The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-07-22
JEROME "REMINISCENCES.
EARLY HISTORY CONCERNING THE
OLD CANAL.

Passengers by Packet Boat in the EARLY
Days Carried at IA Speed of Seven Miles an
Hour, While the Consolidated Managed
to Make Twelve Miles in That Space of
Time.
Plainville has been mentioned. Al
the time of which l am writing there
wasn 'Plainvllle," except the road and
fences--some of them, the zig gag kind
about dozen houses widely scattered
here and there was the only sign of life
and civilization in the entire long, wide,
fiat section of country known as the
"Plains," a part of the town of Farm
ington. The Erie canal connecting the
great lakes Of the west with tide water
in the east, had been completed in 1925
and it's promise of untold advantages
had created all through the New Eng
land states an intense enthusiasm ana
a confidence that at last a means OF
communication and travel vastly super
ior to the old time stage coach service
had been found and had come to stay.
Men of wealth, prominence and influ-
ence in New Haven and in the north
ern towns of the state, also in the Dor
der towns of Massachusetts, being
Jealous of good work" in behalf of the
public, and possibly having a modest
desire to increase their private fortunes
ventured largely of their means and
enlisted their efforts for the construction
of a canal between New Haven and
Northampton. After much tribulatlon
and many disappointments and finan-
cial embarrassments, their work was
finished as far as Westfield,
Mass, in 1929, and to Northampton in
1885. Packet boats were bought for the
conveyance of passengers, and easy and
most comfortable mode of travel, but
not rapid The passenger traffic, how
ever, was quite limited. especially be-
cause the railroad between Hartford
and New Haven was completed and
ready for business about the same time
and it's speed of twelve miles an hour
was a serious matter for the canal
packet boats, travelling only six or
seven miles in the same time. and it
was not long before their trips were
discontinued.
The canal freighting business, how
ever, was constantly growing larger in
amount and was of great benefit to the
towns along its line, by reason of the
facilities and advantages 1t afforded for
the regular and economical shipment
of the products of the farms; also of
goods from the numerous factories
within reasonably easy delivery dis
lance also for the return of supplies
for country tradesmen and the raw
material for manufacturing purposes,
Adna Whiting, remarkably genial
and popular man, was the pioneer, store
keeper at the Plains" occupying a
long, roomy two story and basement
building on the east of the basin as a
country store and warehouse, dealing
in -four salt, molasses, sugar plug to-
bacco, and possibly Jamaica rum, in
considerable quantities. A long, stout
beam with "pulleys and tackle" project
ed from the basin side of his storehouse
to hoist and swing back into the ware
house rooms the bulky and heavy ma
terial arriving almost daily from New
Haven and beyond. Sixteen or seven
teen was the average number of boats
going up to and beyond the basin each
weak.
The canal had been in, operation
| about two years when Hermanus WEIGH
of Bristol erected a large warehouse
| and store ON the west margin Of the
basin, where he continued for several
years, also dealing extensively in lum-
| Der, wood. glass. Oil, nails and such
l ~ of rio1i ha "a ~ ~ "a
neighboring towns required in greater
| or less quantities. 1t is a curious fact
| if true-and there is hardly any doubt
| of it-that the dimensions of the canal
| boats-seventy-feet long by twelve feet
| wide-were almost exactly Of the same
proportions as to length and breadth
| six to one, as was Noah's ark of an
| cient days. There can be no doubt
! but that the good old man was an ex-
| pert on the water question and skilled
| in marine affairs, although on a certain
| occasion, he is said to have made a
| mistake, and used less than the proper
quantity of water when partaking of
his favorite beverage, the result being
quite unfortunate for his previous good
| reputation.
Mnay new dwellings here and there
were now making their appearance up
on the Plains. Timers, shoemakers
| and blacksmith shops were not long in
| making their advent. Lawyers and
doctors soon came-as a matter of
| course then churches, school houses,
hotels and factories, the latter for clock
| trimmings, for wagons and carriages,
| also by and by, for knit goods. Brass
| foundries belched forth their sulphurie
flames, all noticeably changing the as
! pect of the whole section, until now
there is a busy busting city, where on
ly a little while ago-or was it long?-
in every direction peace, quiet and soil
tude prevailed.
Our small boy will never forget his
feelings and impressions when first he
looked upon the wonderful artificial wa.
ter-way. 1t was a feeling of nearness
of sympathy, of oneness with the greal
outside world; of contact with the fa1
away peoples of the earth. Perhap,
the very water he saw had washed thu
shores of the Mediterranean, or ha(
trickled down the sides of Greenland
icy mountains" or had dashed in saw
age fury against the ragged cliffs o
Cape Horn, or had lovingly and gently
Tapped the sands of the far off islands
of the Pacific. 1t was a fascinating
thought that from this basin one nigh
sail away, and without stepping foo
upon land make a voyage around tn
1 rN1a ~, r..