City of Hudson's weighed voting system under scrutiny

[Torie]

Below is my little mappie of what I was referring to, along with depicting some of the sights of the area. Oh, below the "t' in "bought" are the ruins of the old Evans Brewery, which was sold by the Evans brothers when prohibition hit to Legs Diamond, who kept on brewing of course, piping the beer up to Columbia Street then Diamond Street whore houses and so forth. The Evans grandson now owns the Pump Station restaurant and micro brewery up in Albany, and he sat down when we were there and chatted with us for about 30 minutes. His grandfather and grand uncle owned grand houses on Warren Street between 4th and 5th street, which are still there. There were the richest guys in Hudson back then.

Harney now rents one of my apartments on Robinson Street which he uses as a pied a terre when he is in town.

[jimrtex]

Below is my little mappie of what I was referring to, along with depicting some of the sights of the area. Oh, below the "t' in "bought" are the ruins of the old Evans Brewery, which was sold by the Evans brothers when prohibition hit to Legs Diamond, who kept on brewing of course, piping the beer up to Columbia Street then Diamond Street whore houses and so forth. The Evans grandson now owns the Pump Station restaurant and micro brewery up in Albany, and he sat down when we were there and chatted with us for about 30 minutes. His grandfather and grand uncle owned grand houses on Warren Street between 4th and 5th street, which are still there. There were the richest guys in Hudson back then.

Harney now rents one of my apartments on Robinson Street which he uses as a pied a terre when he is in town.

The trail used to be more prominent.  Has the school blocked the road from vehicular traffic?  As you head west from the school there is a branch that branches off to the north (about 15 degrees) and ends in a button hook, that almost looks like a turnaround.  But then there is a connection back to the main trail.



Right at the end of where you have marked the creek, is the rail spur to the plant.  You may be seeing it as sort of a birdfoot delta.  It is actually the built-up area for the tracks across the tidal flats.  Notice that at the west end widens into two arcs so that the spur can connect into the mainline.  Given the size of plant in the 1929 topo, and that it had its own railroad spur, it is pretty remarkable that there is no apparent road access.  You can sort of see where the plant was due to lack of vegetation.

On page 20 of the report, your secret is sussed out:

HUDSON LANDFILL- PHASE I

Executive summary of report: It will cost lots of money to redevelop the landfill/dump due to risk of puncturing cap or causing erosion.  The dump site was officially a landfill but city and county residents were permitted to dump household garbage.  It is possible that the informal trails were shortcuts to the dump.

Your trail is shown as a road at the bottom of the map.   Greenport Conservation Area trails (PDF).  There is at least contemplated a connection to the conservation area from downtown Hudson.   Presumably it would veer off from the branch of 2nd Street that wanders off to the west.

Incidentally, the area of the Greenport Conservation Area was farmed continuously from 1661 to 1991, so that Joslen Blvd and Harry Howard, are likely around 350 years old.

[jimrtex]

This is speculative.  All road locations were drawn freehand, so think of them as being conceptual, rather than actual.



The red circles are likely location of Claverack Landing, which had wharves on both South Bay and North Bay.   There were perhaps 200 persons in the area before the Hudson proprietors arrived.  It appears that the settlement on the South Bay was more prominent, likely because it has easier access from the east as the slope down to water is more gradual.  There was an existing wagon road, roughly about Partition.  I've drawn it in blue.  To get to Claverack it would have to go north of Prospect Hill.

If you were coming from the north (Joslen Road) you might want to take advantage of a lesser slope to get to North Bay.  This would account for Dugway Road connecting to Mill Street.

There might have been a ford at Underhill Pond, or Carroll and Short Street might have been developed later.  Is Underhill Pond totally artificial, or is it an enhancement of a natural pond?  Once the city of Hudson were developed, farmers might prefer a more direct entry into the city.

The Orange Line is roughly the location of Warren Street.  There was a ravine at roughly 4th and Warren.  The terrain shows a depression at roughly Columbia Street more or less parallel to Warren.

The route of Columbia Turnpike (light bill) was clearly to avoid going directly over Prospect Hill.  It appears that Green Street (green) was added to either take advantage of easier terrain, or alternatively opened up the levelest area at the east end of the city to development.

In 1880, before Ward 4 was divided, it had 35% of the population.   The split along 5th Street (maize line) was reasonably balanced.   Since then Ward 5 has continued to grow, or at least not shrink.  Ward 5 has been the most populous ward since 1930.

[jimrtex]

Ward and Census History

Under the 1785 charter from the State of New York, Hudson had four aldermen and four assistants elected at large at a meeting of the freeholders of the city. If I am comprehending the statute, the mayor was appointed by the legislature.

In 1815, the city was divided into two wards. Recall at that time, that the city included all of Greenport, plus Stockport south of Stockport Creek. Ward 1 was west of the old road beginning at Claverack Creek near Peter Van Rensselaer's house, until it intersects the "road leading up the dugway", then along that road to Third Street through the compact portion of the city, to Highland Turnpike to the south end of the city. Ward 2 was the area to the east.

A dugway is a road cut on a hillside, either along the hill or across it. In some cases, the hill above may be cut to provide fill for the road below. So "the dugway" must refer to the road up from Mill Street, but later expanded to also mean the road along Harry Howard.  A motoring guide from 1905, notes the presence of "The Dugway", but says it is not suitable for automobiles, being but a lane. It also warns of the steep grade on Front Street between Ferry Street and Warren Street. The guide says that the route out Carroll and Short Street is passable, but prefers the routes out the east side of the city, north towards Albany (on Fairview), east towards Massachusetts (on Green and Columbia Turnpike), or southward (on Worth Avenue).

The "old road" must refer to what is now Joslen Blvd, which was already old in 1815. The Highland Turnpike entered from the south on Third Street. Essentially, Third Street was established as a ward divider in 1815 (March 31 was the 200th anniversary). Each ward elected two aldermen and two assistants and one supervisor at a ward meeting of the freemen.

An 1829 revision of the charter defined a compact area of the city, in which a tax could be assessed, with the proceeds being spent within the same compact area (eg sort of like a TIRZ). The tax within the compact area could raise $1200, while the general tax for the entire city could raise $2000. In effect, the tax rate was about 50% higher within the compact area. At the time in 1829, Hudson still included all of Greenport as well as part of Stockport.

The compact was roughly rectangular and parallel to the street grid, from about Mill Street to a point on Green Street (I think about where Green Street bends southeasterly), and to Tanners Lane and Third Street on the south side of town. The eastern side of the rectangle would have been perhaps 1/5th a mile past 8th Street. The law referred to a map drawn by the city surveyor. Yoda worked for the legislative drafting office and suggested, "[survey map] reference being thereto had will more fully appear."

An oddity of Hudson's is that it received a charter from the State of New York a couple of years after its founding. It was the 3rd city to receive a charter, New York and Albany having received theirs in the late 1600s from the colonial governor. They must have had good lobbyists. In a sense, Hudson was a planned city, a precursor to Washington, Canberra, Brasilia, Chandigarh, Irvine, The Woodlands, and Milton Keynes.

The 1829 charter also provided that each ward should have its own assessor and collector, though it appears that there would be a uniform tax rate (assuming the assessors were consistent). So, at least in 1829, the ward designation on property records was legally meaningful.

The current city limits of Hudson were mostly established in 1837 when the Town of Greenport was erected (60th Legislature, Chapter 420).  Since Greenport surrounds Hudson on three sides, the cutout in the Greenport limits, also defines the southern, eastern, and western limits of Hudson.

The northeastern corner of Hudson according to the current city charter is "a white oak tree standing one chain and 55 links from the northeasterly corner of the farm lately owned by Jonas White, and nine links westerly from the fence along the westerly side of the old road leading from Hudson to the print works." The white oak tree no longer stands, being in the middle of the softball fields at the high school. The Hudson Print Works were established in 1826 at what is now Stockport. In the Samuel Slater's memoir he describes the print works based on correspondence from the owner.  A print works dyes cotton cloth (calico). The Hudson Print Works was capable not only of doing navy blues, etc., but madder colours. Sigh, I find madder colour is a deep reddish purple dye derived from the roots of the madder plant, and not a description of an exuberantly multicolored colored print. In any event, the northeast corner of the city was just west of what is now known as Harry Howard Road.

The city limits in the city charter incorporate three different measurement systems.

(1) The limits from 1837, which are based on compass bearings (1820) with distances in chains and links. The magnetic declination in 1820 was about 14 degrees west of North, so that bearings in the description need to be rotated 14 degrees counter-clockwise. For example, the northern limit has a bearing of 74 degrees 25 minutes west of (1820 compass) north. This is, then about 88 degrees west of true north, or almost due west. A chain is 66 feet (4 rods), and a link is 1/100 of a chain.

