Traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge has become so congested that transportation authorities are looking for other ways to cross the river.  Some people believe that reviving ferry service, which once played such an important role in providing transportation for Rockland County residents, could help alleviate the problem. For many years, ferries were a major means of transportation to Westchester County, New York City, and other places for Rocklanders.  But the opening of the Tappan Zee Bridge, as well as other bridges and roads, provided travel alternatives that reduced Rocklanders' demand for ferries until service from the County eventually stopped.

Sneden's Landing.  In 1698, the Dobbs family started a ferry service from Dobbs Ferry to Sneden's Landing.  By 1759, the Sneden family had taken over the service and continued to run it for more than a century.

Franchises. Isaac S. Blauvelt started the first regular ferry service across the river at Nyack in 1834. His father built the boat, called the "Donkey," for about one thousand dollars.

Joshua Colwil of Rockland County and Joseph Travis of Westchester County were granted a charter by legislative act on March 19, 1800 to provide ferry service between Caldwell's Point (now known as Jones Point, town of Stony Point) and Peekskill.

In 1939, George W.B. Gedney received the first ferry franchise between Nyack and Tarrytown. Gedney petitioned the Rockland County Court of Common Pleas for the franchise on November 19, 1839 and his application was granted the same day. The court did, however, set some conditions, which are described in Old Nyack: An Illustrated  Historical Sketch of Nyack-on-the-Hudson. Gedney must

The court also set the fare rates Gedney could charge: sheep, calves, and hogs, 3 cents each; single passengers, 50 cents; horse and rider, 75 cents; one horse wagon, $1.00.

Gedney's 16-ton sailboat was to leave his dock at the foot of Third Avenue from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. from April to December, longer if the weather was agreeable.        

The Orange. The "Orange" was the first steamboat built in Nyack.  Growing manufacturing interest at that time required a quicker and surer means of transportation to New York City. The "Orange" was built to fill that need, according to Now and Then and Long Ago in Rockland County.

The "Orange" began service on May 5, 1828. Although regulations stated that the boat would leave Nyack every weekday at 4:00 p.m. and return from New York at 11:00 a.m., every weekday except Monday, service couldn't keep to this schedule. The trip to New York took one day and a return trip took another.  In his History of Rockland County, Frank B. Green notes that one day round trip service didn't start until 1847 with the "Warren" and then only twice a week.

Fares for the "Orange" were 25 cents for adults and 12 1/2 cents for children. Other fares included horse, pig, and rider, $1.50; boards (per 100), $1.00; horses and cows, 75 cents; salt per load, 50 cents; lambs, 9 cents; paint per quarter keg, 4 cents.

Competition.  The "Orange" ran without competition for several years, according to Green. But that changed on April 16, 1830 when the Orangetown Point Steamboat  Company was incorporated by legislative act.  The company, whose members included John Blanch and Peter H. Taulman, was allowed to issue $10,000 worth of stock at $100 a share to build a steamboat.  The total could be increased to $15,000.  The "Orange's" new competitor, the "Rockland," sailed between Rockland's Orangetown Point and New York City. The company added Haverstraw to the route in 1831 because some of the villagers had purchased stock.

Piermont residents Blanch and Taulman later joined with Haverstraw villagers Edward De Noyelles, John S. Gurnee, and Leonard Gurnee to form a stock company that had the steamship "Warren" built. the boat left De Noyelles' Haverstraw dock every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11:00 a.m. and from Vessey Street in New York City every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

Subject to mother nature. Mother nature sometimes determined the ferry schedules and thus the public's ability to travel. Ferries generally stopped running in the winter when the river froze. Rather than the first snowfall or the appearance of the first crocus, some people dated the first days of winter and spring by the days the ferryboats stopped and started running for the season.

Resumption of ferry service after being canceled due to icy conditions threw the village of Nyack "into a pleasant state of excitement", the Rockland County Journal reported on February 16, 1867. The "Peter G. Coffin" had been cut free of ice only to be forced to return to its dock because of heavy icing brought on by a gale.  The second attempt to free the boat had proved successful, allowing it to return to its Nyack-New York City rout-- "not to be interrupted again, we hope, during the present year," added the paper.

