Commuting Between New York City and Pelham in 1843 Before the Railroad Was Extended to Pelham

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Pelham residents today think nothing of a quick jaunt into New York City.  The inexpensive commute on Metro North takes 29 minutes from Pelham Station to Grand Central Terminal on modern and comfortable electric trains that are heated during cold weather and air conditioned when hot.  Thus, it is hard to imagine a time in the earliest years of the railroad industry in the New York region when the line of the New York and Harlem Rail Road extended from City Hall through 27th Street, Harlem, Fordham, and terminated at Williams' Bridge using steam locomotives and passenger cars with virtually no modern conveniences.  

It is harder, still, to imagine wood or coal-fired steam engines with no enclosure for the single engineer / fireman who simply stood on an unenclosed platform shoving fuel into a rudimentary firebox to maintain the steam.  Such "trains" into and out of New York sometimes were principally freight trains with a single "second class" passenger car.  Other times they were principally passenger trains with two passenger cars and a freight / baggage car.  The image immediately below depicts such a steam locomotive. 

Depiction of 1842 William Norris Steam Engine Locomotive

Similar to Locomotives Used at the Time on the Line of the

New York and Harlem Rail Road.  Source:  McElroy's Philadelphia

Directory for 1842, Advertisement Pg. 22 (Following Directory Pg.

348) (Philadelphia, PA:  Orrin Rogers, 1842).  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

The New York and Harlem Railroad was incorporated on April 25, 1831.  The first section of the new railroad ran from Prince Street north to 14th Street on November 26, 1832.  Slowly, thereafter, the railroad opened additional sections until it first reached Williamsbridge on September 3, 1842.  

No railroad line reached the little Town of Pelham until the New York and New Haven Railroad opened through Pelham in late December, 1848.  See Thu., Sep. 11, 2014:  Cattle Were Frightened; Animals Careened Round the Fields - The First Run of the New Haven Line Through Pelham in 1848.  There was a time, then, during the 1840s, when Pelhamites were capable of "commuting" by train to and from New York City -- as long as they could get to and from Williams Bridge.  Today's Historic Pelham Blog article details precisely how it was possible for Pelham residents to commute to and from New York City using the New York and Harlem Railroad for a portion of the trip.

It is possible to understand much about what such a commute was like for Pelhamites in 1843, only months after the New York and Harlem Railroad line was extended to Williams Bridge, from a commuter fare and timetable advertisement that appeared countless times in The Evening Post of New York City that year.  Moreover, the advertisement purports to depict a period image of such a train that permits additional analysis.  The image of the train taken from the advertisement appears below, first, with discussion of what can be learned from the image.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

The tiny image of the advertisement (that appears in full below with a transcription, a citation and a link to its source) appears immediately above.  The steam engine locomotive can be seen in the lead with a single man standing at the crude firebox behind the smokestack (to keep the smoke from obscuring the operator's view).  There appear to be two passenger rail cars behind the locomotive with passengers visible through the windows.  In the rear is what appears to be a freight or baggage car that is loaded.  Although there is no evidence that this image depicts an actual New York and Harlem Railroad train in 1843, its inclusion in an schedule and fare advertisement placed by the railroad suggests that the depiction is not wildly inaccurate.

The advertisement makes clear that to commute on the railroad to lower Manhattan and back, Pelhamites could take a scheduled stage coach from Pelham Bridge to Williams Bridge and then a New York and Harlem Railroad train as far as the City Hall region of Manhattan and reverse the process for the return trip.

There is no indication in the advertisement regarding the stagecoach fare.  The fare between what then was the end of the line at Williams Bridge and City Hall in lower Manhattan was twenty-five cents (about $13.00 in today's dollars).  For regular commuters, certainly rare from Pelham in that day, there was a commutation pass available, although it was sold only as an annual pass.  It cost $50.00 (about $2,600.00 in today's dollars).   

Regular trains departed from City Hall in lower Manhattan for Williamsbridge daily at 6:00 a.m., 7:10 a.m., 8:10 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2:10 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4:10 p.m., and 6:10 p.m. with each train returning from Williams Bridge with any passengers traveling to New York City.  Additionally, beginning May 10, 1843, the railroad began running what later became known as the "milk run" departing Williams Bridge for City Hall at 3:00 a.m. with a return trip to Williams Bridge leaving City Hall at 5:30 a.m.

Horse-drawn stagecoaches to carry passengers, freight, and baggage to Pelham Bridge did not meet every train's arrival at Williams Bridge.  Rather, such stagecoaches only met two trains a day:  those that departed from City Hall at 8:10 A.M. and at 4:10 P.M.  Both stagecoaches could carry passengers, freight, and baggage on their return trips from Pelham Bridge back to the end of the train line at Williams Bridge. 