(2) The annexation of 1898 of Cedar Park Cemetery, which is based on compass bearings (1895). The magnetic declination in 1895 was about 10 degrees west of North. Distances were measured in feet.

(3) The annexation of 1915 adding an area between Union Turnpike and Fairview, including Aitkens Avenue, and an area west of Fairview, including the eastern ends of Glenwood, Oakwood, and Parkwood. These were in a single annexation, so rather than being two triangular areas, it is more of a sawtooth. Bearings are measured relative to the previous bearing, and distances are in feet.

Neither the 1833 law establishing Stockport nor the 1837 law establishing Greenport say anything about the ward boundaries within the remaining portion of Hudson. But since the prior ward boundary divided the City of Hudson north to south, continuing on Third Street through the compact area, there might have been no need to adjust the boundaries. In 1840, the population of Greenport was 1161, compared to 5672 for Hudson.  Thus, Greenport represented about 1/6th of the population within the pre-1837 city limits. Both wards would have lost farmers outside the city.

In the 1840 Census, the city was enumerated by ward (two wards). Ward totals were not published. In 1840, those involved in navigation, both sea and river and canal were overwhelmingly in Ward 1, which was west of Third Street (110 vs. 7).

Ward Populations:

Ward 1: 2818
Ward 2: 2854

In the 1850 Census, occupations such as Boatman, Fisherman, Sailor, Ship Carpenter, Seaman, and Oysterman being overwhelmingly from Ward 1, while occupations such as Clerk and Student were more common in Ward 2 (at the time, a male who was of high school age, would be exceptional if they were occupied with going to school rather than working). Ward 2 also had professions such as Merchant, Dentist, Jeweler, and Temperance Lecturer.

Ward Populations:

Ward 1: 2936
Ward 2: 3350

In 1854, the legislature recodified the city charter (77th Legislature, Chapter 139). Among its other provisions, it divided the city into four wards. Ward 1 was south of Warren Street and West of Third  Street.  At that time, there was no mention of extensions of either street.  Warren Street at the time reached Water Street.  Ward 2 was north of Warren Street and west of Third Street, extended. This was a change from the ward boundary which had run up the dugway from Third and Mill Street and on out Harry Howard. Then, as now, Third Street did not extend to the northern city limits. Ward 3 was east of Third Street, and south of Warren Street, a diagonal across Public Square, and south of Columbia Street and Columbia Turnpike. The Combination of Columbia Street and Columbia Turnpike were treated as a single entity, with a singular center line. At that time, the street north of Warren Street was known as Diamond Street. Columbia Street was only the portion of modern Columbia Street to the junction of Columbia Turnpike and Union Turnpike. Ward 4 was the remainder of the city.

Thus the ward boundaries were the same as they are now, with the exception of Ward 4 including the entirety of modern Wards 4 and Ward 5. The original dividing line between the two wards on Third Street was retained. In addition, only two supervisors were elected, with one being elected from Wards 1 and 2, and the other from Wards 3 and 4.

Aldermen were elected for two year terms, with one alderman from each ward elected each year.  At the initial election two alderman would be chosen from each ward, with one alderman then given an initial term of one year by lot.

In addition, the boundaries of the city were changed to reflect the creation of Greenport. When Greenport was erected in 1837, its limits expressed as the area of the City of Hudson being taken, leaving the definition of the City of Hudson being the original area less the areas taken by Stockport and Greenport.

1860 Census

The 1860 Census was the first with four wards. No address information was recorded.

Ward 1: 1542
Ward 2: 1840
Ward 3: 1690
Ward 4: 2115

In 1866 the legislature added this provision (89th legislature, Chapter 198) to the city charter.

"The said common council shall have power and are hereby directed to raise by tax and expend, during the current year, on the Underhill road, leading from the corner of Fourth and State streets in said city of Hudson to the town line of the town of Greenport, the sum of three thousand dollars, in addition to the sum of eighteen thousand dollars authorized to be raised by section five of this act."

This does not make sense, unless it is understood to include Carroll Street, a portion of Short Street, and what is now Harry Howard. This was essentially the only old country road in Hudson, and perhaps the city needed special direction, since there had previously been a special tax assessed and expended in the compact area of the city.

The 1870 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1679
Ward 2: 2409
Ward 3: 1856
Ward 4: 2673

[jimrtex]

The 1880 Census was the first with street names and numbers recorded. Not all areas of the city had street numbering, and streets were numbered independently. Numbers on Warren, to the west of 3rd Street went up to 126. Unlike modern numbering, the address did not indicate the cross street, but simply a sequence of addresses. The convention of even addresses on the north and east side of streets appears to have been in place.

In Ward 1, streets south of Allen did not have street numbers. Buildings on street corners did not have addresses, but would be described by the intersecting streets. One family was described as living behind and below the Catholic Church, which was at Montgomery and Third Street. There may have been a basement entrance on the north side.

In Ward 2, the street north of Warren was Diamond Street. Houses were enumerated on Chapel Street which no longer exists, and was between Diamond Street and State Street, west of Third Street. In Ward 4, Long Alley, on the same alignment was enumerated.

The Ward 3 enumeration proceeded east on Warren, with increasing odd-numbered houses, until the very highest numbers where odd and even numbers were recorded. This would be east of Public Square to Worth Avenue, where the ward boundary diverges from Warren St. The enumeration then included 8th Street and Park Place, before proceeding on Columbia Street.  Curiously, the addresses were even numbered. Either this was considered the east side of the street, or the street did not follow the convention. The lowest address was 18, so it was definitely not considered an extension of Diamond Street.  On Worth Avenue, one person indicated their occupation as gardener, presumably vegetables; and the last house was occupied by a farmer.

Ward 4 was enumerated in two enumeration districts, with 5th Street dividing the two ED's. The ED to the east (equivalent to modern Ward 5) was enumerated in a fairly conventional order between 5th and 7th Street, working northward from Warren Street, Prison Alley, Diamond Street, State Street, Prospect Street, Washington Street, and Clinton Street. There were no street numbers on the latter 3 streets.  Next the numbered streets were enumerated, with only even numbers on 5th Street.

Houses on Columbia Street were not numbered, and then switched to Academy Hill. It is almost as if the area was considered a hamlet or remote district.  24 houses were visited on Columbia Street, followed by 31 on Academy Hill. There were then 4 houses with no location indicated, with one person listing their occupation as farmer. Green Street and Spring Street were enumerated, followed by some infill (Franklin St, Dodge St, Long Alley, Rope Alley, Stockport Road (a transition between Farmers Turnpike and Fairview Avenue, and the orphanage, which at the time was at 6th St and State St.

The other enumeration district for Ward 4, was between 3rd and 5th Street (modern Ward 4). Enumeration was straightforward: Warren St., Prison Alley, Diamond St, State St, 3rd St, and 4th Street. Carroll St and Short St, were enumerated, followed by Prospect St., Washington St., and Rope Alley. The final 3 entries were "on Farm".  So by that time, Carroll Street and Short Street were recognized as being separate from what the legislature in 1866 had referred to as Underhill Road.

The 1880 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1610
Ward 2: 2068
Ward 3: 1956
Ward 4: 3036

During the decade, Wards 1 and 2 had declined, and Ward 3 had held about even, while Ward 4 had increased by about 10%. Overall the city only added 55 persons, while Ward 4 added 363.  Since Ward 4 was enumerated in two districts divided at 5th Street, we know the population of the division:

Future Ward 4: 1397
Future Ward 5: 1639

Of the future Ward 5, about 1100 lived between 5th and 7th, with 500 to east.

In 1886, Ward 4 was divided into Ward 4 and Ward 5, with North 5th Street (extended) as the dividing line.

The 1890 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1759
Ward 2: 2392
Ward 3: 2281
Ward 4: 1693
Ward 5: 1845

All enumeration records from the 1890 Census (for almost all the United States) were lost in a fire, so the only extant records are the tabulated tables. Growth was fairly consistent across the city, with Ward 2 having 24.0% of the population, Ward 4 17.0%.  Ward 5 was the 3rd most populous ward with 18.5% of the population.

In 1895, the position of alderman-at-large was created. At the same time the mayor was separated from the common council and given a salary ($500/year). Every few decades the legislature would re-pass the entire charter of the city of Hudson. In intervening years, they would amend individual sections of the charter. The position of "alderman-at-large" was mentioned only among the city offices. The recorder served as the "alderman-at-large" and head of the Common Council. The text reads as if they intended to create a position of alderman-at-large and forgot to change the remainder of the text. It was not until 1921, that position was called Council President and used consistently throughout the charter.