101 years of service end. On November 30, 1941, Ferries Operating Company, Inc. discontinued its Nyack-Tarrytown ferry run, ending 101 consecutive years of service. Piloted by Captain James O. Harper, the "Wyoming" made its final journey, described by The Journal-News as having "many of the qualities of a jolly wake." South Nyack Mayor Raymond D. Gurnee was aboard. And Mr. and Mrs. Robert Marchak of Congers had the distinction of having the last car to get off the boat.

A New York Times article attributed the shutdown of service to declining revenue. According to the paper, the majority of the route's business came from North Tarrytown Chevrolet assembly plant, which had recently curtailed production. In addition, to transport the cars it made, the company had increasingly been using trailers that the ferry couldn't accommodate.

Service Revived. In October 1942, Robert Lee of South Nyack reestablished Nyack-Tarrytown ferry service by conducting a trial run to see if such an operation was viable. The "Dolphin" used for the test run, could carry 30 passengers across the river in 15 minutes or less. Unlike the previous service, Lee's ferries did not carry vehicles.

Reopening the service particularly benefited Eastern Aircraft Corp. of Tarrytown and the Nyack Vocational School. The company needed skilled war workers, which the school was producing. Ferry service helped bring the two organizations together.

Vehicular Ferry Service. In 1947, the Nyack Chamber of Commerce, some County politicians, and others sought legislation establishing vehicular ferry service.

Robert Lee had been interested in operating a vehicular ferry service from the time he started his passenger line, but finding an appropriate boat that wasn't too costly proved to be a major obstacle. In a 1947 letter to The Journal-News, Lee said building a vehicular boat would cost approximately $250,000 and that two boats would be needed for adequate service. The retired ferryboats he had looked at were too large. And the cost of converting landing craft to meet government specifications would be just as high as building a new boat.

More recent revival efforts. Rockland ferry service continued into the 1950s. During this decade, the Tappan Zee Bridge opened and the New York State Thruway and the Palisades Interstate Parkway were completed.  These travel options, combined with those of the Bear Mountain and George Washington Bridges, no longer made ferry service the travel means of choice and ferries eventually ceased operations.

Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, attempts were made to revive ferry service. Proponents of the revival believe that the river travel would help decrease congestion on the roads and bridges as well as the pollution created by vehicles that traverse them.

In the 1970s, efforts were made to launch both the hydrofoil and hovercraft services. In 1970, then Assemblyman Eugene Levy and the U.S. Hydrofoil Corp. conducted a demonstration of hydrofoil service from Nyack to New York City. Six years later, Hovertransport, Inc. ran demonstrations of its hovercraft "Excalibur." After less than a month, Hovertransport discontinued the Nyack-to-Wall Street service because of lack of passengers.

In the hope of starting a Nyack-Tarrytown ferry service, Rockland County businessman Joseph Mitlof conducted a test run in 1985 with County political officials and real estate agents on board. Lack of parking spaces and dock facilities are among the obstacles cited to getting a ferry service up and running.

Although these efforts have not been successful, revival of a ferry service still may be the answer to Rockland County's traffic problem. There just may be enough people sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge willing to give water transportation a try to make the idea of revival a reality.

Sources The Story of the Ferry, compiled by Winthrop S. Gilman; Old Nyack: An Illustrated Historical Sketch of Nyack-on-the-Hudson; The History of Rockland County, by Frank Bertangue Green; Now and Then and Long Ago in Rockland County, compiled by Cornelia F. Bedell; Rockland County Journal, Feb. 16 1867; The Journal News, Dec. 1, 1941, Dec. 3, 1941, Sept. 20, 1942, Feb. 11, 1947, Feb. 21, 1947, March 20, 1947, Sept. 24, 1976, Nov. 5, 1976, June 7, 1985, Sept. 17, 1990; The New York Times, Dec. 1, 1941; News/Leader/Independent, Sept. 9, 1970.

Rockland Wants Tom Jefferson

The esteem in which Rockland County government help President Thomas Jefferson is shown in a letter, dated Feb. 5, 1807, that urged Jefferson to seek re-election.

