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THE
TRAVELLERS' HAND BOOK
FOR THE
STATE OF XrHW-TTORK
AXD
THE PROVINCE OF CANADA:
CONTAINING
;rief accounts of the towns, their public build-
ings AND OTHER OBJECTS OF INTEREST — NATURAL
AND ARTIFICIAL CURIOSITIES — HISTORICAL MEMO-
RANDA-MODES OF CONVEYANCE— TABLES OF
DISTANCES BY RAILROAD, CANAL, STAGE,
AND RIVER ROUTES IN EVERY DIRECTION:
THE WHOLE ARRANGED ON A NEW PLAN,
T WHICH EVER'S INTERESTING OBJECf^T ON THE LEASING BOUTEB
IS BROUGHT INTO VIEW. ^ V ')
WITH MAPS, &c.
SECOND EDITION.
BY HT. S. TANNEK.
NEW. YORK:
PUBLISHED BY T. R. TANNER,
AT THE GEOGRAPHICAL ESTABLISHMENT,
IVo. 153 Broadway.
1844.
.Tlh
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1843, by H. S. Tanner,
in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southern District of NeWe
York.
PREFACE.
ALtnong the multitude of Guides, Directories
and Tourists in which our book-stores abound,
there is scarcely any that presents that syste-
matic arrangement and perspicuity which are
so desirable to the traveller and tourist. —
Whilst most of the works now extant are re-
plete with important and interesUng facts, they
are, without exception, defective in point of ar-
rangement, and in regard to the relative im-
portance of the several objects brought into
view. In the present work, an endeavor has
been made so to digest its varied contents, as
to enable the tourist to examine, seriatim, every
object of interest along the route he may select,
and thus to ascertain what is most deserving of
bis attention: for example, assuming the city
of Albany as one of the radiating points, a brief
account of the city and its interesting objects,
modes of conveyance, &;c. is given: then follow
tables of distances from Albany to another point
of departure — Utica, for instance — and then a
concise description of each intermediate place
of any importance, with directions to such cu-
IV PREFACE.
rioslties in and around each as should not be
overlooked by an intelligent inquirer. In this
inanner every leading route by railroad or
otherwise, is concisely, and, it is hoped, satis-
factorily treated. One of the most important
featjares of the present work, is hrevity ; a
quality that, we are sure, cannot fail to recom-
mend it to the favorable attention of the travel-
ler, who is, whilst in transitu, unable or at least
unwilling to enter into those elaborate and fa-
tiguing details, which disfigure most similar
works. In conclusion, the authorhas sedulous-
ly endeavored to construct such a work as he
himself has often felt the want of whilst travel-
ling, and such a one as would naturally sug-
gest itself to the mind of any intelligent tra-
veller.
I
®l)e ^xamikxB' j^an^ Book,
General View. — The state of New- York extends
over 4p of lat. and nearly 7° of longitude, the whole
forming an outline of about 1,400 miles in length, which
encloses an area of 49,000 square miles ; havingN. Ca-
nada; W. Pennsylvania and Lakes Ontario and Erie ;
S. Pennsylvania and New- Jersey ; and E. Connecti-
cut, Massachusetts and Vermont. Its population, by
the national census of 1840, was 2,428,921, as ful-
lows : Albany County, f)8,593, of which Albany is the
capital; Allegany, 40,975, cap. Angelica ; Broome,
22,338, cap. Binghamton ; Cattaraugus, 23,872,
cap. Ellicottsville ; Cayuga, 50,338, cap. Auburn ;
Chatauq^ue, 47,975, cap. Mayville ; Chemung, 20,735,
cap. Elmira ; Chenango, 40,785, cap. Norwich ;
Clinton, 28 157, cap. Plattsburg ; Columbia, 43,252,
cap. Hudson ; Cortland, 24,607, cap. Cortland ; De-
laware, 35,396, cap. Delhi ; Dutchess, 52,398, cap.
Poughkeepsie ; Erie, 62,465, cap. Buffalo; Essex,
23,634, cap. Elizabeth; Franklin, 16,518, cap. Ma-
lone ; Fulton, 18,049, cap. Johnstown ; Genesee,
29,924, cap. Batavia ; Greene, 30,446, cap. Catskill ;
Hamilton, 1,907, cap. Lake Pleasant ; Herkimer,
37,474, cap. Herkimer ; Jefferson, 60,984, cap.