Clearly regular travel between the little Town of Pelham and lower Manhattan was difficult and expensive in 1843.  Yet, one can perceive the origins of today's massive Metro North commuter railroad that now carries more than 84 million passengers a year along some of the same railroad track rights-of-way used by Pelhamites when traveling on the New York and Harlem railroad 175 years ago in 1843.

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Fare and Schedule Advertisement for the New York and

Harlem Railroad Published in The Evening Post of New

York City Throughout 1843.  Source:  NEW YORK AND HARLEM

RAIL ROAD - ROAD COMPANY --SPRING ARRANGEMENT

[Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY], May 8, 1843,

p. 1, col. 3 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via

this link).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"NEW YORK AND HARLEM RAIL ROAD - ROAD COMPANY.
SPRING ARRANGEMENT.

GREAT REDUCTION OF FARE as follows, viz:

Between City Hall and Harlem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1/2 cents
From City Hall to Fordham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 cents
From City Hall to Williams' Bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . 25 cents

On and after Monday, 24th of April instant, the cars will run daily as follows, viz:

Leave City Hall for Williams' Bridge, at 6, 7:10, 8:10, 9:10, 11:30, 2:10, 3:15, 4:10, 6:10.

On and after Wednesday, the 10th of May next, an extra freight train, with second class cars attached, for the accommodation of passengers, will leave Williams' Bridge, at 3 o'clock in the morning, and returning, leave City Hall, at 5:30, and 27th street, at 6 A.M.

Fare in this Train, between 27th street, and Harlem, 6-1/4 cents; between 27th street and Williams' Bridge, 12-1/2 cents.

The City Hall and 27th street Line will run daily as follows:  from 7 A. M. every ten minutes throughout the day till 8 o'clock, P. M.  Fare 6-1/4 cents.

An extra night line will run from City Hall to 27th st., as follows:

Leave City Hall for 27th st.   |   Leave 27th st. for City Hall,
8:30 P.M.,                             |   8 P.M.
9:30   "                                  |   9   "
10:30 "                                  |   10 "
11:30 " will run to 42d st.      |   11 "

Stages for Westchester, Throgg's Neck and Pelham Bridge, will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of the Trains, which leave City Hall at 8:10 A.M., and 4:10 P.M.

Stages for Eastchester, New Rochelle and Mamaroneck, will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of the Trains which leaves [sic] City Hall at 7:10 A.M. and 3:15 P.M.

Stages for Rye and Portchester will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of tthe Trains which leave City Hall 3:15 P.M.

Stages for Marble Hall and White Plains will leave Williams' Bridge daily, (Sundays excepted,) on the arrival of the Train which leaves City Hall at 3:15 P.M.; also, leave Williams' Bridge every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, on the arrival of the Train which leaves City hall at 8:10 A.M.

Stages for Robbins' Mills, Milesquare, NewCastle, North Castle and Bedford, will leave Williams' Bridge every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, on the arrival of the Train which leaves City hall at 8:10 A.M.

Stages for Mamaroneck, Portchester, Greenwich and Stamford, will leave Williams' Bridge daily, on the arrival of the Train which leaves City Hall at 2 o'clock, P. M.

The company are now ready to commute with persons residing on the line of their road by the year, as follows:  

Between City Hall and 27th street, in
     27th street line exclusively. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25
do          Yorkville, in trains     do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   35
do          Harlem,                    do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   40
do          Fordham,                 do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   45
do          Williams' Bridge,      do     do . . . . . . . . . . . . .   50

For further particulars in relation to commuting, apply at the office of the Company at City Hall, corner of Bowery and Broome street, and at 27th street, and will be forwarded by the 11:30 A.M., and 4 o'clock P.M. trains from the City Hall.

-- Freight must be paid in advance at the office of the company at City Hall, before the same will be forwarded."

Source:  NEW YORK AND HARLEM RAIL ROAD - ROAD COMPANY --SPRING ARRANGEMENT [Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY], May 8, 1843, p. 1, col. 3 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

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Stagecoach Lines Proliferated in Pelham in the 1870s, Part of Pelham's Old Stage Coach Days

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On August 7, 1874, a cryptic announcement appeared in the New-York Tribune regarding the opening of a new stagecoach line through City Island and Pelham Bridge in the Town of Pelham.  It read:

"CITY ISLAND. -- A stage line was recently established between Mount Vernon and Yonkers, connecting with trains on the New-Haven, Harlem, and Hudson River railroads.  The success of the line has induced the proprietor to establish another line between Mount Vernon, Eastchester, Pelham Bridge, and City Island, so that persons can now cross between Long Island Sound and the Hudson River, passing through the villages named."