"At a meeting of the General Committee on the fourth day of February 1807 at the Court House in the County of Rockland.."

"Sir:

"Permit the General Committee Duly chosen by the several towns in the County of Rockland in the state of New York, in the name of themselves & their Constituents to Express to you the satisfaction we have derived from the increasing prosperity of our common Country.

"We have seen the diminution of taxes, the Extension of territory, the increase of population, the due regulation of the Judicial and Military systems, the security of peace abroad and at home, with sincere approbation, and we believe that these are the sentiments of every friend of the union. We also despise the struggles of faction and whispers of slander public opinion has ripened from the first grade of favorable Expectation into bold and general applause the eminent degree in which you have contributed, by the Judicious discharge of your official duties, has not Escaped us. ADULATION is the Language of the Dependents, but a Just a free and Independent people, who have seen and escaped the attempted subversion of their Liberties, will never hesitate to anticipate the voice of history and posterity, when Gratitude demands it. It is not possible, Sir, for us to conceal our regret arising from rumors calculated to Excite the belief that it is your wish to withdraw from the public service at the close of the period for which you was last Elected Chief magistrate of the union, we venture to hope that the insinuation is unauthorized and to Express a wish what in the full Possession of faculty and talent, you will not refuse the Citizens the benefit arising from Political Experience and deprive them of full opportunity of exercising their choice and Judgement in selecting their President from the whole number of people.

"In Order to complete the measures so happily begun and Encouraging, the Industry and protecting the rights of the Citizens in promoting the happiness of the people and supporting the dignity of the government, we with Confidence assure you of our most cordial support. We hear from Information that the peace and Prosperity of our happy country appears to be envied as well by domestic as foreign enemies, yet we entertain a hope from the great body of the Republican citizens, Lovers of Peace, the machinations of our enemies will be Froserated, And we trust that Diving Being who holds in his hands the Destiny of empires will enable us long to exist a peaceful united and a happy people.

"We re with respect and Esteem and with the sincerest wishes for your happiness your republican fellow citizens."

John Suffern, President

Abrm. Clark, Sect.

Jefferson, our third president, served in that office from 1801 to 1809. He died in 1826.

Sheriff Reprimanded for Providing Prisoners' Tobacco

In 1847, the Board of Supervisors reprimanded Sheriff Charles Benson for giving tobacco to prisoners in the County jail because tobacco couldn't be given to inmates at the County expense.

How Rockland County Grew

Rockland County was created from Orange County on Feb. 23, 1798. When the first federal census in the United States was conducted in 1800, Rockland had a population of 6,353. By 1990, it had increased by almost 200,000. Here's a look at how the County's population has grown over nearly two centuries.

In the 150 years from 1800 to 1950, there was an approximate gain of 83,000. In the 100 years from 1800 to 1900, population increased by about 32,000.  County population rose by about 51,000 during the 50 years between 1900 and 1950. And Rockland gained about 176,500 residents in the 40 years between 1950 and 1990, a time period that saw the advent of the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Palisades and Garden State Parkways.

Court House to Get Gong

At its Oct. 26, 1887 meeting, the Board of Supervisors instructed County Clerk Cyrus M. Crum "to purchase a gong for the Court House, and to have same erected."

Tramps

As a result of the 1873 depression, vagrants, commonly called tramps, began entering Rockland County in early 1874. Residents complained to the Board of Supervisors about supporting these people, who for many years were assigned to the County poor house and hotels.

At its Dec. 31, 1877 meeting, the Board passed the following resolution:
   "Resolved, that on and after January One, 1878, the Superintendents of the Poor, the Overseers of the Towns' poor, and the Justices of Peace, are not to issue any Orders for Board and Lodging to any of this Class of Vagrants called Tramps.  Should the aforementioned Officers of the County submit Bills to this Board regarding this class of people, they shall not be Honored."

The Board adopted the following resolution at its Jan. 14, 1778 meeting:

   "Resolved, that 500 copies of the following, hereto annexed, concerning Vagrants, be printed on pasteboard and posted up in the public places of the County, and published in the County papers."

Tramps Beware!!!

