The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-15
New Haven Register.)

tNeW haven heglSCer.l
Many Of the older residents Of the
city can recall the days when all of
New Ravens marine commerce was
not confined to Long island Sound.
They'll tell you that the lower end OF
State street Is made grounds" that
at one time 1t harbored numerous
small craft which came from as Tar
north as Northampton. Mass, via an
artificial water course known as the
Farmington canal, long since succeed
ed by railroad. OF the canal Stephen
walkley of Plantsville, one of South
1ngton's oldest and most respected cit
ixens entertainingly writes as follows:
For the facts related IN this paper
IL am indebted partly to memory, part
~ to an account book of my fathers
who, with q man named Johnson took
the contract for constructing all the
locks from New Haven to CRANKY, and
still more than either to an address
delivered before the Village Library
company OF Pennington by Julius Gay
i'm 1883.
The traces Of the Pennington canal
IN our town are rapidly being oblit-
orated. In a few places the old ditch
Remains overgrown with alders, short
lstrip OF 1t Is used as part of the
reservoir Of the H., D. Smith & Co..
and In some places the tow path and
hed Of the canal can be found where
ttiIlage has left 1t undisturbed. But
In most places no one unfamiliar with
ats history would imagine that it ever
fexisted.
In 1sz1. when geo miles of. the Erie
lcanal furnished both freight and pas
isenger accommodations. the only pub
HE thoroughfare through our town
WAS the Cheshire turnpike. which
kcharged q fare at each toll gate vary
hing from Is cents for d four-wheeled
pleasure carriage to four cents If on
.6orseback. Freight was hauled over
ffhe turnpike when that furnished a
koonvsnient route, and In other places
lever highways neither well QUILT OF
lwell cared for. Passenger service
twas by stage coach.
The public spirited men OF New Ha-
zen desired water communication with
1.-THE Interior towns. On the 18th OF
Hanuary 1922, a meeting of citizens
krom II towns on the proposed line
kof tho canal was held at Pennington
with the Hon. Timothy Pitkin as
tmoderator. and q committee was APP
bolnted to procure a survey and raise
ID 900 to pay for the same. In May.
681c. the Huntington Canal company
Twas chartered. In the latter part OF
k16s3 q survey was made and the es-
ftimated cost. Of the work was s42o.,
kprinted IN 1923. 1t seems that this ca
Enal was only small part of grand
kpro1ect. It was to connect at the
state line with the Hampshire and
Hampden canal to be constructed In
Massachusetts,. and that In turn was
to be continued northward along the
west bank of the Connecticut river
crossing Il at Brattleborough into
New Hampshire, and then, sometimes
IN New Hampshire and sometimes In
Vermont It was to reach Lake Mem
phremagog. through wnich connectlon
was possible with the st. Lawrence
L
subscriptions at first went slowly
but AZ length were boosted by bril-
liant bit of financiering- The Me-
rbanics' bank Of New Haven was char
for 100000 stock of the canal com
July 4, 1875, the ceremony Of com
mencinE the excavation or the canal
took place at Salmon Brook village.
with high hopes and rosy prognos-
tications was commenced an enterprise
destined about Is years later to an al
most fenominious end, and which
your Brotherhood only So years later
has Loyalty decided to rescue from OBJ
I1fyion. The cause of failure. however
was not due to lack of justification
Tor its beginning, but to the march OF
progress which provided better means
Of TRANSPORTATION. In 1922. when this
enterprise began. there was not 9
foot of steam railroad in the world and
st - not strange that at that time
water transportation was the only
grand Improvement thought OF: Two
horses could draw two tons OF freigh'
from New Haven TO Southington in
day on q wagon road, the same NUM-
her OF horses could draw 30 tons the
same distance by canal Any shrewc
business man could see that the psy-
Geological moment for a canal had ar,
rived but IL would have taken rare
prophetic vision to see that that mo-
ment would so soon pass by.
A little more than two years passed
and the little hole in the ground reach
ed from Southwick pond to the water
of Long Island sound. The summit
was in Cheshire and water was let IN
IN IL at that point in November, 1927
winter soon put a stop to the work
and n was not until June 20, 1928
that the first boat was launched Il
was named James Hillhouse and was
fitted up for both passengers anc
freight with the ladies' cabin forward
and the Kentlemen's cabin aft. The
principal feeder was at dam bull
on the Pennington river just pelov
Collinsville. Commander Edward
Hooker of the United states navy gives
an account of this time, which occur
red when he was boy. Speeche!
were made, flags f1oated and rum ane
sandwiches were partaken Of In grea
abundance. He says: when the CUR
braved the gate was knocked away
and the, first water came into the ca
nal. The opening was so small tina
rt FIRST all the water soaked into the
.xround. Axes soon increased the How
and as If began to move along, not very
fast. VIII Whitman and / ran dowr
into the canal bed and ran along jus
ahead Of the water. Our fathers NJ
doubt kept along the bank ready t.
fish US out If we got caught by thu
water, but we did not get caught, ant
we ran quite a distance keeping jus
ahead OF the water. Soon! however
the axes increased the opening and
VIII and I had to get out Of the way
of the rushing tide, the first water IL
+he old Pennington canal"
Many people Witnessed the launch
ing above mentioned and about 20
ladies and gentlemen who had beer
invited and furnished tickets sailed stt
and over the acqueduct and bacl
again. How long a sail this was
cannot learn. but the Courant states
that the canal was navigable from tn,
Pennington feeder to Taylor's tavern
near New Haven. In addition tt
Southwick pond and the Farmingtor
river. the canal was fed by smalle
brooks along the route.
Ia the meantime other boats wer,
being built and launched and the sum
rner Of 1928 witnessed several pleasure
excursions of greater or less length.
IT was not until Monday, Novembe
10. 1928. that the canal was believed
TO be navigable for heavily-laden boat
through its whole length. Novem
Der IL, 1928, was a great day for Far