork or beef, and rancid butter. The food was of the poorest which could be obtained, and of itself was sufficient to breed disease. The biscuits were mouldy and worm-eaten, the flour was sour, and the meat badly tainted. It was cooked in a common kettle, which was never cleaned, with impure water, and became a slow but sure poison. The prisoners were kept in the holds between the two decks, and the
8 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
lower dungeon was used for the foreigners who had enlisted in freedom's cause. Here again the morning salutation was, " Rebels, bring out your dead." The command was obeyed, and all who had found relief in death were brought upon deck. Prisoners were allowed to sew a blanket over the remains of their dead companions before burial. The dead were taken in boats to the shore, put in holes dug in the sand, and carelessly covered. Frequently they were washed from their resting place by the incoming tide. Often while walking along the old Wallabout road, between Cumber- land Street and the Navy Yard, I have seen the remains of the gallant patriots who lost their lives on the Jersey. In the " 'fifties " of the present century it was no uncommon thing for pieces of bone and human skulls to be dug up on the borders of the old road.
The only relief the prisoners had was per- mission to remain on deck until sunset. When the golden orb of day sunk beneath the hori- zon, the ears of all were saluted with the ob- noxious cry, " Down, rebels, down." When all had retired to the hold, the hatchway was closed, leaving only a small trap open to ad- mit air. At this trapdoor a sentinel was placed, with instructions to allow but one man
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 9
to ascend at a time during the night. The sentinels possessed the same cruel spirit as their masters. A prisoner who had been con- fined on the Jersey for fourteen months said that, on occasions when the prisoners gathered at the hatchway to obtain fresh air, the sen- . tinel repeatedly thrust his bayonet among them and killed several. These acts created a de- sire for revenge. Many of the men were enabled to endure their trials by the thought that the night of darkness would soon pass away, and the day dawn when they could take vengeance on the scoundrels who had treated them with so much brutality.
An instance of this determination to be re- venged is narrated in the life of Silas Talbot. It appears that two brothers belonging to the same rifle corps were made prisoners and sent on board the Jersey. The elder was attacked with fever and became delirious. One night, as his end was fast approaching, reason re- sumed its sway, and, while lamenting his sad fate and breathing a prayer for his mother, he begged for a little water. His brother en- treated the guard to give him some, but the request was brutally refused. The sick boy drew near to death, and his last struggle came. The brother offered the guard a guinea for an
IO HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
inch of candle to enable him to behold the last gasping smile of love and affection. This request was refused. " Now," said he, " if it please God that I ever regain my liberty, I '11 be a most bitter enemy." He soon after be- came a free man, and, to show how well he kept his word, it is only necessary to say that when the war closed "he had 8 large and 127 small notches in his rifle stock." These notches probably represented 8 officers and 127 privates.
On one occasion 130 men were brought to the Jersey by the villain Sprout, who was commissary of prisoners. As he approached the black unsightly hulk, he pointed to her sardonically, and told his captives, "There, rebels, there is the cage for you."
The same bitter round was the daily portion of the men, — during the day a little air and sunlight, and being compelled to listen to the curses and imprecations of their captors, while at night they had to breathe the stifling air between decks, and listen to the groans of the sick and dying, without the power to give them any relief.
Some of the men were assigned to wash and scrub the decks. This of itself was a great blessing, as it gave them occupation and
AFTER THE REVOLUTION u
additional rations. During the night watches it was as dark as Egypt between decks, for no sort of light was allowed. Delirious men would wander about and stumble over their fellows. Sometimes the warning shout would be heard, that a madman was creeping in the darkness with a knife in his hand. At times a soldier would wrake up to find that the brother at his side had become a corpse. The soldiers in charge of the prisoners were mostly Hessians, and were universally hated as mer- cenaries.
Yet no amount of cruelty could drive patriot- ism from the hearts of the captives. On the 4th of July, 1782, they determined to celebrate the anniversary in a fitting manner. On the morning of that day, they came on deck with thirteen national flags, fastened on brooms. The flags were seized, torn, and trampled under foot by the guards, who looked upon the act as an insult. Nothing daunted, the men determined to have their pleasure, and began to sing national melodies. The guards be- came enraged, considered themselves insulted, and drove the prisoners below at an early hour, at the point of the bayonet, and closed the hatches. The prisoners again commenced to sing. At nine o'clock in the evening an
1 2 HISTOR Y OF BROOK L YN
order was given requiring them to cease. This order not being instantly complied with, the animosity of the guards was aroused, and they descended with lanterns and lances. Terror and consternation at once reigned su- preme. The retreating prisoners were sorely pressed by the guards, who unmercifully cut and slashed away, wounding every one within their reach, and inflicting in many instances deadly blows. They then returned to the deck, leaving the wounded to suffer, without the means to have their wounds properly dressed. In consequence of this explosion of patriotism, a new torture was devised. The men, as a punishment, were kept below on the following day until noon, and thus were pre- vented from the enjoyment of the sun and air for six long weary hours. During this time they were also deprived of rations and water. As a result of the night's diabolism ten dead bodies were brought on deck in the morning.
To show the heartlessness of the guards, an incident is narrated of a man who was supposed to be dead, and had been sewed up in his hammock and carried on deck preparatory to burial. He was observed to move, and the attention of the officer in charge was called to the fact that he was still living. " In with
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 13
him," said the officer ; " if he is not dead, he soon will be." The sailor took a knife, cut open the hammock, and discovered that the man was still alive. Doubtless many men who had swooned away were buried alive.
At the time of these occurrences, the gov- ernment did not possess the ability to make exchanges. The captives on the prison ships were mostly privateersmen, and, not being in the regular Continental service, Congress was unwilling to restore healthy soldiers to the ranks of the enemy, thereby adding to their strength without a full and exact equivalent.
The Americans had entered into an agree- ment to exchange officer for officer and soldier for soldier. They had but few naval prisoners, and thus could make no exchange for the un- fortunate ones on these ships. Our authori- ties were compelled to let their captives on the water go at large, for want of suitable places to keep them. Washington took a lively interest in the matter, and entered into a correspond- ence with Henry Clinton and Admiral Digby on the subject, threatening retaliation. He, however, threatened and expostulated in vain.
The American rebels were urged by the British officers to enter their service. Some did enlist, with the hope uppermost in their minds that they would be able to desert.
I4 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
The prisoners were released at the close of the war. The old Jersey was destroyed, and its decaying timbers became buried in the mud.
The bones of the prison-ship martyrs lay for many years bleaching on the banks of Walla- bout Bay, where they had been rudely buried by the British. The action of the tide upon the sandy banks gradually washed away the little earth which had been thrown over them, thereby causing the sacred relics to become exposed to view. The attention of Congress was frequently called to the necessity of pro- viding a suitable resting place for these hon- ored remains. The sight of these bones strewn upon the banks of the bay was enough to awaken the interest of the nation. At last the citizens of Brooklyn became aroused, and at a town meeting held in 1 792, a resolution was passed requesting John Jackson, who had collected a large number of the bones on his farm, which then included the land now used by the Navy Yard, to allow the relics in his possession and under his control to be removed to the Reformed Dutch Church graveyard for burial, and a monument erected over them. General Jeremiah Johnson was the chairman of the committee. The application was re- fused, Jackson having other intentions as to
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 15
their interment. Jackson was a blunt man, and a firm believer in the principles of De- mocracy as enunciated by Jefferson. He was one of the sachems of the Tammany Society or Columbian Order.
He had several hogsheads full of bones which he had collected upon the beach. To consummate his plan he offered to the Tam- many Society a plot in his farm for land where- on a suitable monument might be erected.
Tammany accepted the trust, and in Feb- ruary, 1803, entered actively upon the work. The society at once proposed and caused to be presented to Congress a stirring and forcible memorial on the subject. Congress, however, came to no determination in the matter, and the matter remained quiescent until 1808. Be- tween the time of the acceptance of the offer by Tammany and the action by Congress in 1808, Benjamin Aycrigg, a prominent and influential citizen, became greatly interested in the measure. In the summer of 1805, noticing the exposed condition of these remains on the beach of the bay, his patriotic heart was horrified by the sight ; his soul was filled with indignation that steps had not been taken to have them decently interred. He, in the same year, made a contract with an Irishman living at
1 6 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
the Wallabout to collect all the exposed bones. The remains thus collected formed a part of those subsequently placed in the vault erected on the Jackson lot by the Tammany Society.
In 1808 Tammany again renewed its labors. At a meeting of the society a committee was appointed, called the Wallabout Committee, consisting of Jacob Vandervoort, John Jack- son, Burdett Stryker, Issachar Cozzens, Robert Townsend, Jr., Benjamin Watson, and Samuel Coudrey. This committee was deeply inter- ested in the work, and used every available means to enlist public sympathy and assist- ance. Memorials were prepared and circu- lated, and appeals made through the press and otherwise, urging the citizens to come forward and aid the sacred cause. In their efforts they did not confine themselves to New York, but sought to create a national interest in the undertaking. The patriotism of the people was appealed to, and the effort was crowned with success. When the subject was thus forcibly presented, the citizens of the young republic realized their obligation to provide a proper burial place for the dust and bones of her brave sons, through whose death the nation rose into existence. The measure was presented in a way which could not be resisted.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 17
The inhabitants of all sections became greatly interested, and nobly responded to the call, and the committee, finding so many ready to aid, assist, and approve, were enabled to com- mence the erection of the structure much sooner than they had at first anticipated.
The spot given was situated in Jackson Street (now Hudson Avenue), near York Street, abutting the Navy Yard wall. The street was named after the owner of the land. The name was afterward changed to Hudson Avenue.
The land was formally deeded by Jackson to the Tammany Society in 1803. When all things were ready the society caused the remains collected by Jackson, with all the bones found upon the beach, to be committed to the tomb with appropriate ceremonies.
The arrangements for laying the corner- stone were completed, and the 1 3th of April, 1808, fixed for that interesting ceremony. The order of exercises was as follows: At eleven o'clock the procession formed at the ferry, foot of Main Street, marched through that street to Sands Street, thence to Bridge Street, along Bridge to York Street, through York Street to Jackson, and thence to the ground.
As Major Aycrigg had ever manifested un- abated interest in this labor of love, he was properly selected as grand marshal of the day.
1 8 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
The first division of the procession consisted of a company of United States marines, under command of Lieutenant-Commandant John- son. The second division was composed of citizens of New York and Brooklyn. The third division embraced the committees of the various civic societies. The fourth division contained the Grand Sachem of the Tammany Society, Father of the Council, and orator of the day. The fifth division carried the corner- stone with the following inscription : —
IN THE NAME OF
THE SPIRITS OF THE DEPARTED FREE.
Sacred to the memory of that portion of
AMERICAN FREEMEN, SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS,
who perished on board the
PRISON SHIPS OF THE BRITISH
at the Wallabout during the
REVOLUTION. This corner-stone of the vault erected by the
TAMMANY SOCIETY OR COLUMBIAN ORDER
Nassau Island, Season of Blossoms, year of the discovery the 3 1 6th, of the institution the igtb, and of the Amer- ican Independence the 22d.
JACOB VANDERVOORT, JOHN JACKSON, BURDETT STRYKER, ISSACHAR COZZENS, I Wallabout
ROBERT TOWNSEND, JR., I Committee. BENJAMIN WATSON, SAMUEL COUDREY, Daniel and William Campbell, builders, April 6, 1808.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 19
The sixth division was composed of a de- tachment of artillery under command of Lieu- tenant Townsend.
The procession having reached the ground, the artillery were stationed upon a neighbor- ing hill, and the various divisions took the positions assigned them.
The oration, which was a brilliant effort, was delivered by Joseph D. Foy. The stone was then lowered to its place and duly laid by Benjamin Romaine, Grand Sachem of the Tammany Society, assisted by the committee, after which a grand salute was fired, and the band discoursed sweet and solemn notes.
The vault was completed in May, 1808. Arrangements were made for an imposing dis- play, and no pains were spared in preparation. The various societies and public bodies were ready and anxious to do all in their power to render the occasion impressive and memora- ble. The citizens turned out en masse on the 26th of May, 1808, to bear testimony to the worth of these brave men whose obsequies were to be celebrated. They assembled at ten o'clock in the park in front of the City Hall, New York, under command of Brigadier Generals Morton and Steddiford, Garret Sick- els, Grand Marshal, assisted by twelve aides.
20 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
The inscription on the pedestal was as fol- lows : —
[Front.] AMERICANS REMEMBER THE BRITISH.
[Right side.]
YOUTH OF MY COUNTRY MARTYRDOM PREFERRED TO SLAVERY.
[Left side.] SIRES OF COLUMBIA
transmit to posterity the cruelties practiced on board the " BRITISH PRISON SHIPS."
[Rear.]
" Tyrants dread the gathering storm While Freemen, Freemen's Obsequies perform."
The orator of the day was Dr. Benjamin DeWitt, who delivered an able and patriotic address to the assembled multitude. He feel- ingly depicted the sufferings endured in Brit- ish dungeons, and drew tears to many eyes by his eloquent and touching remarks, referring to the tyranny of the oppressors and the pa- tience of the patriots. The oration concluded, in painful silence the coffins were committed to their resting place. Rev. Mr. Williston then pronounced the benediction, " To the King, Immortal, Invisible, the All-wise God, be glory everlasting, amen." The occasion was one long remembered in both cities.
During many years these relics remained forgotten in their sepulchre. The grade of
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 21
Jackson Street was altered so as to take a part of the sacred ground. Jackson, when he gave the land, was not far-sighted enough to have secured the passage of an act to preserve its precincts intact, free from invasion by streets, and exempt from taxation. The land at one time was sold for taxes. It seemed as if the past had been forgotten. Then it was that Benjamin Romaine came forward and pur- chased the lot. In order to preserve it from desecration, he adopted it as his family burial plot. He resolved to be buried there himself, and placed within the vault a coffin designed for his mortal remains. He constructed the ante-chamber over the tomb. Upon the prop- erty he placed the following inscription : —
First — The portal to the tomb of 11,500 patriot prisoners of war who died in dungeons and pestilential prison ships in and about the City of New York during the war of our Revo- lution. The top is capped with two large urns in black, and a white globe in the centre.
Second — The interior of the tomb contains thirteen coffins assigned in the order as ob- served in the Declaration of Independence, and inserted thus — New Hampshire, Massa- chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
22 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
Third — Thirteen beautifully turned posts, painted white, and capped with a small urn in black, and between the posts the above-named States are fully lettered.
Fourth — In 1778, the Colonial Congress promulgated the Federal League compact, though it was not finally ratified until 1781, only two years before the peace of 1783.
Fifth — In 1 789, our General National Con- vention, to form a more perfect unison, did ordain the present Constitution of the United States of America, to be one entire Sove- reignty, and in strict adhesion to the equally necessary State rights. Such a republic must endure forever.
In 1842, a large number of citizens applied to the Legislature for permission to remove the remains to a more private place. Romaine vigorously and eloquently objected to the pro- posed change, and the matter was permitted to rest quietly until after his death in 1844. During the following year attention was again called to the forlorn and neglected condition of the sepulchre. Henry C. Murphy was then in Congress, representing Kings and Rich- mond counties. The abject condition of the vault was brought to the notice of Congress, and action taken. The military committee recommended an appropriation of $20,000 to
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 23
secure a permanent tomb and monument. The report was drawn by Henry C. Murphy, whose exertions in this behalf were untiring. The effort, however, was not successful.
Samuel Boughton, John T. Hildreth, John H. Baker, and other public-spirited men, hold- ing diverse political views, started subscription papers, and published articles in the papers urging the importance of immediate action to accomplish the praiseworthy object.
In 1855, a meeting was held and a Martyrs' Monument Association formed. This associa- tion intended to have representatives from each State and Territory. The committee started with commendable energy. They early took the ground that Fort Greene was the proper site. Plans were proposed and sub- scriptions solicited. For a long time nothing more was done. The Common Council agreed to permit the use of Fort Greene. It was not until June, 1873, that the remains of the prison- ship martyrs were carried to the vault on the face of Fort Greene.1
The narrative here concluded has passed far
1 In 1888 the State Legislature, at the request of the Society of Old Brooklynites, passed a resolution urging Congress to provide for the erection of a monument. A petition containing 25,000 names was sent to Washington, and the matter was favorably reported from committee, but no act was passed.
24 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
beyond the limits of the period to which this chapter is devoted. Turning to the post- Revo- lutionary period, we find the county towns resuming a normal course of life. The Dutch- men who gathered at the Brooklyn church ceased to talk of war. The Episcopalians, who worshiped in John Middagh's barn, at the cor- ner of Henry and Poplar streets, turned from politics to denominational questions, and the " Independents " built a meeting-house on the Fulton Street ground afterwards taken by St. Anne's Buildings.
We learn from the " Corporation Manual " (1869) that the first step toward a fire depart- ment within the limits of the present city was taken in April, 1785, by the organization of a fire-company. At a meeting of the freeholders of the town, held at the house of Widow Moser, in Fulton Street, near the ferry, it was agreed that the company should be composed of seven members, who should be commis- sioned as firemen for one year. They selected the following persons as the members of the company : Henry Stanton, captain ; Abraham Stoothoof, John Doughty, Jr., Thomas Havens, J. Van Cott, and Martin Woodward. They also voted to raise by tax the sum of ^"150 for the purchase of a fire-engine. Among the
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 25
regulations agreed upon for the government of the new company was a requirement that the members should meet on the first Satur- day of each month, to play, clean, and work their engine, and that in case of their non-at- tendance, upon notification from their captain, a fine of eight shillings should be imposed upon them, and that upon the captain, in the event of his neglecting properly to notify the members, a fine of sixteen shillings should be imposed. The engine was in due time pro- cured. It was constructed by Jacob Boome, of New York city, who had just then com- menced business as the first engine-builder ever located in that city. Previous to his time, the fire-engines had generally been imported from England. The company adopted the name of " Washington Engine Company No. i," and was, up to the time of dissolution of the Volunteer Department, still in active existence. Their engine-house was situated in a lane, now called Front Street, near its junction with Fulton Street.
The firemen continued to be chosen annu- ally in town meeting, and the appointment was much sought after as conferring respecta- bility of position in the community. On the 30th of April, 1787, the number of firemen
26 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
was increased to eleven, and it was resolved that each fireman should take out a license, for which he should pay a fee of four shillings, the sums thus accruing being appropriated to the ordinary expenses of the company.
On the 1 5th of March, 1788, came the first state legislation relative to the firemen of Brooklyn. In 1794 there were about fifty families residing within the limits of the fire district ; the entire population, including some 100 slaves, numbering 350 souls. There were about seventy-five buildings in the district, mainly located between what is now called Henry Street and the ferry. Those devoted to business purposes were generally near the ferry, where a supply of water from the river could readily and easily be obtained. Al- though fires were of exceedingly rare occur- rence, and trivial in their character, yet nine years of use, or rather disuse and decay and rust, had rendered the engine unserviceable. In view of this fact, on the first Tuesday of April, 1794, it was resolved in town meeting that a subscription should be authorized to raise the funds necessary for the purchase of a new engine. The sum of ^188 195. was speedily collected, and a new and more power- ful engine was procured. In 1 795 the Legisla-
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 27
ture extended the limits of the fire district, and increased the volunteer force to thirty men. In town meeting it was resolved that each house should be provided with two fire- buckets, under a penalty of two shillings for every neglect so to provide after due notifi- cation. In 1 796 a fire-bell was purchased by popular subscription, and set up in the store- house of Jacob Remsen, at Fulton and Front streets, in sight of the ferry.