In 1897, the Cedar Park Cemetery was annexed to the city. The city had bought the property a few years earlier. The annexation was reflected as a change in the city boundaries in charter. The area was placed in Ward 3.

The 1900 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1556
Ward 2: 2234
Ward 3: 2387
Ward 4: 1526
Ward 5: 1875

The city population declined by 442 during the decade, and would have declined even further except for the 322 prisoners at the House of Refuge for Women, which in 1904 became the New York State Training School for Girls. But for the reformatory, Ward 5 was the only ward not to decrease in population, reaching 19.7% of the total population, and 20.4% of the non-prison population.

By 1900. the modern house numbering system had been established in Hudson, with the 100-block indicating the numbered cross street (eg 3nn Warren Street is between 3rd and 4th streets). The east-west streets extended west of Front Street. For example, there were a few residences with an address on West Warren Street. Ward 1 featured five persons living at the Light House (the lightkeeper and his family). Ward 2 included persons who had addresses on Promenade Hill and the Marketplace (including house numbers). The street north of Warren Street was known as Diamond Street.

Ward 3 included a handful of persons living at both the County Jail and the City Hospital. There were no street numbers on Prospect Avenue, Rossman Avenue, Power Avenue, or the last few residences on Worth Avenue. Worth Avenue included one farmer, and a handful of farm hands or farm laborers. They may have worked in Greenport, and there were also quarrymen who worked outside the city. Besides the 322 prisoners at the reformatory, there were 34 employees, and 9 infants.  The reformatory consisted of cottages, with live-in matrons.

Ward 4 included persons living on Prison, Long, and Rope alleys. There were 9 staff members plus 54 residents at the Firemen's Home. There were another 39 persons living on Harry Howard (no house numbers) at a half dozen residences. One was clearly a farm, while the other had occupants with jobs indicating that they worked in the city. The orphanage was now at 4th and State streets, with 5 staff members and 55 children.

Ward 5 included 13 persons at 4 residences on Harry Howard, including one farmer. Since Ward 4 and Ward 5 had separate enumerators, they must have recognized the extension of 5th Street as the boundary between the wards. Columbia Street now included the entire portion of modern Columbia Street east of 7th Street, except the area known as Academy Hill. Enumeration would be around 850, and the name would switch to Academy Hill. On the far side, in the 900s, the name would switch back to Columbia Street. There were 7 persons on Paul Avenue, and some of the high-numbered Columbia Street addresses had odd numbers, indicating they were on the south side of the street, but north of Columbia Turnpike. About 550 of the 1875 ward residents resided east of 7th Street.

[Torie]

I assume it's a current topo map.  I have read that Warren dropped down into a gully around 4th street, and at some point, it was filled in. Columbia is indeed in the gully. One one can see why Robinson is but one block. Dan and I were interested that it was called Sepe Walk on that 1830 map of yours. Googling that came up empty as to why it was called that. We think Sepe is an Indian name, referring to a tribe and to river, so it meant river walk, but we are not sure, because it is also a surname that pops up for some in the Hudson Valley. Great map! Thanks.

[jimrtex]

I assume it's a current topo map.  I have read that Warren dropped down into a gully around 4th street, and at some point, it was filled in. Columbia is indeed in the gully. One one can see why Robinson is but one block. Dan and I were interested that it was called Sepe Walk on that 1830 map of yours. Googling that came up empty as to why it was called that. We think Sepe is an Indian name, referring to a tribe and to river, so it meant river walk, but we are not sure, because it is also a surname that pops up for some in the Hudson Valley. Great map! Thanks.

The contours are from USGS (around 1965 in this case).  There are a bunch of separate map layers here: NYSGIS clearance house

Hudson South (7.5 minute topo) is underneath the "lu" in Columbia.  Hudson North is directly north.

These are really cool:



Mount Merino is the elevation in the southwest.  The default colors gave the blue to the areas just above sea level, so you end up with a really cool fjord-like structure coming into South Bay from the south.  Sorry about flooding Mill Street for the purpose of elucidation.  That very fine structure pointing southwest off the Hudson headland is South 3rd Street where it was filled across South Bay.  You can also see the Middle Ground between Hudson and Athens.



This is zoomed in.  Underhill Pond is sort of sea green color.   Oakwood Pond more green.   There is a horizontal "feature" about midway vertically in the image.  This is a seam in the data.   Hudson is on the edge of two 7.5 minute topo sheets (Hudson North and Hudson South).   

The ravine that had to be filled and bridged at about 4th and Warren was said to be 30 feet deep.   I had always envisioned it as being transverse to Warren, perhaps an offshoot of the deep area behind the library and elementary school which is quite deep (around 80 feet).   With modern earthmoving equipment you could smooth off that area.   But you aren't going to do that with oxen or horses pulling a wooden blade.  A caterpillar can push dirt over a precipice.  Not so easy when pulling.

But you probably could fill in a somewhat shallower and narrower area, shaving dirt off the upper edge and pushing it into a chasm, converting a ravine into a swale.  30 feet deep might have been an exaggeration as well as describing it as a ravine.  BTW, in Google Earth when you fly over the surface with your cursor, the elevation is displayed.

If you look closely at Prospect Hill, you can see Prospect Avenue and Columbia Street (formerly Columbia Turnpike) where they meet at the top of Academy Hill.  In making a road surface more of an even grade over centuries it tends to change the overall contour a bit.

[jimrtex]

I assume it's a current topo map.  I have read that Warren dropped down into a gully around 4th street, and at some point, it was filled in. Columbia is indeed in the gully. One one can see why Robinson is but one block. Dan and I were interested that it was called Sepe Walk on that 1830 map of yours. Googling that came up empty as to why it was called that. We think Sepe is an Indian name, referring to a tribe and to river, so it meant river walk, but we are not sure, because it is also a surname that pops up for some in the Hudson Valley. Great map! Thanks.

Rope Walk

The map is in this article Hudson River Valley Review, Piwonka, Ruth. “Hudson.” Vol. II, No. 1 (March, 1985), pp. 7.

Besides the map, the article is a quite nice introduction to Hudson history. I believe that Ruth Piwonka is still living in Hudson. If you search for "rope" in the review article, you will find out some more information, though Piwonka did not appreciate what Railroad Rope was.

Pennsylvania wanted to compete with the Erie Canal. While Pennsylvania had direct access to the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Ohio rivers, it also had mountains. So it created the Main Line of Public Works which was a combination of canals and railroads running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. There was a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia on the Susquehanna, south of Harrisburg. The Main Line eventually gave its name to the Montgomery County suburbs along its tracks. From Columbia to Holidaysburg, a canal went westward up the Juniata River. From there the Allegheny Portage Railroad,  Conquering the Alleghenies, went over the Allegheny Ridge to Johnstown, where another set of canals went to Pittsburgh. When the system was completed in 1834 it reduced travel time between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from 23 days to 5 days.

The Portage Railroad consisted of a series of levels and inclined planes over 36 miles. On the levels, animals, and later locomotives would pull the cars. On the inclines, which were up to 10% grades, stationary steam engines would pull the cars up (or help retard them when going downhill). The railroad ropes were 3-inch diameter ropes of up to 6000 feet in length used for pulling the cars up the incline. Because of the changes in the method of locomotion, trains had to be hitched and unhitched 23 times across 36 miles.

The railroad ropes would occasionally fray and break, which could cause injury or death when they snapped, and runaway trains, and headlines of "Hemp Kills". John Roebling who had immigrated to the area, had devised a way to twist iron wire into a rope. His wire ropes replaced the hemp ropes manufactured at the Rope Walk in Hudson. Roebling would later give his attention to another application of his wire rope, suspension bridges. He was injured while doing preparatory work for the Brooklyn Bridge, and died of an ensuing infection. The bridge was completed by his son Washington Roebling. Brooklyn Bridge on eBay

Another innovation on the Allegheny Portage Railroad was the use of sectional canal boats. These boats consisted of up to four sections which would be bolted together for use on the canals, and then disassembled and mounted on rail trucks for passage over railroad sections. Previously, cargo had to unloaded and reloaded at Columbia, Holidaysburg, and Johnstown, which resulted in delays and sometimes separation of shipments. While it is sometimes supposed that the Allegheny Portage Railroad was devised for the purpose of transporting canal boats over the mountains, that was a later innovation. In practice, sectional boats were loaded in Philadelphia and unloaded in Pittsburgh, after traversing the two railroad sections and two canal sections.

