THE POTSDAM & WATERTOWN RAILROAD
A very early survey of the Northern Railroad which, as we have already
seen, was the pioneer line of the North Country, projected the road
between Malone and Ogdensburgh through the prosperous villages of Canton
and Potsdam. This survey was rejected. The sponsors of the
Northern--almost all of them Boston and New England men and having little
personal knowledge of Northern New York and certainly none at all of its
possibilities--thrust this preliminary survey away from them. They decided
that the road should run between its terminals with as small a deviation
from a straight line as possible. So, from Rouse's Point to Ogdensburgh,
through Malone, the Northern Railroad ran with long tangents and few
curves and both Canton and Potsdam were left aside. Through traffic from
the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River was all that the early
directors of the line could see. Their vision was indeed limited.
Canton and Potsdam began to feel their isolation from these earliest
railroad enterprises. They were cut off apparently from railroad
communication, either with the East or with the West. The Watertown & Rome
Railroad, as planned from Cape Vincent to Rome, would, of course, pass
through Watertown, but no one seemed to think of building it east from
that village.
So, practically all of St. Lawrence County and the northern end of
Jefferson was left without railroad hopes. Dissatisfaction arose, even
before the completion of the Watertown & Rome, that so large a territory
had been so completely slighted. Potsdam, in particular, felt the
indignity that had been heaped upon it. And so it was, that, as far back
as 1850, fifty-eight of the public-spirited citizens of that village
organized themselves into the Potsdam Railroad Company and proceeded to
name as their directors: Joseph H. Sanford, William W. Goulding, Samuel
Partridge, Henry L. Knowles, Augustus Fling, Theodore Clark, Charles T.
Boswell, Willard M. Hitchcock, William A. Dart, Hiram E. Peck, Aaron T.
Hopkins, Charles Cox and Nathan Parmeter. Among the stockholders of this
early railroad company were Horace Allen and Liberty Knowles, whose
advanced age debarred them from active participation in its work, but who
responded liberally to frequent calls for aid in its construction.
Soon after the incorporation of the Potsdam Railroad, it was built,
primarily as a branch of some five and one-half miles connecting Potsdam
with the Northern Railroad at a point, which, for lack of an immediate
better name, was called Potsdam Junction. Afterwards it was renamed
Norwood. An attractive village sprang up about the junction, which finally
boasted one of the best of the small hotels of the whole North Country;
the famed Whitney House, with which the name and fame of the late "Sid"
Phelps was so closely connected for so many years.
* * * * *
The success of Potsdam with her railroad and the consequent prosperity
that it brought to her stirred the interest and the envy of the
neighboring village of Canton; the shire-town of St. Lawrence. Gouverneur
spruced up also. The St. Lawrence towns began to cooperate. To them came a
great community of interest from the northerly townships and villages of
Jefferson as well--Antwerp, Philadelphia and Evan's Mills in particular.
The demand for a railroad between Watertown and Potsdam began to take a
definite form.
It was not an easy task to which the towns and men of St. Lawrence and of
Jefferson had set themselves. Its financial aspects were portentous, to
put it mildly. The money for the Northern Railroad had come from New
England. That for the Watertown & Rome also had come with a comparative
ease. Watertown even then was a rich and promising industrial center and
there seemed to be genuine financial opportunities for a railroad that
would connect it with the outer world. But St. Lawrence County, there at
the beginning of the fifties, was poor and undeveloped. Necessarily, the
money for its railroad would have to come from its own territory.
Nevertheless, undaunted by difficulties, these men of that territory set
about to build a railroad from Potsdam to Watertown. They dared much.
Theirs was the spirit of the true pioneer, the same spirit that was
building a college at Canton and had built academies at Gouverneur and at
Potsdam, and that was planning in every way for the future development of
the North Country.
These men knew more than a little of the resources of their townships.