Source:  CITY ISLAND, New-York Tribune, Aug. 7, 1874, p. 8, col. 5 (Note:  Access via this link requires paid subscription).  

Although the announcement did not identify the "proprietor" of the new line, it noted that it was the same proprietor who had recently established a stage line between Mount Vernon and Yonkers to connect with trains on the New Haven, Harlem, and Hudson River railroads.  Thus, it seems nearly certain, the unidentified "proprietor" likely was Theodore Valentine who was the man who ran "Valentine's Mount Vernon and Yonkers Stage Line."  For a time in the 1870s, that stage line ran three trips daily.  It ran from Mount Vernon to Yonkers at 7:53 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 4:15 p.m.  It ran from Yonkers back to Mount Vernon at 9:15 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.  The fare on Valentine's Mount Vernon and Yonkers Stage Line was twenty-five cents each way.  

1878 Advertisement for Valentine's Mount Vernon and

Yonkers Stage Line.  Source:  VALENTINE'S MOUNT

VERNON AND YONKERS STAGE LINE [Advertisement],

The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 5, 1878, Vol. IX,

No. 459, p. 4, cols. 5-6.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The move by Theodore Valentine to establish a stage line " between Mount Vernon, Eastchester, Pelham Bridge, and City Island, so that persons can now cross between Long Island Sound and the Hudson River, passing through the villages named" may have played some role in the decision by Robert J. Vickery of City Island to establish his stage line that shuttled between Bartow Station on the New Haven Branch Line and City Island.  I have written before of Robert J. Vickery and his stage.  See, e.g.:  

Fri., Jul. 25, 2014:  Stagecoach Accident in Pelham in Early 1883. 

Fri., Mar. 21, 2014:  Examples of Very Early Merchant Advertisements in the Town of Pelham. 

Wed., Mar. 03, 2010:  1879 Advertisement for Robert J. Vickery's City Island Stage Line, A Predecessor to the City Island Horse Railroad. 

Thu., Sep. 24, 2009:  Brief Newspaper Account of the January 1, 1883 Annual Meeting of the Pelham Manor Protective Club (article includes account of an accident involving one of Vickery's stages). 

Tue., Jan. 27, 2009:  Biography of William Vickery, a 19th Century Resident of City Island in the Town of Pelham.

No definitive history of stagecoach transportation in the Pelham region has been written.  That history, however, can be pieced together from a variety of sources and sheds light on the growth of the region and the role Pelham has played over the last few centuries as a small town along Boston Post Road near the metropolis of New York City.  (Included at the end of today's article is a bibliography of links to other Historic Pelham articles that touch on stagecoach days in old Pelham.)

One of the earliest efforts to provide regular stagecoach from New York to Boston on the Boston Post Road that passed through Pelham at the time via today's Colonial Avenue occurred in 1772, shortly before the onset of the Revolutionary War.  A carriage-maker in Hartford, Connecticut named Nicholas Brown partnered with a driver named Jonathan Brown to offer stagecoach service along the Post Road between New York City and Boston.  According to one account:

"[T]he partners had trouble attracting patrons.  The Browns may not have made any trips at all until late July.  Even then they had only enough interest to go twice a month, and be fall they went no more."

Source:  Jaffe, Eric, The King's Best Highway -- The Lost History of the Boston Post Road, the Route that Made America, p. 80 (NY, NY:  Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2010).  

It was not until Autumn 1784 that another attempt to establish stagecoach travel between New York and Boston on the old Boston Post Road through Pelham.  That year, a group of four local stagecoach proprietors in the northeast successfully joined their various stagecoach lines to make stagecoach travel from the old Morris mansion in New York City to Boston.  See id., pp. 81-83.  These local stage lines included those of Jacob Brown (New Haven to Hartford to Springfield), Levi Pease and Reuben Sikes (Hartford to Somers to Boston), and Talmadge Hall (New York City to Norwalk).  For the next few years, the stage lines that made up the service were able to survive by supplementing their income carrying newspapers and U.S. mail back and forth along the Post Road.  

During the latter part of the eighteenth century the stages run by Talmadge Hall routinely rumbled through Pelham on today's Colonial Avenue carrying passengers, mail, newspapers, and more.  At the same time, Levi Pease played an ever greater role in the expansion of stagecoach transportation from Boston to as far as Philadelphia and even Baltimore in the later years of the eighteenth century and the first two decades of the nineteenth century.  

