Folks:
I thought you would enjoy this article I came across while conducting some research recently:
From the 3 July 1854 edition of The North American and United States Gazette (Page 1)—
OPENING OF THE ABSECOM RAILROAD.
On Saturday the Camden and Atlantic Railroad to Absecom Beach, on the sea coast of New Jersey, was formally opened, the occasion being properly celebrated by one of the most gratifying fetes of the season. This consisted of an excursion trip with over six hundred invited guests, a grand dinner festival at the United States Hotel near the beach, and a return trip to Philadelphia. The best of feeling prevailed throughout, and nothing occurred to mar the enjoyment of the party.
At nine o’clock A.M., the boats left Vine street wharf crowded with passengers, and presenting a gay sight, with flags flying as they sped across the Delaware to Cooper’s Point, the western terminus of the railroad. The company have established this ferry upon a good basis, the boats being substantial and the station ways on each side of the river large and commodious. This, besides the important use it will serve as connecting Philadelphia with Absecom road, will be found of much benefit to the general trade and travel between the northern sections of Philadelphia and Camden. In a few years have no doubt that Cooper’s Point will be the focus of travel for a large amount of population.
At this end of the railway, the Company have made many improvements deserving of notice. They have erected a handsome station house and freight depot, built a long pier, etc. and give every indication of making the locality one of the busiest scenes in Camden. The avenue through which the railroad passes is a spacious one, planted with shade trees, and forming a fine drive or an agreeable walk. Of the road itself it is unnecessary now to speak in detail, as we have heretofore given a very elaborate description of its course, length, mode of construction, etc. We will merely repeat that it is about 57 miles in length, twenty-five miles of which is on a dead level, and in a straight line, and the other sections are so nearly level as to make the road topographically one of the most remarkable in the country.
At half-past nine o’clock, the excursion train consisting of nine cars, started from Cooper’s Point. The western portion of the country through which it passes is well cultivated, and presents a most agreeable panorama. The first important point on the route proceeding eastward is Haddonfield, about five miles from Camden, and decidedly one of the prettiest little towns in New Jersey. To this thriving place the railroad trains have been running for some time past, affording to many citizens of Philadelphia the opportunity of attending to business in the city and residing at Haddonfield for the summer season. It was always a popular village, and previous to the building of the railroad several stage lines were in operation between it and Camden; but since it has enjoyed railroad advantages its fortunes have become quite promising. As we progress we find little hamlets to which the railway is adjacent and useful, such as Snow Hill, Gibbsboro, White Horse, Clementon, Longacoming, Tansboro, Jackson Glass Works, Hammonton Glass Works, Doughty’s, and Absecom.
But the chief feature which attracts attention in passing over this road is the great wilderness traversed, covering, in its expanse, the greater part of East Jersey. On leaving the arable and well-tilled tracts in the western section of the State, the tourist is struck by his first view of the open and unbounded forest, stretching over a level country as far as the eye can reach in every direction, without a sign of a human habitation, a fence, or an enclosure of any kinds for miles. At long intervals a single wagon track may be seen, but otherwise it is pathless. The vegetation visible is a short growth of pine and scrub oak, with great stretches of blackberry and whortleberry bushes. Fire-wood, charcoal and glass are furnished to Philadelphia in abundant quantities, the sand of the soil being excellent for the manufacture of the latter article. The scent of the charcoal burning is frequently encountered.
Along the line of the railway there are several very neatly built station houses. At the Waterford station, the people of the village had collected to see the visitors from the city, and as the train came up, a company of operatives from the glass works were drawn up in military style, and with their guns ready loaded, fired, at the word of command from their leader, a feu de joie. They then gave three cheers for the railroad company, and three more for its officers. In front of the station house was a strip of canvass bearing the inscription “Welcome to Waterford,” bordered with evergreen. Numerous flags were flying, and the country folk were congregated with their wagons and families to see the sight. On leaving Waterford, the ladies waved their kerchiefs, and the guests in the cars responded with hearty cheering.
At the eastern end of the road there is a long stretch of salt meadows, where the waving grass covers the whole expanse of territory in sight. Towards the beach, however, there are extensive groves of trees, which form a most delightful shade. Between these and the beach itself there is a little elevation of sand. In the midst of this grove, and in full view of the beach, a company of capitalists have erected a fine hotel, bearing the name of the United States, which when finished, will be superb. Its exterior is characterized by great good_______________[a crease in the page makes the line of text unreadable] a fine view of the sea and the country may be obtained.
