"The appearance of the city proper is not
only inviting, but visitors are impressed with its
compactness, with the regularity and neatness of the
avenues, and the solid and substantial appearance
of the buildings. It is singularly free from dingy
streets and squalid tenements...it is predicted that
Broadway will eventually become our principal business
street. It has factories, stores of all kinds, churches,
missions, clubs, and places of amusements, and day
and night the sidewalks are thronged with people."
(Nutt 72)
During the
late 1800s and early 1900s, Newburgh was a "gem
of industry"; Broadway was full, and its hotels
were elegant (Hall). It was not only a gem; it was also
a gold mine that made possible the beautiful buildings
and homes standing in the city today. The transportation
industry reigned in the 1800s, while the manufacturing
boom reached its height in the 1900s. Word of prosperity
spread to the South, enticing many blacks to migrate
to Newburgh and settle in Water Street. Although Broadway
didn't become the principal business street, as suggested
in the quote above, it did become the second busiest
behind Water Street, and the main thoroughfare leading
to the ferry.
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newburgh in 1900
source: library of congress panoramic
map collection
In
the late 1800s and early 1900s, drawing panormic maps
were a popular way to represent cities. Today, these
maps provide excellent insight into what cities looked
like a century ago. The first image above shows the
bustling Newburgh waterfront. The second image shows
Grand Street and Liberty Street.
In
the first map, just behind "Front St." is
Water Street. Railroad tracks run in between these two
streets. Broadway (which is not in the picture above)
is about two blocks to the left of Front Street. Where
the number "137" is written is probably where
the Newburgh ferry picked up passengers and cargo. To
see the entire map on the Library of Congress Web site,
click here.
The
bustle illustrated in the map above continued on for
four more decades. During that time Newburgh's population
grew exponentially as people migrated to the city for
jobs. "You could work day and
night if you wanted to. You'd get off a shift and they'd
be standing there trying to get you to work overtime"
remarked one man from North Carolina who went to Newburgh
for work (Hall).
NEXT SECTION: RESURRECTING ANDREW JACKSON
DOWNING
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