—Part FIVE —
Also on the transportation schedules page that appeared in a July 1900 issue of The Adirondack News, were the following lines…
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Crosby Transportation Company (continued…)
The fastest of the three Fulton Chain steamers of the Crosby Transportation Company was the “Zip,” used as an express vessel after the “Webb,” built in 1897 by the Burton Brothers and Fred Hess, was purchased in 1899.
But the schedule that appeared in The Adirondack News in 1900 reflects it still being used for regular runs.
The other primary steamers of the company were the “Fulton” and the “C. L. Stowell.”
In 1898, the “Zip” had collided with the “C.L. Stowell” in a rainstorm after leaving Harrison’s Berkeley Lodge camp, sank and was later raised. Both ships were repaired in short order.
When Dr. Webb purchased the vessels of the defunct company in the spring of 1901, he formed the Fulton Navigation Company and the steamers “Fulton,” “Zip,” “C. L. Stowell” and “Webb” (just renamed “J. L. Connell”) were given the romantic names “Mohegan,” “Old Forge,” “Nehasane” and “Uncas.”
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Fulton Chain R. R. Co.
The new Old Forge Company in 1896 also decided to build a two mile railroad from Dr. Webb’s Fulton Chain Station to the Navigation Dock.
In January 1896, the Fulton Chain Railroad Company formed and the railroad was built that year.
In 1898, it was leased to the New York Central. In 1899, a large depot was built at the dock.
The Old Forge Company directors determined from the beginning that they should hire a superintendent to manage the Forge House, the Crosby Trans-portation Company and the Fulton Chain Railroad.
In March 1899, Clarence H. Rivenburg, a conductor for the New York Central, was named to this position and made many improvements.
It was Rivenburg who may have suggested that the railroad add a new station for the benefit of Old Forge residents: Gilbert Street Station.
It appeared on this schedule and was just down the street from the new George Goodsell home, today’s museum.
After purchasing the Fulton Chain Railroad in 1901, he reorganized it as the Fulton Chain Railway in 1902.
Rivenburg resigned after a short period with the new company.
Then Dr. Webb added managing of the new railroad and steamer companies in Old Forge to J. G. Thompson’s duties as superintendent of the Raquette Lake Transportation Company. Operations on the railroad ceased in 1932.
During 1899 and early 1900, the Old Forge Company lost its court battles opposing the Raquette Lake Railroad’s operation, lost its monopoly on transportation from Fulton Chain Station to the head of Fourth Lake, reorganized during 1900 and in the first year of the 20th century, the new directors sold its railroad and steamer line to Dr. Webb.
In closing, a brief examination of this immense, diverse travel schedule reveals that it truly is an historical document of its time.
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Sources: “Where Did the Tracks Go in the West Central Adirondack” by Michael Kudish, “Fairy Tale Railroad” by Henry Harter, “Life and Leisure in the Adirondack Backwoods” , “Conquering the Wilderness” by Charles Burnett, “Adirondack Steamboats on Raquette and Blue Mountain Lakes” and “An Adirondack Resort” by Harold Hochschild, “Changing Times in the Adirondack” by Norton Bus Bird, The Adirondack News and “New York Central 1952 Annual Reports” copies courtesy of the Town of Webb Historical Association “Notes Collected in the Adirondacks 1895 1896 by Arpad Gerster” edited by Sidney Whelan, the Astronomy Boy website, Wikipedia website for the New York Central, the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society website, and the following newspapers: Richfield Springs Mercury, Utica Observer Dispatch, Lowville Journal Republican, Boonville Herald and ADK Tourister, Utica Daily Press, Utica Sunday Herald, Utica Sunday Journal, Utica Morning Herald, Buffalo Express, Utica Observer, Utica Sunday Tribune, Utica Weekly Herald, Utica Herald Dispatch, Watertown Herald available from the Northern New York Library Network and Fultonhistory.com.
Past columns can be found at weeklyadk.com and adirondackalmanack.com