In 1796, the First Massachusetts Turnpike opened along the Boston Post Road near Boston in an effort to charge travelers fees that could be used to improve the rough roadway.  Soon, "turnpike fever swept the country" including the New York City region.  Soon a turnpike was built and opened through Pelham to shorten the travel between the Bronx and New Rochelle via the Boston Post Road.  

Thus, in about 1804, stagecoach traffic shifted in Pelham from the old Boston Post Road (today's Colonial Avenue) to the new Westchester Turnpike (today's Boston Post Road).  The Westchester Turnpike included toll gates along the roadway not far from the Shrubbery that once stood near today's Split Rock Road in Pelham Manor.  

At about this time, stagecoach lines popped into and out of existence, sending stagecoaches back and forth between New York and Boston through Pelham on the Westchester Turnpike.  For example, In 1813, New York City newspapers published announcements of the opening of another new stage coach line:  the New-York & Boston New Line Diligence Stage running from New York City to Boston by way of New Haven, Hartford, and Providence.  See Tue., Dec. 27, 2016:  Stage Coach Days In Old Pelham.  

For the next few decades, stagecoach and wagon traffic along the Westchester Turnpike through Pelham continued to grow.  During this time, however, the population of Pelham was beginning to grow on City Island and on Pelham Neck and along Shore Road on the mainland.  Shortly before the widespread advent of trains on the east coast, stagecoaches along the Boston Post Road were being engineered for speed for the benefit of passengers and the U.S. Mail.  Indeed, Pelham became a regular station stop for the mail and passenger stagecoaches of Dorance, Recide & Co.  According to an article published in The New York Times on May 8, 1880:

"A few New-Yorkers still remember the old stages of Dorance, Recide & Co., which used to carry the United States mails between this City and Boston. Fifty years ago two stages started from the corner of Bayard-street and the Bowery every morning. One of them was an especially fast stage. It carried the mails and never booked more than six passengers, and when the mails were unusually heavy no passengers were allowed at all. 'Six passengers only allowed inside,' was the announcement contained in the words painted on the panels of this nimble vehicle, which legend many a time carried dismay to the hearts of impetuous business men who arrived at the stage office only to find the last seat taken. The slow stage carried nine passengers inside and two upon the box. These two stages always left the hotel in company and proceeded up Third-avenue. They crossed Harlem bridge and stopped for dinner 28 miles out. The mail stage usually arrived at Boston half a day in advance of its companion coach. The principal stations on the route were East Chester, West Chester, Pelham, New-Rochelle, Port Chester, Horse Neck, Stamford, Norwalk, Hartford, Springfield, and Worcester."

Source:  Before the Locomotive - The Ways over Which the Stage-Coach Rumbled, N.Y. Times, May 9, 1880, p. 10.

By the early 1870s, the New Haven Main Line and the New Haven Branch Line had been built through Pelham.  Paradoxically, the advent of the railroads prompted local expansion of stagecoach lines that ferried passengers between the various railroads that traversed the region such as the stagecoach lines of Theodore Valentine described at the outset of today's article.  Similarly, local stagecoach lines such as that established by Robert J. Vickery between Bartow Station on the New Haven Branch Line and City Island sprang up to ferry passengers from railroad stations to specific nearby locations.  

By the 1880s, however, horse car railroads and, a little later, electric trolleys were beginning to overtake the region marking the decline of the stagecoach days in old Pelham.  Another chapter in the transportation history of Pelham was drawing to a close.

Post Card View of "Bartow and City Island Stage Line."

Post Card is Postmarked September 6,  1910.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is a bibliography of links to other Historic Pelham articles besides those already listed above that touch on stagecoach days in old Pelham.  

Tue., Dec. 27, 2016:  Stage Coach Days In Old Pelham.

Fri., Nov. 11, 2016:  John Robert Beecroft and the Beecroft Family of Pelham Manor (describes December 19, 1900 NYAC stagecoach accident that led to death of Beecroft).

Fri., Mar. 11, 2016:  How Did Pelhamites Travel To and From Nearby New York City in 1857? 

Fri., Sep. 05, 2014:  Post Card Image of Bartow and City Island Stagecoach With Driver. 

Wed., Aug. 13, 2014:  The Nineteenth Century Stagecoach Presented to Local Boy Scouts by Famed Illustrator Edward Penfield During the 1920s. 

Fri., Aug. 08, 2014 1894:  Pelham School Budget Vote: Stagecoach Authorized To Transport Pelham Students in Days Before Autos and Buses. 

Mon., Apr. 12, 2010:  New York Athletic Club Stagecoach Accident Leads to Death of Pelham Manor Man. 

