Catherine and Main Street Ferry Company records
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Abstract
The records that directly pertain to the ferry company include account books, bills for construction and repair, inspection certificates, and receipt books for wages paid to employees. Also included is a lease agreement issued by Samuel Bowne to Andrew Lake for a parcel of land in Manhattan; a petition from the freeholders of the city of Brooklyn to a circuit judge regarding a dispute with the owner of a distillery on Brooklyn's waterfront; and a broadside announcing the Whig party candidates for Election Day, 1842.
Historical note
The Catherine and Main Street Ferry Company was established in 1811 by Samuel Bowne for the purpose of operating a ferry line that connected Catherine Street in Manhattan to Main Street in Brooklyn across the East River. This particular ferry line, originally known as the New Ferry, was first established in 1795 to supplement the service of the Fulton Ferry, which had been the first ferry to provide service between Brooklyn and Manhattan (1). Bowne operated the ferry until 1852, when he sold the company to Cyrus P. Smith and William F. Bulkley (2). The ferry was subsequently purchased the following year by the Union Ferry Company of Brooklyn, whose one-cent fare rendered the Catherine and Main Street Ferry Company and several other ferry companies uncompetitive (3).
Sources:
- Nathaniel S. Prime. A History of Long Island From its First Settlement by Europeans to the Year 1845 (New York: Robert Carter, 1845), 376-380.
- "Catharine Ferry," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 29, 1852, 1.
- "Brooklyn Ferries," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 10, 1853, 2.
Scope and Contents
The Catherine and Main Street Ferry Company records measure 0.42 linear feet and span the period 1812 to 1845. The records that directly pertain to the ferry company include account books, bills for construction and repair, inspection certificates, and receipt books for wages paid to employees. Also included is a lease agreement issued by Samuel Bowne to Andrew Lake for a parcel of land in Manhattan; a petition from the freeholders of the city of Brooklyn to a circuit judge regarding a dispute with the owner of a distillery on Brooklyn's waterfront; and a broadside announcing the Whig party candidates for Election Day, 1842.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Catherine and Main Street Ferry Company records, 1977.051, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Edwin J. Ward, June 1922.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
Material found in repository added to collection by Lena Evers-Hillstrom in November 2018.
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This finding aid does not include an online listing of contents.
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