Watertown ; Kings, 47,613, cap. Brooklyn; Lewis,
17,830, cap. Martin^burg ; Livingston, 35,140, cap.
Geneseo ; Madison, 40,008, cap. Morrisville ; Mon.
roe, 64,902, cap. Rochester; Montgomery, 35,818,
cap. Fonda; Niagara, 31,132, cap. Lockport; New-
York, 312,710, cap. New-York ; Oneida, 85,310,
cap. Utica ; Onondaga, 67,911, cap. Syracuse ; On.
tario, 43,501, cap. Canandaigua; Orange, 50,739^
1»
6 STATE OF JTEW-TORK.
cap. Goshen ; Orleans, 25,127, cap. Albion ; Osw&w
go, 43,619, cap. Pulaski ; Otsego, 49,628, cap. Coo-
perstown; Putnam, 12,825, cap. Carmel ; Queens,
30,324, cap. North Hempsted ; Rensselaer, 60,259,
cap. Troy; Richmond, 10,965, cap. Richmond;
Rtjckland, 11,975, cap. New City ; St. Lawrence,
56,706, cap. Canton ; Saratov? a, 40,553, cap. Ballstoa
Spa ; Schenectady 17,387, cap. Schenectady ; Sene-
ca, 24,874. cap Ovid ; Steuben, 46,138, cap. Bath ;
Suffolk, 33,469, cap. Riverhead ; Sullivan, 15.629,
cap. Monticello ; Tioga, 20,527, cap. Owego ; Tomp=
kins, 37,948. cap. Ithaca ; Ulster, 45,822, cap. Kings-
ton ; Warren, 13,442, cap. Caldwell ; Washington,
41,080, cap. Salem ; Wayne, 42.057, cap. Lyons ;
Westchester, 48,686, capitol Bedford ; Wyoming,
29,663, cap. Warsaw ; Yates, 20,444, cap. Pennyan.
Physical Structure. — The state, intersected by
several mountain chains, presents a great diversity of
soil and climate. Though the western parts are less
broken than those oi' the east and north, yet the en-
tire surface, with partial exceptions, is either hilly op
mountainous.
The Hudson .flows from a mountainous region, and
is precipitated into a deep valley, at or near its jiinc
tion with the Mohawk. The Pludson valley is one
of the most remarkable in the hydrography of the
United States. From the Mohawk to Sandy Hook
it may be regarded as a long narrow bay rather than
a river. The banks are, for the most part, abrupt,
rising in some places to the height cf 1200 or 1500
feet ; in many parts precipitous, as at the palisades, a
few miles above the city of New. York, and scarcely
ever less than 100 or 200 feet above the surface of
the river. The pass, known as the Highlands, is
flacnked on both sides by enormous walls of nearly
vertical rock, which presents every variety of form.
The rude and deep valleys that intervene between
the gigantic prominences, the dense and almost im-
penetrable forests by which they are covered, and the
STATE OF NEW-YORK. 7
majestic grandeur of the mountain peaks, afford one
of the most impressive landscapes to be found in na-
ture. Here the great primitive ranges pass the Hud-
son, and here only do the ocean tides penetrate into
the vast interior plains of the United States. The
ridges of which we are speaking, after leaving the
Hudson, deflect towards the north, pass through
Dutchess County into Massachusetts, thence into
Vermont, where they are known as the " Green
Mountains," and thence into Canada.
The range forming the N. W. limits of Sullivan
and Ulster, passes into Greene, where it attains
its greatest elevation ; and thence through Schoharie,
Otsego, Herkimer, and Montgomery, crosses the
Mohawk by the Little Fails, enters Herkimer, as.
snming the name of Sacondago, and finally crosses
the St. Lawrence at the " Thousand Islands." One
of the lateral ridges of this group extends towards the
north, and attains to the height of upwards of 5.000
feet: Mount Marcy, the culminating pomt, is said
to be 5,467 feet high. The Catskill group, the next
in point of elevation, rises to its greatest height a
few miles west of the town of Catskill. Its principal
peak, the Round Top, is 3,804, and Pine Orchard
House, a celebrated place of resort, is 3,000 feet above
the adjacent river. All the subordinate chains east
of the Hudson pursue a course nearly north.
