Sharon Springs’ Garden Party – Memorial Day Weekend
The history of railroads in the U.S. comprises many subjects: technology, engineering developments; geography, shaping the land, based on both practical and commercial reasons; economics, the growth of business and industry; and demographics, the movement of people. It also involves sociology, since greater mobility shaped social life. With the opening of a railroad line, people could more readily visit Sharon Springs and other area communities for family visits, recreation, and health.
Railroad history is complex, given the number of companies that were formed and lines that were laid. We've gathered many of the important dates pertaining to the Sharon Springs region of upstate New York - a starting point for more in-depth studies!
The story begins with the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, still in existence as the Delaware and Hudson Railway. In 1823, the original D&H opened to haul anthracite coal from Carbondale, Pennsylvania, to New York City. The potential of rail was also seen to move coal, and, in 1829, the company's Stourbridge Lion became the first locomotive to run on rails in the United States.
In later decades, the D&H assumed ownership of existing lines and invested in new lines in upstate New York. Among them was the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, which, in 1851, began operating between Albany and Schoharie Junction. By 1864, its run extended to Cobleskill, and, by 1869, to Binghamton. The D&H leased it in 1870 and assumed ownership in 1945.
In 1865, the Schoharie Valley Railroad between Schoharie Junction - where it branched off the main Albany and Susquehanna line near Central Bridge - and Schoharie, a run of 4.2 miles, was founded. In 1867, a separate company founded the Middleburgh and Schoharie Railroad on a 5.7 mile run between those two villages, the first run taking place in 1868. The two lines, known as the "Pride of the Valley," operated in tandem, facilitating travel and shipping in the region. The shipping of hops, used in beer-making, from upstate hop farms, helped in the economy of these and other regional lines. The writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) reportedly worked as a brakeman on the Middleburgh and Schoharie line in December of 1879; he was 44 at the time and a prolific writer so we can assume this was for research. He uses the term "brakeman" in various works.
In 1869, the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad opened, running 16 miles between Cooperstown to Colliersville, where it formed a junction with the Albany and Susquehanna line. An extension to Richfield Springs was added that same year; a second extension was added to Davenport in 1888. The CAVC merged with the West Davenport Railroad in 1891, then became part of the Delaware and Hudson Company in 1903.
The lines we've discussed so far, part of the D&H system, connected to other lines in Albany, run by a different company - the New York Central Railroad - the history of which also begins in the early days of railroading. In 1831, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad was founded, connecting the Mohawk River at Schenectady to the Hudson River at Albany; it became known as the Albany and Schenectady Railroad in 1847. The Utica and Schenectady Railroad extended the line westward from Schenectady north of the Mohawk River to Utica in 1836. In 1853, the Albany and Schenectady Railroad and nine other companies in New York State merged to form the New York Central Railroad.
In 1864, a charter was granted for the incorporation of the Cherry Valley and Mohawk River Railroad Company. The original plan was to build a line from Cherry Valley north to the town of Palatine on a route allowing for service to a number of communities east and north of Cherry Valley, including Sharon Springs. In Palatine the new line would connect to the New York Central system. That plan failed, but, in 1868, the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad Company offered to operate a different route in conjunction with its own service to the south, connecting Cherry Valley and Cobleskill. In 1869, the Cherry Valley and Mohawk River Railroad Company changed its name to the Cherry Valley, Sharon and Albany Railroad and began work on the new line. A driving force and principal investor in this venture was William W. Campbell (a great-great-uncle of History Boy Chris).
The new line, consisting of light rail, was laid between a new terminal at Cherry Valley and a junction located a mile-and-a-half west of a terminal in Cobleskill, known as the Cherry Valley Junction. At the junction point, the line connected to the heavier rail of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. A tower was built at the Cherry Valley Junction to manage mainline and branch trains. Passenger and freight depots were constructed in Sharon Springs, Seward, and Hyndsville for stops there. Leesville, between Sharon Springs and Cherry Valley, also came to have depot, a small one for passenger stops. At the time of the Cherry Valley, Sharon and Albany Railroad's first run on June 15, 1870, ownership of the company was transferred to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. In addition to freight runs - including milk shipped between farms, creameries, and customers - passenger trains of what became known as the Cherry Valley Branch made three round trips a day.
The parent Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, with its ever expanding rail system, was renamed the Delaware and Hudson Company in 1899, incorporated as the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Corporation in 1928, and reorganized as the Delaware and Hudson Railway in 1968.
With the advent of automobiles and trucks, the need for railroad service to rural communities lessened. After 1934, the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad offered only freight service. It was sold to the Delaware Otsego Corporation in 1970; its last freight run was in 1987. The Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society purchased the line from the Delaware Otsego Corporation in 1996 and now offers recreational rides between Milford and Cooperstown, including a Blues Train with live bands.
In 1936, the Middleburgh and Schoharie Railroad made its last run, and, in 1942, the Schoharie Valley Railroad between Schoharie and Schoharie Junction also stopped service. In 1971, the Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association opened the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum in Schoharie, which has on display the last remaining passenger car of the Middleburgh and Schoharie Railroad.
The Cherry Valley, Sharon and Albany Railroad - the Cherry Valley Branch - made its last passenger run on January 28, 1933. It made its last freight on August 15, 1956. The latter date was two years after the opening of the New York State Thruway, increasing access to upstate communities. The last run of the Cherry Valley Branch also occurred soon after the opening of the Route 20 Bypass, a rerouting of what was once the Cherry Valley Turnpike (see our earlier blog). Interestingly, a rare all-welded bridge had recently been completed to carry trains over the bypass. It reportedly was used only twice by the railroad - by the last freight train to Cherry Valley and then again on its final run to Cobleskill, during which, some reports have it, the train stopped to allow workers to pull up and load rails. The well-constructed but "million-dollar boondoggle" bridge still stands over Route 20. A newspaper no longer in existence, The Cherry Valley News ("News of the People in the Towns of Cherry Valley, Roseboom, Middlefield, Springfield, Sharon Springs, and Vicinity" at 10 cents a copy), reported that
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