They whispered among themselves of the wealth of their minerals. Along the
county-line between St. Lawrence and Jefferson, in the neighborhood of
Keene's Station, there stand to-day unused iron mines of a considerable
magnitude. Flooded and for the moment deserted, these mines house some of
the greatest of the untouched treasures of Northern New York; vast
deposits of red hematite, exceeding in percentage value even the famous
fields of the Mesaba district of Lake Superior. In the course of this
narrative I shall refer again to these Keene mines. For the moment
consider them as a monument--a somewhat neglected monument to be sure--to
the vision and persistence of James Sterling.
It was largely due to the enterprise of this pioneer of Jefferson County
that mines and blast furnaces sprang up, not only at Keene's but at
Sterlingville and Lewisburgh as well. He built many of the highways and
bridges both of Antwerp and of Rossie. Yet, in the closing days of the
fifties, he was doomed to bitter disappointments. The great panic of 1857
and the inrush of cheap iron that followed in its wake were quite too much
for him, and the man who had been known through the entire state as the
"Iron King of Northern New York" died in 1863, from a general physical and
mental breakdown, due in no small part to the collapse of his fortunes.
* * * * *
I anticipate, we were talking of railroads, not of men. Yet, somehow, men
must forever weave themselves into the web of a narrative such as this.
And no fair understanding can ever be had of the difficulties under which
the railroads of the North Country were born without an understanding of
the difficulties under which the men who helped give them birth labored.
To return once again to the main thread of our story, the agitation for
the building of a railroad between Watertown and Potsdam followed closely
upon the heels of the completion of the Northern Railroad and the branch
Potsdam Railroad, from it to the fine village of that name. Stock in the
Northern Railroad had been sold both there and in Canton, even though the
road when completed had passed each by. The men who held that stock wanted
to come to the aid of the newer project. With their money tied up in the
elder of the two, they were quite helpless. Eventually their release was
brought about, and the money that came to them from the sale of their
securities of the Northern was reinvested in those of the Potsdam &
Watertown Railroad, just coming into being.
A meeting was held in Watertown in July, 1851 (the year of the completion
of the Watertown & Rome Railroad) and E. N. Brodhead employed to make a
preliminary survey of the proposed line; which would be followed
immediately with maps and estimates. He went to his task without delay,
and rendered a full report on the possibilities of the road at a meeting
held at Gouverneur on January 9, 1852. There were no dissenting voices in
regard to the proposed line. So it was, that then and there, the Potsdam
& Watertown Railroad was organized permanently, with the following
directors:
Edwin Dodge, Gouverneur
Zenas Clark, Potsdam
Samuel Partridge, Potsdam
E. Miner, Canton
A. M. Adsit, Colton
O. V. Brainard, Watertown
W. E. Sterling, Gouverneur
Joseph H. Sanford, Potsdam
William W. Goulding, Potsdam
Barzillai Hodskin, Canton
H. B. Keene, Antwerp
Howell Cooper, Watertown
Hiram Holcomb, Watertown
* * * * *
The old minute-book of the Directors of this early railroad has been
carefully preserved in the village of Potsdam. It is a narrative of a
really stupendous effort, of struggles against adversity, of undaunted
courage, of optimism and of faith. It relates unemotionally what the
Directors did, but between the lines one also reads of the grave
situations that confronted them; not once, but again and again. And there
lies the real drama of the founding of the Potsdam & Watertown.
The first meeting of the Directors was held, as we have just seen, on
January 9, 1852. Most of the men, who were that day elected as Directors,
had gone on that day to Gouverneur--many others too. Watertown,
Gouverneur, Canton and Potsdam were present in their citizens, men of
worth and distinction in their home communities. Their families are yet
represented in Northern New York, and succeeding generations owe to them a
debt of gratitude for their unselfish work in that early day. For what
could there be of selfishness in a task which promised so much of worry
and responsibility, and so little of any immediate financial return?
It was planned, that January day in Gouverneur, that work should be begun
at both ends of the line and carried forward simultaneously, until the
construction crews should meet; somewhere between Potsdam and Watertown.
At an adjourned meeting, held ten days later at the American Hotel in
Watertown, it was formally resolved that; "all persons who have subscribed
toward the expenses of the survey of the Potsdam & Watertown Railroad
Company ... shall be entitled to a credit on the stock account for the
amount so subscribed and paid." At the same meeting it was decided that a
committee consisting of Messrs. Farwell, Holcomb and Dodge be appointed to
confer with the officers of the Watertown & Rome in regard to the
construction of a branch into the village of Watertown. It will be
remembered that in that early day the railroad did not approach the
village nearer than what is now known as the junction, at the foot of
Stone Street.
