Chemung Canal Toll Collector

In the archives of the Montour Falls Library is a Chemung Canal toll collector's book from 1843.  There were two toll collection offices on the Chemung Canal.  One was in Horseheads and the other in Montour Falls, known then as Havana.  Above is a sample entry from the book.  At the top of the entry, it provides the name of the boat owner, G. Fauset.  But notice at the bottom of the entry the owner's signature is spelled differently as George Faucett.  At the top, the boat name is also given as the Reading, hailing from Seneca Lake.  It also shows that this boat was the 22nd clearance on that day.  The boat cargo is listed, along with where that cargo was destined.  Listed are 2 barrels of pork, some iron, 2 barrels of soap, and one barrel of tea all being shipped to Corning.  There is a load of furniture headed to Fairport.  At that time, Horseheads was known as Fairport.  Lastly is an entry for 3 barrels of flour.  The destination seems to be an abbreviated form of Corning.  Obviously, a toll collector had to be good at arithmetic to compute the toll due on each boat.  There were no weigh locks on the Chemung Canal, so each boat had to have a manifest listing the cargo and the weight or quantity of the goods.  Toll collectors had assistance thanks to tables that listed toll rates on different products, and tables listing mileage between the various destinations on the canals to help them compute the tolls.  Toll rates often were stated in mills, that is one-thousandth of a currency unit, in this case a dollar. So, for example, look at the Furniture entry.  The weight of the furniture was 400 pounds.  It would travel 17 miles.  The rate on furniture was 9 mills (.0009).  So the toll was computed like this:  400 lbs. X 17 miles = 6800.  6800 X .0009 = 6.12.  So the toll was rounded to 6 cents.  Notice that the boat itself also paid a toll, but apparently it was not figured in mills but in cents.  Thirty two miles to Corning at 2 cents per mile came to 64 cents.  Tolls collected in Montour Falls (Havana) were kept in the Bank of Havana, located in the Montour House.

The Little John

 




George Magee was a wealthy railroad and coal mine owner who lived in a mansion in Watkins Glen near the present site of the Elks Club (the Magee mansion was torn down in the 1960s).  The main business offices of his company were in Corning, NY, so every day George Magee traveled by rail from his home to Corning.  In the morning he took a train to Corning, but in the late afternoon he would return home on his own luxurious private car, the Little John.  The photo above on the left shows the private engine that transported Magee.  The engine would drop off Magee and then return to Corning with eight or nine passengers.  The Little John was also used for family outings and to inspect the tracks.  The private engine was rather unique.  It had a horn instead of a bell on it, and it had two cow catchers, one in front and one in the back.  It also had two large lights, one in front and one in back.  The steam powered locomotive could get up to 40 miles per hour.  Magee was sentimental enough about the little engine that he had a clock made depicting the Little John, which was part of the decor of his mansion.  The clock, shown above on the right, resides in the Schuyler County Historical Society in Montour Falls.  When the Little John was retired in 1912, it was sold for $25 and converted into a diner in Corning called the Little John Diner.  Later it was moved to Gang Mills and housed an antique shop.  The next time you are in the Schuyler County Historical Society make sure to check out the Little John clock.  If you left click on the photos you can view a larger version of them.