A keen British observer, Charles Dickens, described another innovation on the canal boats. By 1854, improvements in locomotion and track building permitted completion of a direct rail route between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, and the canal system and portage railroad were abandoned. in 1889, a dam which had built to supply water for locks on the canal near Johnstown gave way, resulting in the Johnstown Flood.

A rope walk is essentially a rope manufacturing factory, and any credible seaport would have a rope walk for making of ropes (lines) for use on ships. Hudson's rope walk was built within a year of the arrival of the original proprietors. The initial wharves were on the foot of State Street adjacent to North Bay, and the rope walk was north of State Street.

Rope is made by twisting plant fibers into yarn, twisting the yarn into strands, and the strands into rope. The twisting places friction on the plant fibers, holding them together, to permit long structures with strength and flexibility. To prevent kinking and ensuring smooth laying, ropemakers maintain tension on the yarns, strands, ropes by walking bakwards away from the spinner in a straight line, along a rope walk.

The original map was published in 'Letters about the Hudson River, and its vicinity : written in 1835-1837 / Freeman Hunt' who wrote:

"Rail Road Ropes are manufactured in this place, by Messrs. Folger and Colman. It is the only establishment of the kind in the country. More than 15.0 tons are turned out annually. These ropes are often one and a half miles in length; more than 200 men would be able to carry. Ten miles of these ropes are used on the Portage Rail Road, in Pennsylvania, per annum"

The maps were in gatefolds, but in all the digitized versions I found, it seemed that no one bothered to unfold the map. The portion of the map that is visible appears to be quite clear. I think there is an original version at the Catskill Public Library. The Hudson Area Library does not have its catalog online.

There are recent reprints.  One by Hardpress Publishing (ISBN 10: 1290490600 ISBN 13: 9781290490603) may exist at the Columbia-Greene Community College.

[jimrtex]

Below is my little mappie of what I was referring to, along with depicting some of the sights of the area. Oh, below the "t' in "bought" are the ruins of the old Evans Brewery, which was sold by the Evans brothers when prohibition hit to Legs Diamond, who kept on brewing of course, piping the beer up to Columbia Street then Diamond Street whore houses and so forth. The Evans grandson now owns the Pump Station restaurant and micro brewery up in Albany, and he sat down when we were there and chatted with us for about 30 minutes. His grandfather and grand uncle owned grand houses on Warren Street between 4th and 5th street, which are still there. There were the richest guys in Hudson back then.

Harney now rents one of my apartments on Robinson Street which he uses as a pied a terre when he is in town.

Go to this website:

Historic Aerials

Enter "Hudson NY" in the search, and pan to your secret path.  Start stepping back in time.  When you get to the earliest photos, tell me what you think.

If you change Compare (Off) to Slide, you will get a second set of dates on the right, and you can drag the image back and forth across the edge between the two images (there is a slider at the bottom that can be used to position the edge).

You can also see old topo sheets that go way back.

Do you know about Lake Albany?

[Torie]

The secret road appears to have been a road at the boundary of two farm fields. I didn't know about Lake Albany, and had to look it up on Wiki. It appears to be why there are clay mounds around that were used for brick making. Not sure how the lake ties into the secret road.

[jimrtex]

The secret road appears to have been a road at the boundary of two farm fields. I didn't know about Lake Albany, and had to look it up on Wiki. It appears to be why there are clay mounds around that were used for brick making. Not sure how the lake ties into the secret road.

Did you go back to the earliest photo images from the 1950s? It appears to me that the clay had been strip mined. I had found an environmental study about future use of the dump site which said that it had been given to the city for use of the city around 1960, and that the dump closed around 1990, when it had been capped. It also noted that there had been a barrier placed on the downhill western side.

Compare the 1921 and 1929 topo maps in the area.

But the clay mining was much more extensive than the dump area. At some time after 1956, it was reclaimed. I think the roads either have something to do with clay mining, or use as a dump site. On the 1994 photos, they are clearly roads, having only become secret paths with growth of trees (some of the difference may also be seasonal).

Clay forms as a result of low energy deposition, such as in glacial lakes. In the Hudson Valley, the clay deposits have been exposed by erosion from the river. New York City needed a lot of bricks, thus the development of brickmaking in the Hudson Valley, including the brickwork built next to the mainline railroad to NYC. The road from Hudson in the old topo sheets is quite rudimentary.

So you have a brickworks with direct rail access, adjacent to a clay bank with minimal road access.

I had noted an interesting item in the 1900 Census for Greenport. There was one residence that had one head and 90 boarders. The head was a foreman at a brickyard. Most of the other 90 were brickmakers. All were black, single with a few widowers, generally in their 20s, and 84 of 91 were born in Virginia. The 7 exceptions were from Georgia, North Carolina, or Virginia.

You may be interested in this:

Natural Resource Inventory and Ecological Assessment Of North Bay Recreation Area, Hudson, Columbia County, New York

In particular see the map on page 123.

[Torie]

Yes, I see now. Yes, I knew clay was mined in that area (I was not sure exactly where) for brick making, and the guy who owned one of the brick making factories, built a fine brick house that is on the east side of 3rd street one door down from the end of the street on its north end past Robinson. Do you have any idea where the 90 brick workers were housed exactly?

[jimrtex]

Yes, I see now. Yes, I knew clay was mined in that area (I was not sure exactly where) for brick making, and the guy who owned one of the brick making factories, built a fine brick house that is on the east side of 3rd street one door down from the end of the street on its north end past Robinson. Do you have any idea where the 90 brick workers were housed exactly?

The 1873 map for the 1st Ward shows two brickyards north of Mill Street.  That area which is now (or will be) Charles Williams Park was described as being hollowed out by clay mining.  The (former) school on 3rd Street was Charles S Williams Memorial School, and the area below the hill may have been the playground (since there is no space around the school).  Charles S Williams was the superintendent of schools from 1904-1921 (when he died).  The only mentions of the school that I could find were a story in 1942 about how the staff had held bridal showers for a teacher and another staff member.  Rick Scalera mentioned that when he was in kindegarten in the 1970s they would use a field below the school at recess or after school.  I think the playfield may have been south of Mill Street.  All the other articles were about other uses, and finally the sale of the school building.

The report on North Bay that I referenced noted a peninsular forest, which I thought might have referred to the rail spur.   But if you go about 2/3 of the way from Mill Street to the dump site, and head west you will see some trees pointing directly out into North Bay. The report suggests that this was a dock or wharf for a brickyard, which would likely be that of George C Byrne.   Was the brick house owned by Byrne or Bogardus?

Greenport apparently didn't have street addresses in 1900.  I don't think it has ever even had its own post office, and in 1900, even the far edges of Hudson did not have street addresses.

[Torie]

Yes, I see now. Yes, I knew clay was mined in that area (I was not sure exactly where) for brick making, and the guy who owned one of the brick making factories, built a fine brick house that is on the east side of 3rd street one door down from the end of the street on its north end past Robinson. Do you have any idea where the 90 brick workers were housed exactly?

The 1873 map for the 1st Ward shows two brickyards north of Mill Street.  That area which is now (or will be) Charles Williams Park was described as being hollowed out by clay mining.  The (former) school on 3rd Street was Charles S Williams Memorial School, and the area below the hill may have been the playground (since there is no space around the school).  Charles S Williams was the superintendent of schools from 1904-1921 (when he died).  The only mentions of the school that I could find were a story in 1942 about how the staff had held bridal showers for a teacher and another staff member.  Rick Scalera mentioned that when he was in kindegarten in the 1970s they would use a field below the school at recess or after school.  I think the playfield may have been south of Mill Street.  All the other articles were about other uses, and finally the sale of the school building.

The report on North Bay that I referenced noted a peninsular forest, which I thought might have referred to the rail spur.   But if you go about 2/3 of the way from Mill Street to the dump site, and head west you will see some trees pointing directly out into North Bay. The report suggests that this was a dock or wharf for a brickyard, which would likely be that of George C Byrne.   Was the brick house owned by Byrne or Bogardus?

Greenport apparently didn't have street addresses in 1900.  I don't think it has ever even had its own post office, and in 1900, even the far edges of Hudson did not have street addresses.

I don't know the name, other than that the guy was Polish. I met the two woman who now own the house at a party, who told me the story.

[jimrtex]

I don't know the name, other than that the guy was Polish. I met the two woman who now own the house at a party, who told me the story.

Arkison.  Though Irish rather than Polish..