Mon., Oct. 26, 2009:  Pelham Was a Principal Station on the Stagecoach Route of Dorance, Recide & Co. Which Carried Mail Between New York and Boston. 

Mon., Mar. 21, 2005:  Pelham Was A Station Stop for the Stagecoach That Carried Mail from New York To Boston in the Early 19th Century.

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Stage Coach Days In Old Pelham

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Due to the influence of Hollywood, many associate stage coaches with the Wild West in 19th century America.  For nearly 125 years, however, stage coaches rumbled through Pelham on the Old Boston Post Road (today's Colonial Avenue), the Boston Turnpike (today's Boston Post Road), and on Shore Road and City Island Road (a portion of which includes today's Orchard Beach Road).  I have written before about the stage coach days in old Pelham.  See, e.g.:

Fri., Mar. 11, 2016:  How Did Pelhamites Travel To and From Nearby New York City in 1857?

Fri., Sep. 05, 2014:  Post Card Image of Bartow and City Island Stage Coach With Driver.

Wed., Aug. 13, 2014:  The Nineteenth Century Stage Coach Presented to Local Boy Scouts by Famed Illustrator Edward Penfield During the 1920s.

Fri., Aug. 08, 2014 1894:  Pelham School Budget Vote:  Stage Coach Authorized To Transport Pelham Students in Days Before Autos and Buses.

Fri., Jul. 25, 2014:  Stage Coach Accident in Pelham in Early 1883. 

Fri., Mar. 21, 2014:  Examples of Very Early Merchant Advertisements in the Town of Pelham. 

Mon., Apr. 12, 2010:  New York Athletic Club Stage Coach Accident Leads to Death of Pelham Manor Man.

Wed., Mar. 03, 2010:  1879 Advertisement for Robert J. Vickery's City Island Stage Line, A Predecessor to the City Island Horse Railroad. 

Mon., Oct. 26, 2009:  Pelham Was a Principal Station on the Stage Coach Route of Dorance, Recide & Co. Which Carried Mail Between New York and Boston.

Thu., Sep. 24, 2009:  Brief Newspaper Account of the January 1, 1883 Annual Meeting of the Pelham Manor Protective Club (article includes account of an accident involving one of Vickery's stages). 

Tue., Jan. 27, 2009:  Biography of William Vickery, a 19th Century Resident of City Island in the Town of Pelham.

Mon., Mar. 21, 2005:  Pelham Was A Station Stop for the Stage Coach That Carried Mail from New York To Boston in the Early 19th Century.

In 1813, New York City newspapers published announcements of the opening of another new stage coach line:  the New-York & Boston New Line Diligence Stage running from New York City to Boston by way of New Haven, Hartford, and Providence.  

Including the phrase "Diligence Stage" within the name was no accident.  A "Diligence Stage" (known as a "Dilly" for short) was a solidly-built stage coach typically drawn by four (or more) horses.  The Dilly was associated with a successful public stage coach conveyance system in France that was mimicked in other European nations including Germany and Spain.  In Europe, a "Dilly" could be a long, bus-like coach with many rows of seats, pulled by many horses.  It could be something that looked more like a modern bus than Hollywood-influenced images of stage coaches.  

On August 16, 1813, the New-York & Boston New Line Diligence Stage departed at 2:00 a.m. and rumbled quickly through Pelham along the Boston Turnpike (today's Boston Post Road).  The stage made it to Hartford where passengers spent the "night."  Within a short time of arrival, the Dilly departed Hartford at 6:00 a.m. proceeding to Providence and Boston during the day.  

At the same time (2:00 a.m.) each day (except Sundays), a Diligence Stage started toward New York from Hartford.  It stopped at "Mr. Butler's Hotel at New Haven" for breakfast, then rumbled down Boston Post Road through Pelham and on to New York City where it arrived in the evening each day.  

The Boston Turnpike section that ran through Pelham at the time was about a decade old.  Built to shorten the route toward Boston in the area, the Boston Turnpike was a more direct route than the winding route up to the Old Boston Post Road crossing of the Hutchinson River at today's Colonial Avenue and East Sandford Boulevard.  

It seems nearly impossible today to imagine that stage coaches once rumbled up and down a dusty, unpaved Boston Post Road through Pelham several times each day.  Yet, for nearly 125 years, various stage coach lines ran such conveyances through Pelham nearly every day.

An advertisement announcing the opening of the New York & Boston New Line Diligence Stage with an image of a stage coach drawn by four horses appears immediately below.  It is followed by a transcription of its text to facilitate search as well as a citation and link to its source.