In the awarding of the ferry lease in 1 789, it was ordered " that the boats, together with their masts and sails, be of such form and di- mensions as the wardens of the port of New York should approve ; that each boat be con- stantly worked and managed by two sober, discreet, and able-bodied experienced water- men ; that each boat be always furnished with four good oars and two boat-hooks." l A new ferry at Catherine Street was established in
1795-
Although the ferry was in active operation, traveling by land was by exceedingly primi- tive stages. As late as 1793, according to Furman, there was no post-office on any part of Long Island, and no mail carried on it. It was not until about the opening of the present
1 Historical Sketch of Fulton Ferry, 1879.
28 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
century that the first post-route was started. As late as 1835 "the regular mail stage left Brooklyn once a week, on Thursday, having arrived from Easthampton and Sag Harbor the afternoon of the previous day ; and this was the only conveyance travelers could then have through this Island, unless they took a private carriage." The practice was to leave Brooklyn about nine in the morning, to dine at Hempstead, and then " jog on to Babylon, where they put up for the night." l
By the enterprise of the Flushing Bridge and Road Company, incorporated in 1802, the distance between Flushing and Brooklyn was shortened about four miles. Three years later the Wallabout and Brooklyn Toll Bridge Company laid out a road extending from the Cripplebush road to the easterly side of the Wallabout mill pond, over which a bridge connected with Sands Street.
Within the limits of the town2 the spirit of real estate enterprise appeared in various quarters, but perhaps the most ambitious un- dertaking was that of the holders of the Sands and Jackson tract, surveyed in 1787, and lying on the East River between the Wallabout and
1 Furman, p. 243.
8 The state recognition of Brooklyn as a town took place in 1788.
New-York and Brooklyn Ferry*
OUCH persons as are inclined to compound, ° agreeable to law, in the Steam Ferry- Boat, Barges, or common Horse Boats, will be pleas, ed to apply to the subscribers, who are authori- zed to settle the same.
GEORGE" HICKS, Brooklyn, JOHN PINTARD, 53 Wall st Commutation for a single person not
transferable, for 12 months, $ 10 00
Do; do, 8 months, 6 67
May 3, 1814 6m.
EARLY FERRY ADVERTISEMENT
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 29
the Brooklyn ferry. To the prospective vil- lage planned for this region was given the name of Olympia, after the habit of bestowing classical names which began to appear in post- Revolutionary days. In 1801 John Jackson sold forty acres of Wallabout lands to the United States for $40,000.
The columns of the " Long Island Weekly Intelligencer," published by Roberson & Lit- tle, booksellers and stationers, at the corner of Old Ferry and Front streets, give interesting glimpses of this period. In 1806 Henry Hew- let dealt in " general merchandise " near the Old Ferry; John Cole was coach-maker; Dr. Lowe's office was " at the Rev. Mr. Lowe's, corner of Red Hook Road." There was de- mand for five apprentices at Amos Cheney's shipyard. Benjamin Hilton sold china, glass, and earthenware, " at New York prices," in Old Ferry Street. Postmaster Bunce had fifty-three letters that had not been called for.
In a later issue of the " Intelligencer " the editor remarks that he has been " requested to suggest the propriety of each family pla- cing lights in front of their houses, not having the advantage of lamps, as great inconven- ience and loss of time arises from the neglect, particularly on dark nights."
30 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
In 1808 the town appropriated $1500 for the erection of a new "poor house." The county court house of this period was at Flat- bush, then the county seat. The old court house had been burned in 1758. The money required to build the new court house was raised by an assessment upon the inhabitants of the county. This building continued in use thirty-four years, when, by reason of its dilapidated condition, a new court house and jail were built in 1 792. The court house cost $2944.71. The contractor was Thomas Far- don, and the plans for the building were fur- nished by Messrs. Stanton, Newton, and James Robertson. In referring to the court house, Furman says that "in 1800 the court house was let to James Simson for one year at £$ in money." In this agreement " the justices reserved for themselves the chamber in the said house called the court chamber, at the time of their publique sessions, courts of com- mon pleas, and private meetings; as also the room called the prison, for the use of the sheriff if he had occasion for it." The build- ing stood for forty years, when it was destroyed by fire.
Meanwhile the hamlet of Brooklyn took on many of the characteristics of a maturing
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 31
village. Joseph B. Pierson removed from New York to Brooklyn in 1809, and opened a circu- lating library on Main Street, two doors from Sands Street. In the " Long Island Star " of June, 1809, George Hamilton advertised a select school where " students were taught to make their own pens." Hamilton was suc- ceeded by John Gibbons, who in September announced the opening of an academy for both sexes, where the various educational branches are " taught on unerring principles." Mrs. Gibbons was to " instruct little girls in Spelling, Reading, Sewing, and Marking." To the notice of an evening school for young men is appended : " N. B. Good pronuncia- tion."
Two years later there was a private school opposite the post office ; John Mabon taught the Brooklyn Select Academy; and at the inn of Benjamin Smith, on Christmas-eve, an exhibition was given by the pupils of Platt Kennedy. At this time the town had a floor- cloth factory, eight or ten looms were at work in Crichton's cotton goods manufactory, and over one hundred people worked in rope- walks. Abraham Remsen kept the one dry goods store at Fulton and Front streets.
Over the Black Horse tavern lived for a
32 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
time the " Rain-water Doctor," who was con- sulted by people coming great distances. This strange man dealt mostly in herbs and simples, but his specialty was rain water, which he praised as containing power to cure all manner of ills. He often signed himself, " Sylvan, Enemy of Human Diseases." Syl- van was evidently the first of a long list of "rain-water" quacks, against whom the regular practitioners of this and later periods had occasion to contend.1
1 In 1806, the Legislature of New York enacted a law allowing the incorporation of a State and of County Medical Societies. Under this act the State Medical Society was organized at once. The medical men of this county did not act in the matter, however, for several years, and it was not till March, 1822, that the Kings County Medical Society was organized. From the organization of the society to the pres- ent time the following gentlemen have been its presidents : Cornelius Low, 1822-1825; J. G. T. Hunt, 1825, till his death in 1830; Thomas W. Henry, 1831-1833; Charles Ball, 1833- 1835; Isaac I. Rapelye, 1835; Matthew Wendell, 1836; Adrian Vanderveer, 1837-1839; John B. Zabriskie, 1839; Purcell Cooke, 1840-1842; Theodore L. Mason, 1842-1844; Bradley Parker, 1844; Purcell Cooke, 1845; J. Sullivan Thorne, 1846; Lucius Hyde, 1847; Chauncey L. Mitchell, 1848; Henry J. Cullen, 1849; James H. Henry, 1850; Samuel J. Osborne, 1851 ; George Marvin, 1852; Andrew Otterson, 1853-1855; George I. Bennet, 1855; T. Anderson Wade, 1856; Samuel Boyd, 1857 ; Chauncey L. Mitchell, 1858-1860; Daniel Brooks, 1860 ; C. R. McClellan, 1861 ; Samuel Hart, 1862; DeWitt C. Enos, 1863; Joseph C. Hutchinson, 1864; John T. Conkling, 1865; Andrew Otterson, 1866; William W. Reese, 1867; R. Cresson Stiles, 1868-1870; J. H. Hobart Burge, 1870-1872; William Henry Thayer, 1872-1874; A. J. C. Skene, 1874-1876; A. Hutchins, 1876-1879; J. S. Prout,
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 33
At the time when the census of Long Island (in 1 811) estimated the population of Brooklyn at 4402, rapid progress had also been made by other towns in the county. Flatlands, which does not seem to have been particularly dis- turbed by the British occupation, — the church and schools continuing their regular sessions throughout the period, — built a new church in 1794, which was painted red and sanded, and had Lombardy poplars in front and rear. Church-going was a cold experience in those days, the new church, like its predecessors, being without means of heating, save the foot- stoves carried by women. It was not until 1825 that a large wood-stove was introduced. The schoolhouse stood within the original lines of the graveyard.
Gravesend, which had passed through an active early period, had in 1810 a population of 520. The hamlet was conservative in its habits of life and slow in numerical growth. To reach Coney Island from Gravesend at
1879; Charles Jewett, 1880-1883; G. G. Hopkins, 1883. In 1829 there were thirty-six active members belonging to the society. In 1836 the Code of Ethics of the state society was adopted, and in 1848 the Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association. From its foundation in 1822, till the repeal of that power by the Legislature in 1881, the Kings County Society conferred sixteen licenses to practice medi- cine.—S. M. O.
34 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
this time, it was necessary to ford the creek at low tide. The Coney Island Bridge and Road Company was organized in 1823. To get their letters the Gravesend people were obliged to go to Flatbush.1 The old school- house, after being in service for sixty years, was in 1788 succeeded by a larger building, which was in service for half a century. The Reformed Church records were still kept in the Dutch language. The church was a long low building with a gallery, under which, on the west side, were the negro quarters.
Flatbush had had a taste of the Revolution- ary fighting, and suffered considerably during the British occupation.2
The mill finished in 1804, on John C. Van- derveer's farm, is described as the first mill on the island. The mills became a prominent feature of Flatbush scenery. Clustered near them were some of the quaintest examples of Dutch and colonial architecture that were to be found in this country. The examples sur- viving to-day give a distinctive charm to this village. In due time the stocks which had stood in front of the court house, the near-by
1 The first post-office at Gravesend was established in 1843.
2 J. C. Vanderbilt's Social History of Flatbttsh gives some exceedingly interesting glimpses of life in this region during and after the Revolutionary period.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 35
whipping-post,1 and the public brew-house all disappeared.
On the 2d of July, 1791, public notice was given of the plan for building a county court house and jail at Flatbush. The notice stated that the conditions would be made known by application to Charles Doughty, Brooklyn Ferry, and that propositions in writing would be received until July 15 by him and Johannes E. Lott, of Flatbush, and Rutgert Van Brunt of Gravesend.
Cruger, while mayor of New York city, had his residence within the village. Generals Howe, Clinton, and other leading Tories had their headquarters within its limits subsequent to the battle of Brooklyn.
Erasmus Hall, at Flatbush, was erected in 1 786, its charter bearing the same date as that of the Easthampton Academy. The first public exhibition of Erasmus Hall was held September 27, 1787, "and the scene," says Stiles, "was graced by the presence of the Governor of the State, several members of the Assembly, and a large concourse of promi- nent gentlemen of the vicinity." The subject of public instruction continued to be agitated in the public prints and the pulpit, and the
1 The "public whipper " received a salary of $15 a year.
36 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
attention of the Legislature was repeatedly called by the Governor's messages to the para- mount need of having a regular school system throughout the State. Finally, in 1795, that body passed "an act for the encouragement of schools," and made an appropriation of $50,000 per annum for five years " for the pur- pose of encouraging and maintaining schools in the several cities and towns in this State in which children of the inhabitants residing in the State shall be instructed in the English language or be taught English grammar, arith- metic, mathematics, and such other branches of knowledge as are most useful and necessary to complete a good English education."
The Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston, who, with Senator John Vanderbilt, brought about the establishment of the academy, was suc- ceeded as principal by Dr. Wilson, who also held a professorship at Columbia College. The records of the academy reveal an inter- esting list of names, and the institution has held an important relation to the educational interests of Flatbush.
New Utrecht, where the first resistance to the British forces had been offered, and whose church had been used as a hospital and also as a riding-school by the British officers, was
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 37
quick to assume its wonted ways after the departure of the troops when peace with Eng- land had been declared. During the period between 1787 and 1818 the Rev. Petrus Lowe was the pastor.1
The progress of Bushwick after the Revo- lution was noteworthy. The old Dutch church had been built early in the last century. The dominies from Brooklyn and Flatbush had previously ministered to the people when occa- sion called. The old octagonal church received a new roof in 1 790, a front gallery five years later, and so it remained until 1840. Stiles2 mentions Messrs. Freeman and Antonides as the earliest pastors, and Peter Lowe as serving here until 1808. A regiment of Hessians had their winter quarters here in 1776, barracks being put up on the land of Abraham Luqueer, and free use being made of wood from the Wal- labout swamp. The case of Hendrick Suydam
1 Tunis G. Bergen was born at New Utrecht in 1806. The Cropsey family, prominent at New Utrecht, is descended from Geerte Jans Kasparse, who came from Holland, with her two sons, Joost and Johannis, in 1652. Joost, third son of this Joost, had one son, Casper, who held office in New Utrecht, and died in 1806, leaving six sons and several daughters. Other descendants were Jerome Ryersen Cropsey, Andrew G. Cropsey, and William Cropsey. The last named was for sev- eral terms supervisor of New Utrecht.
2 History of Kings County, p. 279.
38 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
was typical. Suydam had to give quarters in his house,1 and the filthy habits of these un- savory mercenaries were shockingly character- istic of this unhappy period. Stiles mentions, among the "patriots of Bushwick," John Pro- vost, John A. Meserole, John I. Meserole, Jacob Van Cott, David Miller, William Con- selyea, Nicholas Wyckoff, and Alexander Whaley, but no such list gives due honor to the service of all the Bushwick patriots.
After the Revolution Bushwick had " three distinct settlements or centres of population." These were " Het Dorp," the original town plot at the junction of North Second Street and Bushwick Avenue ; " Het Kivis Padt," on the cross-roads at the junction of Bushwick Avenue and the Flushing Road ; and " Het Strand," along the East River shore. The first mentioned was the centre of village ac- tivity, with the old church for chief landmark.
Of the town house with its tall liberty pole, Field 2 writes : " Long after the Revolution the old town house continued to be the high seat of justice, and to resound with the repub- lican roar of vociferous electors on town meet- ing days. The first Tuesday in April and the
1 This fine specimen of old Dutch architecture is still stand- ing on Evergreen Avenue.
a Historic and Antiquarian Scenes in Brooklyn and its Vicinity, p. 47.
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 39
fourth of July, in each succeeding year, found Het Dorp suddenly metamorphosed from a sleepy Dutch hamlet into a brawling, swagger- ing country town, with very debauched habits. Our Dutch youth had a most enthusiastic ten- dency, and ready facility in adopting the con- vivial customs and uproarious festivity of the loud-voiced and arrogant Anglo-American youngers.1 One day the close-fisted electors of Bushwick devised a plan for easing the public burdens by making the town house pay part of the annual taxes, and accordingly it was rented to a Dutch publican, who afforded shelter to the justices and constables, and by his potent liquors contributed to furnish them with employment.
" In this mild partnership, so quietly aiding to fill each others' pockets, our old friend Chas. Zimmerman had a share, until he was ousted, because he was a better customer than land- lord. The services of the church were con- ducted in the Dutch language until about the year 1830. The clergyman had the care of five churches, each of which received his spirit- ual services in turn. The homely but pious
1 The assumption that the Dutch youth required to be taught " convivial customs " by the " arrogant Anglo-Ameri- can youngers" is scarcely supported by definite testimony.
40 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
men who performed these duties were some- times learned and dignified gentlemen, always a little aristocratic in their ways, for the dominie of a Dutch colony was an important function- ary, whom the Governor-General himself could not snub with impunity. One of their self- indulgent customs would strike a modern community with horror. On arriving at the church, just before the time for Sunday ser- vice, the good dominie was wont to refresh himself from the fatigue of his long ride with a glass of some of the potent liquors of the time at the bar of the town house.
" At last the electors of Bushwick got tired of keeping a hotel, and unanimously quit- claimed their title to the church. Some time after the venerable structure [the town house] was sold to an infidel Yankee, at whose bar the good dominie could no longer feel free to take an inspiriting cup before entering the pulpit, and the glory of the town house of Bushwick departed."
The graveyard of the original Dutch settle- ment lay in sight of the church, and the last remains within its borders were not disturbed until 1879, when the bones were removed in boxes and placed under the Bushwick Church. Not far distant were the De Voe, De Bevoise,
BROOKLYN
STEAM FERRY BOAT COMPANY.
THIS is TO CERTIFY,
V/y t.
7&VM*-
has compounded for the privilege of pacing across Siiid Ferry in tfte Steam.JBoat, or Common Barges, for the term of OcOfaTs jnonthsfrum this date. Office of t lie Company, 52, Wall-street,
•retary.
FERRY PASSAGE CERTIFICATE, 1816
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 41
and Wyckoff houses, the last named built by Theodorus Polhemus, of Flatbush.1
On the river front was the famous tavern of " Charlum " Titus. Toward Bushwick Creek was the Wartman homestead. On Division Avenue was the Boerum house ; the Remsen house was on Clymer Street. Peter Miller, Frederic De Voe, and William Van Cott were prominent residents.
On Newtown Creek stood Luqueer's mill, built in 1664, by Abraham Jansen, and the second to be erected within the limits of the present city of Brooklyn. Freekes' mill at Gowanus was the oldest, a pond being formed by damming the head of Gowanus Kill. Rem- sen's mill was at the Wallabout. It was built in 1710, and it was from the vantage ground of his residence here that Rem Remsen wit- nessed so many of the prison-ship horrors. Remsen performed many humane acts toward the unfortunates of the floating dungeons.
The boundary dispute between Newtown and Bushwick — a wrangle beginning in Stuy- vesant's day and lasting until 1 769 — forms one of the most picturesque features of political life
1 The ancestral farm and home of the Wyckoffs is on the boundary line between Brooklyn and Newtown, beyond Metropolitan Avenue.
42 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
in the history of the two towns. " Arbitration Rock," as a famous landmark in the survey was called, having been destroyed, a new rock was placed in position by Nicholas Wyckoff, with the permission of the Commissioners ap- pointed to resurvey the line in 1880, and still remains.
We have seen that one section of the town of Bushwick, or rather an outlying group of farms and houses, lay on the river front. Traffic to and from New York naturally passed through this river section of the set- tlement. At the beginning of the century Richard M. Woodhull, a New York merchant, established a horse-ferry from Corlaer's Hook, close to the foot of the present Grand Street, New York, to the foot of the Long Island road, now bearing the name of North Second Street.
The New York landing-place of the ferry was then considerably above the settled part of the town. In New York at this period the tendency of development still was along the eastern side of the island. " The seat of the foreign trade," says Mr. Janvier, " was the East River front ; of the wholesale domestic trade, in Pearl and Broad streets, and about Hanover Square; of the retail trade, in William, be-
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 43
tween Fulton and Wall. Nassau Street and upper Pearl Street were places of fashionable residence ; as were also lower Broadway and the Battery. Upper Broadway, paved as far as Warren Street, no longer was looked upon as remote and inaccessible ; and people with ex- ceptionally long heads were beginning, even, to talk of it as a street with a future ; being thereto moved, no doubt, by consideration of its magnificent appearance as the great central thoroughfare of the city upon Mangin's pro- phetic map."
Notwithstanding the development of New York on the East River side, there were two miles of travel between Woodhull's ferry and the business part of the city. Woodhull bought and " boomed " property in the vicin- ity of the ferry road on the Long Island side, then known as Bushwick Street, and to the settlement in this region he gave the name of Williamsburgh, " in compliment to his friend, Colonel Williams, U. S. engineer, by whom it was surveyed." A ferry-house, a tavern, a hay- press, appeared on the scene.
" An auction was held," writes John M. Stearns,1 " at which a few building lots were
1 " History of Williamsburgh," in Stiles's History of Kings County.