* * * * *
Progress was beginning, in real earnest. A third meeting was held on
February 26--again at Gouverneur, at Van Buren's Hotel--and the following
officers chosen:
_President_, EDWIN DODGE, Gouverneur
_Vice-President_, ZENAS CLARK, Potsdam
_Secretary_, HENRY L. KNOWLES, Potsdam
_Treasurer_, DANIEL LEE, Watertown
Mr. Lee was also Treasurer of the Watertown & Rome. His Potsdam &
Watertown compensation was fixed a little later at $600 annually. Four
years later he was succeeded as Treasurer by William W. Goulding, of
Potsdam, who was engaged at a salary of a thousand dollars a year.
At that same Gouverneur meeting a memorial was prepared for the Trustees
of the Village of Watertown. It asked, as an important link of the pathway
for the new railroad, the use of Factory Street for its entire length.
Factory Street, as we have already seen, was one of the most aristocratic,
as well as one of the prettiest streets of the town. So great was
Watertown's appreciation of the advantages that were to accrue to it by
the completion of the line steel highway to the north that the permission
was finally granted by the Trustees, not, however, without a considerable
opposition.
* * * * *
So was our Potsdam & Watertown fairly started upon its important career. A
fund of something over $750,000 having been raised for its construction,
offices were opened at 6 Washington Street, Watertown, and definite
preparations made toward the actual building of the road. The breaking of
ground was bound to be preceded by a stout financial campaign. Money was
tight. And remember all the while, if you will, the real paucity of it in
the North Country of those days. And yet early in 1853, it was found
necessary to increase the capital stock to $2,000,000, in itself, an act
requiring some courage; yet after all, it might have required more courage
not to take the step. For, of a truth, the company needed the money.
Gradually committees were appointed, not only to look after this and other
vexing financial questions, but also to supervise the location of the line
as well as to provide suitable station grounds and buildings. There were
many meetings of the Board before the road was definitely located; there
must have been much bitterness of spirit and of discussion. Hermon wanted
the road, and so an alternative route between Canton and Gouverneur was
surveyed to include it. In 1853 the Chief Engineer was directed "to cause
the middle route (so designated in Mr. Brodhead's report) in the towns of
Canton and DeKalb to be sufficiently surveyed for location as soon as
practicable, unless upon examination, the Engineer shall believe the
railroad can be constructed upon the Hermon route, so called, as cheaply
and with as much advantage to the company, and that in such case he cause
that route to be surveyed, instead of the middle route." But stock
subscriptions were light in Hermon and engineering difficult on its route,
and finally the "middle" and present route by the way of DeKalb and
Richville was selected. Similarly local discouragements turned the line
sharply toward the North, after crossing the Racket River at Potsdam,
instead of toward the South, and, a more direct route originally surveyed,
toward Canton.
The location of the station grounds was another source of fruitful
discussion. In this regard, Gouverneur seems to have given the greatest
concern. Many committees wrestled with the problem of its depot site. In
the old minute-book, rival locations appear and, upon one occasion, the
matter having simmered down to a choice between the present station
grounds and prospective ones on the other side of the river, the Chief
Engineer was directed to survey out both locations and set stakes, so that
the whole Board could visit the village and see the thing for itself.
* * * * *
By 1854 distinct progress had been made. At a meeting held on February 4th
of that year, Messrs. Cooper, Brainard and Holcomb, of the Directorate,
were authorized as a committee to enter into negotiations for the purchase
of iron rails for the road, and to complete the purchase of 2500 tons of
these, by sale of the bonds of the company, "or otherwise." The financial
end of the transaction was apt always to be the most difficult part of it.
Yet somehow these were almost always solved. The Watertown & Rome road
guaranteed some of the bonds of the Potsdam & Watertown and Erastus
Corning, of Albany, and John H. Wolfe, of New York, loaned it considerable
sums of money. Construction proceeded, and on May 4, 1854, the Directors
decided to send 650 tons of the new iron to the easterly terminus of the
road; the remainder to the westerly building forces.