[jimrtex]

The 1910 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1956
Ward 2: 2825
Ward 3: 2856
Ward 4: 1566
Ward 5: 2214

The city population jumped by 1889, its largest jump ever, as industrialization came to Hudson. There was a large increase in the number of boarders, particularly in the 1st and 2nd wards, which both reached their all-time maximums in 1910. Boarders tended to have some affinity, either by employment or ethnicity. All the boarders in one house might be Ruthenian, and in another Slovenian, etc.; or a family might have an iron worker, and a couple of boarders who were also iron workers. The 3rd and 5th wards also had large population increases mainly due to development to the east.

Diamond Street went through a confusing renaming during this period. The western end was now known as Fulton Street. The renaming may have occurred during the 1909 Hudson-Fulton celebration. Ward 2 was enumerated in two enumeration districts, with the dividing line at 2nd Street. The enumerator to the west of Second Street, used "Fulton" consistently, including West Fulton (west of Front Street). The enumerator east of 2nd Street used both "Fulton" and "Diamond", sometimes switching when he would start a new sheet. Because the ward boundary was 3rd Street, this switching back and forth happened in a one-block stretch between 2nd and 3rd. In Ward 4, between 3rd and 5th Streets, "Diamond" was used exclusively. In Ward 5, from 5th Street to Park Place, the street was now "Gifford Place". Past Park Place, where the street bends further north, it remained Columbia Street including the portion along the former Union Turnpike.

Ward 3 included what was now the New York State Training School For Girls, and the inmates were now mostly teenagers. In 1900, they were generally in their early 20s. The census counted 58 staff, 348 inmates, and 10 infants. Union Street east of the railroad tracks, was called Unon Extension. Some areas at the eastern end, including Prospect Avenue, Rossman Avenue, Reservoir Hill, and Mt. Ross did not have street numbers.

Ward 4 included the Fireman's Home (9 staff + 73 [residents]) and the orphange (5 staff + 43 children). Ward 5 included 4 residences on Harry Howard, including two farms, showing that the census enumerators knew where the ward boundary was. The area north of State Streer (Prospect, Washington, and Clinton streets) was still being developed.

In the eastern part of the 5th Ward, the north (even) side of Columbia Street was included for the 700, 800, and 900 blocks, as well as the south (odd) side of the 900 block. In addition, two houses on Paul Avenue were also counted in the 5th Ward. Thus, the enumerators understood that Columbia Turnpike was the ward boundary.

In 1915, a residential area along the eastern edge of the city was annexed and added to Ward 5. It includes the area west of Union Turnpike, north to Graham, and west to Fairview, including Aitken Street; and west of Fairview to just past Parkwood, including the eastern ends of Spring Street, Glenwood, Oakwood, and Parkwood. If you extend the eastern boundary of Hudson from its northeastern corner to the intersection of Columbia Street and Paul Avenue, you see the area to the east that was annexed. This annexation avoided the chopping of residential streets.

The city limits in the city charter reflect the original boundaries (from the creation of Greenport in 1837), as well as the annexations of 1897 (Cedar Park Cemetery), and the 1915 annexation, using three different surveying systems.

The portion in red describes the southern boundary of the city, beginning in the Hudson River, southeast, and then east by south to an old country road (now Ten Broeck Lane). Bearings are absolute based on 1820 magnetic declination (about 6 degrees west of north), distances are in chains and links (a chain is 66 feet, a link 1/100 of a chain or 7.92 inches).

The boundaries of the City shall be as follows: beginning at a point, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., bearing north thirty-three degrees and twenty-five minutes west (N 33° 25' W) from a buoy standing at the southerly point of the flats in the Hudson River, which buoy bears south seventy-seven degrees and five minutes west (S 77° 5' W) 40 chains and 80 links from the southwesterly corner of Mr. Goodwin's dock in the City of Hudson, and north twenty-eight degrees and ten minutes west (N 28° 10' W) 29 chains from Black Rock, on the most northerly point of Mount Merino; thence from said buoy south thirty-three degrees and twenty-five minutes east (S 33° 25' E) 58 chains to a willow tree standing in the fence; thence south seventy degrees and ten minutes east (S 70° 10' E) 96 chains to the center of the old road passing through the farm formerly owned by Charles Evarts; thence along the center of said old road north sixty-three degrees and twenty minutes east (N 63° 20' E) six chains and 60 links; thence north forty-four degrees and twenty minutes east (N 44° 20' E) 10 chains and 45 links; thence north fifty-five degrees and fifty minutes east (N 55° 50' E) six chains; thence north thirty-three degrees and fifty minutes east (N 33° 50' E) one chain;

The portion in green is from the 1897 annexation of the Cedar Park Cemetery. Bearings are absolute based on the 1895 magnetic declination (about 10 degrees west of north), with distances measured in feet. The boundary traverses an area around the cemetery, returning to the original boundary at Columbia Turnpike and Paul Avenue.

thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1895 at right angles from center of said old road south twenty-nine degrees twenty-five minutes east (S 29° 25' E) 16 1/2 feet; thence south twenty-three degrees twenty minutes west (S 23° 20' W) 264 feet to lands of Everts Ten Broeck; thence south sixty-five degrees twenty-one minutes east (S 65° 21' E) 641 feet; thence south thirty-three degrees twenty-five minutes west (S 33° 25' W) 1,172 1/2 feet to a stone monument; thence south seventy-one degrees twenty-nine minutes east (S 71° 29' E) 457 feet to a stone monument; thence north eighty-five degrees thirty-six minutes east (N 85° 36' E) 553 feet to a stone monument near an elm tree, on the north side of Berridge's quarry road; thence along the northerly side of Berridge's quarry road, north nineteen degrees twenty-five minutes east (N 19° 25' E) 1,627 feet to the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike; thence northerly along the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike, north forty-nine degrees two minutes west (N 49° 2' W) 433 feet; thence continuing along the westerly side of the Columbia Turnpike north forty-nine degrees twenty minutes west (N 49° 20' W) 817 feet to the center of Paul Avenue;

The portion in blue is from the 1915 annexation. Bearings are measured relative to the previous course, and distances in feet. This literally says to go up Union Turnpike to the property of a cement company and make a sharp left turn (98 degrees) from the direction you were headed on Union Turnpike. This turn is at Graham Avenue. At Farmer's Turnpike (now Fairview Avenue), a right turn is made. The Fairgrounds used to be in the area of Glenwood, Oakwood, and Parkwood boulevards. When these three boulevards were developed, they must have take the name of the old fairgrounds. The boundary takes a left turn from Fairview returning to the 1837 boundary.

thence northerly along the center of Paul Avenue to the northerly side of the Union Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Union Turnpike to the lands of the Knickerbocker Portland Cement Company; thence in a northerly course having a left-hand deflection of ninety-seven degrees forty-five minutes (97° 45'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 362 1/10 feet to an iron pin; thence easterly on a course having a right-hand deflection of seventy-three degrees twenty-nine minutes (73° 29'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, nine feet to an iron pin; thence northerly along the southerly line of the lands of the Mechanical Handlor Company and the Albany Southern Railroad Company, said course having a left-hand deflection of ninety degrees sixteen minutes (90° 16') measured from the direction of the preceding course, 602 feet to the northerly side of the Farmer's Turnpike; thence easterly along the northerly side of the Farmer's Turnpike on a course having a right-hand deflection-of ninety-three degrees ten minutes (93° 10'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 808 5/10 feet; thence continuing along the northerly side of said turnpike on a left-hand deflection of eleven degrees twenty-two minutes (11° 22'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 274 7/10 feet; thence continuing along the northerly side of said turnpike on a left-hand deflection of five degrees sixteen minutes (5° 16'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 306 2/10 feet to a point in the division fence between the lands of Arthur Farrand and the tract known as the "Fairground Boulevards"; thence northwesterly along said division line on a left-hand deflection of ninety-six degrees fourteen minutes (96° 14'), measured from the direction of the preceding course, 700 feet;

The portion in red defines the remainder of the 1837 boundaries, including the eastern boundary to the northeast corner, which is just west of the old road from Hudson to the print works (now Harry Howard). The print works printed cloth for clothing and upholstery, and were located in Stockport. The white oak tree was in the middle of a softball field at the high school, and Jonas White must have sold the farm a little bit before 1837. The boundary then goes west to the Hudson River to return to its starting location.

thence, as the magnetic needle stood in the year 1820 A.D., north eleven degrees and fifty minutes east (N 11° 50' E) 44 chains to a white oak tree standing one chain and 55 links from the northeasterly corner of the farm lately owned by Jonas White, and nine links westerly from the fence along the westerly side of the old road leading from Hudson to the print works; thence from this white oak tree north seventy-four degrees twenty-five minutes west (N 74° 25' W) to the middle of the Hudson River or to the Greene County line; thence southerly along the middle of the Hudson River to the point of intersection of said middle line with the prolongation of the first course mentioned in the description, thence to the place of beginning.