Nearly the whole of the northern part of the state,
comprehending Fulton, Warren, Essex, Hamilton,
Herkimer and parts of Montgomery, Saratoga, Wash-
ington, Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Lewis, and
Oneida Counties, belongs to the primitive formation ;
as does also the sou'.h eastern portion, embracing parts
of Orange, Ulster, Greene, i utnam, Dutchess, Colum-
bia, Rensselaer, and some other counties. These two
groups are separated by an elongated deposit of sedi-
mentary rocks. The first mentioned is flanked rn the
S. E. by a spur of the lower transition ; on the N. E. by
tertiary, and on all sides by transition rocks. It is
8 STATE OF NEW-YORK.
composed of granite, gneiss, primitive limestone, hy-
persthene, serpentine and sienite : these, with the
addition of mica and talcose slates, form the second
group. With some exceptions the remaining por-
tions of the state maj^ be referred to the transition
and the old red sandstone series. The first is com-
posed of sandstone, shales, limestone grit, salt, gyp-
sum, iron ore, conglomerates, &c. ; and the latter of
micaceous shales of various hues, sandstones, con-
glomerates, trap, grits, &c. The Catskill Moun-
tains occupy the principal field of the old red sand-
stone, v^'hich is here largely developed. These
several formations abound in their appropriate mine-
rals and fossils. In the primitive are fouod iron ore
in great abundance, both magnetic and specular ox-
ides ; ores of copper, lead, and zinc have been found,
but, with partial exceptions, have not been wrought
to much advantage. In the transition rocks are
found salt in solution, which is manufactured to a
great extent, chiefly in Onondaga county* gypsum,
water lime, argillaceous oxide of iron, hmonite, mar-
ble, several varieties, silicious sandstone, a valuable
material for building ; slates and red sandstone of va-
rious textures. Peat and marl are more generally dif-
fused. The principal fossil remains of this group are
the atrypas, bellerophon, calymene, isotelus, &c.
The plains of New- York are few in number, and
limited in extent : the principal are, one on the east,
ern end of Long Island ; a long narrow strip on the
south side of Lake Ontario; a few alluvial bottoms
along some of the streams, and in the elevated table
lands of the mountain region. The principal Lakes
are, Ordario and Erie, the former of which is com-
mon to New. York and Canada, and the latter to N.
York, Ohio, Canada, and Michigan ; Lake Cham,
plain, which forms a part of the boundary between
New- York and Vermont ; Lake George, a tributary
of the preceding ; ^ZacA; Lake ; Oneida hake ; Cay.
vga Lake ; Seneca, Canandaigua, Skaneateles, and
STATE OF >'EW-YORK. 9
Crooked Lakes, near the centre of the state ; Chaii-
tauque, Long, Owasco, Racket, Otsego, &c. The
Bivers consist of the Hudson, which rises in the
northern part of the state, runs in a general S. E.
course to Sandy Hill, and thence due S. to its dis-
charge into the Atlantic Ocean, 340 miles in length.
The Mohawk, which unites withthe Hudson a few
miles above Albany, is the only branch of the latter
worthy of notice, 150 miles. The St. Lawrence
washes the N. W. quarter of the state for about 100
miles, forming the boundary between New- York and
Canada west.
The chief affluents of this portion of the St. Law-
rence are, — Racket, 145, Osioegaichie, 140, and
Black Rivers, 125 miles in length ; which rise in the
high grounds near the sources of the Hudson. Those
of Lake Ontario are, Oswego and Genesee, 150 miles
in length ; and of Lake Erie, Buffalo Creek, 40 miles
lonsr. Ti'C southern portion of the State is watered
by the sources of the Delaware and Susquehanna,
rivers of the Atlantic, and those of the Alleghany;
which flows into the Ohio at Pittsburg, Pa. The
minor rivers are, — Beaver, Canisteo, Chateaugay,
Grass, Indian, St. Regis, Sacondaga, &c.