1813 Newspaper Advertisement Announcing the

Opending of the New-York & Boston New Line

Diligence Stage that Traveled Through Pelham on

Today's Boston Post Road.  Source:  NEW-YORK

& BOSTON NEW LINE DILIGENCE STAGE

[Advertisement], New-York Evening Post, Sep.

8, 1813, p. 1, col. 4.  NOTE:  Click on Image To

Enlarge.  Text Transcribed Below to Facilitate Search. 

"NEW-YORK & BOSTON NEW LINE DILIGENCE STAGE,

BY the way of New-Haven, Hartford and Providence to Boston, will commence running on Monday the 16th day of August, to start from New-York every morning at 2 o'clock, (Sundays excepted,) and arrives at Hartford the same night to lodge, will leave Hartford at 6 o'clock, A.M. and arrive at Providence and Boston at the usual time.  The New Line Diligence Stage will start from Mr. Bennett's Hotel at Hartford, every morning at 2 o'clock (Sundays excepted) breakfast at Mr. Butler's Hotel at New-Haven, and arrive at New-York the same evening; -- where passengers can be accommodated with Seats to Proceed on in the Regular Southern Stages to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington City.  Stage fare and baggage as usual.  All baggage at the risk of the owner thereof.  For Seats in the New Line Diligence Stage, apply to THOMAS WHITFIELD at the Stage office, No. 1 Courtlandt-Street, corner of Broadway, New-York; -- at Mr. BUTLER'S HOTEL, New-Haven; at Mr. BENNETT'S Hotel, Hartford; at Mr. E. MACOMBER'S and Mr. E. FOSTER'S, Providence; -- at Mr. BOYDEN's Market-Square and Mr. J. TRASK's Bloomfield-Lane, Boston.

The Proprietors of the New Line Dilligence [sic] Stage, respectfully inform the Public that they have spared no expense in providing New Stages, able Horses and careful drivers and every thing necessary for the Comfort and Accommodation of Passengers that may please to favour this Line with their custom.  This Line travels on the best Turnpike Road through the principal Towns between New-York and Boston.

CORNELIUS SEAMAN,
THOMAS B. GATES,
EGBERT SOMMERINDIKE,
CHARLES ELLIOTT.

N.B. Extra Carriages Furnished, and Expresses sent to any part of the United States, by THOMAS WHITFIELD, No. 1, Courtland Street, New-York.

Aug 12"

Source:  NEW-YORK & BOSTON NEW LINE DILIGENCE STAGE [Advertisement], New-York Evening Post, Sep. 8, 1813, p. 1, col. 4.

Postcard Image of "Bartow and City Island Stage Coach Line"

Postmarked Sep. 6, 1910.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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How Did Pelhamites Travel To and From Nearby New York City in 1857?

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Mass transit was just beginning to reach the Town of Pelham in the mid-19th century.  Indeed, one of the principal catalysts in the development of the Town of Pelham was the opening of the New York and New Haven Railroad line in 1848 through the area that came to be known as Pelhamville.  I have written before about the opening of the railroad line through Pelhamville.  See Thu., Sep. 11, 2014:  Cattle Were Frightened; Animals Careened Round the Fields - The First Run of the New Haven Line Through Pelham in 1848.

The New Haven Line was important in the development of the Town of Pelham, but it was not the only means of mass transit to and from Pelham in the mid-19th century.  A travel guide for the New York City region published in 1857 sheds important light on the various means of mass transit to and from Pelham at the time including stage coach, steam engine trains, and steamships.  Interestingly, the guide also provides information on the fares to and from Pelham and, in some instances, travel times.  Finally, the guide provides information about the Priory in Pelham Manor as an interesting site to visit in the Pelham and New Rochelle region.  The travel guide is available online.  See Towndrow, T., ed., Dinsmore's Thirty Miles Around New York By Railroad, Stage, Steamboat, Express and Telegraph; or, How to Get In and Out of the Metropolis (NY, NY:  Dinsmore & Co., 1857).

Cover of Dinsmore's Thirty Miles Around New York

Published in 1857.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Travel by Train

The population of the entire Town of Pelham in 1857 was about 1,000 people.  (There is no known count for the year 1857, but the population in 1850 was 577 and the population in 1860 was 1,025.)  It is likely that only a few hundred of those who lived in the Town in 1857 lived in Pelhamville where the New Haven Line trains stopped.

In 1857, New York and New Haven Railroad trains ran from the Canal Street Depot in New York City to Bridgeport making the following stops:  Canal Street Depot, 26th Street Depot, Williams' Bridge, Mount Vernon, Pelhamville, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Rye, Port Chester, Greenwich, Cos Cob Bridge, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Southport, Fairfield, and Bridgeport.  This was the only railroad line that passed through any part of the Town of Pelham at the time.  (The Branch Line parallel to Long Island Sound did not open until 1872.)