Extract from the Laws of New York:

"All idle persons, who not having visible mean to maintain themselves, live without employment; All persons wandering about and lodging in Taverns, Groceries, Barhouses, Outhouses, Market-places, Sheds, Barns, or in the open air, and not giving a good account of themselves; all persons wandering abroad and begging, or who go about from door to door, or place themselves in the streets, highways or passages of other public places to beg or receive alms, are deemed Vagrants.

"Such persons are liable to arrest and upon conviction, may be confined to the Poor House at Hard Labor, or be imprisoned in the County jail for a period not exceeding six months, and part of the time to be fed on Bread and Water only, if the Justice so directs.

"To the people of Rockland County:

"All citizens of the County are requested to take notice of the provisions of the above law and cause the arrest of all Tramps.

"Superintendents of the Poor, Overseers of the Poor and Justices of the Peace are requested to aid the Citizens generally in the enforcement of the above law, to the end that the Community may be rid of a dangerous nuisance, and the taxpayers relieved of a grievous burden."

Civil War Vets' Burials

Soldiers, sailors, and marines who lost their lives in "the late rebellion" (that is, the Civil War) and whose families had "no funds to defray funeral expenses" were interred in a 'Family plot" or "potters field." The field was located in the "rear field of the Alms House," now known as the Gary Onderdonk Veterans Cemetery at Rockland Community College. As of the Dec. 11, 1889 Board of Supervisors meeting, the undertaker charged $35 for burial, while the headstone maker charged $15.

Alms House Provides Support For the Poor and Needy

John E. Hogancamp, Esquire, was appointed to report on the Board of Supervisors' visit to the Alms House on Oct. 22, 1862. As with the Board's past annual visits Hogancamp gave glowing compliments regarding the house, farm, out-buildings and the way "inmates" dress. At the time of the visit, there were 62 "persons of different sexes and ages " "Some of them had lived beyond the appointed time of man; three score and ten; some in middle age, and others in childhood; some were bereft of their reason, and one deprived of sight. "

An "inmate" taught the children attending the Alms House School. Hogancamp hoped that "the instruction may be such that the children may grow to become useful members of Society, and instead of being supported at the expense of the County, they may assist in the Support of the unfortunate."

Hogancamp wrote, "We should be thankful to God that we have not been placed in a similar situation; and the people of this County who pay towards the support of the poor and the needy, should feel thankful to their Heavenly Father that they have an institution where the poor and unfortunate may find a home, and be made comfortable as respects their temporal wants here in this life; and it is the desire and prayer of your committee that the blessings that have been heretofore granted us as individuals and as a nation may still be continued, and the Constitution which was framed by our Ancestors be handed down unimpaired to those who shall follow us until time shall be no longer."

Exempting Firefighters from Jury Duty

Members of Rockland County fire departments used member certificates, such as those reproduced below, to receive exemptions from jury duty.

A Message from Archivist Peter J. Scheibner

After a year of serious budget cutbacks and organizational restructuring, I am happy to report that the County Archives and Records Management Program is moving forward with a number of exciting and interesting projects.

We have succeeded in getting over $7l,000 in State grant funds to hire personnel to perform records inventory and planning analysis and we will begin a microfilm/preservation project in July. A general preservation survey grant will allow us to analyze the condition and characteristics of our most precious records. We anticipate that the survey will bring us additional resources required to preserve and protect the collection. We also have hopes to be able to publish a "Guide to the Collection" and make the collection more accessible to the public.

Special thanks go out to the following people who have generously volunteered or contributed their time working on archival or records projects. Flora August, Ron Nackman and Harrison  "Middletown" Pollets, who work through the Rockland Senior Volunteer Program. Frank Smith Schnell, the "Chronicler" who offers historical tid-bits, and Harry Eldridge who has helped index wills and Board of Supervisors minutes. Serge Pamphile who is assisting the Archivist and Legislature on a records project through the Department of Social Services Public Works Program.

Finally, I would like to applaud the efforts of Lynn Nannariello, whose research and writing brings us this newsletter, and the help of Tony Scaringi and the staff of the Hospital Reproduction Department for publishing and printing this newsletter.

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