Islands. — Long and Staten Islands; the former
about 150 miles long, and of a mean breadth of 18
miles; and the latter 18 by 12 miles, are situated in
the S. E. quarter of the State ; and Grand Island, in
the Strait of Niagara.
The Water Falls are those of Niagara, Trenton^
Genesee, Cohoes, &c.; all which will be described
hereafter.
Railways. — The principal Railways, finished or
in the course of execution, are : —
1. The New York and Erie ; from Tappan, (now
called Piermont,) on the Hudson, 25 miles above
Now- York, to Dunkirk, on the eastern shore of Lake
Erie, 4-15 miles.
2. Mohawk and Hudson ; from Albany to Sche=
ncciady, 16 miles.
10 STATE OF NEW-YORK.
3. Utica and Schenectady^ 77 miles.
4. Syracuse and Utica, 53 miles.
5. Auburn and Syracuse, 26 miles.
6. Auburn and Rochester, 78 miles.
7. Tonawanda; from Rochester to Attica, 42 miles.
8. Attica and Buffalo, 31 miles.
The Railways numbered from 2 to 8, inclusive,
form a continuous line from Albany to Buffalo ;
whence tJiere is a railway, 23 miles in length, to
Niagara Falls.
9. Albany and West Stockbridge ; from Green-
bush, on the Hudson, opposite Albany, to West
Stockbridge, in Massachusetts, 38 miles.
This work, in connection with the Western and
the Boston and Worcester railways, of Massachu-
setts, form an uninterrupted railway from Albany
to Boston.
10. Hudson and Berkshire ; a branch of the pre-
ceding, 34 miles in length.
11. Saratoga and Schenectady, 22 miles. This,
with No. 2, constitutes the line from Albany to Sa-
ratoga Springs.
12. Eensselaer and Saratoga; from Troy to BalL
ston, Spa., where it intersects No. 11.
13. Schenectady and Troy, 20 miles.
14. Catskill and Cancijoharie, 78 miles.
15. Ithaca and Owego, 28 miles.
16. Corning and Blossburg ; from Corning, on
the Susquehanna, to Blossburg, Pa.
17. Lockport and Niagara Falls, 24 miles. —
(Travellers on the Erie Canal, destined for the Falls,
take the cars at Lockport.)
18. Skaneateles ; from Skaneateles to Elbridge,
5i miles.
19. New-York and Harlem; from New York to
White Plains, 28 miles.
Canals. — 1. E'ie; from Albany through Sche-
nectady, Utica, Rome, Montezuma, Rochester, and
JE^ockpcrt, to Buftalo, 363 miles.
STATE OF NEW-YORK. 11
2. Champlain ; branches offfrom the Erie Canal, 8
miles from Albany, and extends to Whitehall, on
Lake Champlain, 64 miles. Glenn's Falls feeder
12 miles.
3. Black River; also a branch of No. 1, from
Rome to the High Falls of Black River, in Oneida
and Lewis counties, 36 m. Boonville Feeder 10 m.
4. Cayuga and Seneca; from Geneva to Monte-
zuma, 23 miles.
5. Chenango; a branch of No. 1, from Utica to
Binghamton, 97 miles.
6. Genesee Valley; a branch of No. 1, from Ro-
chester to Olean, on the Alleghany river, 108 miles.
Dansvillc Branch 12 miles.
7. Oswego ; a branch of No. 1, from Syracuse to
Oswego, on Lake Ontario, 38 miles.
8. Hudson and Delaware; from Eddyville, near
Kingston, on the Hudson, to Honesdale, Pa., 108
miles.
9. Chemung; from Jefferson, at the head of Sen-
eca Lake, to Elmira, on the Tioga branch of the
Susquehanna, 23 miles. Feeder from Fairport to
Corning, 16 miles.
10. Crooked Lake; from Penn Yan to Dresden,
8 miles.
Cities and Chief Towns — New York, the great
Metropolis, 312,710 inhabitants; Brooklyn, 36,283;
Albany, 33,721; Rochester, 20,191; Troy. 19,334;
Buffalo, 18,213; Utica, 12,782; Poughkeepsie,
10,006; Lockport, 9,125; Newhurgh, 8,933; Sche-
nectady, 6,784; Plattshurg, 6,416; Auburn, 5,626;
Ithaca, 5,650; Catskill, 5,339; Williamsburg,
5,094 ; Osicego, 4,665 ; Geneva, 4,368 ; Batavia,
4,219 ; Saratoga Springs, 3,384.