The excursion train arrived at the hotel about twelve o’clock, when a large number of the visitors embraced the occasion to enjoy a bath in the ocean surf. The spectacle was an enlivening one, and seemed to be most heartily enjoyed by hundreds. As regards the bathing place, no better could be desired. The bottom is hard and level, extending out with so gentle a slope that bathers may venture a considerable distance with perfect safety. As regards the surf itself, it answers admirably the purpose of the bather.
At two o’clock the company sat down to a really excellent dinner, spread in the great dining saloon of the hotel, which is 350 feet long by 40 feet wide. A keen appetite seemed to prevail, and a clearing of the viands was soon made. When the cloth was removed, Mr. T.H. Dudley called the company to order, and moved, for the purpose of organization, the following list of officers, which was agreed to:—
President, Judge Grier; Vice Presidents, Thomas Fleming, Abraham Browning, Henry C. Carey, Thomas P. Carpenter, Robert Morris, A.H. Simmons, John C. Ten Eyck, John C. Montgomery, Edward Haines, John M. Odenheimer; Secretaries, James S. Wallace, Wm. H. Crump, Col Wyncoop, Thompson Westcott, John Davis Watson, Caspar Souder Jr., J. England.
In taking the chair, Judge Grier said that he would not make a speech for the very good reason that he had nothing to say. He would, therefore, merely ask the attention of the audience to others who would follow him upon the topics suited to the occasion.
Henry C. Carey, Esq., then rose and said that this was a great day for New Jersey, inaugurating, as it did, the opening of intercourse between a secluded portion of territory and the rest of the busy world. No State in the Union had suffered so much for lack of communication with the great world as New Jersey, and he rejoiced that this defect was now to be remedied by the extension of a liberal and enlightened railroad system over all parts of the commonwealth. Ohio, he said, has railroad facilities for every farm, and Illinois is a perfect network of railroads. He looked forward to the time when New Jersey would emulate her western sisters in improvement. Mr. Carey was frequently applauded in the course of his remarks, and concluded by offering the following resolution:
Whereas, We have witnessed, with the highest satisfaction, the successful completion and triumphant opening of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad—a road that reflects the highest honor upon its projectors and promoters, and is calculated to assist not only the prospects of Absecom, Camden, and all the intermediate points, but, also that of the great city of Philadelphia.
Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting are eminently due to John C. Da Costa, President of this road, and his brother directors, to whose energy and untiring industry the State is indebted for a new means of communication with the world, tending to give it some of that freedom of intercourse, from the enjoyment of which it has been so long debarred.
Abraham Browning, Esq., seconded the resolutions in a few spirited remarks, which were well conceived and delivered. He said that the spirit which a few years since sought to make New Jersey merely a highway between two great cities, and nothing more, is now departing. For this is an age of progress, and we have here to-day a railroad which is not simply a link to connect cities, but a substantial means for the foundation of cities. Here, upon a sea-beaten strand, is the embryo city of Atlantic, the future sea-port of the consolidated city of Philadelphia. We stand here upon a site destined hereafter to be a theatre of fashion and of trade. This old Absecom beach commands to-day more thousands of dollars than a few years ago it commanded cents. In 1830, when the charter for the Camden and Amboy Railroad was granted, such was the old fogyism of that day, that the word locomotive engine was not to be found in the charter. Now locomotives are as familiar to us as our own fingers. We have 25,000 miles of railway in the Union and $200,000,000 invested in them. From these flow the prosperity and the wealth of the country. Mr. Browning concluded with a compliment to the indomitable spirit which had built the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, to connect Philadelphia with the ocean. The resolutions were then adopted.
Speeches were delivered by J.C. Montgomery, W.H. Crump, and J.C. Ten Ecyk. The latter gentleman paid a high compliment to the noble, self-denying, and energetic President and Directors of the Railroad Company.
The following resolution was afterwards offered by Robert Morris, Esq., and unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be, and they are hereby conferred to the President, Directors, and officers of the Company generally, for their admirable arrangements for the excursion to-day—an excursion that has afforded unmingled pleasure, and has united social enjoyment with the renovating influence of the sea breeze.
To this, the President of the road, Mr. Da Costa, responded briefly. Mr. T.M. Coleman offered a resolution which was adopted, returning thanks to Col. R.B. Jones for the excellent manner in which he had served up the dinner.
On motion of N.B. Thompson, Esq., the company then gave three cheers for the Railroad company, and soon afterwards adjourned.
Many of the visitors again took a bath in the ocean, and at half past five the company started to return home, reaching the city at about half past nine.
