Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-10-12

Mr.. Whitney's communication, in last
Fridays FREE PRESS, under the head
ing: How the Central Happened to Skip
Burlington" does not tell the whole story.
TO begin with the Vermont Central never
skipped Burlington. 1t was built original
ly into Burlington, and ran regularly into
Burlington for year or more before there
was any railroad junction in Essex. We
doubt if Hon. Harry Bradley had much to
do with the location of any part of the
Central road He was a Rutland Railroad
man ana for two years president of the
Rutland & Burlington Railroad Co.,
which had the sharpest kind of rivalry
with the Central, and if we remember cor
rectly he had lost his business interests at
Winooski before the Central was built.
Governor Charles Paine (whose name is
misspclled in the communication had
much to do with the location of the Cen
trail on the North side of the river, and the
prospect of large manufacturing interests
at Winooski Falls probably had its influ-
ence in determining the location. But the
man who was chiefly response
BILE for the legacy of Essex junction
to the public was the late Timothy
FOllett of Burlington. AS many of our
readers remember, the Vermont and Cam
ada road, built to connect the Central and
Ogdensburg roads, which were to form a
great trunk line from the West to the sea-
board, was virtually built by the Central
that is to say, the money to build it
came from S per cent. bonds guaranteed
by the Central, and it was wholly con-
trolled by the Central managers. To Sc
cure an all rail connection with the Og-
dei sburg, bridge across the lake at
Rouses Point was supposed to be indis-
pensible. Judge Follett, then president of
the Rutland railroad fought the con-
structon of such bridge and as the per-
mission of the UGited States government
was necessary to the bridging of the nav
igabe channel of the lake, he was able
to put up formidable OPPOSITION There
upon Gov. Paine made the formal PROPOSE
tion to Judge Follett that if he would
withdraw his opposition to the Rouses
Point bridge, the Vermont and Canada
should connect with the Rutland road in
the village of Burlington and at no other
pOIHt' JuuSe Ollelt, as ne tOid a COM
mittee of inquiry in after years, thought
the project for bridge could be perman-
emily defeated, and that the main con-
nection between the Rutland road and
the Ogdensburg would be maintained by
boats plying between Burlington and
Rouses Point, to the advantage of his
town and to the great enhancement of the
value of his own wharf property and adj
jacent lots of land. He accordingly de-
clined Gov Paine's Offer AS a conse-
quence the Vermont and Canada started
north from Essex, instead of Burlington
1t was found practicable to dispense with
a bridge at Rouses Point, by using in
! stead a long boat, which took the freight
and passenger trains across without leav-
ing the rails. The boat became a floating
bridge proper.
/ Essex junction, thus created. has re-
NAMED, such as the travelling public
know 1t to be- to the present day Mr..
Whitney is right in supposing that it was
/ not ST. Adams invention. The st. AL
bans interest had not become controlling
in the affairs of the Central when Essex
Junction was established and there is no
need to suppose that a purpose to divert
ton of the Junction.