In the fall of that year, a considerable amount of track having been laid
down, the Directors looked toward the purchase of rolling stock. At
their November meeting they decided to buy the engine _Montreal_, and
its tender, from the Watertown & Rome, at a cost of $4,500; also two
baggage and "post-office" cars, at $750 each. Which provided for the
beginning of operation at the west end of the road.
[Illustration: EARLY RAILROAD TICKETS Including an Annual Pass Issued by
President Marcellus Massey, of the R. W. & O.]
But the east end needed rolling-stock as well--a considerable gap still
intervened between the rail-heads of each incomplete section. So toward
the East, the Directors of the Potsdam & Watertown turned their attention.
They found some rolling stock in the hands of a man in Plattsburgh;
"Vilas, of Plattsburgh" is his sole designation in their minutes. This
Vilas, it would appear, was a hard-headed Clinton County business man who
seemed to have but little confidence in the financial soundness of the
Potsdam & Watertown. Nothing of the gambler appears in Vilas. He did not
believe in taking chances. He had a locomotive and two cars that he would
sell--for cash. Eventually, he sold them--for cash. Some of the Directors
of the P. & W. bought them, themselves, paying out their own hard-earned
cash for them; and recouping themselves by accepting pay in installments
from the company.
Yet the possible danger in a continuance of such practices was recognized
even in that early day, and in order to avoid similar situations arising
at some later time, I find in the old tome a resolution reading: "Whereas
in raising money and carrying on the operations of our company for the
completion of the road, the unanimous cooperation of its Directors is
necessary, particularly in matters involving personal pecuniary liability,
therefore: Resolved; That each Director now present pledge himself to
endorse and guaranty all notes and bills of exchange required by the
committee on finance to be used in accordance with the preceding
resolution ... and that we hold it to be the duty of all Directors of this
company to do the same."
* * * * *
From time to time a note of pathos creeps into these old minutes and one
catches a glimpse of the trials and struggles of the little company. For
instance: "Resolved: That in our struggles for the construction of the
road of this company, we have not failed to appreciate the liberal spirit
with which we have been met and the encouragement and aid often freely
afforded us by Hon. George V. Hoyle, Superintendent of the Northern
Railroad, and we avail ourselves of this occasion to express to him,
individually and as Superintendent, and through him to those associated
with him the management of that road, our sense of obligation, indulging
the hope that we shall yet be able in the same spirit to reciprocate all
his kindness, and that the interest of Mr. Hoyle and his road may be
abundantly promoted by our success."
* * * * *
And then, finally, success! In the faded minutes Secretary Knowles
triumphantly records that "On the morning of the fifth of February, 1857,
a passenger train left Watertown at about nine o'clock a. m., with many of
the officers of the company and invited friends, passed leisurely over the
entire road to its junction with the Northern Railroad, thence with the
Superintendent of that road to Ogdensburgh, arriving at Ogdensburgh at
about four o'clock and returned the next day to Watertown."
This is not to be interpreted, however, as meaning that the Potsdam &
Watertown was immediately ready for business. There remained much work to
be done in completing the track and the roadbed, station buildings,
equipment, and the other appurtenances necessary for a going railroad. The
contractors, Phelps, Mattoon and Barnes, who also had builded the
Watertown & Rome, had unpaid balances still remaining. There had been
numerous and one or two rather serious disagreements between the company
and its contractors. Finally these were all settled by a final cash
payment of $100,000, in addition, of course, to what had been paid before.
In order to make this large payment--for that day, at least--it became
necessary to bond the property still again; this time by a second
mortgage--which was made around $200,000, so that the road might be made
completely ready for business.