Government. — The Governor and Lieutenant Gov-
ernor are elected every two years. The latter is Pre-
sident of the Senate^ which consists of 32, and the
House of Assembly of 128 members. The former
are elected for fQur years and the latter for one year.
is STATE OF NEW-YORK.
For the election of Senators the State is divided
into eight districts, each of which chooses four Sen-
ators, one of whom is elected every year. The mem-
bers of the Lower House are elected by counties,
and are apportioned according to population. The
general election is held in October or November, as
the Legislature may direct, which meets on the first
Tuesday in January.
The Chmcellor and Judges are appointed by the
Governor and Senate. The former, and the Justi-
ces of the Supreme and Circuit Courts, hold their of-
fices during wood behavior, but not after they attain
the age of sixty years. The Judges of the County
Courts hold their offices for a term of five years.
The right of suffrage is accorded to every white
male who has attained the age of 21 years, and resi-
ded in the State on 3 year next preceding the election,
and six months in the county. Men of color who
possess an unencumbered freehold estate of the value
of ^250 are entitled to vote.
History. — The leading features in the early His-
tory of this now important State is the navigation of
the Hudson, in 1609, by Henry Hudson, an English-
man, in the service of the Dutch East India Com-
pany. Settlements on the river soon followed, when
Fort Orange (Albany) was erected.
In 1612 settlements were made by Dutch emi-
grants on Manhattan Island, chiefly along its southern
shore, to which they gave the name of " New Amster-
dam." The colony, under the title of the " New
Netherlands," soon began to flourish, and accord-
ingly attracted the attention of the Enghsh, who now
claimed a prior right to the country, but ultimately
relinquished the claim, when the New Netherland-
ers were permitted to enlarge their settlements with,
out further disturbance at that time. They were,
however, greatly annoyed by the Swedes on the Del-
aware and the EngUsh settlers in the East, with
whom border contests were of frequent occurrence.
STATE O^ r?EW-YORK. 13
One of the results of this condition of things was the
relinquishment of a part of Long Island to the En-
g'ish, in 1650. Stimulated by this important acquis
sition, the Enghsh renewed their ciaim, and in 1664
the entire country was granted to the Duke of York
and Albany, by his brother, King Charles II. The
Dutch, unable to resist the force sent against them,
surrendered to Colonel Nichols, who at once assumed
the government, and changed the name of the Prov-
ince to New York. Ln 1673, during the contest with
the Enghsh, the Dutch regained possession of the
colony ; but, on the termination of hostilities, in the
following year, was restored to the English, with
whom it continued until wrested from them by the
revolution of 1776. In 1683 the first Colonial As-
sembly met and assumed the exclusive power of
enacting laws and levying taxes. During the revolu-
tion, which succeeded the accession of the Duke of
York to the throne of England, the Colonists took
forcible possession of the fort, and declared for the
Prince of Orange ; and Jacob Leisler, a prominent
leader in the movement, assumed the office of Gov-
ernor. He maintained his authority for a time against
all opposition ; but, owing to his arbitrary and unjust
|)roceedings, was, after several bloody conflicts, com-
pelled to surrender the government into the hands of
Colonel Slaughter, who had been appointed Gover-
nor by King William ; and who caused Leisler to be
apprehended. He and one of his accomplices, na-
med Milbourne, were executed soon after ; though,
as it appears, contrary to the intentions of the Gover-
nor, who designed to pardon them. Nothing of mo-
ment occurred to disturb the Colonists during the
period from the revolution in England, in 1688, down
to 1741, when they were thrown into great alarm by
a supposed plot of the blacks to burn the city ; which,
however, appears to have been unfounded.
In 1765 the City of New York was the seat of a
Continental Congress, and in 1776 it was occupied
14 CITY OF NEW-YORK.
by the British, who retained possession until Novem-
ber 25, 1783. In 1785 Congress met here, and in
1789 the first Congress undeV the new Constitution
assembled, when the first President was inaugurated
in New. York.