[jimrtex]

The 1920 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1783
Ward 2: 2760
Ward 3: 2714
Ward 4: 1764
Ward 5: 2724

The city added 328 persons during the decade.  The population declined in Wards 1, 2, and 3, as the density generally declined.  The population increased in Wards 4 and 5, as new areas were being developed. The growth was especially notable on the far east end of the city, as Ward 5 added 514 persons.

The street now known as Columbia Street, was known as Fulton Street to the west of 3rd Street, Diamond Street from 3rd Street to 5th Street, Gifford Place from 5th Street to Park Place, and Columbia Street from Park Place to Paul Avenue, where it turns into Union Turnpike.

The population of the New York State Training School For Girls had increased to 514, including 418 inmates, 6 infants, and 90 staff members and families of staff members. 33 persons, mostly nurses were living at the hospital.

In addition to the Firemen's Home, 48 persons were living on Harry Howard, most with house numbers indicating they were just north of Underhill Pond were counted in Ward 4, while Ward 5 included another 16 persons living on Harry Howard. Since they did not have house numbers, they were presumably further out Harry Howard, and east of 5th Street (extended). Two houses in the 400 block of Clinton were counted in Ward 4, while houses in the 500 block were counted in Ward 5.

300 or so persons were living in the newly annexed areas on the east edge of the city, including Fairview, Aitken, Spring, Glenwood, Oakwood, and Parkwood. It is not clear whether annexation facilitated development, or previous development triggered annexation.

An oddity of the 1920 census was that a handful of person were added at the census office, based on supplemental reports from the field. While the additions were not so unusual, they were almost all placed in the wrong wards. For example, residents of 518 Gifford Place, in the Ward 5 were added on to the end of a Ward 1 enumeration sheet. There were 3 other ward switches.

In 1921, the New York legislature codified the city charter for the last time. Until that time, the charter was a creation of the legislature, and was changed by ordinary legislation. Every few decades, the whole charter was recodified into a single act, which would form the basis for further changes. Beginning in 1921, changes were made by local laws, and under home rule, the charter can be seen more as a creation of the people of Hudson.

The ward boundaries as expressed in the 1921 legislation are still those in the city charter. The boundaries have not changed since 1886, when Ward 4 was divided into Ward 4 and Ward 5, but there have been small changes in how they are expressed. The current definition expresses that the boundary between Ward 1 and Ward 2 extends in line with Warren Street to the city limits (in the middle of the river), whereas originally it was considered sufficient to simply state that Warren Street was the boundary line.

Similarly, the boundary line between Ward 1 and Ward 3 was at one time on 3rd Street, and now is expressed to include 3rd Street extended to the southern city limits. When Hudson was first divided into two wards in 1815, the city still included Greenport and a portion of Stockport. Within the compact portion of the city, 3rd Street was the ward boundary, but then the boundary followed county roads to the north and southern limits of the then much larger cities. When Stockport and Greenport were created, the ward boundaries were apparently truncated, but the northern portion of the boundary would have led up the dugway and out what is now Harry Howard.

In 1854, when the city was divided into four wards (Wards 1, 2, and 3 are unchanged since then), the boundary between Ward 2 and Ward 4 was set as 3rd Street and 3rd Street extended, while the boundary between Ward 1 and Ward 3 was simply 3rd Street, even though the road skirting the eastern edge of the South Bay might not have been seen as part of 3rd Street, but the country road that connected with 3rd Street (and Tanners Lane). In 1921, the ward boundary was changed to be 3rd Street and 3rd Street extended. A modern understanding would be that 3rd Street does run in a straight line to the southern city limits.

In the 1921 version the boundary between Wards 3 and 5, is Warren Street to 7th Street and then diagonally across Public Square to the intersection of Gifford Place and Columbia Street. Previously, the street north of Warren had been known as Diamond Street, but by 1921 had been divided into Fulton Street (to 3rd Street), Diamond Street (between 3rd and 5th), and Gifford Place (5th to past 7th) where it ran into Columbia Street. Originally, Columbia Street had only been the portion of street that ran from the corner of Public Square to where Columbia Turnpike and Union Turnpike joined together. It is possible that the name was used to indicate that it was the city portion of Columbia Turnpike, even though it was physically aligned with Union Turnpike. Previous versions of the ward boundary had referred to Columbia Street and Columbia Turnpike as having a common centerline. By 1921, Columbia Street included what had been Union Turnpike to Paul Avenue, and the definition of the ward boundary includes separate centerlines for both Columbia Street and Columbia Turnpike.

In 1885, Ward 4 was divided between Wards 4 and 5. The original eastern boundary of Ward 4 would give the impression that 5th Street ran to the northern city limits, while the western boundary of Ward 5 clearly indicated that the boundary was 5th Street extended. The 1921 definition clarifies that the common boundary between Wards 4 and 5 is 5th Street, and 5th Street extended.

The 1930 Census showed the following ward populations.

Ward 1: 1904
Ward 2: 2614
Ward 3: 3002
Ward 4: 1642
Ward 5: 3175

The city reached its all-time high population of 12,337, adding 588 persons. Ward 5 added 451 persons, much of it newly-developed areas, such as Glenwood, Oakwood, Parkwood Boulevards; Bayley Boulevard and Jenkins Parkway, and Aitken Street.

Columbia Street was now used for its entire modern length, superseding Fulton Street, Diamond Street, Gifford Place, Columbia Street, and Union Turnpike.

Ward 4 now included 78 persons with numbered addresses on Harry Howard north of Underhill Pond, in addition to 143 persons at the Firemen's Home (26 staff and families, and 117 residents). Ward 5 included another 11 persons living on Harry Howard, but with no street addresses.

[jimrtex]

Interesting outcome (or more likely the middlecome or muddlecome) on the issue of the ward boundaries.

More About Tuesday's Meeting: Part 3

Hallenbeck Vetoes, Moore Responds

The Big Fix

Anyhow, I was reviewing the Common Council minutes for 2002 and 2003 and came across something interesting.

In spring of 2002 (April 16 and May 21), the Legal Committee and Common Council passed a resolution with the ward populations based on the 2000 Census.  That resolution makes sense if the Columbia Triangle is included in Ward 5. That is, whoever did the actual calculation used the ward boundaries in the charter.

The resolution expressed concern that the Firemen's Home had a zero population. This was caused by a misunderstanding of census geography, and that the driveway was a loop to capture the population as a separate number. In actuality, it was simply a visible feature that the census bureau included in its line, street, and block inventory. The Great Northern block includes a large group quarters (nursing home) population for both 2000 and 2010.

At the October 15, 2002 meeting, the Common Council received a report from Dr. Papayanopoulos which it referred to the Legal Committee.  On November 19, 2002, the Common Council approved payment to Papayanopoulos of $1500.  So presumably, the Census Bureau rejected the challenge and the population numbers were sent to Papayanopoulos, who calculated the appropriate weightings.

But then there appears to be a switch in plans to using equal-population districts. The adjusted weights were set aside, and were not formally implemented until spring 2004, after the referendum on equal population districts had been defeated.

At the February 25, 2003 Common Council meeting, 4 charter changes were considered:

(1) Switch to five equal-population districts, and elimination of weighted voting.
(2) Extending term of mayor and council president to 4 years.
(3) Reducing number of supervisors from Hudson to 1.
(4) Popular election of city treasurer.

The reduction of supervisors to one was the most controversial, with the supervisor from Ward 2, who was only the 2nd black person ever elected in Columbia County, particularly opposed. In addition, there was concern that with only one supervisor, that Hudson would be less represented on committees of the Board of Supervisors. The reason for switching to a single supervisor was that sometimes Hudson's influence would be diluted because of the 5 supervisors voting on opposite sides of a motion.

It is likely that the opposition by the supervisor from Ward 2 caused the proposal to be dropped. The popular election of the treasurer was also dropped. Only the switch to equal-population wards, and the extended terms went to referendum, where both were defeated.

I find it interesting that the common council thought it could change the number of supervisors unilaterally. A town supervisor is the executive official for town; he is also the presiding officer over the town council, typically a 3-member body; and traditionally is the town's representative on the county board of supervisors.

State law authorizes a county to permit town and city elected officials to concurrently serve on county legislative bodies. It does not permit ex officio service. It appears that Columbia County violates this restriction wholesale. But perhaps not. Boards of supervisors are defined under the County statutes. But he weighting is done under Home Rule statutes.

