Halfway Brook

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died March 24, 1882, at his home in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

My dad, Art Austin, often quoted three of Mr. Longfellow’s poems: The Children’s Hour, Paul Revere’s Ride, and The Song of Hiawatha.

The following newspaper article commemorating the famous poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was in Great-Grandma Mary Ann Austin’s scrapbook. [The first verse or so of Mr. Longfellow’s last poem is included at the end.]

The unexpected death of Mr. Longfellow, following so soon upon the remarkable honors paid to him on his seventy-fifth birthday, has called forth tributes of love and sorrow from all the countries to which his fame and works have extended, and has caused a profound sensation throughout the United States and England, where his name for so many years has been a household word.

“Mad River in the White Mountains” was Longfellow’s Last Poem. This poem, on a well-known White Mountain stream, was corrected, in proof by the poet only a day or two before his death, and is now printed in the May “Atlantic.”—“The Atlantic Monthly”.

Mad River in the White Mountains
Traveller
Why dost thou wildly rush and roar,

Mad River, O Mad River?

Wilt thou not pause and cease to pour

Thy hurrying, headlong waters o’er

This rocky shelf forever?

What secret trouble stirs thy breast?

Why all this fret and flurry?

Dost thou not know that what is best

In this too restless world is rest

From over-work and worry?

1883 front and back covers of New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad’s, Summer Homes and Rambles.

The New York and Erie Railroad originated in 1832, became the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad in 1878, and the Erie Railroad in 1895.

I am still hoping that Echo Hill and Mountain Grove will be available the first part of September. There are still a number of things to check off while we do the final editing. Besides the wonderful cover, Gary has made some super maps which show locations of the places we know about in the Town of Highland and nearby Shohola, Pennsylvania.

I have taken over the kitchen table once again. On the right in the back are 2 of my major resources: Johnston’s, Reminiscences, and Richard Eldred’s, The Eldred Family.

Post card of Erie Depot and Hotel Oakland, Narrowsburg, N.Y., in the Austin Collection.

Excursion tickets were valid for continuous passage either going or returning on the date of issue or anytime within the next 30 days.

Package tickets of 10, 20, or 25 were good for either direction until used.

Commutation tickets were valid for continuous passage between the stations named on the tickets, if the train stopped at said station. The limit was 60 rides between the stations during the month named on the ticket.

Miles from New York City
Callicoon, New York, 136
Cochecton, New York, 130.75
Deposit, New York, 177
Goshen, New York, 59.75
Hancock, New York, 163.75
Hankins, New York, 143
Hawley, Pennsylvania, 127
Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 136
Lackwaxen, Pennsylvania, 111
Long Eddy, New York, 146.75
Lordville, New York, 153.5
Middletown, New York, 67
Narrowsburg, New York, 122.25
Parkers Glen, Pennsylvania, 102.25
Paterson, New Jersey, 16.75
Pond Eddy, Pennsylvania, 99
Port Jervis, New York , 88.25
Shohola, Pennsylvania, 107
Sparrowbush, New York, 90.75
Tuxedo, New York, 38.5

Sherman B. Leavenworth’s receipt for $15.59 for taxes paid to the Town of Highland on 195 acres of land in 1880. Copy of receipt, courtesy of cousin Cynthia.

Currier & Ives Chromolithograph, 1885. Grand birds eye view of the Great East River. Library of Congress: 03205r.

Close-up view of construction of Brooklyn Bridge over East River, New York City. Library of Congress: 3c08446r.

The Great East River (Brooklyn) Suspension Bridge, the first land connection between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was also the first steel-wire suspension bridge. It was the longest (5,989 feet) suspension bridge in the world from 1883 (when it opened), until 1903.

John A. Roebling, who designed and constructed the Roebling Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, was the initial designer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Very unfortunately, Mr. Roebling’s foot was crushed when he surveyed a possible bridge site. His toes had to be amputated. Soon after, he died of a tetanus infection.

John’s son, Washington Roebling, was then put in charge of the bridge. Washington and his wife Emily had gone to Europe as newlyweds. There they learned how to use caissons (watertight structures) to work on the foundation of the bridge. Continue reading →