During the contests with the French in Canada,
and the more recent wars between the Americans
and British, New York became the field of important
conflicts ; and the entire State may hence be regarded
as classic ground. Some brief accounts of those con-
flicts will be given hereafter, in their appropriate
places.
Education. — There are, in the State, several insti-
tutions, estabhshed by law for the promotion of know-
ledge ; the chief of which are : — â–
A State University, located in the city ; Univer-
sity of the City of New York; Union College, in
Sciienectaday ; Hamilton College, in Oneida County;
Geneva College, to which a Medical Department is
attached ; College of Physicians and Surgeons, in
the city; Albany Medical College; New York In-
stitution for the Deaf and Dumb, a few miles above
the city ; Institution for the Blind. There are, also,
distributed over the State, 140 Academies and a vast
number of Common or Primary Schools. The fund
for the support of the latter exceeds ^2,000,000.
CITY OF NEW YORK.
New- York, the Metropolis of the State, and the
most populous, wealthy, and commercial city of the
Union, is situated at the confluence of the Hudson
and East rivers, on one of the finest harbors in the
country ; in N. Lat. 40^ 42^ 40^^ and E. Long. 2°
54' 30^' from the Capitol, at Washington ; having E.
the strait called East river, which separates it from
CITY OF â– NEW-TORK. 15
Long Island and unites the bay of New York with,
Long Island. sound ; W. the Hudson, which forms
a part of the boundary between the States of New.
York and New. Jersey ; S. New-York bay ; N. Spuy-
ten Duyvel creek and Harlem river.
The city, properly so called, or that portion of the
island where the population is mostly concentra.
ted, occupies the southern quarter of Manhattan or
New- York is'and ; the whole of which, including
the villages of Harlem, Bloomingdale, Yorkville, and
Manhattanville, together with some adjacent islands,
are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the City Cor-
poration, and constitute the County of New. York.
According to the census of 1840, the city, with the
suburbs just mentioned, contained 312,710 inhab.
itants. The population at this time, (September,
1843), no doubt exceeds 350,000. The dehsely built
part of the island, or " the city," has an outline of
nearly *12 miles in length. The principal street,
Broadway, in which most of the retail fancy business
is transacted, is a splendid street, 80 feet in width,
extending northward from tho Battery to Union Park,
a distance of nearly three miles.
Nearly the whole of the lower part of the city is
devoted to commerce and its kindred pursuits ; and,
since the establishment of omnibuses, which now
traverse every part of the city, merchants and others
doing business in that quarter have their residences
in the upper or more modern portion of the town.
The streets in the old part of the city arc mostly ir-
regular and narrow ; but those of a more recent date
are generally straight, wide, and well paved, and in-
tersect each other at right angles.
In the early stages of the city, narrow, inconve-
nient and ill paved streets, lined with dull, heavy look,
ing buildings, were its characteristic features ; but so
great is the alteration in these respects, that at pre-
sent but few cities can boast of wider or handsomer
streets, more sumptuous public buildings, or better
constructed and splendid private dwellings.
16 CITY OF KliV.-YORK.
Wall.street is almost exclusively occupied by the
Banks, Brokers, and others engaged in fiscal opera-;
lions; Pearl-street, by the Dry Goods aftd Hardware
Merchants ; Front-street, by the Wholesale Grocers,
Commission ?vlerchants, &,c.; and iSouth-street, by
persons engaged in Foreign Commerce. The Third
Avenue, a continuation of the Bowery, is the prin-
cipal outlet towards the N. E. It is Macadamized
as far as Harlem, a distance of about 7 miles, and is
one of the finest paved ways in the country. Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Avenues are wide,
handsome, and partially paved.
New- York is supphed with an abundance of excel-
lent water, by means of a capacious aqueduct, which
conveys the water of the Croton river, a branch of
the Hudson, a distance of nearly 42 miles. This
magnificent work, which has been effected chiefly
through the exertions of the Corporation and the pub-
He spirit of the citizens, will have cost, when<entirely
completed, not less than ^12,000,000. (For an
elaborate description of the Croton Aqueduct, see
Tanner's Account of the Internal Improvements of