44 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
disposed of. But the amount realized came far short of restoring to Woodhull the money he had thus prematurely invested. His pro- ject was fully a quarter of a century too soon. It required half a million of people in the city of New York, before settlers could be induced to move across the East River away from the attractions of a commercial city. Woodhull found that notes matured long before he could realize from the property ; and barely six years had passed before he was a bankrupt, and the site of his new city became subject to sale by the sheriff. By divers shifts the calamity was deferred until September n, i8n,when the right, title, and interest of Richard M. Wood- hull in the original purchase, and in five acres of the Francis J. Titus estate, purchased by him in 1805, near Fifth Street, was sold by the sheriff in favor of one Roosevelt. James H. Maxwell, the son-in-law of Woodhull, be- came the purchaser of Williamsburgh ; but not having the means to continue his title thereto, it again passed under the sheriff's hammer, although a sufficient number of lots had by this time been sold to prevent its re- appropriation to farm and garden purposes."
Then came Thomas Morrell, of Newtown, who bought the Titus homestead farm of
AFTER THE REVOLUTION 45
twenty-eight acres, prepared a map, and set down Grand Street as a dividing line. In 1812, Morrell obtained from New York city a grant for a ferry from Grand Street, Bush- wick, to Grand Street, New York.
This new town site, extending between North Second Street as far over as the present South First Street, received the name of York- ton. The rivalry between the Morrell and the Woodhull ferry became very heated. " While Morrell succeeded as to the ferry," writes Mr. Stearns, " Woodhull managed to preserve the name Williamsburgh ; which applied at first to the thirteen acres originally purchased, and had extended itself to adjoining lands so as to embrace about thirty acres, as seen in Popple- ton's map in 1814, and another in 1815, of property of J. Homer Maxwell. But the first ferry had landed at Williamsburgh, and the turnpike went through Williamsburgh out into the island. Hence, both the country people and the people coming from the city, when coming to the ferry, spoke of coming to Wil- liamsburgh. Thus Yorkton was soon un- known save on Loss's map, and in the trans- actions of certain land-jobbers. Similarly the designations of old farm locations, being obso- lete to the idea of a city or a village, grew into
46 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
disuse ; and the whole territory between Wai- labout Bay and Bushwick Creek became known as Williamsburgh."
At this time the owners of shore property refused to have a road opened through their property or along the shore. The two ferries were not connected by shore road, nor with the Wallabout region, and neither ferry pros- pered during the lifetime of either Woodhull or Morrell. General Johnson, in going from his Wallabout farm to Williamsburgh, "had to open and shut no less than seventeen barred gates within a distance of a mile and a half along the shore." The owners opposed John- son's movement for a road, but with the aid of the Legislature the road was opened, business at the ferries immediately improved, and Wil- liamsburgh began to grow. A Methodist con- gregation built a church in 1808 ; a hotel ap- peared at about the same time, and in 1814 there were 759 persons in the town. Noah Waterbury, by the building of a distillery at the foot of North Second Street and other enterprises, earned the title of " The Father of Williamsburgh."
CHAPTER X
BROOKLYN VILLAGE xSn-1833
Brooklyn during the " Critical Period " in American His- tory. The Embargo and the War of 1812. Military Preparations. Fortifications. Fort Greene and Cob- ble Hill. Peace. Robert Fulton. The "Nassau's" First Trip. Progress of Fulton Ferry. The Village Incorporated. First Trustees. The Sunday-School Union. Long Island Bank. Board of Health. The Sale of Liquor. Care of the Poor. Real Estate. Vil- lage Expenses. Guy's Picture of Brooklyn in 1820. The Village of that Period. Characters of the Period. Old Families and Estates. The County Courts re- moved to Brooklyn. Apprentices' Library. Prisoners at the Almshouse. Growth of the Village. The Brook- lyn "Evening Star." Movement for Incorporation as a City. Opposition of New York. Passage of the Incorporation Act.
As the hamlet of Brooklyn waxed in size and took on the characteristics of an organ- ized community, with a formulated political plan, a fire department, a commercial nucleus that justified a petition l to the Legislature for the establishment of a local bank, and a popu- lation of nearly 5000 people, it began to feel
1 Printed in the Long Island Star, February 14, 1811.
48 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
more directly and inevitably than it ever had theretofore the effect of political and commer- cial movements in the State, and in the nation as a whole.
The early years of the present century, dur- ing which Napoleon was terrorizing Europe, were years of formative uncertainties to the young United States. John Fiske has called this time "the critical period" of American his- tory. Speaking of the extraordinary commer- cial manifestations of the post-Revolutionary period, Mr. Fiske says : " Meanwhile, the dif- ferent States, with their different tariff and tonnage acts, began to make commercial war upon one another. No sooner had the other three New England States virtually closed their ports to British shipping than Connecti- cut threw hers wide open, an act which she followed up by laying duties upon imports from Massachusetts. Pennsylvania discrimi- nated against Delaware, and New Jersey, pil- laged at once by both her greater neighbors, was compared to a cask tapped at both ends.
" The conduct of New York became espe- cially selfish and blameworthy. That rapid growth, which was so soon to carry the city and the State to a position of primacy in the Union, had already begun. After the departure of
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 49
the British the revival of business went on with leaps and bounds. The feeling of local patriotism waxed strong, and in no one was it more completely manifested than in George Clinton, the Revolutionary general, whom the people elected Governor for nine successive terms. From a humble origin, by dint of shrewdness and untiring push, Clinton had come to be for the moment the most powerful man in the State of New York. He had come to look upon the State almost as if it were his own private manor, and his life was devoted to furthering its interests as he under- stood them. It was his first article of faith that New York must be the greatest State in the Union. But his conceptions of statesman- ship were extremely narrow. In his mind, the welfare of New York meant the pulling down and thrusting aside of all her neighbors and rivals. He was the vigorous and steadfast advocate of every illiberal and exclusive meas- ure, and the most uncompromising enemy to a closer union of the States. His great popu- lar strength and the commercial importance of the community in which he held sway made him at this time the most dangerous man in America."
The relations of the States became more
50 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
amicable in the early years of the century, the rival commonwealths being drawn together by a general obligation of self-defense as against England. In 1808 had come Jefferson's Em- bargo Act, of whose influence in New York John Lambert writes : " Everything wore a dismal aspect at New York. The embargo had now continued upwards of three months, and the salutary check which Congress ima- gined it would have upon the conduct of the belligerent powers was extremely doubtful, while the ruination of the commerce of the United States appeared certain if such destruc- tive measures were persisted in. Already had 1 20 failures taken place among the merchants and traders, to the amount of more than 5,000,000 dollars; and there were above 500 vessels in the harbor which were lying up use- less, and rotting for want of employment. Thousands of sailors were either destitute of bread, wandering about the country, or had entered the British service. The merchants had shut up their counting-houses and dis- charged their clerks ; and the farmers refrained from cultivating their land ; for if they brought their produce to market they could not sell it at all, or were obliged to dispose of it for only a fourth of its value."
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 51
Elsewhere in his journal, Lambert writes: " The amount of tonnage belonging to the port of New York in 1806 was 183,671 tons, and the number of vessels in the harbor on the 25th of December, 1807, when the embargo took place, was 537. The moneys collected in New York for the national treasury, on the imports and tonnage, have for several years amounted to one fourth of the public revenue. In 1806 the sum collected was 6,500,000 dollars, which, after deducting the drawbacks, left a net revenue of 4,500,000 dollars, which was paid into the treasury of the United States as the proceeds of one year. In the year 1808 the whole of this immense sum had vanished ! "
In June, 1812, came the declaration of war with Great Britain. The news occasioned considerable excitement in Brooklyn, whose middle-aged men retained a lively recollection of the British occupation. In the " Star " of July 8 appeared this announcement : " A new company of Horse or Flying Artillery is lately raised in this vicinity, under the command of Captain John Wilson. This company prom- ises, under the able management of Captain Wilson, to equal, if not excel, any company in the State. The Artillerists of Captain Barba-
52 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
rin are fast progressing in a system of disci- pline and improvement, which can alone in the hour of trial render courage effectual. We understand this company have volunteered their services to Government, and are ac- cepted. The Riflemen of Captain Stryker and the Fusileers of Captain Herbert are re- spectable in number and discipline. The county of Kings is in no respect behind her neighbors in military patriotism."
The Fusileers wore green "coatees" and Roman leather caps. The green frocks of the Rifles were trimmed with yellow fringe, a feature of the costume which is reputed to have originated the appellation " Katydids." In August the Artillery practiced at a target, and John S. King won a medal.
Two years elapsed before Brooklyn was actually threatened with war. In 1814 the fear that the British fleet might, as in the Revolutionary descent, land at Gravesend, was naturally entertained. The committee of defense decided to build two fortified camps on Brooklyn Heights and on the heights of Harlem. Volunteers for labor on local and suburban defenses were called for, and there was a patriotic response. A company of stu- dents from Columbia Academy, Bergen, N. J.,
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 53
performed work on the Brooklyn Heights for- tifications.1 The Long Island defenses ex- tended from the Wallabout to Fort Greene, to Bergen's Heights (on Jacob Bergen's prop- erty), and to Fort Lawrence.
On the Qth of August, 1814, General Mapes, of New York, with a body of volunteers, broke ground for the intrenchments at Fort Greene. The work was carried on day by day by a different corps of volunteers. One day the labor would be performed by the tanners and curriers and the veteran corps of artillery ; on another day, in happy unison, would be seen working, side by side, a brigade of infantry, a military association of young men, the Ham- ilton Society, and students of medicine; on another, a delegation from Flatbush would be seen engaged earnestly on the work ; on an- other, the people of Flatlands would be armed with pick and shovel ; then Gravesend dug in the trenches. Irishmen were not to be out- done; they proved their patriotism and love of liberty by volunteering, 1200 strong, to labor in the cause. Then the burghers from New Utrecht gave a helping hand. The free colored people gladly gave their aid. Jamaica came, headed by Dominie Schoonmaker, and
1 Furman's MS.
CM HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
with them came the principal of the academy, with his pupils. Workmen came from New York, Newark, Paulus Hook, and Morris County, N. J. A company came from Han- over Township, headed by their pastor, Rev. Dr. Phelps, and labored for a day upon these fortifications. So, too, the members of the Baptist Church in New York came, with their pastor, Rev. Dr. Archibald Macloy, and did a day's work. Rev. Dr. Macloy was the father of Congressman Macloy, who ably represented the seventh ward of New York and a part of Kings County before the late civil war.
The erection of the defenses of Brooklyn was thus not a local affair. It was one in which the neighboring cities, towns, and States took part. The people were enthusiastic. The Grand Lodge of Masons enlisted in the service, and the watchword of the day was: " The Master expects every Mason to do his duty." Old Fortitude Lodge, which still exists, rendered a day's service. A company of ladies came from New York, forming a procession, with music, marched to Fort Greene, and used the shovel and the spade for several hours. The people had one mind and were actuated by one purpose. The work advanced rapidly, for, as in the days of Nehe-
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 55
miah, the " people had a mind to work," and their efforts were crowned with success. These were the times when the people will- •> ingly gave their money for the good of the ,f country, without expecting to receive it again / with compound interest.
Early in September the works were com- pleted. The Twenty-second Brigade of In- fantry, composed of 1750 men, was stationed within the lines. Heavy artillery was mounted. Brigadier General Jeremiah Johnson was in command. He was a natural soldier, and pos- sessed every element of character necessary to lead a brigade. Stern and unflinching in the performance of duty, he yet had a warm and generous heart, which led him to take an active interest in the welfare of the men in his command. The soldiers loved him, and ren- dered willing obedience to his orders. Being a resident of Brooklyn, he knew or was known by most of his men personally.
At the fort on Cobble Hill worked mili- tary companies under command of Captains Stryker, Cowenhoven, and Herbert, the "ex- empts " of Bedford and the Wallabout, Fire Company No. 2 of Brooklyn, and a company of Bushwick people headed by Pastor Bassett. " Next to the duties which we owe to Heaven,"
5 6 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
said the Bushwick people at their meeting, "those which belong to our country demand our chief attention."
The volunteers worked with the utmost zeal, laboring by moonlight when sunset still left work to do. The Sixty-fourth Regiment, of Kings County, was commanded by Francis Titus, with Albert C. Van Brunt as second major, and Daniel Barre as adjutant. New Utrecht's company was headed by Captain Wil- liam Dewyre ; Brooklyn's company was headed by Captain Joseph Dean ; the Wallabout and Bushwick company, by Captain Francis Still- man ; the Gowanus company, by Captain Peter Cowenhoven, and later by Captain John T. Bergen ; the Gravesend and Flatbush com- panies, by Captain Jeremiah Lott.
Brooklyn was, indeed, ready, but fortunately the crisis for which it prepared did not appear. On the evening of February n, 1815, came the news of peace with Great Britain. On the evening of the 2ist Brooklyn was illumi- nated in a spirit of rejoicing, and the band of the Forty-first Regiment, then stationed in the village, voiced the delight of the people.
Meanwhile, various important advances had been made by Brooklyn and her neighbors. In 1812, Robert Fulton having made a success-
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 57
ful experiment with his first steamboat, the Clermont, a steam ferry was opened between New York City and Paulus Hook, Jersey City. In that year Fulton and his " backer," Robert R. Livingston, offered to the corpora- tion of the city of New York a proposition to establish a steam ferry from Fly Market Slip to Brooklyn.1 The proposition was accepted, and it was decided to run the boats from Bur- ling Slip. " As, however, the slip was not then filled in, and the cost of filling was estimated at $30,000, it was finally concluded to estab- lish the ferry at Beekman Slip (present Ful- ton Street, New York), which was accordingly purchased for that purpose by the corporation from Mr. Peter Schermerhorn. Beekman Slip at that time extended only to Pearl Street. Fair Street, which then ran from Broadway to Cliff Street, was extended through the block between Cliff and Pearl streets to join Beek- man Slip. To this newly extended Fair Street, from the East River to Broadway, and to Partition Street, which then extended from Broadway to the Hudson River, was given the name of Fulton Street, in honor of the dis- tinguished inventor, in consequence of the
1 Fulton and Livingston had obtained from the Legislature the monopoly of steam navigation on all the waters of New York for thirty years from 1808.
58 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
establishing of whose steam ferry this street was about to become a great highroad of travel and traffic. The ferry from Fly Market Slip was discontinued.
" The lease of the ferry was granted to Robert Fulton and William Cutting (his brother-in-law), for twenty -five years, — from the ist of May, 1814, to May, 1839, — at an annual rental of $4000 for the first eighteen years, and $4500 for the last seven years. The lessees were to put on the ferry one steam- boat similar to the Paulus Hook ferry-boat; to run once an hour from each side of the ferry, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset ; to furnish in addition such barges, etc., as were required by previous acts of the Legislature ; and on or before the ist of May, 1819, they were to provide another steamboat in all respects equal to the first, and when that was done a boat should start from each side of the river every half hour. As a compensation to the lessees for the in- crease of expense which would be incurred in conducting the ferry upon such an enlarged scale, the corporation covenanted to apply to the Legislature for a modification and increase in the rates of ferriage ; and in case the bill passed before May i, 1819, Messrs. Fulton
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 59
and Cutting agreed to put on their second boat at the earliest possible date thereafter. In case of its failing to pass, they were to be permitted to receive four cents for each and every passenger who might choose to cross the river in the steamboat, but the fare in barges was to remain as it had been, viz., two cents." l
The proposed bill successfully passed the Legislature, and Fulton and Cutting formed a stock company, called the New York and Brooklyn Steamboat Ferry Association, with a capital of $68,000. The first steam ferry- boat, called the Nassau, began running on Sunday, May 10, 1814. "This noble boat," said the Long Island " Star," " surpassed the expectations of the public in the rapidity of her movements. Her trips varied from five to twelve minutes, according to tide and weather. . . . Carriages and wagons, however crowded, pass on and off the boat with the same facility as in passing a bridge. There is a spacious room below the deck where the passengers may be secure from the weather, etc." On one of the first day's trips an engineer was fatally hurt.
The Nassau made forty trips on the follow-
1 Historical Sketch of Fulton Ferry.
60 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
ing Sunday, and became a useful and popular institution. She was used after business hours for pleasure excursions on the river. The plan of construction was that of a double boat, with the wheel in the centre, the engine-house on deck and the passenger cabin in one of the hulls. Peter Coffee, the first pilot, died in 1876, aged ninety-nine years. One end of the deckhouse of the Nassau was occupied by a pensioner of Fulton's, who sold candies and cakes.
While the Nassau was in operation the horse ferry-boats were also used on the Fulton Ferry. These horse ferry-boats were peculiar craft. The first horse-boats were single-enders, and were compelled to turn around in cross- ing the river. Subsequently double-enders were used. All these boats had two hulls, about twenty feet apart and covered over by a single deck. Between these hulls were placed the paddle-wheels, working upon the shafting propelled by horses.
" By an invention of Mr. John G. Murphy, father of ex-Senator Henry C. Murphy, the managers of these boats were enabled to re- verse their machinery without changing the position of the horses. The steamboat was very popular with the public. Owing to its
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 6 1
success there was soon a very marked desire in both cities for the addition of the second steamboat, in accordance with the terms of the contract made by the lessees with the city of New York. Objection was made by the lessees on the ground of additional expense, and boats run by horse power were substi- tuted. In 1815 Robert Fulton died. Mr. Cut- ting, who had lived in New York, removed to Brooklyn, and died at his residence on the Heights in 1821. The winter of 1821-22 was one of the most severe in the history of the country. The ferries were obstructed by enor- mous quantities of floating ice. Great cakes became jammed between the double hulls, and travel was practically suspended. Brooklyn had grown rapidly, and an uproar arose in which the ferry management was roundly as- sailed. Who can tell but it was here that the original idea of the East River Bridge was first born? In 1827 a steamboat similar to the Nassau, and called the William Cutting, was put on the ferry, but even this did not satisfy the public, who were eagerly seeking more extended accommodations. In 1833 Messrs. David Leavitt and Silas Butler se- cured a controlling interest in the stock of the company, and sought to meet the anticipations
62 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
of the people by adding two new steamboats, the Relief and the Olive Branch. Unlike their predecessors, these boats had single hulls and side wheels. Subsequently agitation in the southern part of Brooklyn led to the estab- lishment of the South Ferry."
In 1817, the Loisian Academy, which had been started four years before, received a salaried teacher, and was removed to the small frame house on Concord and Adams streets, where Public School No. i was afterward built.
Brooklyn began soon after the Revolution to think seriously of the matter of incorpora- tion as a village. On January 8, 1816, a pub- lic meeting was held at the public house of Lawrence Brown, " to take into consideration the proposed application for an incorpora- tion of Brooklyn. A committee, consisting of Thomas Everit, Alden Spooner, Joshua Sands, the Reverend John Ireland, and John Doughty, met the following day at the house of H. B. Pierrepont. On April I2th the act incorpo- rating the village passed the Legislature."
The section of the town of Brooklyn, com- monly known by the name of the Fire District, and contained within the following bounds, namely : " Beginning at the public landing,
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 63
south of Pierrepont's distillery, formerly the property of Philip Livingston, deceased, on the East River, thence running along the public road leading from said landing to its intersec- tion with Red Hook Lane, thence along said Red Hook Lane to where it intersects the Jamaica Turnpike Road, thence a northeast course to the head of the Walleboght mill pond, thence through the centre of said mill pond to the East River, and thence down the East River to the place of beginning," — was incorporated as a village, by the name of the Village of Brooklyn ; and by the act the village was constituted a road district, and declared exempt from the superintendence of the commissioners of highways of the town of Brooklyn, and the Trustees of the village were invested with all the powers over the road district, and subjected to all the duties in relation thereto which by law were given to or enjoined upon the said commissioners, etc.1
The Trustees were required to make a sur- vey and map of the village, to be kept by the clerk, subject to the inspection of the people, " in order that no resident might plead igno- rance of the permanent plan to be adopted for
1 Corporation Manual, 1870.
64 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
opening, laying out, leveling, and regulating the streets of said village." In pursuance of the requirements of this law, the Trustees caused to be made a survey and map of the village, which was adopted by them on the 8th of April, 1819. By a law passed in 1824, the Trustees were authorized to " widen and alter all public roads, streets, and highways, already laid out ... to such convenient breadth, not exceeding sixty feet, as they should judge fit;" also to lay out new roads and streets. In 1827 the village was divided into five districts.
