Palisadian., 1923-10-05
"REMINISCENCES OF
PALHADE
BY CHARLES r. LOGAN

Writing these lines on the early his
tory of Palisade entirely from mem
ory, it would not be at all remarkable
II made an occasional error in dates
and data. However, / have the files
of the Palisadian to which | can refer
in the future chapters for verification
OF course the beginning of the his
tory of village like Palisade could
not be otherwise than small and unim-
portant. Yet relatively, everything
that made these beginnings were of
the utmost Importance to those of US
who were the real pioneers.
Among the urgent problems that
faced Palisade from 1906 on, was a
plan to get up and down the Palisades
with vehicles. Palisade was born al
most before the automobile, and as
this great figure in civilization devel-
oped, it soon became apparent that
the cliff front climb was a thing to
be reckoned with. One of the real
promises made by the Hudson River
Realty Company was the building of
a roadway up from Edgewater to Pali-
SADIE. Paul McCloud, the engineer in
charge of the work, surveyed the line
as it was to run, and it had four
shorter inclines instead of two on the
present highway built by the state as
Route No. 10.
In 1907. when the village was in the
throes Of adjusting it's troubles with
the com pany through the Tax Payers
Association, 1t was agreed by George
w. Driscoll, attorney and spokesman
for the Hudson River Realty Com
pany, that their next move would be
to build the road to Edgewater. The
company no doubt dreaded big law
suit over its other shortcomings, so
was willing to again agree on the
building Of this cliff road. This was
in the same chapter when they donat-
ed the lots for churches and schools.
The Catholics, however, never availed
themselves Of the lot donated to them
in West Palisade, so at the end of two
years the deed nullified itself because
building was not begun il the period.
Just what got in the way of the COM
pany to keep it from building the in
clined road no one ever knew 1t
was delayed and delayed, until finally
the project just died abornin'." May
be the cost had something to do with
1t, for this was estimated beyond the
100000 mark-perhaps 100000.
Then there were whole lot of
ether proposals for building a moving
or endless chain roadway up the cliff
front, an enlarged escalator, to be run
by large steam power plant in Edge
water. This agitation was interest
ing, for it would have carried vehicles
and foot passengers as well.
There was another similar plan
talked of just after this, that of build
ing an inclined railway similar to
those in vogue in Cincinnati and
Pittsburgh. Only cars for passengers
and platforms for vehicles could have
been used on this type of up-the-hill
transportation. But here again the cost
intervened and squelched both enter
rfises.
In those days the isolation of Pail
sade was it's chief charm as it is to-
day. or course we had the trolley then
and the automobile had come on the
scene. But there was never a steam
railroad nearer than two miles, and
1t is the same today.
1t required a great deal of labor on
the part of e. H. Ryan to buy up all
the land he did on the Palisades and
he was at the work five or six years
before he had the 1,020 acres he
wanted. He then showed his vision
and salesmanship by getting l.. c.
Smith and his other Syracuse asso
ciates to put up the money to organize
the various operating companies that
financed Palisade. 1t was big under
taking and the $4,000 lots in the area
of Palsade represented a paper land
value, based on only $1,000 lot, of
SIS, 900, O0,000-colossal figures in those
days, and not so small today. / doubt
however, if these values were ever
here, but no doubt the half OF S15,000,-
600 would be top price today. The
value Is not here yet, but the proximi'
ty Of Palisade to New York will make
it possibility before many years.
There is no doubt Of the genuineness
of values here today.