The tiny little wooden Pelham train station sat approximately where the Pelham National Bank Building stands today at One Wolfs Lane in the Village of Pelham.  The railroad crossed the roadway at grade level at that time with crossing gates to protect and prevent travelers along the dirt road known today as Wolfs Lane and Fifth Avenue from attempting to cross when a train was scheduled to approach.  A station master in the station had to raise and lower the crossing gates by hand.  

The Pelhamville train station was a so-called "flag stop" which meant that travelers wishing to board a train at Pelhamville had to alert the station master who then raised a flag to signal the locomotive engineer to stop the train.  Absent such a flag, trains sped through the station without stopping.  

Detail from the Front Cover of Dinsmore's Thirty Miles Around

New York Published in 1857.  Detail Shows Steam Locomotive

Passenger Train as Such Trains Looked on the New Haven

Line in 1857.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail from the Front Cover of Dinsmore's Thirty Miles Around

New York Published in 1857.  Detail Shows Steam Locomotive

Express Train for Carrying Freight and Mail as Such Trains 

Looked on the New Haven Line in 1857.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Surprisingly few New Haven Line trains stopped in Pelham each day in 1857.  According to a schedule published in Dinmore's, only two trains from Bridgeport to the Canal Street Depot in New York City stopped in Pelham each day, both in the morning:  5:53 a.m. and 7:10 a.m.  Likewise, only two trains from New York to Bridgeport stopped in Pelhamville each day, both in the evening:  6:10 p.m. and 7:26 p.m.  The trip took 45 minutes to Pelhamville from the Canal Street Depot.  See Dinsmore's, supra, p. 8.  

Of course, the New Haven Line in 1857 was most convenient for those who lived in Pelhamville which encompassed much of today's Village of Pelham).  The fare to Pelhamville was forty cents, although frugal travelers got off the train in Mount Vernon for thirty-five cents and walked the final 1 1/4 miles to Pelham or hired a horse-drawn carriage for the final leg of the trip.  For Pelhamites who lived on City Island, on Pelham Neck or the mainland along Shore Road or in the area of Prospect Hill, it was often more convenient either to take the New York and Harlem Railroad to Williams' Bridge and a stage coach from Williams' Bridge to Pelham for a train fare of thirty cents and additional stage coach fare of fifty cents, or to take the New Haven Line to New Rochelle and a stage coach from there for a railroad fare of forty-five cents and a stage coach fare of 12 1/2 cents (see below).  

Getting To and From Various Parts of Pelham in 1857

Dinsmore's travel guide includes information about how travelers were able to get to and from various parts of Pelham and the fares they paid using mass transit in 1857.  First, the guide describes how to visit City Island:

"CITY ISLAND (Long Island Sound), town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.

By Harlem Railroad (p. 6) to Williams' Bridge, 14 miles; thence by stage to Pelham Point, 5 miles; thence by ferry, 1/2 mile.  Railroad fare, 30 cents; stage, 50 cents; ferry, -- cents.

Also by steamer John Hart, from Catharine Slip, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 12 M.  Fare, 50 cents.

Nearest postoffice, Pelham, 2 1/2 miles.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle, 4 miles (p. 5)."

Source:  Dinsmore's, supra, p. 42.  

Detail from the Front Cover of Dinsmore's Thirty Miles Around

New York Published in 1857.  Detail Shows Steamer Such as

Those that Carried Travelers Who Traveled Between New York

City and Pelham Via the Steamer John Hart.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail from the Front Cover of Dinsmore's Thirty Miles Around

New York Published in 1857.  Detail Shows Stage Coach Such as

Those that Carried Travelers Who Traveled Between New York

City and Pelham Via the New York and Harlem Railroad and Stage

Coach.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Next, Dinsmore's travel guide explains how to visit Hart Island in the Town of Pelham:

"HART ISLAND (Long Island Sound), town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.

By Harlem Railroad (as per Time Table, p. 6) to William's Bridge, 14 miles; thence by stage and 'extra' to Pelham Point, 5 miles; thence by boat, 1/2 mile.  Railroad fare, 30 cents; stage, extra and boat, 75 cents.  

Nearest postoffice, Pelham 2 1/2 miles.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle, 2 1/2 miles."

Source:  Dinsmore's, supra, p. 57.  

The travel guide also provided travel information for Pelham, Pelham Bridge, Pelham Point (i.e., the tip of today's Rodman's Neck), and historical information for Pelham Priory as a place of special interest for people to visit:

"PELHAM (township), Westchester Co., N.Y.  Population, [sic; text ends here].