The first Trustees of the village were An- drew Mercein, John Garrison, John Doughty, John Seaman, and John Dean.
The first named of these Trustees appears as one of the principal founders of a Sunday School which was " in operation in the village of Brooklyn" in 1816. This school seems to have been designed and operated on broad grounds. While combining "moral and reli- gious instruction with ordinary school learn- ing," parents or guardians were privileged to say " what catechism " they wished the chil- dren to study. As a result of this school move- ment the Brooklyn Sunday School Union Society was afterward organized. The school
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 65
met for a time in Thomas Kirk's printing- office on Adams Street, but found the school- house quarters on the same street to be more desirable.
Previous to 1814 there were two markets in Brooklyn : one at the foot of the old Ferry Street (which began to acquire the name Ful- ton Street, after the steamboats began running and Fulton Street had been named on the New York side) ; the other at the foot of Main Street. Both were taken down in 1814.
The Long Island Bank was incorporated in 1824, with a capital of $300,000, divided into 6000 shares. In the same year the Brooklyn Fire Insurance Company came into existence.
On the village map adopted April 8, 1819, sixty-seven streets appear, besides a number of alleys. Several of the streets were sixty feet wide. Doughty Street was the narrowest, be- ing only twenty feet wide.
In 1820 the population of the town had in- creased to 7175. The village population was 5210.
In 1822 there were four distilleries in the town, which at that time contained but little over 7000 inhabitants. This was a distillery to every 1750 inhabitants. All the grocers appear to have sold liquors.
66 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
In 1826 the population of the village was about 9000. The sum of the excise fees paid over to the overseers of the poor in that year was $3627, the significance of which large amount need not be pointed out.
In 1824 a bill was introduced into the Sen- ate, by John Lefferts, to organize a board of health in the village of Brooklyn. The act constituted the Trustees a board of health. By its provisions the president and clerk of the village became the officers of the board. The president's salary was fixed at $150 per annum, and the physician appointed by the board received $200 yearly.
The introduction of swill milk into the city appears to belong to a later period. It became the practice for milk-dealers to send to the various distilleries and purchase swill, which they fed to their cows. The stables were gen- erally long, low buildings divided into narrow stalls, and afforded accommodation for forty or fifty cows. The swill cost one shilling a hogshead, and was fed hot to the cows. The principal distilleries were Cunningham's on Front and Washington streets ; Manley's, cor- ner of Tillary and Gold streets; Birdsall's, John A. Cross's, and Wilson's. The two latter were at the Wallabout.
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 67
In 1824 the real estate of Brooklyn was assessed at $2,111,390, and the personal prop- erty at $438,690; making a total of $2,550,080.
On the 1 4th of January, 1830, the Supervi- sors of the county purchased the poor-house farm at Flatbush. On the 9th of July, 1831, the corner-stone of the building was laid, on which occasion an address was delivered by General Jeremiah Johnson, who afterwards be- came Mayor. He served as Supervisor con- tinuously from 1800 to 1822, and distinguished himself in the War of 1812, a part of the time being in command of the fortifications on Fort Greene.
The expense of supporting the poor of the town of Brooklyn during the year 1830 was $7233.13. The taxes for all expenses amounted to only sixty cents on every hun- dred dollars of valuation of real and personal property.
The items of village expense as estimated August 1 8, 1830, were as follows: —
Village watch $3,000
Fire department 1,400
Public cisterns 300
Interest on village stocks .... 600
Repairs of wells and pumps .... 900
Salaries of officers 1,200
Contingent expenses 2,600
$10,000
68 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
On the 2d of September, 1830, the Kings County Temperance Society was formed at Flatbush. The Hon. Leffert Lefferts was elected president.
The population of the town as ascertained by the census of 1830 was 15,292. The vil- lage contained about two thirds of the town population.
Furman, the indefatigable collector of statis- tics, says that in 1832 Brooklyn (the village) was divided into five districts, which together contained 12,302 inhabitants. In the village there were 1 10 licensed and 68 unlicensed taverns. This was at the rate of one tavern to every 69 persons. The second district ap- pears to have enjoyed the privilege of having the most taverns. It contained 79 in a popu- lation of 2801, or one to every 36 inhabitants. In view of the fact that the proportion of saloons to population to-day is one to every 225 persons, those rash debaters who persist in finding a movement toward ruin in modern life may find the figures significant.
An interesting glimpse of Brooklyn as it appeared in 1820 is furnished by Guy's well- known picture, painted from a Front Street window, and showing a cluster of houses in the heart of the village. The scene is of
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 69
winter, and the figures in the foreground snow are in most instances likenesses of people of the day. The Brooklyn Institute is in posses- sion of the picture. At the time of the fire which, in 1890, destroyed the Institute build- ing, then on Washington Street, and since completely obliterated to make way for the Bridge approach, it was slightly damaged ; but it remains one of the most interesting memo- rials of an interesting period. According to the key published in Stiles, the picture repre- sents stores and dwellings of Thomas W. Birdsall, Abiel Titus, Edward Coope, Geo. Fricke, Diana Rapalje, Mrs. Middagh, Benja- min Meeker, Mrs. Chester, Robert Cunning- ham, Jacob Hicks, Joshua Sands, Augustus Graham, Burdett Stryker, Selah Smith, and Dr. Ball, as well as the figures of Mrs. Harmer, Mrs. Guy, Jacob Patchen, and Judge John Garrison.
Diana Rapalje, a daughter of Garrett Ra- palje, was one of the prominent figures in the village, formerly a "favorite in Presidential circles at Washington, and latterly an eccen- tric of haughty bearing." Her house was bought by Colonel Alden Spooner, who printed the " Star " under its roof. Near the ferry stairs was the house of William Furman, over-
70 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
seer of the poor, who was one of the founders of the Catherine Street Ferry, and served as the first judge of the county between 1808 and 1823. He served in the state Legislature, and filled other important commercial and polit- ical offices. His son, Gabriel Furman, was the author of the " Notes " on the antiquities of Long Island, which have been so useful to later writers. At Birdsall tavern, on the Ful- ton Road, people bought the New York papers, and Quakers made it a stopping-place. Near at hand was the house of Henry Dawson, who ran the "sixpenny boats." In a low stone house lived " the gentlemen Hicks," and in the same region to the south were " Milk " Hicks and " Spetler " Hicks, other prominent members of a family whose name is closely associated with the early history of the Heights. Here also were the Middagh and Pierrepont properties, which were greatly improved by a street plan originated by Hezekiah Pierre- pont. On the Middagh estate was a house built by Thomas Kirk for a home and printing- office, and afterward occupied by George L. Bird, the editor of the "Patriot." To this house, too, came James Harper, the grand- father of the distinguished publishers, Harper and Brothers.
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 71
John Doughty occupied the house formerly owned by Diana Rapalje. Doughty was inti- mately connected with Brooklyn's village life, as fireman, assessor, town clerk, overseer of highways, president of the fire department, school-committee-man, and collector of the village. A picturesque figure was Jacob Patchen, a pungent, unmanageable man, con- spicuous in the village life by his obstinacy and determination.
Over the wheelwright shop of George Smith, opposite the lower corner of Hicks Street, was the court-room of Judge Garrison. Garrison was born at Gravesend in 1764. He served as fireman, trustee, school commissioner, and justice. Joralemon's Lane was a rough coun- try road, at the foot of which had been Pierre- pont's Anchor gin distillery, which was con- verted about 1819 into a candle-factory, and again became a distillery. The road had been laid out by Peter Remsen and Philip Living- ston. The site of the present City Hall was then an open field, while the site of the county court house was occupied by a famous resort known as the Military Garden.
The Pierrepont mansion stood at the foot of Montague Street. It was built by John Cornell, and became Pierrepont property in
72 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
1802. Hezekiah Pierrepont was a dignified and influential member of a community in which his exertions were always for broad and public-spirited plans. Teunis Joralemon, who had been a harness-maker in Flatbush, bought part of the Livingston estate, on which he practiced market gardening. He filled the offices of justice of the peace and Trustee, and other offices, but was of a temperament antipo- dal to that of Pierrepont, hotly opposing new streets, especially through his own property, and scorning the distinction of having Jorale- mon Street named after him. Another promi- nent estate was that of the Fleets. The name of Bergen is prominently associated with the progress of the village. At Bedford Corners were the Meseroles, Ryersons, Lefferts, Van- dervoorts, Suydams, Tiebouts, Cowenhovens, and other old families.
In December, 1821, the subject of removing the court house from Flatbush to Brooklyn was agitated in the papers, and on the 2ist of January, 1825, a meeting was held at Duflons, whereat a committee was appointed to obtain the removal of the court house and jail from Flatbush to Brooklyn. In 1826 the subject was brought to the attention of the Legisla- ture, and that body passed an act that the
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 73
court of common pleas and general sessions should alternate between Flatbush and the Apprentices' Library Building in Cranberry Street, then just finished. The court of com- mon pleas in those days corresponded to the county court of our time. The county clerk's office was removed to Brooklyn in March, 1819. The county court began to hold ses- sions in Brooklyn in January, 1827.
The Trustees of the village of Brooklyn deemed a debtors' prison a very important addition to the city. On the igth of February, 1829, Joseph Sprague, president of the Board of Trustees, made a report on the subject of fitting up under the market a prison-room for debtors. In accordance therewith a lockup was provided and cells built under the market. These cells were oftentimes crowded, and but little provision was made for the comfort of the occupants. The Bridge approach now passes over the old lockup.
During those early days prisoners were also confined in cells in the almshouse, then sit- uated on the south side of Nassau Street, be- tween Bridge and Jay streets. The building is still standing, and has been converted into dwellings.
The agitation relative to the removal of the
74 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
court house still continued. The Supervisors took the matter in hand. They were empow- ered in 1829 to raise by tax a sum of money for the purchase of lots, and the erection of a suitable building in Brooklyn to accommodate the courts and jail when completed. It may well be supposed that Flatbush did not relish the idea of the removal, and, being anxious to retain her precedence among the towns, her representatives strenuously opposed the change, and their votes for a short time de- layed the inevitable. The elements, however, aided those who urged the removal, by the burning of the jail and court house, as hereto- fore stated, and the way was opened for a new building. The next year an act was passed by the Legislature providing for the building of a jail and court house in Brooklyn.
Under the provisions of this law three com- missioners were chosen to purchase a suitable site for the buildings. The act also provided that when the court house was finished and ready for occupancy, a certificate to that effect should be obtained from the first judge of the county, and that thereafter all terms of the court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace should be held in the new build- ing, and that all processes and writs should be
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 75
made returnable thereat. It might be stated that subsequent to the fire at Flatbush, and prior to the occupation of the new building, the courts were temporarily held at the Ap- prentices' Library, and were removed to Hall's Exchange Building. Baily, writing in 1840, says : " The Kings County courts are held in the large building called the Exchange, situ- ated on the corner of Cranberry and Fulton streets. It is a plain brick building without any extraordinary architectural beauty." The court-room was on the second floor. On the first floor of the building was Bokee & Clem's hardware store. David A. Bokee was an in- fluential politician of the Whig school. His store for a time was the headquarters of the Whigs, who would assemble almost daily for consultation. Bokee ran for Mayor in 1843 against Joseph Sprague, the latter being elected by 3 1 1 majority. The Whigs elected him an Alderman, and he served during the years 1840-43, 1845-48. He was state sen- ator in 1848 and 1849, congressman from 1849 to 1851, and naval officer from 1851 to 1853. Mr. Bokee was one of the leading members of the First Baptist Church.
The Apprentices' Library Building, where the courts were held, was a notable structure.
76 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
One of the principal sources of its fame arose from the fact that its corner-stone was laid on the 4th of July, 1825, by that earnest and zeal- ous friend of American institutions, Lafayette. It was taken down in 1858 to make room for the Armory, which was afterward sold. Previous to the erection of the City Hall it served as the municipal building. The Com- mon Council and Board of Education met there. The municipal court also held its ses- sions in the building, and it afforded room for the post office and county clerk's office. On the ist of May, 1828, an act was passed by the Legislature providing for the erection of a fire-proof county clerk's office in Brooklyn. The Legislature, on the 25th of April, 1833, passed an act for the erection of a court house and jail in Kings County. By this act Losee Van Nostrand, Joseph Moser, and Peter Can- aver were appointed commissioners to pur- chase a suitable site or sites in the village of Brooklyn for the same. To defray the ex- penses to be incurred in erecting the buildings, the supervisors were authorized to create a public stock to the amount of $25,000. A building committee of five persons was directed to be appointed by the Supervisors of the county, and the president and Trustees of the
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 77
village, within sixty days after the passage of the act. The act also provided that when the court house and jail, or either of them, should be so far completed as to permit either of them being used for the purpose intended, that the first judge of the county should sign a declaration to that effect, and file the same in the office of the clerk of said county. The clerk thereupon was to publish the notice in the papers printed in the county, and from and after this publication the terms of the court of common pleas and general sessions should be held in the court-room, and from and after such declaration relating to the jail it should become the common jail of the county. This act was amended February 17, 1834, so as to declare that the second section of the act of 1833 authorized the Supervisors to create stock, not only for the purchase of a site, but also for erecting buildings.
Meanwhile the village had been flourishing in other directions. Its general growth was marked not only by the increase in popula- tion, but by the increase in the number of commercial institutions, churches, and schools. A second bank was chartered. A " night boat " began running on the ferry. There was an effort to establish a theatre ; and a building for
78 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
this purpose, subsequently abandoned, was erected, in 1828, on Fulton Street, between Nassau and Concord. The Brooklyn " Even- ing Star" began daily publication, and con- tinued to be a daily paper for six months, when insufficient patronage made it necessary to suspend daily issue. Stone walks were laid. The movement resulting in the formation of the Brooklyn Gaslight Company was begun. A second bank was chartered. A temperance society, a dispensary, a tract society, and a literary association (the Hamilton) were organ- ized. There began to be talk of water-works and of railroads. Fulton Street was widened, boats appeared on the South Ferry, and the boom in real estate indicated the growing pop- ularity of the village.
The movement for the incorporation of Brooklyn as a city met the determined opposi- tion of a large proportion of New York's inhabitants, who maintained that the propriety of natural growth demanded that Brooklyn and New York should become one city. From the earliest days of their common existence New York had grudged Brooklyn an indepen- dent life. The " water-rights " quarrels occupy much space in the early records. Under the early charter New York claimed ownership in
BROOKLYN VILLAGE 79
the East River, and of Brooklyn land to low- water mark, and afterward to high-water mark. This brought many disputes in the matter of ferry rights,1 and the spirit of this early dispute survived in the later attitude of New York. In the year 1824 the town on Manhattan Island received an income of over eight thousand dollars from the East River ferries. The legislative provision for Brook- lyn's harbor-master had been declared to be an encroachment on the rights of New York.2 Despite strong opposition, Brooklyn tri- umphed at Albany, and in April, 1834, became a full-fledged city.
1 The Corporation of New York at one time even questioned the right of Brooklyn's inhabitants to cross the river, ferriage free, in their own boats.
2 See Appendix III.
CHAPTER XI
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 1834-1860
Government of the City. George Hall, first Mayor. Plans for a City Hall. Contention among the Alder- men. Albert G. Stevens and the Clerkship. The Jamaica Railroad. Real Estate. The "Brooklyn Eagle." Walt Whitman. Henry C. Murphy. Brook- lyn City Railroad. The City Court established. County Institutions. The Penitentiary. Packer In- stitute and the Polytechnic. Williamsburgh becomes a City. Progress of Williamsburgh. Mayor Wall and the Aldermen. Discussion of Annexation with Brook- lyn. The "Brooklyn Times." Consolidation of the Two Cities. Mayor Hall's Address. Nassau Water Company and the Introduction of Ridgewood Water. Plans for New Court House. Proposal to use Wash- ington Park. County Cares and Expenditures. Met- ropolitan Police.
THE act of incorporation erected the city of Brooklyn from the village and town of Brook- lyn, dividing the city into nine wards. By Section 50 of this act, provision is made against closing or altering streets " within the first seven wards, or fire and watch district, set apart as such by the owners thereof, etc.,
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 8 1
and graded, leveled, paved, or macadamized, and against closing or altering streets in said city laid out and opened and used as such for ten years from the passage of this act, with- out the consent of the Common Council." The act was otherwise conservative in adjust- ing the new plans to existing conditions.
The government of the city was vested in a mayor and a board of aldermen, the latter, to the number of two from each ward, to be elected annually. The selection of a mayor was conferred upon the Aldermen, whose first choice was George Hall.
Hall was born in New York, in 1795, in the year preceding his father's purchase of the Valley Grove Farm at Flatbush. He was educated at Erasmus Hall, and chose to follow his father's trade of painter and glazier. He made friends, and established a good business position. In 1826 he became a Trustee in the third district of the city. He became presi- dent of the village, and in 1833 was reflected after a hot contest, the bitterness of which resulted from Hall's support of the movement to exclude hogs from the public streets, and to prevent the unlicensed selling of liquor in groceries and elsewhere. The defeat of what
82 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
was called the " Whig- Hog-Rum " party was announced amid much excitement.
In the July following the choice of Hall as Mayor of the new city, it was resolved to raise $50,000 for the purchase of ground for a city hall. General agreement fixed upon the junction of Fulton and Joralemon streets as sufficiently central. In January of the follow- ing year (1835) a committee of the corpora- tion reported favorably on low lands of the Wallabout for a city park, and before the close of the year ground was selling for $1000 an acre.
In May the Aldermen chose Jonathan Trotter for Mayor. Trotter was an English- man who had been in this country since 1818, and who in 1828 had opened a leather-dress- ing factory in Brooklyn. He became an Alderman, representing the fourth ward, in 1834.
In 1834 the total valuation was $15,642,290; in 1835 it was $26,390,151; in 1836 it was $32,428,942; and in 1837, $26,895,074. Pre- vious to 1838, the assessments were made by wards, and it is impossible to give the aggre- gates. The valuation and total taxation for subsequent years, up to 1860, are as follows : —
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN
i838 1839 . 1840 1841 . 1842 1843 . 1844 1845 - 1846 1847 . 1848 1849 . 1850 1851 . 1852 1853 • 1854 1855 - 1856
1857 . 1858 1859 . 1860
In 1835 there were thirteen churches in Brooklyn, as follows: St. Ann's, St. John's, and Christ Church, Episcopalian ; Sands Street, York Street, and Washington Street, Methodist, and the African Methodist; First, Second, and Third Presbyterian ; St. James', Roman Catholic ; Nassau Street, Baptist ; and Joralemon Street, Dutch Reformed. St. Luke's (then Trinity) Church, in Clinton Ave- nue, was organized in this year. The popu-
|
VALUATION. $25,198,956 |
TAXATION. |
|
26,440,634 |
I45»33I-39 |
|
25,447,146 |
134,139.66 |
|
25,596,862 |
151,038.24 |
|
24,715,380 |
159,205.84 |
|
2I,8l2,94I |
159,189.64 |
|
23,260,385 |
176,271.21 |
|
24,788,886 |
163,726.24 |
|
26,9l8,6l3 |
227>433-94 |
|
29,927,029 |
250,244.13 |
|
31,246,305 |
306,138.16 |
|
32,446,330 |
404,332.90 |
|
36,665,399 |
411,044.78 |
|
45»°°5>5I8 |
572,776.63 |
|
58,058,485 |
617,855.64 |
|
68,328,546 |
772,915.81 |
|
72,849,503 |
959,209.18 |
|
94,791,215 |
1,532,692.68 |
|
95,859>735 |
1,381,114.39 |
|
99,016,598 |
1,783,834-19 |
|
104,475,275 |
1,567,948.39 |
|
101,052,666 |
1,256,820.94 |
|
103,680,566 |
i,969>794-oo |
84 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
lation was 24,310, making a church for each 1807 persons. In 1847 there were fifty-two churches in the city, or one to each 1442 inhabitants.