Best regards,
Jerseyman
I thought you would enjoy this article I came across while conducting some research recently:
From the 3 July 1854 edition of The North American and United States Gazette (Page 1)—
OPENING OF THE ABSECOM RAILROAD.
On Saturday the Camden and Atlantic Railroad to Absecom Beach, on the sea coast of New Jersey, was formally opened, the occasion being properly celebrated by one of the most gratifying fetes of the season. This consisted of an excursion trip with over six hundred invited guests, a grand dinner festival at the United States Hotel near the beach, and a return trip to Philadelphia. The best of feeling prevailed throughout, and nothing occurred to mar the enjoyment of the party.
At nine o’clock A.M., the boats left Vine street wharf crowded with passengers, and presenting a gay sight, with flags flying as they sped across the Delaware to Cooper’s Point, the western terminus of the railroad. The company have established this ferry upon a good basis, the boats being substantial and the station ways on each side of the river large and commodious. This, besides the important use it will serve as connecting Philadelphia with Absecom road, will be found of much benefit to the general trade and travel between the northern sections of Philadelphia and Camden. In a few years have no doubt that Cooper’s Point will be the focus of travel for a large amount of population.
At this end of the railway, the Company have made many improvements deserving of notice. They have erected a handsome station house and freight depot, built a long pier, etc. and give every indication of making the locality one of the busiest scenes in Camden. The avenue through which the railroad passes is a spacious one, planted with shade trees, and forming a fine drive or an agreeable walk. Of the road itself it is unnecessary now to speak in detail, as we have heretofore given a very elaborate description of its course, length, mode of construction, etc. We will merely repeat that it is about 57 miles in length, twenty-five miles of which is on a dead level, and in a straight line, and the other sections are so nearly level as to make the road topographically one of the most remarkable in the country.
At half-past nine o’clock, the excursion train consisting of nine cars, started from Cooper’s Point. The western portion of the country through which it passes is well cultivated, and presents a most agreeable panorama. The first important point on the route proceeding eastward is Haddonfield, about five miles from Camden, and decidedly one of the prettiest little towns in New Jersey. To this thriving place the railroad trains have been running for some time past, affording to many citizens of Philadelphia the opportunity of attending to business in the city and residing at Haddonfield for the summer season. It was always a popular village, and previous to the building of the railroad several stage lines were in operation between it and Camden; but since it has enjoyed railroad advantages its fortunes have become quite promising. As we progress we find little hamlets to which the railway is adjacent and useful, such as Snow Hill, Gibbsboro, White Horse, Clementon, Longacoming, Tansboro, Jackson Glass Works, Hammonton Glass Works, Doughty’s, and Absecom.
But the chief feature which attracts attention in passing over this road is the great wilderness traversed, covering, in its expanse, the greater part of East Jersey. On leaving the arable and well-tilled tracts in the western section of the State, the tourist is struck by his first view of the open and unbounded forest, stretching over a level country as far as the eye can reach in every direction, without a sign of a human habitation, a fence, or an enclosure of any kinds for miles. At long intervals a single wagon track may be seen, but otherwise it is pathless. The vegetation visible is a short growth of pine and scrub oak, with great stretches of blackberry and whortleberry bushes. Fire-wood, charcoal and glass are furnished to Philadelphia in abundant quantities, the sand of the soil being excellent for the manufacture of the latter article. The scent of the charcoal burning is frequently encountered.
Along the line of the railway there are several very neatly built station houses. At the Waterford station, the people of the village had collected to see the visitors from the city, and as the train came up, a company of operatives from the glass works were drawn up in military style, and with their guns ready loaded, fired, at the word of command from their leader, a feu de joie. They then gave three cheers for the railroad company, and three more for its officers. In front of the station house was a strip of canvass bearing the inscription “Welcome to Waterford,” bordered with evergreen. Numerous flags were flying, and the country folk were congregated with their wagons and families to see the sight. On leaving Waterford, the ladies waved their kerchiefs, and the guests in the cars responded with hearty cheering.
At the eastern end of the road there is a long stretch of salt meadows, where the waving grass covers the whole expanse of territory in sight. Towards the beach, however, there are extensive groves of trees, which form a most delightful shade. Between these and the beach itself there is a little elevation of sand. In the midst of this grove, and in full view of the beach, a company of capitalists have erected a fine hotel, bearing the name of the United States, which when finished, will be superb. Its exterior is characterized by great good_______________[a crease in the page makes the line of text unreadable] a fine view of the sea and the country may be obtained.