PELHAM BRIDGE, Westchester Co., N.Y.  Much frequented by gentlemen fond of piscatorial sport.

By Harlem Railroad (p. 6) to Williams' Bridge, 14 miles; thence by stage and 'extra,' 4 miles.  Railroad fare, 30 cents; stage 37 1/2 cents.

PELHAM POINT, town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.

By Harlem Railroad (p. 6), at 7 and 8:10 A.M., and 3:30 P.M., to Williams' Bridge, 14 miles; thence by stage, 5 miles.  Railroad fare, 30 cents; stage, 50 cents.

Nearest postoffice, Pelham, 2 miles.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle, 4 miles (p. 5).

PELHAM PRIORY, town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.

By New Haven Railroad (p. 8) to New Rochelle, 19 1/2 miles; thence by stage, 1 1/2 miles.  Railroad fare 45 cents; stage, 12 1/2 cents.

Postoffice address, Pelham.  J. E. JONES, postmaster.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle (p. 5).

Amongst the numerous objects worthy of notice in the neighborhood of New York, the stranger will, perhaps, find none more interesting or more deserving attention than Pelham Priory, long known as a popular seminary for young ladies.  The house, which is of stone, embowered with ivy and other creepers, affords a fine specimen of the old English style, and accords well with its truly romantic situation.  The building stands upon an eminence, surrounded by noble trees, and has two towers commanding splendid views, in which wood and water are beautifully blended.  The interior arrangements, wainscoated [sic] apartments, etc., correspond with the style of the house, and carry the mind back to days of old.  It is well stored with curiosities in art, literature and nature, including some family pictures by Etty, of the Royal Academy of England; an original portrait of Bunyan, formerly in the possession of the Rev. George Whitfield; the original Italian edition of 'Piranesi' (in 42 vols. royal quarto), collected for Napoleon, bearing his initial, and surmounted by the imperial crown; a copy of Macklin's Bible, the largest ever printed, in 6 volumes royal quarto; a copy of Elliott's Indian Testament, said to be the first work 'written and published in the present United States,' printed at Cambridge, Mass., A.D. 1661, by Samuel Green, the first printer in America; an original of Addison's Spectator; a letter on Pope's [sic] to Lord Bethurst; a good collection of autographs, the oldest of which is that of Henry VII of England.  The signatures of Elizabeth, with her Council, and of her successor, Queen Mary, are particularly worthy of notice; also those of Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell.  There is likewise a valuable cabinet of coins, collected by the Rev. Bryan Hill, rector of Hodnet, Shropshire, England.  Amongst these, the most interesting are those of Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, and various others, Roman and Ancient English.  Amongst the medals of the Popes, is the celebrated one of Adrian the Sixth.

"PELHAM PRIORY, WESTCHESTER CO., N.Y. See p. 78."

[This Engraving Published in Dinsmore's Seems to be Based

on a Watercolor on Paper Painting of The Priory by William

Rickarby Miller Painted the Year Before in 1856.  Source:  Dinsmore's,

supra, p. 79.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.]

PELHAM P.O., Westchester Co., N.Y.

By New Haven Railroad (p. 8) to New Rochelle, 19 1/2 miles; thence by stage, 1 1/2 miles.  Railroad fare, 45 cents; stage, 12 1/2 cents.

JOHN E. JONES, postmaster.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle.

PELHAMVILLE, town of Pelham, Westchester County, N.Y.

By New Haven Railroad (p. 8), at 5:15 and 6:15 P.M., 18 m.  Fare 40 cts. or by same road (as per Time Table, p. 18 [sic]) to Mount Vernon 16 3/4 miles; thence on foot or by special conveyance 1 1/4 miles.  Railroad fare, 35 cents.  Special conveyance, 50 cents.

Nearest post office, Mount Vernon.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle, 1 1/2 miles, p. 5."

Source:  Dinsmore's, supra, pp. 78-80.

The final portion of the guide that deals with the Town of Pelham includes instructions for traveling to the tiny Prospect Hill settlement that, in 1857, was in its infancy and only about six years old:

"PROSPECT HILL, town of Pelham, Westchester Co., N.Y.

By New Haven Railroad (p. 8), at 5:15 and 6:15 P.M., to Pelhamville, 18 miles; thence 10 to 15 minutes' walk; or by same railroad to New Rochelle, 19 3/4 miles; thence by extra, 2 miles.  Railroad fare, 45 cents; extra, 50 cents.

Nearest postoffice, East Chester, 1 mile.  Nearest telegraph station, New Rochelle."

Source:  Dinsmore's, supra, p. 83.  

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