On the roth of September, the plan of the City Hall was submitted to the Common Coun- cil and approved. The corner-stone, as origi- nally planned, was laid April 28, 1836, by the Mayor. The building, if it had been completed in accordance with first intentions, would have rendered unnecessary the building of the new Court House and municipal buildings. It was started during the inflation times of 1836. The era of wild speculation came to an end. The bubble burst, and work upon the city building was suspended on August 7, 1837. The walls, which had risen above the basement, stood for many years, when the work was re- sumed and carried to completion on a much smaller scale. The City Hall, as originally planned, was intended to cover the entire square in front of the present edifice.
On the 4th of August, 1836, the Appren- tices' Library, having been purchased by the corporation of. the city for $11,000, was offi- cially named the City Buildings.
During the time the Common Council met in the City Buildings, Whigs and Democrats
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 85
were very belligerent. The cause of the trou- ble grew out of the election for Alderman of the seventh ward. That ward then em- braced the area of the present seventh, eleventh, nineteenth, and twentieth wards. The charter election was held in the public schoolhouse on Classen Avenue, between Flushing and Park avenues, on the nth of March, 1843, and resulted in a tie between John A. Cross and Zebulon Chadbourne, the former being a Whig and the latter a Democrat. A protracted law- suit followed. Albert H. Osborn, whose seat was to be filled, held over, and ever after the people declared that his initials, A. H. O., stood for Alderman Hold Over.
The contention ran high, and bitterness and rancor marked the deliberations of the Alder- men. At a regular meeting of the Board, held at the City Buildings May 8, a separation took place between the Whig and Democratic mem- bers, occasioned by the fight between Cross and Chadbourne for the seat from the seventh ward. The Whig members retired to Hull's Exchange Buildings, whilst the Democrats remained in possession of the City Buildings, and made their appointments. The Whigs did the same.
On the 1 5th of May a writ of mandamus
86 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
was served on Alfred G. Stevens, who had been appointed clerk of the Common Council by the Democrats May 8. His election was secured by the vote of A. H. Osborne, without whose holding over the Board would have been a tie.
On the 23d of May the mandamus which had been obtained by Worthington Hodgkin- son, the clerk appointed by the Whigs, was argued before the Supreme Court. On the 9th of July, 1843, the motion to displace Ste- vens and substitute Hodgkinson was decided and denied by the Supreme Court, Chief Jus- tice Nelson and Greene C. Bronson presiding. The decision did not suit the Whigs, and was carried to the Supreme Court at Albany, and argued October 21, 1843. Abraham Crist appeared for the relator, and John Greenwood for the defendant. Shortly afterwards the court decided in favor of the defendant.
The matter was again argued November 24 before Judge Kent in New York, on a motion to obtain the books and papers of the Com- mon Council in the hands of Mr. Stevens. On the 2;th Judge Kent again decided in favor of Mr. Stevens.
On the ist of December the Whig Aldermen were arrested for misdemeanor in neglecting
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 87
to perform their duty. The complaint was abandoned. On the 5th of December the grand jury found bills of indictment against the several Whig Aldermen for neglecting to serve as members of the Common Council. At this time Seth Low (grandfather of the president of Columbia College) represented the fourth ward in the Common Council. The indictment against the Whig Aldermen grew out of an effort on their part to indict Mayor Sprague. It was a case of the biter being bitten. The grand jury refused to in- dict the Mayor, and indicted his accusers. The indictment was, however, not pressed to trial.
Meanwhile the Jamaica Railroad had ob- tained permission to occupy Atlantic Street, and other projects matured. The population of the city had, in 1835, reached 24,310, show- ing a gain of 9013 in fifteen years.
Trotter was reflected Mayor, and was suc- ceeded by Jeremiah Johnson, a man whose contemporaries revered him, and whose name occupies, and must always occupy, a high place in the annals of the city. General John- son was reelected, and was succeeded by Cyrus P. Smith, who was elected by vote of the peo- ple, and who also was reelected.
88 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
The fluster in the real-estate market was paralleled by the financial excitement, which resulted in the suspension of specie payments by the three banks of the city. The year of General Johnson's reelection was one of gen- eral business depression, but the community rallied quickly from the blow inflicted by dis- ordered markets.
In 1841 the Democrats of the county re- ceived representation in a new newspaper, the " Brooklyn Eagle and Kings County Demo- crat." The movement for the establishment of the " Eagle " was led by Henry C. Mur- phy, with whom Richard Adams Locke was associated in the editorship. The first num- ber appeared in October, and the Demo- crats were not loth to give the lusty young journal full credit for the success of the cam- paign, in which its voice gave no uncertain sound.
Directing the helm of the "Eagle" enter- prise was the clear-sighted, practical genius of Isaac Van Anden, who soon came into com- plete control of the paper, and remained sole proprietor until the year 1872. The " Eagle " had its days of adversity ; but it had a field, and it had vitality, and its growth was sure and steady. Following Murphy in its early
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 89
editorship were William B. Marsh, Walt Whitman,1 S. G. Arnold (under whose edito- rial leadership the name of the paper was abbreviated to " Brooklyn Daily Eagle "), and Henry McCloskey. In 1861 McCloskey was
1 Walt Whitman was born at West Hills, Long Island, in 1819. During the time of his residence in Brooklyn he did editorial writing for both the Times and the Eagle. In the following letter to Mr. Charles M. Skinner, of Brooklyn, he describes his newspaper work in this city: —
328 MICKLE STREET, CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY,
January 19, '85.
DEAR SIR, — In hasty answer to your request asking me to specify over my own signature what year I worked as an edi- torial writer in the Brooklyn Times office, I would say that if I remember right it was along in 1856, or just before. I recol- lect (doubtless I am now going to be egotistical about it) the question of the new Water Works (magnificently outlined by McAlpine, and duly carried out and improved by Kirkwood, first-class engineers both) was still pending, and the works, though well under way, continued to be strongly opposed by many. With the consent of the proprietor, I bent the whole weight of the paper steadily in favor of the McAlpine plan, as against a flimsy, cheap, and temporary series of works that would have long since broken down, and disgraced the city.
This, with my course on another matter, — the securing to public use of Washington Park (old Fort Greene), stoutly cham- pioned by me some thirty-five years ago, against heavy odds, during an editorship of the Brooklyn Eagle, — are " feathers in my wings " that I would wish to preserve.
I heard lately with genuine sorrow of the death of George C. Bennett. I remember him well as a good, generous, honor- able man.
I send best greetings to your staff, and, indeed, to all the Brooklyn journalists.
WALT WHITMAN.
Whitman's poem "Crossing the Williamsburgh Ferry" is familiar to readers of his Leaves of Grass.
gO HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
succeeded by Thomas Kinsella, who gave force and distinction to the editorial page of the flourishing paper. Kinsella died in 1884, after having made himself a power in the com- munity. He was succeeded by his first lieu- tenant on the " Eagle " staff, that graceful writer and orator, Andrew McLean, who after- ward took the editorship of the Brooklyn " Citi- zen." That the " Eagle " was destined to be lucky with its editors, received further indica- tion in the appearance of St. Clair McKelway at the post of command. Mr. Me Kel way's brilliant gifts as a speaker and as a writer have given to him peculiar prominence in the social, artistic, and political life of the city and the State.
The policy of the " Eagle " has been inde- pendently Democratic from the outset, a policy which has fostered, as it has been favored by, a singularly representative constituency. The paper is now controlled by the Eagle Associa- tion, of which Colonel William Hester is the president, William Van Anden Hester is sec- retary, and Harry S. Kingsley is treasurer. Its business management, like its editorial management, — if these may consistently be separated, — has been aggressive and liberal, and goes far toward explaining the present national reputation of the paper.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 91
Henry C. Murphy, who had, as we have seen, taken so important a part in the starting of the " Eagle," was a young Democrat of prominence in the county. Born in the vil- lage of Brooklyn, Murphy had been educated at Columbia College, where he distinguished himself as a writer as well as in general schol- arship, and was admitted to the bar in 1833. During his student years, he had taken part in debates in the Young Men's Literary Association, which afterward became the Ham- ilton Literary Association, with Murphy as president. To this association belongs the honor of popularizing the lyceum lecture sys- tem, which afterward became so potent a factor in American civilization, and which in this city represented the beginning of the Brook- lyn Lyceum and the Brooklyn Institute. In 1834 he was appointed assistant corporation counsel of the city, and in the following year he formed a legal partnership with the leading lawyer of the city, John A. Lott. This firm, which Judge Vanderbilt afterward joined, won great influence in the city, with whose early politics it was so closely connected.
In 1842 Murphy was chosen Mayor of Brooklyn. He was then but thirty years of age. His administration was forcible through-
92 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
out, and consistently resulted in his election to Congress, of which he was one of the youngest members. He was a candidate for reelection, but was defeated by Henry L. Sea- man. In the State Constitutional Conven- tion of 1846, he was a delegate from Kings County, with Tunis G. Bergen and Conrad Schwackhammer, and in the autumn of the same year he was again elected to Congress by a large vote.
Upon the election of Buchanan, Murphy was appointed Minister to the Hague. On his return to this country he was elected to the state Senate as an avowed champion of the Union cause. In the later political life of Brooklyn, Murphy took an active interest; and local enterprises, such as the bridge and vari- ous railroads, claimed his attention and sup- port. He made important historical collec- tions, wrote valuable contributions to local history, edited the " Journal " of Dankers and Sluyter, and was a leader in the establishment of the Long Island Historical Society.
Murphy was succeeded as Mayor of Brook- lyn by Joseph Sprague. The city had now 30,000 population, and thirty-five miles of paved and lighted streets. The Atlantic Dock Company had been incorporated. Thirty-five
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 93
churches opened their doors on Sunday. A line of stages ran from the ferry to East Brooklyn, and soon afterward a line was estab- lished between Fulton and South ferries. In the year of Sprague's election 570 new build- ings were finished or in course of erection. During Sprague's second term the Brooklyn City Hospital was incorporated.
Sprague was succeeded by Thomas G. Tal- madge, who was followed by Francis Burdett Stryker. In March, 1848, gaslight came into use.
It was in the same year that Augustus Graham indelibly wrote his name in the an- nals of Brooklyn, by his munificent gifts to the Brooklyn City Hospital, and to the estab- lishment of the Brooklyn Institute in the building on Washington Street built for the Brooklyn Lyceum.
A fire which took place in September de- stroyed three churches, the post-office, two newspaper offices, and other property to the value of a million and a half of dollars, and might have been more disastrous had not the flames been checked by the destruction of buildings in their path.
Edward Copeland was elected Mayor in 1849. Cypress Hills Cemetery had been es-
94 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
tablished in 1848. In the following year the Cemetery of the Evergreens was incorporated. The ground for Greenwood Cemetery had al- ready been secured.
The idea of a bridge to connect New York and Brooklyn, which had occasionally been discussed at earlier times, was now seriously taken up. The water front assumed a con- stantly increasing activity.
Copeland was followed in the mayoralty by Samuel Smith, Conklin Brush, and Edward C. Lambert. The latter was able to congratu- late the city on a population of 120,000, and the position of seventh city in the Union.
The Brooklyn City Railroad, incorporated in 1853, began in July of the following year the running of street cars on Myrtle Avenue, Fulton Street, and Fulton Avenue. In Au- gust cars were running to Greenwood.
The act of May 9, 1846 (Session Laws 1846, chapter 166), authorized the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the city of Brooklyn to create a temporary loan, in addition to the loans already authorized, not exceeding the sum of $100,000, for the purpose of erecting a city hall, and provision was made for the issuance of bonds for the purpose.
The Legislature at their session on the i2th.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 95
of April, 1848, amended the 4th section of the act of April 21, 1846, authorizing the Su- pervisors to create a loan, and provide further accommodations for the confinement of prison- ers, so as to read as follows : —
SEC. 4. The Board of Supervisors of said county, if land should be purchased, are au- thorized to remove as many prisoners sen- tenced to hard labor in the County Jail, as they may deem necessary, to the lands so pur- chased ; to place them under such keeper or keepers as they may appoint for that purpose, and to employ them in erecting said peniten- tiary and workhouse, or such other labor as may be deemed expedient ; and they may also authorize and direct the superintendents of the poor of said county to take charge of the establishment (subject to the directions of said Board), and provide the necessary food and clothing for said prisoners, and for those com- mitted as herein next provided. And it shall be lawful for the several magistrates and jus- tices of the peace in said county to commit all offenders convicted before them of petty causes, offenses or misdemeanors, who are in their judgment proper subjects for the peni- tentiary and workhouse in their discretion.
The city court of Brooklyn was established by an act of the Legislature, March 24, 1849.
96 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
It had but one judge until 1870, when it was reorganized with three.
On the loth of March, 1849, an act was passed authorizing the Mayor and Common Council to create a loan, in addition to the loans which had already been authorized by law, not exceeding $50,000, to complete and finish the City Hall.
By virtue of the laws of 1850, chapter 23, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty were authorized to create an additional loan of $15,000, for the purpose of completing the City Hall of Brooklyn, paying for the fences, ornamenting the grounds belonging thereto, and all other necessary expenses for the full completion and protection of the same.
The subject of building a new court house was again agitated in 1852. On the i;th of September in that year a special committee was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to consider the matter. On the i8th of January, 1853, they reported in favor of applying to the Legislature to carry out the work.
On the 29th of June, 1846, Charles G. Taylor offered a resolution in the Board of Supervisors declaring that it was expedient to purchase lands for the purpose of erecting a workhouse and penitentiary thereon, in accord-
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 97
ance with the act of the Legislature passed April 21, 1846. Charles G. Taylor, Barnet Johnson, and James Debevoise, the committee having the matter in charge, reported that 1 8 acres could be purchased at $200 per acre, and 29 acres for $180 per acre. On the 4th of August, 1846, a resolution was adopted that the same should be purchased, if the titles proved good. On the 4th of December, 1846, Seth Low, John Skillman, and Tunis G. Bergen were appointed a committee to present plans and details.
In April, 1846, the county treasurer issued $2000 of bonds for the erection of the Peni- tentiary. In 1849 $10,000 more were issued. The total amount of bonds issued up to March 2, 1854, was $155,000. On the 5th of June, 1855, the committee reported that the cost thus far of the easterly and main wing was $111,433.49.
The new Penitentiary was occupied as early as January, 1854, although it was not com- pleted until August, 1856. The total amount of bonds issued for the Penitentiary was $205,000.
It was not until May 3, 1855, that steps were taken to build the female wing of the new Penitentiary.
98 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
On the 5th of April, 1853, an act was passed by the Legislature requiring that whenever the Penitentiary should be ready for the recep- tion of prisoners, the Board of Supervisors should file a certificate thereof in the office of the clerk of the county, and publish a notice thereof for three weeks in one or more news- papers, and that thereafter all persons who, on conviction, are liable to imprisonment for not less than thirty days, should be sent there by the magistrates. The Penitentiary is situ- ated on a spot familiarly called Crow Hill, and is bounded by Nostrand, Rogers, Presi- dent, and Carroll streets. It faces on Carroll Street. Prisoners have been sent here from all parts of the State, and, through the efficient management of its wardens, it has been ren- dered nearly, if not wholly, self-suporting.
The increase of business and the unsuit- ableness of location rendered it necessary to change the place for holding the courts. The Legislature was again appealed to, and in 1853 an act was passed authorizing the county to borrow a sum not to exceed $100,000, to pur- chase a site, and erect buildings for such county offices as the Board of Supervisors might designate. Many sites were offered, and various and diverse propositions and sug-
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 99
gestions were made. Some were anxious to have the Court House built on Fort Greene, holding that it would, from its elevation, give character to the building. The matter slum- bered until October 10, 1855, when it was again brought up and postponed indefinitely. The difficulty of securing a suitable site now presented itself. Seventeen lots on Vander- bilt Avenue near Baltic Street were proposed, and the Board resolved to purchase them. Soon after the purchase the people, realizing that it was not a proper place, instituted oppo- sition.
When the City Hall was opened the courts were transferred to that building. The room long occupied by Justice Courtney was used by the Supreme and county courts. A small room opposite, now occupied by the Bureau of Elections, was appropriated for the purpose of holding special terms. The county clerk's office occupied a part of the apartments of the present comptroller. The surrogate's court occupied the Court Street portion of the comp- troller's present rooms, whilst the register's office was opposite, in the rooms of the present auditor. The city court was held in the room now used by the city clerk. Hall's Exchange Building, in which the courts had been held,
100 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
was destroyed in the great fire of 1848, and the courts were, thereupon, transferred to the City Hall.
In those days the sheriff lived with his fam- ily in the jail on Raymond Street.
If the city was forced to look to the building of its penal institutions and courts of justice, institutions of another kind were springing into being. In 1854 the Brooklyn Female Academy became the Packer Collegiate Insti- tute for Girls ; and in the same year a boy's academy was established, with the title of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute. The development of these important educa- tional institutions has been one of the most gratifying incidents in the life of the city.
As early as 1848 there had been serious talk of the civic union of Williamsburgh and Brooklyn.
The village of Williamsburgh was incor- porated in 1827. Its boundaries then were: " Beginning at the bay, or river, opposite to the town of Brooklyn, and running thence easterly along the division line between the towns of Bushwick and Brooklyn, to the lands of Abraham A. Remsen ; thence northerly by the same to a road or highway, at a place called Sweed's Fly ; thence by the said high-
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN IQI
way to the dwelling-house, late of John Van- dervoort, deceased; thence in a straight line northerly, to a small ditch or creek, against the meadow of John Skillman ; thence by said creek to Norman's Hill ; thence by the mid- dle or centre of Norman's Hill to the East River; thence by the same to the place of beginning."
The first officers of the Board of Trustees were Noah Waterbury, president ; Abraham Meserole, secretary ; and Lewis Sanford, treasurer. In 1829 Williamsburgh had a population of 1007. In 1835 Williamsburgh and Bushwick together had a population of 3314. It was in this year that the " Williams- burgh Gazette" was started. Within a few years came the Williamsburgh Lyceum, the Houston Street Ferry, the " Williamsburgh Democrat," and a Bible Society.