The excursion train arrived at the hotel about twelve o’clock, when a large number of the visitors embraced the occasion to enjoy a bath in the ocean surf. The spectacle was an enlivening one, and seemed to be most heartily enjoyed by hundreds. As regards the bathing place, no better could be desired. The bottom is hard and level, extending out with so gentle a slope that bathers may venture a considerable distance with perfect safety. As regards the surf itself, it answers admirably the purpose of the bather.
At two o’clock the company sat down to a really excellent dinner, spread in the great dining saloon of the hotel, which is 350 feet long by 40 feet wide. A keen appetite seemed to prevail, and a clearing of the viands was soon made. When the cloth was removed, Mr. T.H. Dudley called the company to order, and moved, for the purpose of organization, the following list of officers, which was agreed to:—
President, Judge Grier; Vice Presidents, Thomas Fleming, Abraham Browning, Henry C. Carey, Thomas P. Carpenter, Robert Morris, A.H. Simmons, John C. Ten Eyck, John C. Montgomery, Edward Haines, John M. Odenheimer; Secretaries, James S. Wallace, Wm. H. Crump, Col Wyncoop, Thompson Westcott, John Davis Watson, Caspar Souder Jr., J. England.
In taking the chair, Judge Grier said that he would not make a speech for the very good reason that he had nothing to say. He would, therefore, merely ask the attention of the audience to others who would follow him upon the topics suited to the occasion.
Henry C. Carey, Esq., then rose and said that this was a great day for New Jersey, inaugurating, as it did, the opening of intercourse between a secluded portion of territory and the rest of the busy world. No State in the Union had suffered so much for lack of communication with the great world as New Jersey, and he rejoiced that this defect was now to be remedied by the extension of a liberal and enlightened railroad system over all parts of the commonwealth. Ohio, he said, has railroad facilities for every farm, and Illinois is a perfect network of railroads. He looked forward to the time when New Jersey would emulate her western sisters in improvement. Mr. Carey was frequently applauded in the course of his remarks, and concluded by offering the following resolution:
Whereas, We have witnessed, with the highest satisfaction, the successful completion and triumphant opening of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad—a road that reflects the highest honor upon its projectors and promoters, and is calculated to assist not only the prospects of Absecom, Camden, and all the intermediate points, but, also that of the great city of Philadelphia.
Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting are eminently due to John C. Da Costa, President of this road, and his brother directors, to whose energy and untiring industry the State is indebted for a new means of communication with the world, tending to give it some of that freedom of intercourse, from the enjoyment of which it has been so long debarred.
Abraham Browning, Esq., seconded the resolutions in a few spirited remarks, which were well conceived and delivered. He said that the spirit which a few years since sought to make New Jersey merely a highway between two great cities, and nothing more, is now departing. For this is an age of progress, and we have here to-day a railroad which is not simply a link to connect cities, but a substantial means for the foundation of cities. Here, upon a sea-beaten strand, is the embryo city of Atlantic, the future sea-port of the consolidated city of Philadelphia. We stand here upon a site destined hereafter to be a theatre of fashion and of trade. This old Absecom beach commands to-day more thousands of dollars than a few years ago it commanded cents. In 1830, when the charter for the Camden and Amboy Railroad was granted, such was the old fogyism of that day, that the word locomotive engine was not to be found in the charter. Now locomotives are as familiar to us as our own fingers. We have 25,000 miles of railway in the Union and $200,000,000 invested in them. From these flow the prosperity and the wealth of the country. Mr. Browning concluded with a compliment to the indomitable spirit which had built the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, to connect Philadelphia with the ocean. The resolutions were then adopted.
Speeches were delivered by J.C. Montgomery, W.H. Crump, and J.C. Ten Ecyk. The latter gentleman paid a high compliment to the noble, self-denying, and energetic President and Directors of the Railroad Company.
The following resolution was afterwards offered by Robert Morris, Esq., and unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be, and they are hereby conferred to the President, Directors, and officers of the Company generally, for their admirable arrangements for the excursion to-day—an excursion that has afforded unmingled pleasure, and has united social enjoyment with the renovating influence of the sea breeze.
To this, the President of the road, Mr. Da Costa, responded briefly. Mr. T.M. Coleman offered a resolution which was adopted, returning thanks to Col. R.B. Jones for the excellent manner in which he had served up the dinner.
On motion of N.B. Thompson, Esq., the company then gave three cheers for the Railroad company, and soon afterwards adjourned.
Many of the visitors again took a bath in the ocean, and at half past five the company started to return home, reaching the city at about half past nine.
Best regards,
Jerseyman
