Norwich bulletin., 1909-07-03

twelve or eighteen months the project of Building Steam Boat to ply be- tween this city and New Haven--for making q new turnpike to the latter place--for excavatipg canal from this place to Southbridge, Mass.,- ,--for building bridge across the Falls--- for removing buildings and widening streets-and for building a dam or causeway across the cove, where fac- tories and mills of various descrip- tons might be erected--as well as many others schemes of lesser mag ntude have been brought upon the carpet. Means are sufficient to l accomplish all, if rightly applied. It is then only owing to the want of uni " in our citizens. which is greatly to be regretted. If any plan. howl ever important is started by gentle- men and they solicit the assistance of others, they are almost sure to receive From the majority the answer that If you will subscribe literally towards 1 building steam boat, l will subscrIDe | with pleasure in aid of your project | -.g Or what is worse, they object, 1 saying that it will be of no advantage | to Chelsea or Town, and thus vice ver- sa.
 r'The principal design now under | consideration is that of the location of | Washington college. This is sub- 5ect of great importance and will be of infinite benefit to this or any town | where it may chance to be located. | s . Improve this opportunity and op- l tain your prize, and you have at once l accomplished many other objects. You | vWl then have new bridges, steam | boats, and turnpikes, and as the town increases in business and opulence, | works of greater magnitude may be accomplished. It is desirable that persons may not ask the growing question. whether, if the institution Eh ha Qfc 1fch hnn ffa particular location is to be in Chel- l sea or the Town, as it would be of mi- nor onsequence--whatever is of great l advantage to one section of the place, | is more or less so to the other"
 In order to understand the condi- tlons of this critical period, from 1920 to 1S36 we must bear in mind the | main facts of the history of Norwich | for the s160 years up to 1920; the ear- | ly struggles and hardships of the pro prietors and early settlers up to 1720; | the absolute business supremacy of l Old Norwich up to the time of the | revolution; it's continued supremacy l as a business, political, court, and | postoffice center up to about 1900, and | the rapid growth of Chelsea at the ex- pense of Old Norwich from 17SS to 1920.
 The history of transportation as 1t | developed in Norwich given in anoth- CT column of this issue of The Bulle- tin, shows many of the difficulties which were encountered by the village Eite of Old Norwich in attempting to maintain it's supremacy as a center over its daughter. Chelsea. As a cen ter of a rural population the Old Nor wich site was fully as good as that of I Chelsea. In fact in many ways it was better The tremendous expense of the, construction of buildings on the rocky lodges of the Chelsea site at first more than balanced the two mile transportation from tidewater to Old Norwich. The s10,000 spent in rock blasting few years ago for the cellar of a single building in the Chelsea site, if spent on a similar building in the Old Norwich site would have con- structed a handsome and servieeable building. But in the course of years the added expense of transportation of goods 10 the Old Norwich site would have been so great that, from a busi- ness point of view, it was more ad- vantageous to locate buildings in the Chelsea site.,
 IT. other words. while the conditions in Norwich were similar to those found in Lebanon or Colchester. the Old Norwich site was preferable to the Chelsea site. When transportation was on horseback, over trails, by wag- ons, mail stages, and hourlies, then  be built as well for the Old Norwich site as for the Chelsea site But when railroads and electric lines replaced theif slower predecessors, the Chelsea site grew much faster than that of Old Norwich. When the trip to New York was ma de by sloops. packets and 6chooners the time taken for the add ed two mile transportation of goods [ was not of so much importance; but when steamboats were invented, and the speed of transportation increased 1t soon became more economical for move their business locations to Chel- sea Landing.
 As has been shown in the preceding section of this sketch of the history of Norwich. Chelsea grew much more rapidly than Old Norwich during the years from 17S6 to 1920. It not only grew more rapidly, but 1t took away business from the residents of the old center. In taking away business it took away the money getting power of the inhabitants of Old Norwich and West Chelsea And because the bread was taken out of the mouths of the families of the residents of the old center and West Chelsea. they felt that the inhabitants of their rival. Chelsea, were their enemies. It is un- doubtedly due to this fact, more or less clearly perceived at the time that many bitter and unfortunate state ments were made, not only by the res idents of these village sites which were being injured but also by the Inhabitants of Chelsea who were try ing to gain the supremacy
 
 It is not the purpose of the writer { of this history to go very fully into the details of this great struggle for the leadership among these village sites. It is, however, necessary in order to understand the history of Norwich to allude to some of the important feat ures of this critical period. This peri cd Is just far enough back in our his- tory to be out of the memories of the oldest living residents We have all heard something about this period from our forefathers, but these &C., counts which have been given US have been more or less colored according ' flo the section of the town in which we or our ancestors have lived.
 Transportation was greatly facili- kaSed by the development of Broad way and Washington street in their present conditions. These streets were very broad for the time in which they were constructed; they were in fact what today we call bouleyards or parkways connecting the two sites of Old Norwich and Chelsea. The pro- Sectors of these streets may have real azed something of their importance in laying out such magnificent streets connecting two rival sites, for at the time when they were widened to. their present boulevard condition Cheldea was forging very rapidly to the fore fn the race for supremacy. These boulevards have done much toward hA 4,1fa oofe Al