By chapter 144 of Laws of 1850 (p. 242), passed April 4, 1850, so much of the terri- tory of the city of Brooklyn as lay east of the centre of Division Avenue, between the inter- section of South Sixth Street, in the village of Williamsburgh, and Flushing Avenue, in the city of Brooklyn, was annexed to the village of Williamsburgh ; the city of Brook- lyn was divided into eleven wards (therein
102 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
described), and the Common Council of the city was authorized, under certain restrictions and limitations, to cause streets and avenues to be opened and widened, and to be regu- lated, graded, and paved, public squares and parks to be opened, regulated, and ornamented, etc., and to close up and discontinue roads, streets, lanes, and avenues, etc.1
By chapter 102 of Laws of 1835 (p. 88), passed April 18, 1835, a portion of the town of Bushwick — "beginning at the southeast corner of the present village of Williamsburgh, running thence southeasterly along the line that divides the town of Bushwick and the city of Brooklyn, to a turnpike road leading from Brooklyn to Newtown and Flushing, at a point near, and southwesterly of, the house of Charles DeBevoise, thence running along said road northeasterly to the cross- roads, thence northerly along the road leading to Bushwick Church to the Williamsburgh and Jamaica turnpike, thence northerly along the road, passing the church, and leading to Newtown Bridge, about twelve hundred feet, to an abrupt angle in said road turning to the east, thence westerly about eighteen hundred feet until it intersects the head of navigation
1 Brooklyn Compendium.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 103
of a branch of Bushwick Creek, thence west- erly along said branch creek, according to its meanderings, to the main creek, which is the present boundary of the said village of Wil- liamsburgh, thence southerly along the eastern boundary line of the said village of Williams- burgh to the place of beginning " — was annexed to Williamsburgh, and Nicholas Wyckoff, David Johnson, Peter Stagg, Rob- ert Ainslie, and John Leonard were appointed commissioners to lay out streets.
In 1840 the town of Williamsburgh was created, and eleven years later the city of Williamsburgh was incorporated, comprising the village of Williamsburgh. The city was divided into three wards, and the Common Council was authorized, under certain restric- tions and limitations, to cause streets and ave- nues to be opened and widened, and public squares and parks to be opened.
The city charter was drawn by S. M. Meeker, counselor of the village, a lawyer, whose name was prominent in the annals of this section of Brooklyn for many years. Mr. Meeker was counsel of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank when chosen its president in 1 88 1. He was a prime mover in the estab- lishment of the First National Bank.
IO4 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
Abraham J. Berry was the first Mayor of the city of Williamsburgh, William H. Butler being city clerk, George Thompson, attorney and counsel, and Jas. F. Kenny, comptroller. In the first year of the new city's life the Farmers' and Citizens' Bank, the Williams- burgh City Bank, the Williamsburgh City Fire Insurance Company, and the Williamsburgh Medical Society were incorporated. The population was estimated at over 40,000. Over 9000 children attended school, and there were fifteen private schools. A year later the Mechanics' (now the Manufacturers') National Bank was established, and a number of new churches appeared. There were twenty-five Sunday-schools of different denominations. The Young Men's Christian Association of Williamsburgh began its career under favor- able auspices.1
William Wall, elected Mayor on the Whig ticket in 1854, was soon at swords' points with the Aldermen, whose resolutions he vetoed with remarkable frequency. His antagonism toward the Aldermen led him to take an active part with those who were urging the consolidation of the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh.
1 The Young Men's Christian Association of Brooklyn was organized during the same year.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 105
The movement toward annexation was ac- companied by all of the conflict of opinion that inevitably characterizes such movements. The Brooklyn " Star," in March, remarked edito- rially : " We know there are some amongst us who prate of greater taxation and inequalities in favor of Williamsburgh. There are those in Williamsburgh who argue that Brooklyn has greatly the advantage. We are rather disposed to argue that it is like a well-assorted union between man and wife, where, with kindred feelings and objects, both have the advantage. No matter how the property relations may seem to be, we are convinced that time will vindicate the advantage of the union.
" We hope our members of the Legislature will not be persuaded by individual efforts and desires to thwart the will of three committees clearly expressed, with Brooklyn at their head, lifting up the loudest voice. We have taken some pains to ascertain the public sentiment, and it is at this day more clearly in favor of the union than when the vote was taken."
The Williamsburgh " Times " warmly sup- ported the consolidation movement. When the bill prepared by the Consolidation Commis- sion was before the Legislature for action, the
106 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
" Times " said (March 24) : " With the excep- tion of the amendment relative to the office- holders, the bill is nearly in all respects as it passed from the hands of the commissions. Thus the hopes of the friends of consolidation seem in a fair way of being realized, and after a world of pain and trouble the parturition of the new city is at hand. Let us trust that the friends of this measure will not meet with an entire disappointment. There are two grounds for hope in this connection. Brook- lyn has been at least a little better governed than ourselves, and a large city can be more cheaply managed than a small one."
The publication of the Williamsburgh "Times" was begun in 1848 by Aaron Smith and George C. Bennett. Bennett, who pre- viously had been associated with Levi Darbee and Isaac A. Smith in printing the Williams- burgh "Morning Post,"1 acquired control of the " Times," and made it a pronounced Whig organ. In 1859 an interest in the paper was secured by Bernard Peters, and under this favoring partnership the paper rapidly ad- vanced in circulation and influence. Bernard
1 Up to the time of present writing morning journalism has never been successful in Brooklyn, the metropolitan newspa- pers of New York having from the outset filled the field, and prevented a financial success for any but the evening papers.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN IQJ
Peters, who subsequently became sole proprie- tor of the paper, had made an important jour- nalistic record at Hartford, Conn., and was already well known in Brooklyn as a Univer- salist clergyman, whose ringing Union ser- mons and addresses had aroused public inter- est during the war period. The later history of the " Times," under Peters' energetic edi- torship, has been one of consistent progress in public confidence. In politics the " Times " has been Republican, while its policy, to avoid any partisanship that might impair its value as a newspaper, has been strongly worked out with the notable business management of William C. Bryant.
By the act of the Legislature passed in April, 1854, all that part of the county of Kings known as the cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh and the town of Bushwick, and bounded easterly by the town of New- town, Queens County, south by the towns of New Lots, Flatbush, and New Utrecht, west by the town of New Utrecht and the Bay of New York, and north by the East River, was consolidated into one municipal corporation called the city of Brooklyn, and divided into eighteen wards, therein described, and into the eastern and western districts.
108 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
A year later all local distinctions in relation to the eastern and western districts were abol- ished, except as to the Fire Department.
George Hall, who had been first Mayor of Brooklyn upon its incorporation as a city, be- came the first Mayor of the consolidated cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburgh. In his in- augural address the Mayor said : —
" It is now twenty-one years since I was called by the Common Council to preside over the affairs of the late city of Brooklyn, then first ushered into existence. The population of the city at that time consisted of about 20,000 persons, residing for the most part within the distance of about three quarters of a mile from Fulton Ferry. Beyond this limit no streets of any consequence were laid out, and the ground was chiefly occupied for agricultural purposes. The shores, throughout nearly their whole extent, were in their natural condition, washed by the East River and the bay. There were two ferries, by which communication was had with the city of New York, ceasing at twelve o'clock at night. There were within the city two banks, two insurance companies, one savings bank, fifteen churches, three pub- lic schools, and two weekly newspapers. Of commerce and manufactures it can scarcely be said to have had any, its business consisting chiefly of that which was required for sup- plying the wants of its inhabitants. Sixteen
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 109
of its streets were lighted with public lamps, of which thirteen had been supplied with- in the previous year. The assessed value of the taxable property was $7,829,684, of which $6,457,084 consisted of real estate and $1,372,600 of personal property.
" Williamsburgh was incorporated as a vil- lage in 1827. Its growth was comparatively slow until after the year 1840. At the taking of the census in that year it was found to con- tain 5094 inhabitants, and since that time it has advanced with almost unparalleled rapid- ity, having attained a population of 30,780 in 1850. It was chartered as a city in 1851.
" Within the comparatively short period of twenty-one years what vast changes have taken place ! Bush wick, from a thinly settled town- ship, has advanced with rapid strides, and yesterday contained within its limits two large villages, together numbering a population of about 7000 persons. Williamsburgh, from a hamlet, became a city with about 50,000 in- habitants. Brooklyn, judging from its past increase, yesterday contained a population of about 145,000, and on this day — the three places consolidated into one municipal corpo- ration — takes its stand as the third city in the Empire State, with an aggregate popula- tion of about 200,000 inhabitants." *
1 "Yet, although Brooklyn had thus, at a single bound, jumped from the seventh to the third position among the cities
HO HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
Under the new charter the Board of Alder- men consisted of one alderman elected from each ward. A new board of education came into existence and held its first meeting in February. Other incorporations were those of the Fire Department, the Nassau Water Company, and the Brooklyn Sunday School Union.
The Williamsburgh Ferry Company had been authorized in 1853 to build and maintain docks, wharves, bulkheads, and piers on the land under water in the East River, in front of their lands in the city of Williamsburgh be- tween the foot of South Sixth Street and the foot of South Eighth Street, and extending into the river to a line not more than sixty-five feet from the front of the largest pier on the property.
The Common Council voted a subscription of $1,000,000 to the stock of the Nassau Water Company, on condition that the com- pany show $2,000,000 paid capital stock, and
of the American Union, it could by no means claim the same relative position in point of wealth, business, or commercial importance, being outranked in these respects by several cities of less population. Nor had it risen to its eminence by virtue of its own inherent vigor and enterprise. Candor cer- tainly compels the acknowledgment that it was chiefly attribu- table to the overflowing prosperity and greatness of its giant neighbor, New York." — Stiles's History of Kings County, voL i. p. 485.
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN \\\
the Aldermen afterward added $300,000 to the subscription. In July of the following year (1856), work on the Nassau Water Works was begun at Reservoir Hill, Flatbush Avenue. The occasion of breaking ground was signal- ized by imposing ceremonies.
In his January address Mayor Hall an- nounced the opening of fourteen miles of new streets, and the erection of 1034 new build- ings.
The business of the city was rapidly increas- ing, and with the annexation of Williamsburgh the municipality needed all the accommoda- tions afforded in the City Hall for the trans- action of its business. The judges were com- plaining of the cramped condition of their rooms, and the need of further accommoda- tions. The question of a new court house was publicly discussed. It was not, however, until July 6, 1859, that anything definite was done. The Board of Supervisors awoke to the necessity of the hour, and decided to renew their efforts to accomplish the desired result. On the 1 8th of July, 1860, they resolved to make a new application to the Legislature for authority to purchase land and erect the neces- sary buildings thereon.
On the 1 7th of April an act was passed
112 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
authorizing the Board of Supervisors of Kings County to build a court house for the county. The county treasurer was authorized by the act, under the direction of the Board of Su- pervisors, to borrow on the credit of the county a sum not exceeding $100,000, and to give his official bonds, in such form as the Board might prescribe, for the payment of the same, with interest payable annually or semi-annuall y as the Board might direct. The money so col- lected was to be expended, under the direction of the Supervisors, in the purchase of lands and the erection of a building for the proper accommodation of the courts and county offi- cials. The act also provided for a levy of tax to pay the principal and interest. The Board of Supervisors was authorized to select and determine the location ; and when completed, and ready for occupancy, and notice thereof filed, by the Board with the clerk of said county, the same should become for all pur- poses the court house of the county.
On the 23d of May, 1860, a special com- mittee was appointed to select a proper site for the building, and to report to the Board. Every owner of lots was anxious to dispose of them to the county. Washington Park had its advocates. So favorably did the Super-
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 113
visors look upon that location, that a com- mittee was appointed to confer with the Board of Aldermen on the subject. When it began to look as if a portion of that famous old hill would be chosen, the abutting owners sent in a remonstrance, claiming that as the park had been paid for in part by assessment on the surrounding property, the city had no right to grant any such privilege. The city fathers, adopting this view of the case, gave the Board no satisfaction, and the scheme was abandoned.
A circular was prepared, and invitations extended to architects to submit plans. The plans were to be deposited with Albert H. Os- born, clerk of the Board of Supervisors, on or before June 3, 1861. A large number were submitted, some coming from St. Louis. The plan of King and Tackritz of Brooklyn was finally accepted.
In March, 1861, the special committee ap- pointed by the Supervisors purchased the land on which the present building stands for $70,000. The land having cost $70,000, only $30,000 was left of the sum directed to be raised to purchase the land and erect the build- ing. As that was insufficient for the purpose, the aid of the Legislature was again invoked, and the passage of an additional act obtained,
114 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
authorizing the Supervisors to borrow, on the credit of the county, an additional sum of $100,000 to be expended under their direction for the erection of a building or buildings, for the use of the courts and county offices.
In 1858 the expense of supporting the alms- house, and the several institutions connected therewith, was $158,604.66. Including expen- ditures for out-door relief, the aggregate cost of supporting the poor of the county was $192,079.77. The average number of inmates during the year ending August i, 1858, was 1495. The cost for the support of each of them was $106.09, or $2.04 per week. This was a decrease on each as compared with the previous year.
The expenses of the several departments were as follows : Almshouse, $36,530.15 ; hos- pital, $51,755.19; lunatic asylum, $33,068.26; nursery, $20,571.31 ; store, $605 ; miscellane- ous, not including temporary relief, $16,074.07.
The total number remaining July 31, 1857, was 1274; number admitted during year, 8570; number of infants boarded out during year, 123; number temporarily relieved, in Brooklyn, Western District, 20,793 ; Eastern District, 1 1,661 ; Flatlands, Flatbush, and New Lots, 378; New Utrecht, 108; making a total
THE CITY OF BROOKLYN 115
of 32,940 ; and the total number relieved and supported wholly or in part during the year ending July 31, 1858, was 41,623. The popu- lation of the county was at this time about 254,000. The number relieved was 16^ per cent, of the population.
It may be interesting to state the number of persons remaining in these institutions at the termination of previous fiscal years. The official statement is as follows: 1849, 494; 1850, 592; 1851,662; 1852,873; 1853,969; 1854, 1156; 1855, 1533; 1856, 1347; 1857, 1274; 1858, 1239.
The number admitted to the hospital during the year 1858 was 2299, of whom 148 were born in the hospital.
During the seven years from August i, 1850, to August 1/1857, there were 235 cases of small-pox, of which only 35 died. Of those admitted into the hospital during 1857 and 1858, 565 were born in the United States, 1261 in Ireland, and 369 in Germany. On the 3ist of July, 1858, there were 268 patients in the lunatic asylum. In 1850 the number in the asylum was only 91. The nursery had, in 1858, in boys and 103 girls; total, 214.
On the 3ist of July, 1862, there were in the almshouse, 373; in the nursery, 260; in the
1 1 6 HIST OR Y OF BROOKL YN
lunatic asylum, 366. In 1863 there were 404 in the almshouse ; in the nursery, 217; and in the lunatic asylum, 396.
The total number relieved and supported, in whole or in part, for the year ending July 31, 1863, was 22,879. The population of the city at the time was 295,000. The net cost was $141,640.52.
Mayor Hall was succeeded by Samuel S. Powell, who served for three terms. During his occupancy of the Mayor's chair many sig- nificant advances were made in the growth of the city. In April, 1857, the Metropolitan Police law went into effect. By this enact- ment the counties of New York, Kings, West- chester, and Richmond, and the towns of New- town, Flushing, and Jamaica were placed under a single system of police. The first commis- sioners from Brooklyn were J. S. T. Strana- han, James W. Nye, and James Bowen.
Ridgewood water was supplied to the city through mains which were opened on Decem- ber 4, 1858. In April of the following year the event was marked by a public demonstra- tion. The Brooklyn Academy of Music was incorporated in 1859, and the collegiate depart- ment of the Long Island College Hospital was opened.
CHAPTER XII
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR
1861-1865
Election of Mayor Kalbfleisch. The Call for Troops. The Militia. Filling the Regiments. Money for Equip- ment. Rebuking Disloyalty. War Meeting at Fort Greene. Work- of Women. The County sends 10,000 Men in 1861. Launching of the Monitor at Green- point. The Draft Riots. Colonel Wood elected Mayor. Return of the "Brooklyn Phalanx." The Sanitary Fair. Its Features and Successes. The Calico Ball. Significance of the Fair. The Christian Com- mission. Action of the Supervisors of the County. The Oceanus Excursion. Storrs and Beecher at Sum- ten News of Lincoln's Death. Service of the Na- tional Guard. The "Fighting Fourteenth." The Newspapers. Court House finished.
THE sense of impending and imminent danger, which made itself felt throughout the country in the winter of 1 860-61, was strongly apparent in Brooklyn, and when the crash came the city was not unprepared in any sense.
It was only a few days after the election of Martin Kalbfleisch as Mayor1 that Brooklyn
1 Martin Kalbfleisch was elected Mayor on the Democratic ticket, receiving a majority of 5136, in a total vote of 28,280, over his opponent, Frederick Scholes.
Il8 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
was startled by the news that Fort Sumter had surrendered.
The announcement occasioned intense ex- citement throughout the city. In a remark- ably short space of time the strength of the city's loyalty to the Union cause made itself felt. Those who sympathized with the South, or who were wavering in their allegiance, were made to feel the necessity for modifying their views, or for avoiding any sign of dis- loyalty. The national flag appeared in every quarter of the city. Its absence was noted wherever that absence could be construed into a sign of unpatriotic feeling. Crowds threat- ened violence to Southern sympathizers. The Mayor urged moderation, and the early ex- cesses of patriotism soon passed.
Meanwhile, volunteers flocked to the flag. The four militia regiments in the Fifth Bri- gade were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Twenty- eighth, and Seventieth. At the time of the alarm the regiments were not numerically strong. Less than 300 men were in the Thir- teenth ; less than 200 in the Fourteenth ; the Twenty-eighth and Seventieth were somewhat stronger.
At the call of the President the regiments rapidly filled. Captain W. H. Hogan organ-
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 119
ized an artillery company. In the Eastern District, the Forty-seventh Regiment was or- ganized, with Colonel J. V. Meserole in com- mand. Amid enthusiastic demonstrations the Fourteenth left for the front in May, 1861.
The scenes during the first hours of the war period were those characteristic of every community in which the Union sentiment was strong and unquestionable. Every class in the community made response. Plymouth Church, from whose pulpit had come the loyal and stirring oratory of Henry Ward Beecher, subscribed $1000 toward the equipment of the local regiments. A sum equally gener- ous came from the Pierrepont Street Baptist Church. The Union Ferry Company offered to continue the salaries of any of its em- ployees who might volunteer, thus assuring the safety of their families. Local business men and corporations gave similar demonstra- tions of patriotism. The appropriations of the Common Council began with a provision for the disbursement of $75,000 for the relief of the families of those who should volunteer. The Kings County Medical Society resolved that its members should attend gratuitously the families of volunteers.
There were signs of lukewarm ness in cer-
120 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
tain quarters, and definite manifestations of sympathy with the South ; but these met with decisive rebuke whenever they appeared. The Navy Yard was threatened, or was supposed to be threatened, by incendiary rebel sympa- thizers, but prompt action prevented the possi- bility of any form of attack.
A war meeting at Fort Greene drew out 50,000 people, and elicited demonstrations of hearty patriotism. A corps of Brooklyn women volunteered as nurses, and lint societies were organized by energetic women who undertook to supply equipment for the nurses. Women in the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church supplied over fifteen hundred yards of banda- ging to the Twenty-eighth Regiment, which, amid great enthusiasm, followed the Thirteenth to the front. Brooklyn was largely represented in the organizing of the Twenty-first New York Volunteers. The organization of the Forty-eighth New York, under Colonel Perry, the First Long Island Regiment, the Nine- teenth New York Volunteers (East New York), and the Fifth Independent Battery followed.
In 1 86 1 the city and county sent out 10,000 men. The draft of 1862 rather staggered the city at its first coming, but the rally was en- thusiastic, and the patriotic work proceeded.
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 121
The armories of the city became centres of loyal activity.