Traditionally under state law, a county board of supervisors was comprised of the supervisor of each town, and a supervisor elected from each city ward. A supervisor from a city does not supervise anything, but represents their ward on the county board. In the 19th century, wards did have some administrative authority, and for example, each ward had its own tax collector.

But after the OMOV decisions, counties either started switching to legislatures with equal-population districts, or weighting the boards of supervisors. But the weighting appears to be done under the home rule statutes, which forbid dual mandates. Maybe the counties could claim that the weighting is to comply with OMOV, and they aren't really using the home rule statute.

Kinderhook has more population than Hudson, but the supervisors from Hudson collectively have more voting weight. I wonder if Hudson thought they could keep the voting weight. I suspect that Hudson thought it could keep the collective voting weight for a single supervisor.

[jimrtex]

Columbia County reweighted the Board of Supervisors following the 1990 census. The population they used for Wards 3 and 5 are those for the VTD that roughly correspond to the wards.

A VTD (Voting Tabulation District), is a Census Bureau construct that was created in response to PL 94-171 (94 refers to the 94th Congress (1975-77) to assist state, county, and other authorities in their gerrymanderredistricting activities.

At the time of the 1960s OMOV decisions, districts were so malapportioned, that considerable improvement could be made in congressional and legislative district boundaries using whole counties and townships. But for cities and more-equal population, finer control was needed.

When the courts redistricted the Alabama legislature after the 1970 census, they used enumeration districts, and told Alabama to change voting precincts to match.

Delineation of VTDs was a voluntary program in which states would define VTDs according to census bureau standards, and the census bureau would then tabulate data for the VTDs. A particular requirement of the census bureau was that VTD boundaries correspond to visible features. Some states have responded to this requirement by requiring election precincts to be bounded by visible features. Others states have not defined VTDs at all.

The program for defining VTDs is initiated between the census bureau and a state governor. The state effort is likely a combined effort between state planning agencies, county planning agencies, the state board of elections, and the county boards of election. VTDs in Hudson are only useful for dividing the city between congressional or legislative districts, or miscalculating voting weights, so there is likely indifference to their precise definition.

New York did not define VTDs in 1980. In 1990, someone at the state level might have asked someone in Columbia County to send paper maps of the election precincts. Someone at the census bureau might have recognized that all precinct boundaries split census blocks. Some got merged into VTDs (1-1, 2-1, and 4-1; 3-1 and 3-2; and 5-1 and 5-2).  To avoid joining wards 4 and 5, the VTD makes the jog to the west from 5th Street to Short Street at Prospect, and on out Harry Howard.

Someone may simply goofed up with Columbia Turnpike.

The VTD boundaries have not been updated since. For the 2010 census, the Census Bureau did permit use of non-visible lines, but no one in Hudson or Columbia County took notice.

[Torie]

The mayor as you know vetoed the council resolution to file an article 78 lawsuit getting the voting rolls corrected on the theory that the statute moving the lines must have been lost, and well, it's tradition basically (his statement was basically incoherent). He also blamed the council president for getting the population numbers wrong with respect to crosswinds, ignoring the data that he was given by the mayor (to reflect that Crosswinds was really in the 4th ward based on the lost statute theory or something). The veto will not be overturned, because the minority alderpersons (presumably because Crosswinds being in the 4th ward suits them politically), and one of the 5th ward alderman (who takes his orders from the Scalera faction, which supports this "arrangement"), voted against the lawsuit. It's war. I'm getting emails.

I am really beginning to think deliberate mischief is involved.

[jimrtex]

The mayor as you know vetoed the council resolution to file an article 78 lawsuit getting the voting rolls corrected on the theory that the statute moving the lines must have been lost, and well, it's tradition basically (his statement was basically incoherent). He also blamed the council president for getting the population numbers wrong with respect to crosswinds, ignoring the data that he was given by the mayor (to reflect that Crosswinds was really in the 4th ward based on the lost statute theory or something). The veto will not be overturned, because the minority alderpersons (presumably because Crosswinds being in the 4th ward suits them politically), and one of the 5th ward alderman (who takes his orders from the Scalera faction, which supports this "arrangement"), voted against the lawsuit. It's war. I'm getting emails.

I am really beginning to think deliberate mischief is involved.

I think the mayor may be personalizing it since he was elected as supervisor from Ward 3, when he actually lived in Ward 5.  He was only elected by a 7-vote margin (138:131), so not only didn't he live in Ward 3, he may have been elected by voters who didn't live in Ward 3.

That should be water under the bridge, but it might not be for him or his political opponents. He was elected supervisor in 2009, so it was only 6 years ago.

His solution of having a referendum on the de facto ward boundaries would likely block any other changes this decade (the home rule law has a once per decade change clause). The only exception is for corrected weightings.

It is interesting that the mayor's veto message mentions 1991. That would have been the first census after the VTDs were defined in New York. The process is handled at a state level - but to work would have to have cooperation and coordination with local officials. Someone would have recognized that all the election precincts split census blocks. They could merge 3-1 and 3-2 and have a proper VTD. Someone might have simply messed up on Columbia Street.

I can't figure out where the boundary between 5-1 and 5-2 is.  I think it may go from the north end of 7th street, and loop around to put all houses on Glenwood in 5-2. But it is not clear from the BOE map. But someone figured out if they put the notch to the west, they could get all of Ward 5 into a VTD. I think someone got confused by the Clinton-Harry Howard-Washington-5th "block" not being a census block, and included Washington-Short-Prospect-5th in the VTD 5 notch.

Following the 1990 Census, Columbia County reweighted. They used the population from the VTDs for Ward 3 and Ward 5. I'm still working on Wards 1, 2, and 4, but their collective population matches the population from VTD 1-2-4.  Block populations were available in 1990, so they may have just divided the two blocks (Front Street and Great Northern) divided by ward boundaries.

But the people in the Harry Howard notch knew they belonged in Ward 4. After all there is a supervisor from the northern part of the county whose father was an alderman for Ward 4 who remembers block walking in the area. So they continued to vote in Ward 4.

The BOE for some reason decided to post the VTD map, even though it is wrong, and they know it was wrong.

At one time, the area on Harry Howard was quite isolated and out in the country. There was the Firemen's Home which would be self contained, and a few farms. When the census enumerators were covering the area, there was usually some indication that they made a special trip out to the country.  The Glenwood-Oakwood-Parkwood Boulevards were developed in the decades after the area was annexed in 1915. And the houses on the south side of Harry Howard, just north of Underhill Pond were developed in the same time period.

But this still left an undeveloped area east of Harry Howard. In the 1940 Census, a 4th Ward enumerator enumerated a couple of houses, and noted that they were in the 5th Ward. The Census Bureau counted them in the 4th Ward (no one was likely to read the note except somebody in Texas 75 years later).

If you look at the 1940 census map, Paddock Place was shown, but it might have been a dirt road. People who lived on Glenwood would have used 6th or Fairview to get to downtown.

So it is possible that a couple of houses built on Harry Howard were permitted to vote in Ward 4. All the other houses on Harry Howard did, and anyone from the Firemen's Home would have done so also.

Over time this was seen as a "rule", and the new Crosswinds apartments were included. Do they have Harry Howard addresses?

Hudson has had wards since 1815. Since the 1840 census, it has been enumerated by wards, and since 1880 when street addresses were recorded it has with a few exceptions matched the legal boundaries. The census was reported by wards for cities. The 1940 census schedules, not only show the population for each enumeration district, they show whether those enumeration districts would be suitable for the 1950 census. Clearly the census bureau depended on people with local knowledge. The 1940 census map is based on an official city map from the public works department.

But it is possible that they got careless, or the census stopped reporting ward populations. Maybe enumeration districts stopped matching ward boundaries. So it is possible that the Columbia triangle slipped out of Ward 5 earlier than 1991. It would be a nuisance for only the 900 block on the south side of Columbia Street to be enumerated with the area to the north.

About the hidden city resolution.  On May 21, 2002, the Common Council passed a resolution stating the ward populations. The numbers match the boundaries in the city charter. That is, the Common Council confirmed that the boundary between Ward 3 and Ward 5 is on Columbia Turnpike.

On October 15, the Common Council received a report from Dr. Papayanopoulos, and on November 19, 2002 his payment of $1500 was recorded.

His report was apparently set aside as the city considered switching to equal-population districts in 2003.  After that was voted down in November, the new weighted votes were implemented in 2004.  Those weights would have been in use in 2009.