Details which indicate the rapidly approaching time of such completion
soon begin to appear in the minutes. A committee is appointed to procure a
Superintendent--George B. Phelps, of Watertown, was appointed to this
post. Freight agents are directed to turn over their receipts to the
Treasurer weekly, ticket agents daily. The Board took its business
seriously and several meetings about this time were called for seven, half
past seven and eight o'clock in the morning, although, of course, this
might mean that the railroad business was gotten out of the way early,
leaving the day free for regular occupations. The vexed question of the
station grounds at Gouverneur was settled definitely early in 1857, and
the executive committee was instructed to erect on the "station grounds at
Gouverneur a building similar to the one at Antwerp in the speediest and
most economical manner." To this day the Antwerp building survives, but
Gouverneur, like Potsdam, for more than a decade past has rejoiced in the
possession of a new and ornate passenger station.
It was not until June, 1857, that a definite passenger service was
established upon the line from Watertown, where it connected with the
trains of the W. & R., and thus to the present village of Norwood,
seventy-five miles distant. It is worth noting here that a few years after
this was accomplished a branch line was constructed from a point two miles
distant from the old village of DeKalb, and destined to be known to future
fame as DeKalb Junction, straight through to Ogdensburgh, but eighteen
miles distant. DeKalb Junction also had a famous hotel which for many
years "fed" the trains and "fed" them well. In its earlier days this
tavern was known as the Goulding House; in more recent years, however, it
has been the Hurley House, so named from the late Daniel Hurley, one of
the most popular and successful hotelmen in all the North Country.
* * * * *
The passenger trains of the Potsdam road were operated out of the new
station in Watertown, just back of the Woodruff House--which we shall see
in another chapter. For a time there was no train service for travelers
between its station and that of the Rome road at the foot of Stone Street,
the transfer between them being made by stages. But soon this was
rectified and the one o'clock train, north from Watertown, allowed
considerably more than an hour for connection after the arrival of the
train from Rome, which gave abundant time for the consumption of one of
Proprietor Dorsey's fine meals at the Woodruff. It was a good meal and not
high-priced. The charge per day for three of them and a night's lodging
thrown in was fixed at but $1.50.
The early train which left Watertown at sharp six o'clock in the
morning--afterwards it was fixed at a slightly later hour--made connection
at Potsdam Junction with the through train on the Northern for Rouse's
Point and, going by that roundabout way, a traveler might hope to reach
Montreal in the evening of the day that he had left Watertown--if he
enjoyed good fortune. Whilst upon the completion of the short line a few
years later between DeKalb Junction and Ogdensburgh, one could reach the
Canadian metropolis in an even more direct fashion, by the ferry steamer
_Transit_ to Prescott, and then over the Grand Trunk Railway, just coming
into the heyday of its fame. Watertown no longer was cut off from rail
communication with the North.
* * * * *
The Potsdam & Watertown though now fairly launched, operating trains, and,
from all external evidences at least, doing a fair business, nevertheless
was grievously burdened with its grave financial difficulties. On May 16,
1857, a special finance committee, consisting of Messrs. Phelps, Cooper
and Goulding, was appointed with power to carry along the company's
growing floating debt, and in October of that selfsame year the President
joined with them in their appeals to the creditors to have a little more
patience. In the following spring the Directors discussed the propriety of
asking the Legislature for an act exempting from taxation all railroads in
the state that were not paying their dividends.
The Potsdam road certainly was not paying _its_ dividends. Not only this,
but, on May 26, 1859, interest on the second mortgage, being unpaid for
six months, the trustees under the mortgage took possession of the
property and the Directors in meeting approved of the action. Such a step
quite naturally agitated the first mortgage holders, who began to protest.
In August, 1859, the P. & W. Board disclaimed any purpose whatsoever to
repudiate the payment of principal or interest upon its first mortgage
bonds, or its contingent obligation to the Watertown & Rome Railroad. It
invited the Directors of that larger and more prosperous road to attend a
joint meeting wherein the earnings of the Potsdam & Watertown might be
applied to the payment of the coupons upon its first mortgage bonds. There
was a growing community of interest between the two roads, anyway. The one
was the natural complement to the other. Such a community of interest led,
quite naturally, to a merger of the properties. In June, 1860, it was
announced that the Watertown & Rome had gained financial control of the
Potsdam & Watertown. Soon after the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburgh was
officially born and a new chapter in the development of Northern New York
was begun.