The new fighting engine, the Monitor, was launched at Greenpoint in January, 1862. In March the novel iron craft had her struggle with the rebel Merrimac in Hampton Roads.
Greenpoint sent over a company to the Thirty-first New York Volunteers.
In 1863 the local militia, or National Guard, included the Thirteenth Regiment, under Colonel Woodward; the Twenty-third, Colo- nel Everdell ; the Twenty - eighth, Colonel Bennett; the Forty-seventh, Colonel Meser- ole ; the Fifty-second, Colonel Cole ; the Fifty- sixth, Colonel Adams. In the Southern trips, such as those made by the Twenty-third and the Forty-seventh regiments, the National Guard performed excellent service aside from the heavier duty in action.
The New York draft riots of 1863 naturally affected Brooklyn very closely, not only in such instances of mob violence as the firing of the grain elevators in the Atlantic Basin, but in the menacing and really dangerous move- ments incident to the reign of terror. Brook- lyn volunteers lent important aid in the de- fense of the State Arsenal in New York.
To facilitate recruiting in the county, the
122 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
Supervisors, in November, 1863, resolved upon acquiring a loan of $250,000, and $300 bounty was afterward paid to each recruit.
Mayor Kalbfleisch was succeeded as Mayor in 1864 by Colonel Wood, who had organized the Fourteenth Regiment, was wounded and captured at the first Bull Run, and was re- leased by exchange in 1862.
The return of the " Brooklyn Phalanx," the First Long Island Regiment, under Colonel Cross, in January, 1864, was the occasion for an immense demonstration. The regiment had taken part in fourteen battles, and came home with 234 men out of 1000.
An event of the war period that is to be regarded as of the highest significance, not only for the relation it bore to the necessities of the war, but to the progress of the city, was what is known as the great Sanitary fair.
This Brooklyn and Long Island fair was instituted by the War Fund Committee of Brooklyn and Kings County, and the Woman's Relief Association of Brooklyn, which was known as the Brooklyn Auxiliary of the United States Sanitary Commission. The fair committee was organized with A. A. Low as president. Arrangements for cooperation between all the churches and private and
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 123
public societies in the city were efficiently perfected, and a public meeting was held at the Academy of Music in January, 1864. Meetings to promote the same object were held at Flatbush, Greenpoint, and elsewhere. Buildings were erected adjacent to the Acad- emy to give shelter to the Museum of Arts, a restaurant, a department of relics and curios- ities, and quarters for the " Drum Beat," a journal published during the fair, under the editorship of the Rev. Dr. Storrs and Francis Williams.
The fair opened on Washington's Birthday with a great military parade. The Academy presented a brilliant spectacle. The art dis- play in the Assembly rooms was a triumph in the art annals of the city; the New England Kitchen ingeniously duplicated the features of a colonial New England domestic scene.
On March 1 1 the fair closed with a mem- orable calico ball. In the hall of manufac- tures was a huge broom, sent from Cincinnati, and bearing this inscription : " Sent by the managers of the Cincinnati Fair, Greeting: We have swept up $240,000 ; Brooklyn, beat this if you can." Brooklyn's reply, in the words of an individual respondent, was : " Brooklyn sees the $240,000, and goes
124 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
$150,000 better." Such, indeed, were the superb figures of profit from this remarkable enterprise.
The fair has been much extolled for its in- fluence on the city itself. " The first great act of self-assertion ever made by the city of Brooklyn," is a typical comment on the event. However the fair may be regarded in this light, it was a brilliantly successful effort. The service of the Women's Relief Association, of which Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan was the dis- tinguished leader, was in the highest degree admirable.
The Christian Commission for Brooklyn and Long Island, to act in concert with the United States Christian Commission, was or- ganized in March. Before the close of the war this commission had sent out 1210 Bibles and parts of the Scriptures; 4033 psalm books and hymn books ; 50,544 magazines and pam- phlets; 177,520 newspapers and periodicals, and other printing, making up a total of 1,078,304.
The Supervisors of the county repeatedly took measures to stimulate volunteers. In July (1864) the Board directed its bounty committee " to pay to any person furnishing an accepted volunteer or recruit for three
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 125
years' United States service, the sum not ex- ceeding $300, the same as paid to any drafted man furnishing a substitute, and to be paid upon the like certificate of the United States officer, and without regard to the person fur- nishing such recruit being liable to be drafted into the United States service."
In July, shortly after the laying of the cor- ner-stone of an armory in the Eastern District, the committee began paying " hand-money " prizes of $175 and upward to persons bring- ing recruits. In September the news that Kings County was " out of the draft " was hailed with great satisfaction.
Early in 1865 the evidences that the war was drawing to a close clearly appeared. A party of excursionists which left Brooklyn, in April, on the steamer Oceanus, learned at Charleston of Lee's surrender, and witnessed the restoration of the flag on Sumter. The Rev. Dr. Storrs and Henry Ward Beecher were present and spoke. The party heard of Lincoln's assassination before reaching home.
The tragedy of Ford's Theatre, by which the strong hand of Lincoln was taken from the government of the nation, threw the city into profound gloom. The War Fund Com- mittee opened subscriptions, which were lim-
I 2 6 HIST OR Y OF BROOKL YN
ited to one dollar from each person, and the result of this prompt, patriotic, and well-man- aged movement was the statue of Lincoln by Henry K. Brown, which occupies a command- ing place in Prospect Park Plaza.1
The record of Brooklyn's National Guard organizations is an honorable one. The Thir- teenth Regiment (National Guard), the first company of which, known as the Brooklyn Light Guard, was organized as long ago as 1827, had for its first colonel Abel Smith. The call of President Lincoln in 1861 elicited a unanimous offer of service from the Thir- teenth, which went farther south than any other New York regiment, save the Eleventh. It formed a part of the left wing of McClellan's army. When the regiment was called into active service for the third time, John B. Woodward was in command.2
The Fourteenth Regiment has the distinc- tion of being the only one of the National Guard regiments that served throughout the war. It left for the front under command of
1 The statue was unveiled in October, 1869. A. A. Low presided, and the presentation address was made by James P. Wallace, on behalf of the War Fund Committee. The oration was by Dr. Storrs.
2 Mr. Beecher was appointed chaplain of the Thirteenth Regiment in 1878. Dr. Storrs had already occupied this post.
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 127
Colonel Alfred M. Wood. At Bull Run, at Gettysburg, in the Wilderness, and elsewhere, it performed heavy and prolonged service. In twenty-one battles its mettle was tested, and the record made by the " red-legged devils " is a brilliant and honorable one.
The Twenty-third Regiment was the out- growth of one of the Home Guard companies of the war period. It was summoned to Har- risburgh, Penn., in 1863, being then in com- mand of Colonel Everdell. The subsequent history of the regiment has been one of steady rise in efficiency and distinction.
The Forty-seventh Regiment, organized, as already stated, under the leadership of J. V. Meserole,1 was called to Washington, and was recalled after thirty days' service in conse- quence of the draft riots, in which, with the Forty-third, it performed valuable service.
The Third Battery was organized in 1864, by Major E. O. Hotchkiss.
Brooklyn is estimated to have contributed 30,000 men to the guards and armies of the Union during the war ; but this estimate would not represent the highly creditable ex- tent of the city's support to the great cause which saw its triumph in 1865.
1 Colonel Meserole was made brigadier-general in 1868.
128 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
During the years of the war the voice of the Brooklyn press gave no uncertain sound. The " Eagle " had become a lusty leader of public opinion. The " Times " on the other side of the city was making for itself a creditable name. The " Daily Union," established in 1863, voiced the ardor of the Union cause with energetic patriotism. German readers found in the "Long Island Anzeiger,"1 started in 1864, cordial support to every good North- ern principle in a strain worthy of the young journal's editor, Colonel Henry E. Roehr, who had been one of the earliest volunteers, and won many honors at the front. In 1872 Colo- nel Roehr began the publication of a German daily paper, the " Freie Presse."
On the 7th of April, 1863, the Legislature passed another act authorizing the Supervisors to raise a sum not exceeding $125,000, to be used in the erection and furnishing of the Court House building.
The ground on which the Court House stands is 140 feet on Fulton and Joralemon streets, by 35 1 feet deep. No better location
1 The same name had been chosen by Colonel Roehr's father, Edward Franz Roehr, for a newspaper first issued in 1854, and running for one year. Edward Roehr's Williams- burgh printing office and bookstore also sent forth a Masonic journal called Der Triangel, which flourished for twenty-five years.
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 129
could have been selected. The building was constructed under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, of which body the late General Crook was chairman. The building commit- tee were Samuel Booth, Charles C. Talbot, William H. Hazzard, Charles A. Carnaville, Gilliam Schenck, and George G. Herman. The architects were Gamaliel King and Henry Teckritz.
The ground was broken October, 1861, and the corner-stone was laid May 20, 1862, by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Ma- sons of New York, Daniel T. Walden of Brooklyn officiating as Grand Master. Ad- dresses were made on the occasion by Mayor Kalbfleisch, representing the city ; General Crook, president of the Board of Supervisors, representing the county ; Judge John A. Lott, for the judiciary ; and Dr. Storrs delivered an eloquent address.
Owing to the unsettled condition of the country, during the Rebellion, the work did not advance rapidly. The price of materials increased, and labor commanded war prices. Many of the contractors declined to proceed, and new and less advantageous contracts had to be made. The price of the carpenters' work alone was increased $5000, and the
130 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
feverish state of the times added more than $100,000 to the expense. The total cost of the building, land, and furniture was $551,757.28.
The building is erected on the site of the old Military Garden. When the land was purchased and the building erected, there were some old buildings between it and Boerum Place. The Court House was placed on a line with the street, in order that it might not be hidden by the adjoining structures. It is a great pity that the Supervisors did not see that in the process of time the adjoining land would be owned by the county. Had they thought of this, they could have placed the edifice twenty feet further back from the street, and thereby greatly improved its appearance.
It is to be noted that the Court House was constructed within the sum appropriated. Its manner of construction is in striking contrast to the methods pursued in New York. It stands to-day a monument to the integrity and capacity of the Board of Supervisors, and all in any wise concerned in its construction.
The building was finished in February, 1865, and thrown open to public inspection on the evenings of February 28 and March i, I865.1
1 In connection with the cupola of the City Hall, a very
THE PERIOD OF THE CIVIL WAR 131
interesting incident occurred in 1852. It was noticed that this feature of the building swayed, and needed to be strengthened. The necessary steps were taken to render it firm and secure. At the time the men were engaged in the work the court of oyer and terminer was holding a session in the room known and distinguished as the Governor's room, Judge N. B. Morse presiding. One day while the court was engaged in a criminal trial, a beam which was being raised slipped from the rope, and fell upon the roof above the court-room, causing the plas- ter and ceiling to give way. At once the court officers, jurors, and spectators became alarmed ; some ran for the door, some for the windows, and others sought refuge under the tables. Judge Morse took a position by one of the windows, and, shaking his fist at the audience, exclaimed, " The wicked flee when no man pursueth." A few of the frightened ones got on their knees and fervently prayed. The prisoner at the bar was the only one unmoved. — S. M. O.
CHAPTER XIII
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 1866-1876
Administration of Samuel Booth. Metropolitan Sanitary District created. Cholera. Erie Basin Docks. The County Institutions and their Work. The Gowanus Canal and the Wallabout Improvement. The Depart- ment of Survey and Inspection of Buildings. Estab- lishing Fire Limits. Building Regulations. Prospect Park. The Ocean Parkway. The Fire Department. The Public Schools. The East River Bridge. Early Discussion of the Great Enterprise. The Construction begun. Death of Roebling. The Ferries. Messages of Mayor Kalbfleisch. Erection of a Brooklyn Depart- ment of Police. Samuel S. Powell again Mayor. A New City Charter. Movement toward Consolidation with New York. Henry Ward Beecher. Frederick A. Schroeder elected Mayor.
WHEN Samuel Booth entered the office of Mayor in 1866, the city of Brooklyn, in com- mon with other communities throughout the country, was suffering from the results of the strain imposed by the war and its resulting incidents ; and the fact that his own party was in the minority in the Board of Aldermen did not lighten the burden of the Mayor. Not-
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 133
withstanding these political conditions no veto by Booth was overridden by the Board.
In February of this year the Legislature created a metropolitan sanitary district corre- sponding to the metropolitan police district, and a board of health composed of the police commissioners, four sanitary commissioners, and the health officer of the port of New York. Brooklyn was represented in this board by Dr. James Crane, as sanitary commissioner, and T. G. Bergen as police commissioner. Dr. John T. Conkling was made assistant sanitary superintendent, and Dr. R. Cresson Stiles was made deputy registrar of vital sta- tistics for Brooklyn. To this force six sanitary inspectors were added.
This movement represented the practical beginnings of that interesting modern system of sanitary inspection and regulation by which the cities of New York and Brooklyn have in recent years attained such improved condi- tions. The movement had been urged by the prevalence of cholera in Europe, and the new board found occasion to make great exertions to prevent the entrance of the disease here. The disease appeared in New York in April, and Brooklyn's first case was reported on July 8. In spite of the precautions the disease
134 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
gained considerable headway in sections of the city where the sanitary conditions were worst, and the total number of cases in Brooklyn reached 816. More than a quarter of the total number of cases occurred in the twelfth ward. The number of deaths in the city reached 573. The cholera hospital, opened at Hamil- ton Avenue and Van Brunt Street in July, was closed on October i.
In October the completion of the large Erie Basin dry docks was the occasion of a celebra- tion. These great docks, built by a Boston syndicate, have since been used by most of the large iron ships that are docked at the port of New York. The chamber of Dock No. i is 510 feet long, and 112 feet wide at the top. Dock No. 2 is 610 feet long and 124 feet wide at the top.
In this month occurred also the interesting occasion marked by the presentation of the medals ordered by the Common Council for each honorably discharged, or still serving, Brooklyn soldier who had done his share to- ward the saving of the Union.
Among the legacies of the war was a great deal of poverty that public provision had not obliterated. An exceptional degree of distress appeared during the decade following the war.
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 135
There were admitted into the alms-house during the year ending July 31, 1868, 5500 persons, and at the close of the year there remained 1995. The total number relieved by the commissioners during the year was 44,734. The amount expended was $464,800.61, being an average of $10.40 to each person relieved. Of the number relieved, 7273 were in the institutions. The population of the county at this time was 375,000. It will be seen that 1 1. 9 per cent, of the population received aid from the public institutions. In addition to this, many others received assistance from the churches and benevolent societies.
Formerly the county was divided into dis- tricts, to which the poor would come to receive assistance. During the year ending July 31, 1870, 38,270 persons applied for and received aid. This was about ten per cent, of the popula- tion. The amount expended was $128,602.83.
This system has been discontinued, and the work is done by other agencies, notably by the Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor. This society, officered by public-spirited and efficient men, has made a highly credit- able record. Connected with the society is an effective advisory committee, selected from each ward. Every case is carefully investi-
136 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
gated, and imposition is rendered almost im- possible. In 1880 the number of cases inves- tigated was 2755 ; of these 214, or about eight per cent., were rejected. The number relieved who were found worthy was about one four- teenth of the number receiving aid in 1870, while the disbursements were only $23,009.68, or 18.5 per cent, of the former expense.
During the year ending July 31, 1869, there were remaining in the lunatic asylum of the county, 557. The whole number under treat- ment during the year was 818. Of those re- maining, 225 were males and 322 females. There were admitted, during the year, 286. The whole number admitted into the alms- house in 1869 was 2090.
The number treated in the hospital in 1863 was 2023; in 1864, 2601; in 1866, 3505; in 1867, 2828; in 1868, 2613. In the hospital there were treated, in 1876, 4270 persons.
By an act of the Legislature in May, 1867, the Inebriates' Home for Kings County was incorporated. A movement led by A. E. Mudie resulted in the establishment of a Brooklyn branch of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The Legislature provided at this session for the dredging and docking of Gowanus Canal.
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 137
and for the " Wallabout Improvement," under the direction of a commissioner. Another provision of the Legislature was for a depart- ment for the survey and inspection of build- ings in the Western District of the city. A section of this law provided that the chief officer of this department should be called the " Superintendent of Buildings." He was to be appointed by the board of trustees of the fire department, and confirmed by the Board of Aldermen. He was to have been an " ex- empt fireman " for five years, a fire under- writer for ten years, and was to be, ex officio, a member of the board of trustees of the fire department.
Concerning the duties of inspectors the law said : —
" It shall be the duty of the inspectors to examine all buildings whereon violations are reported, and all buildings reported dangerous or damaged by fire, and make a written report of such examinations to the superintendent, with their opinion relative thereto ; to reexam- ine all buildings under applications to raise, enlarge, alter, or build upon, and report to the superintendent the condition of the same, with their opinion relative thereto; and in the absence of the superintendent they shall be empowered to act with all the powers enjoyed
138 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
and possessed by said superintendent. And the said inspectors shall perform such other duties as the superintendent of buildings may from time to time require of them.
" The inspectors of buildings shall be under the direction of the superintendent, and shall attend all fires occurring in their respective districts, and report to the chief engineer or assistant engineer present, all information they may have relative to the construction and condition of the buildings or premises on fire, and the adjoining buildings, whether the same be dangerous or otherwise, and report in writing to said department, all such buildings damaged by fire or otherwise, with a state- ment of the nature and amount of such dam- ages, as near as they can ascertain, together with the street and number of such building, the name of the owners, lessees, and occupants, and for what purpose occupied ; and said in- spectors shall examine all buildings in course of erection, alteration, and repair throughout their respective districts, at least once every day (Sundays and holidays excepted), and shall report in writing, forthwith, to the superin- tendent, all violations of any of the several divisions of this act, together with the street and number of the building or premises upon which violations are found, and the names of the owners, agents, lessees, occupants, builders, masons, carpenters, roofers, furnace builders,
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 139
and architects, and all other matters relative thereto, and shall report in the same manner all new buildings in their respective districts, and the clerk shall perform such duties as may be assigned him by the superintendent. All the officers appointed under this act shall, so far as may be necessary for the performance of their respective duties, have the right to enter any building or premises in said city."
The fire limits of the city were then fixed to " comprise all that portion of said city begin- ning at the East River at the northwest corner of the United States Navy Yard, and running thence southwesterly and southeasterly along said Navy Yard to the centre of Navy Street ; thence southerly along the centre of Navy Street to the northerly side of Flushing Ave- nue ; thence easterly along the northerly side of Flushing Avenue to the centre of Washing- ton Avenue ; thence southerly along the centre of Washington Avenue to the southerly side of Warren Street ; thence westerly along the southerly side of Warren Street to the easterly side of Vanderbilt Avenue ; thence southerly along the easterly side of Vanderbilt Avenue, and across Flatbush Avenue in a straight line, to the southeasterly corner of Union Street and Ninth Avenue; thence southerly along
140 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
the easterly side of Ninth Avenue to the northerly side of Fifteenth Street ; thence easterly along the northerly side of Fifteenth Street to the centre of Tenth Avenue; thence southerly along the centre of Tenth Avenue to the centre of Twenty-first Street; thence westerly along the centre of Twenty-first Street to a point distant one hundred feet west of the westerly side of Third Avenue ; thence northerly and parallel with Third Avenue, and one hundred feet westerly therefrom, to a point distant one hundred feet southerly from the southerly side of Hamilton Avenue ; thence northwesterly and parallel with Hamilton Ave- nue, and one hundred feet southerly therefrom, to a point distant one hundred feet easterly from the easterly side of Columbia Street; thence southerly and parallel with Columbia Street, and one hundred feet easterly there- from, to a point distant one hundred feet south- erly from the southerly side of Nelson Street ; thence westerly and parallel with Nelson Street, and one hundred feet southerly there- from, in a straight line, to a point distant one hundred feet easterly from the easterly side of Richard Street ; thence southerly and parallel with Richard Street, and one hundred feet easterly therefrom, to a point distant one hun-
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 141
dred feet southerly from the southerly side of King Street ; thence westerly and parallel with King Street, and one hundred feet southerly therefrom, to the East River, and thence along the easterly shore of the East River to the point or place of beginning at the said north- west corner of the United States Navy Yard ; and also extending from the centre of Wash- ington Avenue along both sides of Fulton Avenue, one hundred feet on each side, to the easterly side of Bedford Avenue, and such further portion of the Western District of said city as the Common Council of the city of Brooklyn by ordinance may from time to time, as hereinafter provided, include therein."
