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transportation
center to manufacturing mecca
Before
the days of railroad and canals, Newburgh was a natural outlet
for much of the country's trade. After all, it was on the
Hudson River and was the only main shipping point north of
New York City. The construction of the turnpikes in the early
1800s initiated Newburgh's ascent. It opened up an avenue
of trade extending miles into the interior, bringing products
to Newburgh for shipment to New York City (Nutt 26). As merchants
relocated to the Newburgh, the Newburgh Bank opened its doors
and the city began to prosper. Between 1800 and 1810, the
population of the town grew almost 50 percent to 4,600.
However, the Erie
Canal, completed in 1825, rendered the turnpike and the wagon
obsolete. Newburgh suffered an economic sectback but, fortunately,
railroad evolved into a major form of transportation. Railroad
tracks lined the old turnpikes and carried the trains that
would support the city's expanding manufacturing base. Nutt
remarks "the years 1851-3 were remarkably prosperous;
many enterprises were started, and among the more important
were the Washington Iron Works, the Quassaick Bank, the Savings
Bank, gas works and the present water works system" (59-60).
Between 1845 and 1860, the population of the town and village
grew by 65 percent (Nutt 60). The City of Newburgh was incorporated
on April 22, 1865, and the first Mayor elected in 1866. By
the 1880s, Newburgh grew so quickly as to be called a "boom"
(Nutt 61). By 1891, its population grew to 24,000. It had
become a big city with a small city feel.
In Newburgh: Her
Institutions, Industries and Leading Citizens, a comprehensive
review of Newburgh's history and people from the 1700s to
1891, Nutt writes: "judged by its institutions, Newburgh
is a model city. No comforts of the great cities are denied
to residents of Newburgh, while a thousand and one that may
be had here cannot be obtained in New York" (71). Nutt
continues to expound on Newburgh's assets:
- First, the city is situated almost
midway on the great river that separates the east from the
middle states, and the only water course carrying products
from the west to New York City and beyond. It also is located
in the center of one of the best agricultural and dairy
districts of the United States.
- Second, the city is in direct communication
with great coal fields and iron deposits of Pennsylvania,
whereby these products are transferred to the water's edge
in the city…are transferred to rails which penetrate
every part of New England, while coal-carrying vessels receive
and transport coal to any accessible port on the coast.
- Third, the city is situated in the
very heart of largest fruit-growing districts in this country…
- Fourth, the city bears on its three
sides, within easy distances, the first or second great
Hudson River brickmaking industry.
- Fifth, the city is favored with a railroad
and steamboat system that leaves nothing to be desired…
- Sixth, the cheapness with which coal
can be laid down here in quantities, added to the water
power…answers as to the cheap power for manufacturing.
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