[Torie]

"I find it interesting that the common council thought it could change the number of supervisors unilaterally. A town supervisor is the executive official for town; he is also the presiding officer over the town council, typically a 3-member body; and traditionally is the town's representative on the county board of supervisors.

State law authorizes a county to permit town and city elected officials to concurrently serve on county legislative bodies. It does not permit ex officio service. It appears that Columbia County violates this restriction wholesale. But perhaps not. Boards of supervisors are defined under the County statutes."

I don't understand the above.

As to your comment about the referendum blocking any other change, do you mean changing the supervisor districts? Those have to be changed anyway, because they violate the Home Rule Law, as you know. Their populations can only vary by 5%.

I tend to doubt Hallenbeck was focusing on the Columbia triangle issue. He certainly shares no blame for that situation.

[jimrtex]

As to your comment about the referendum blocking any other change, do you mean changing the supervisor districts? Those have to be changed anyway, because they violate the Home Rule Law, as you know. Their populations can only vary by 5%.

I tend to doubt Hallenbeck was focusing on the Columbia triangle issue. He certainly shares no blame for that situation.

Hallenbeck in his veto message suggested that a referendum be held to make the de facto wards the de jure wards.  If that change were made, it would block any other changes for the remainder of the decade.

de facto here means that the Firemen's Home, along with any residences with Harry Howard addresses would vote in Ward 4; and that the Columbia Triangle would vote in Ward 3.

That change would still require correction of the voting weights.

And there would still be the issue of which boundaries would be used for this year's election.  If the referendum were worded as changing from the de jure to the de facto, then this year's election would have to be run on the de jure boundaries.

If the referendum were worded as changing from the de facto to the de jure, then this year's election would have to be run on the de facto boundaries.  But if the referendum failed, would the charter be modified?

Aren't we running into filing deadlines?

"I find it interesting that the common council thought it could change the number of supervisors unilaterally. A town supervisor is the executive official for town; he is also the presiding officer over the town council, typically a 3-member body; and traditionally is the town's representative on the county board of supervisors.

State law authorizes a county to permit town and city elected officials to concurrently serve on county legislative bodies. It does not permit ex officio service. It appears that Columbia County violates this restriction wholesale. But perhaps not. Boards of supervisors are defined under the County statutes."

I don't understand the above.

Within the New York Code, there are sections of County law, Town law, and Village law.  I couldn't find any specific "City law".  Until the 1920s, the New York legislature would modify the Hudson City Charter, and from time to time would place into a whole unified code.  Presumably, each other city had its own charter within state statute.  The definition of the Hudson ward boundaries in the city charter were written by the state legislature in 1921. That is why they refer to Gifford Place.

From 1920 to the 1940s, cities could change their charter by local law, and these would be included in the session laws. I don't know whether the legislature could disapprove of changes. Since then, changes are made by local law, but they simply get filed with the secretary of state. If the ward boundaries had been changed formally, then there will be a copy filed with the secretary of state. In effect, Hudson now has control of its own charter.

The Municipal Home Rule (MHR) law gives counties, cities, towns, and villages authority to structure their own government (the grant of this power is within the New York Constitution, the MHR law is the implementing statute).

So a county is under both County Law and the Municipal Home Rule law.  And a town is under both Town Law and the Municipal Home Rule law.

Town law provides that a town supervisor is the executive for the town government, and also the presiding officer of the town council.

County law provides that a board of supervisors is constituted of the town supervisors plus the supervisor from each city ward.  County law also says that a county may create a different legislative body that would have all the powers of a board of supervisors.

If an alternative legislative body were created for a county, it would be done using the MHR law. This would appear to make it subject to the restrictions of the MHR law that are specific to counties:

(1) Prohibition on dual mandates.  A county may permit town and city officials to be elected to county legislative bodies.
(2) Relatively equal population for areas within cities or towns from which members of county legislative bodies are elected.

So the question is: If a county board of supervisors is constituted according to County law, but has weighted voting based on MHR law do the restrictions of the MHR law apply?

The city or county attorney could give you a more learned opinion.

Most of the counties that still have a board of supervisors (16?), generally do not have a supervisor from each ward in any cities.  For example, Chenango County has two supervisors from the city of Norwich.  Each represents a trio of Norwich's 6 wards.

About half of the remaining boards of supervisors use simple weighting, where each supervisor's voting weight is proportional to population.  The others use Banzhaff-adjusted weighting where the voting weight is adjusted such that the voting power as measured by the Banzhaff Power Index is proportional to population.

Saratoga County appears to have done an analysis to ensure that with a simple weighting, the Banzhaff voting power is "close enough".  They do this by apportioning two supervisors to the largest towns or cities.  In 2010, the town of Halfmoon became large enough to require a second supervisor, but rather than increase the overall size of the board of supervisors, they changed the threshold for having two supervisors.  If Kinderhook and Hudson had two supervisors each, Columbia County could probably use simple weighting.

[jimrtex]

These are the block populations from the 1990 Census.



A few items of interest:

(1) The population of the Firemen's Home was included in the driveway loop off Harry Howard, which had a population of 106. It makes sense that after the 2000 census they thought the Firemen's Home had been assigned a 0 population. Instead, it had been located in the Great Northern block and shows up in the group quarters population for that block.
(2) The Clinton-Harry Howard-Washington-5th block is closed off. The blocks between Prospect and Clinton could both have been included in the VTD for 1-2-4. Perhaps there was some confused negotiation with the Census Bureau about the VTD boundary. If the Census Bureau belatedly approved the Washington-Clinton block, it might have caused confusion in drawing the VTD boundary.
(3) The goat path from 6th and Glenwood to the middle school was present in 1990. It disappeared in 2000, but was reinstated in 2010. It provides a useful block division between the houses of Glenwood and those on Harry Howard.
(4) The Front Street Block include two small blocks divided by Columbia Street and Chapel Street.  Chapel Street was between Columbia Street and State Street. It only became Long Alley east of 2nd Street.

For the 1990 Census, the Census Bureau reported the following populations:

VTD 1-2-4  3438
VTD 3         2108
VTD 5         2488

The VTD definitions have not changed between 1990 and 2010. New York state did not define VTD's for the 1980 Census.

Columbia County reweighted after the 1990 Census. They used the following ward populations:

Ward 1  916
Ward 2 1476
Ward 3 2108
Ward 4 1046
Ward 5 2488

That is, they made the same mistake in 1990 that they did in 2010, and used the VTDs as Wards. Perhaps someone at the BOE decided that the Census Bureau or New York state had switched the Columbia Triangle to Ward 3.

The population of blocks entirely in the other three wards:

Ward 1  825
Ward 2 1405
Ward 4  831

From this, we can infer that the Front Street block was divided 91:58. This indicates a mistake like in 2010 where most of the block was assigned to Ward 1. But if we include the two small blocks between Columbia and State, the division is 91:197 which is reasonable. The apartments were present in 1993 aerial photos, but looked pretty new. Based on the Front Street split, the split of the Great Northern would have been 13:215 between Wards 2 and 4. This is also reasonable given the small portion that is in Ward 2 (mostly the 200 block of Mill Street).

If we use the actual ward boundaries, we transfer 57 persons in the Columbia triangle from Ward 3 to Ward 5, and 90 persons in the Harry Howard notch from Ward 5 to Ward 4 (90 persons equals 29+22 for the two blocks west of 5th between Prospect and Clinton, and half of the 78 persons in the block surrounding Underhill Pond. Persons on Harry Howard and in the 400 block of Clinton are in Ward 4, while the 500 block of Clinton plus a house on 6th Street are in Ward 5).

Ward 1  916
Ward 2 1476
Ward 3 2051
Ward 4 1136
Ward 5 2455

Ward 3 included 568 persons at the Hudson Correctional Facility.

[Torie]

1. I suspect the filing deadlines are fast approaching.

2. Hallenbeck's proposal has zero chance of getting put on the ballot (unless perhaps Delaney supports it, which is unlikely).  If it does somehow get passed, the historical provenance defense to the weighted voting system in Hudson will be substantially degraded beyond the degradation already in play due to ignoring in practice the historical boundaries.  In that regard, it appears that there is an apartment building there on the east side of Harry Howard in addition to Crosswinds that has been voting in the wrong ward. I wonder when it was built, and how long that has been going on for.



This came up because a voter signed a petition for a 4th ward candidate that is being challenged (192 Harry Howard Avenue, Apt 35). I think it is 192. The penmanship is a bit hard to read.

3. I am still confused as to why County law would interfere with the City either going to one supervisor, and adjusting the lines to make the Supervisor districts in Hudson have equal populations (and didn't we agree that the Home Rule Law requires the districts to be within 5% of being equal in population?).