The act provided in detail rules for build- ing within the fire limits, and regulations appertaining to building in general. Thus it was provided that "no timber shall be used in the front or rear walls of any dwell- ing, store, or storehouse, or other building here- after built or erected within the Western Dis- trict of said city, where stone, brick, or iron is commonly used; each lintel on the inside of the front or rear wall or side walls shall have a secure brick arch over it, and no wall strips in any wall thereof shall exceed in thick- ness one half of one inch, and in width two
142 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
and one half inches ; and no bond timber in any wall thereof shall in width and thickness exceed the width and thickness of a course of brick ; and no bond timber shall be more than six feet in length ; and such bond timbers shall be laid at least eighteen inches apart from each other, longitudinally, on either side of any wall, and the continuous line thereof shall be broken every six feet by inserting a brick of eight inches ; and no front, rear, or other wall of any such dwelling, store, storehouse, or other building now erected, or hereafter to be erected, as aforesaid, within the fire limits, or as they may hereafter be extended as afore- said, or any brick or stone building or build- ings in the Western District of the city of Brooklyn, shall be cut off or altered below, to be supported in any manner, in whole or in part, by wood, but shall be wholly supported by brick, stone, or iron ; and no wood or tim- ber shall be used between such wall and such supporters ; but it shall be lawful to insert a lintel of wood over the doors and windows of the first story of stores, of oak or Georgia pine, of such length and size as shall be first ap- proved and determined by the superintendent of buildings."
An important movement, begun before the
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 143
war, culminating in 1860, and bearing fruit soon after the close of the war, resulted in the establishment of one of Brooklyn's chief ob- jects of pride, — Prospect Park. The actual construction of the park began in 1866, and was steadily continued until 1874.
The laying out and adornment of the park was placed in the hands of a commission, of which J. S. T. Stranahan, always a leading figure in the park movement, was the presi- dent. This commission, originally constituted under an act of the Legislature for the laying out, adornment, and management of the park, had its powers and duties increased by suc- ceeding laws, until it had under its control Washington Park, City Park, Carroll Park, the Parade Ground, and all the public grounds appertaining to the city.
In their report for 1868 the commissioners said : " The propriety, if not the absolute ne- cessity, of an extension of Prospect Park at its western angle, so as to allow the principal drive in that direction to be carried out accord- ing to the original design, has been repeatedly urged in former reports of the board, and the Legislature was on more than one occasion applied to for permission to make the desired acquisition ; but without success. The com-
144 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
missioners have now, however, the pleasure of stating that an act was passed at the last ses- sion, authorizing this extension, and directing the board to apply to the Supreme Court for the appointment of commissioners to estimate the value of the land so taken."
The ground under treatment during the year covered by this report represented over two hundred acres. "The finished drives," says this report, " now amount to nearly three miles and a quarter, being a little more than two miles in excess of that which we were able to report last year. Of bridle paths, we have nearly a mile and a half finished or well pro- gressed; and of walks three miles and three quarters are completed, and nearly five addi- tional miles in progress. The very large and continually increasing number of delighted visitors show how thoroughly these walks and drives are appreciated by them. A fine speci- men of rustic work has been erected near the main entrance to the park for a summer house; and a vine-covered trellis-work, with seats overlooking the children's play-ground, commands a beautiful sea and island view, and, when covered with the foliage and flowers of climbing plants, will afford grateful shelter to all such as may be disposed to linger in its shade."
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 145
The arrangement of the park steadily ad- vanced until it has become one of the most beautiful in the world. Covering 525 acres, its meadows, woodland, lakes, and drives com- bine to create a picture of remarkable beauty. The lakes cover 50 acres; the woodland, no acres ; the meadows, 70 acres ; the gardens and shrubbery, 200 acres ; and there are over 60 acres of water-way. Five and a half miles of main drives were laid out, and minor drives and walks covering a distance of thirteen miles.
The later creation of the Ocean Parkway was a desirable movement, resulting as it did in a driveway running southward from the park to the sea, — a distance of five and a half miles. This magnificent drive is 2 10 feet wide for its entire length, being subdivided into a main and two minor roadways, with lines of shade-trees to mark the receding lines.
The Parade Ground, adjoining the park on the east, was a popular device. The broad field has contributed an important factor in the summer life of the city, its acres being in constant demand during the out-door season for all manner of sports.
These improvements and others associated with the minor parks of the city have placed heavy obligations on the park commissioners.
146 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
A permanent board of water and sewerage commissioners was created by an act of April 2, 1869. The board received exclusive power to cause streets to be repaved, regraded, and repaired ; to cause cross-walks to be relaid and sidewalks to be reflagged; and generally to have such other improvements, in and about such streets so to be repaved, regraded, or re- paired, to be made, as in their judgment the public wants and convenience shall require. The board held other authority, afterward vested in the board of city works.
The charter of the Nassau Water Company was obtained in 1855. In 1857 the city had acquired all the contracts, property, and rights of the Nassau Company. The thirty-six inch main laid from Ridgewood in 1858 was fol- lowed by an additional forty-eight inch main laid in 1867. Three mains have since been added, giving the city water from a drainage area of seventy-four square miles.
The act of 1869, by which the fire depart- ment of the city was reorganized, called upon the Mayor, the street commissioners, the president of the Board of Aldermen, the city treasurer, and the comptroller, to appoint four citizens as fire commissioners : " Said com- missioners, on being qualified, shall meet and
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 147
reorganize the fire department of the city of Brooklyn, by electing one of said commission- ers to be president, and appointing a person to be secretary ; whereupon they shall possess and have all the power and authority conferred upon or possessed by any and all officers of the present fire departments of the city of Brooklyn, and of each division thereof, except such power and authority as is now vested by law in the trustees of the fire departments of the Eastern and Western districts of the city of Brooklyn, which said divisions shall continue distinct from each other, so far as relates to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of each district, but for no other purpose ; and the persons elected and now acting as the trustees of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Eastern District, and those elected and acting as trustees of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of the Western District, shall remain and continue to have and exercise, each division respectively, all such powers and duties as are now vested by law in said boards, with regard to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund of each district " (sec. 2).
By the report of School Superintendent Buckley, issued in July (1869), it appeared that the whole number of pupils attending the
148 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
public day schools numbered 70,000. In the evening schools 10,000 more were taught, while the private schools received 22,142 schol- ars. At this time the value of the schoolhouse sites in the city was placed at $276,386 ; that of the buildings at $709,727.
Building throughout the city became very active. The widening of Broadway in the Eastern District materially affected the pros- perity of that section of the city, to which Broadway became the leading business artery. Grand Street developed into a busy thorough- fare, and Fourth Street, now northern Bedford Avenue, became the third important street of this section. For a site for a new building on Broadway at Fifth (now Driggs Street), the Williamsburgh Savings Bank paid the then enormous sum of $210,000. The superb struc- ture afterward erected on this ground is one of the most imposing in the city, its classic dome rearing itself among those objects in the city which command first attention from Bridge spectators.
In 1869 it was estimated that Brooklyn had 500 miles of streets, and 150 miles of sewer. Mayor Kalbfleisch's message reported a total of 3307 buildings erected in 1868. The as- sessed value of real and personal property in the county was $199,840,551.
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 149
But most momentous of the movements of this period was that looking to the building of the first East River bridge. The possibility of a bridge over the East River had been dis- cussed early in the history of the two cities. General Johnson1 had discussed the feasibility of the suggestion, and had argued that the plan was quite within the possibilities of engi- neering science. Thomas Pope, in a volume published in 1811, by Alexander Niven, 120 Duane Street, New York, describes his idea of a " flying pendent lever bridge," which was intensely original as well as impossible.
In 1836 General Swift proposed the erec- tion of a dike over the river. The dike was to have a central drawbridge, and was to give foundation to a broad boulevard, running be- tween the two cities. At a later day Colonel Julius A. Adams of Brooklyn, while engaged upon the bridge of the Lexington and Dan- ville Railroad, over the Kentucky River, con- ceived the idea of an East River bridge, to extend from Fulton Ferry on the Brooklyn side to a point near Chatham Square, on the New York side. The intention was to have the main body of the bridge built of two elliptic tubes, placed side by side, and supported by
1 Manuscript history.
150 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
ribbons of steel. There were to be three plat- forms for travelers, and it is claimed by its projector that the capacity would have been greater than that of the present structure. Colonel Adams communicated his plan to Mr. William C. Kingsley, who was largely engaged in the contracting business in this city. Mr. Kingsley entered heartily into the spirit of the enterprise, and carefully examined the dia- grams submitted by the engineer. He spent several months in a thorough and exhaustive examination of the entire question, studied the needs of the two cities, and finally became thoroughly impressed with the practicability and feasibility of the scheme. In connection with the project he consulted with some of the eminent and public - spirited citizens of Brooklyn, among them James S. T. Stranahan, Henry C. Murphy, Judge Alexander McCue, Isaac Van Anden, Seymour L. Husted, and Thomas Kinsella.1 The more these gentle- men talked and thought about the matter, the deeper interest they felt in it. Mr. Kings- ley in particular continued undisturbed in the belief that the time for bridging the river had come, and he persisted in this view until the enterprise was carried beyond the region
1 Brooklyn Eagle, May 24, 1884.
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 151
of remote speculation into the clear atmosphere of intelligently directed and practical effort. The Hon. Henry C. Murphy at the time rep- resented Kings County in the state Senate, where he wielded a vast influence, and was re- garded as one of the leaders of his party in the State. Upon the basis of Colonel Ad- ams's plans a bill was prepared providing for the construction of a bridge across the East River. Copies of the original drawings were taken to Albany and exhibited in the Sen- ate and Assembly Chamber. The project re- ceived Senator Murphy's unflagging support, and through his endeavors and the energetic and untiring aid of its projectors, it became a law.
The act incorporating the New York Bridge Company was passed by the Legislature on April 1 6, 1867. It named as incorporators the following citizens of New York and Brook- lyn : —
John T. Hoffman Simeon B. Chittenden
Edward Ruggles Smith Ely, Jr.
Samuel Booth Grenville T. Jenks
Alexander McCue Henry E. Pierrepont
Martin Kalbfleisch John Roach
Charles A. Townsend Henry G. Stebbins
Charles E. Bill C. L. Mitchell
T. Bailey Myers Seymour L. Husted
William A. Fowler William W. W. Wood
152 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
Andrew H. Green Edmund W. Corlies
William C. Rushmore Ethelbert S. Mills
Alfred W. Craven Arthur W. Benson
T. B. Cornell John W. Hay ward
Isaac Van Anden P. P. Dickinson
Alfred M. Wood J. Carson Brevoort
William Marshall Samuel McLean
John W. Coombs William Hunter, Jr.
John H. Prentice Edmund Driggs
John P. Atkinson John Morton
By this act power was given these incorpo- rators and their associates to acquire real es- tate for the site of the bridge and approaches ; to borrow money up to the limit of the capital, and to establish laws and ordinances for the government of the structure upon its comple- tion. The capital stock was fixed at $5,000,- ooo, in shares of $100 each, and the directors were given power to increase the capital with the consent of the stockholders. It was further provided that the incorporators already named should constitute the first board of directors, holding their places until June i, 1868, and that after that the board should have not less than thirteen nor more than twenty-one members. The officers were to consist of a president, secretary, and treasurer. The cities of New York and Brooklyn, or either of them, were empowered at any time to take the bridge by payment to the corpora-
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 153
tion of the cost and 33.33 per cent, additional, provided the bridge be made free. An ad- ditional provision was made that the structure should have an elevation of at least 1 30 feet above high tide in the middle of the river, and that it should in no respect prove an obstruc- tion to navigation. In conclusion, the law authorized the cities of New York and Brook- lyn, or either of them, to subscribe to the cap- ital stock of said company such amounts as two thirds of their Common Councils respec- tively should determine, to issue bonds in pay- ment of these subscriptions, and to provide for the payment of interest. It was subsequently determined that the city of New York might subscribe $1,500,000 of the total capital; the city of Brooklyn, $3,000,000, and $500,000 to be paid by the private stockholders.
An enterprise of such magnitude was not carried forward without extraordinary strug- gles. To keep the work, so far as possible, out of politics required much ingenuity and per- sistence on the part of those who were actu- ated by the most public-spirited motives. It was not possible to wholly eliminate politics and self-seeking. An act of the Legislature in 1859 provided that New York city should be represented by its Mayor, comptroller, and
154 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
president of the Board of Aldermen, and Brooklyn by the commissioners of the sink- ing fund. The company was authorized to occupy land under water on each shore to the distance of 250 feet.
Meanwhile, operations were begun in the direction of an effort to raise the required $5,000,000 by private subscription, but they were not successful, and it was determined to apply to the cities for aid. Application was made to Brooklyn, through the Common Council, for $3,000,000. After many months the incorporators were successful, and later, in 1868, the city of New York subscribed the $1,500,000 required, and the stockholders made up the additional $500,000.
The shares, as has been shown, were fixed at $100 each. The list of the original sub- scribers, as revealed by the original minute- book still in the possession of the trustees, is very interesting. It is as follows : —
SUBSCRIBERS SHARES.
Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City
of New York 15,000
The City of Brooklyn 30,000
Henry C. Murphy . . . . . . 100
Isaac Van Anden 200
William Marshall ...... 50
Seymour L. Husted 200
Samuel McLean 50
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 155
Arthur W. Benson 20
Martin Kalbfleisch 200
Alexander McCue 100
William M. Tweed 560
Peter B. Sweeny 560
Hugh Smith 560
Henry W. Slocum 500
J. S. T. Stranahan . . . . . . 100
Grenville T. Jenks 50
Kingsley & Keeney 1,600
John H. Prentice 50
William Hunter, Jr. ...... 50
John W. Lewis 50
Total
50,000
After the subscriptions were all made, sev- eral of the subscribers withdrew or failed to make good their promises, whereupon Mr. Kingsley took up their stock and advanced the amount necessary to cover their deficien- cies. In fact, he and the firm he represented took in all over $300,000 of the entire $500,000 subscribed by the New York Bridge Com- pany.
John A. Roebling, who had made a brilliant record as a bridge engineer, was chosen for the responsible post of chief engineer. His son, Colonel Washington A. Roebling, was made first assistant engineer. The plans of Roebling having been duly approved by the War Department engineers, the United
!56 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
States government commission,1 the Secre- tary of War, and lastly of Congress itself, the company was formally organized in the sum- mer of 1869, with the following directors: Henry C. Murphy, J. S. T. Stranahan, Henry W. Slocum, John W. Lewis, Seymour L. Husted, Demas Barnes, Hugh Smith, William Hunter, Jr., Isaac Van Anden, J. H. Prentice, Alexander McCue, William M. Tweed, Peter B. Sweeny, R. B. Connolly, Grenville T. Jenks.
At this juncture a distressing accident darkened the opening days of the great work. "One morning in June, 1869, Mr. Roebling, in company with Colonel Paine and his other engineering associates, was engaged in run- ning a line across the East River, making the first survey of the site for the Brooklyn foun- dation. Colonel Paine crossed to the New York side and made the necessary signals, while the chief engineer stood on the Brook- lyn side. Just as the operations were ap- proaching completion Mr. Roebling was standing on the rack of one of the ferry slips taking a final observation. At the moment a
1 The single exception to Roebling's plan offered by the commission was that they demanded a central height of 135 feet, instead of 130 feet, in the central span.
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ferryboat entered the slip and bumped heavily against the timbers, pressing them back to the point where the chief engineer was standing. His foot was caught between the piling and the rack. Colonel Paine, who was on the boat, noticed that his chief started suddenly, and, while he made no outcry, an expression of agony overspread his countenance. The first person to reach the side of the injured man was his son, Colonel Washington A. Roebling, and Colonel Paine quickly followed him. The chief engineer was assisted to a carriage, remarking, as he went, 'Oh, what a folly.' He was quickly driven to his resi- dence on the Heights, and a surgeon was summoned. The surgeon found that the toes of the right foot were terribly crushed. It was at once decided that amputation was necessary. Mr. Roebling rejected the sugges- tion of an anaesthetic, and personally directed the operations of the surgeon. Nearly all of his toes were taken off at the joints, but he maintained his composure throughout, and endeavored to soothe the apprehensions of his family and friends. During his subsequent illness he preserved intact the use of his men- tal faculties, exhibiting indomitable will power. Eight days elapsed before fears were enter-
158 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
tained of a fatal result. Then the patient complained of a chill, and it was soon discov- ered that lockjaw had set in. He lived eight days longer, and toward the close suffered the most excruciating agonies, but without com- plaint, and steadily insisted upon directing the method of his treatment. Even after the muscular contraction precluded the possibility of utterance he wrote with a pencil directions for his attendants. He died of lockjaw just sixteen days after receiving his injuries."
For a time work on the bridge was para- lyzed. As soon as possible the directors chose Colonel Roebling to succeed his father, and the great undertaking proceeded.
The mechanical difficulties of the work were enormous. The history of the labors, by which one difficulty after another was over- come, is one of the most absorbing in the an- nals of engineering enterprise. Huge wooden caissons were sunken on the diving-bell prin- ciple to a depth sufficient to assure firm foun- dations for the piers, which were built over them. The Brooklyn caisson was launched on March 19, 1870; the New York caisson, in September, 1871. The greater difficulties existed on the New York side, where an area of quicksand made it problematical whether
BROOKLYN AFTER THE WAR 159
bed-rock could ever be reached. The founda- tion on the New York side was required to be begun at a depth of seventy-eight feet. On the Brooklyn side brick was used under the caisson. On the New York side the space remaining after the lowest point had been reached was rilled with concrete.
The most perplexing problem having been solved by the sinking of the foundations, the work advanced steadily. Difficulties with anchorages, materials, contracts, expenditures, and appropriations made the work necessarily slow, and there was a proportionate degree of public impatience. The distant possibility of a completed bridge was the permanent theme of newspaper jest and popular song. But the Brooklyn tower, containing 38,214 yards of masonry, and rising 278 feet above high water, was completed in the spring of 1875, and by the summer of 1876 the New York tower had also been finished.
During this period the pressure on the various city ferries was demonstrating the necessity for some relief to the strain of travel between the two cities. During the year 1869 the Union Ferry Company carried 42,720,000 passengers ; the Roosevelt, Grand, and James Slip ferries, 7,028,000 passengers; the Green-
!6o HISTORY OF BROOKLYN
point, 1,622,250; and the Thirty-fourth Street, 2,250,550. The terms of the new lease of the Union Ferry Company included a provision that the fare between five and half-past seven o'clock, morning and evening, be one cent. It was a few months later that the Brooklyn City Railroad Company reduced its rate of fare to five cents.
Mayor Kalbfleisch was reflected Mayor. In his message of January 3, 1871, he places the population of the city in 1870 at 400,000; the