gardenfork

Citizens of Elk County [Pennsylvania] meet at the courthouse in Ridgway and pledge to support the construction of the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road into the county and through the sale of the railroad’s stock to individual subscribers. About $50,000 was pledged at the end of the meeting and solicitors were appointed to canvass each township. (Warren Mail 17 July 1851; first published in Elk County Advocate, 5 July 1851)

Little Elk. The proceedings of a railroad meeting held in Ridgway, will be found in our paper today (Railroad Convention, Warren Mail 17 July 1851). They go at it there right end first, exactly. This resolving and making a great swell on paper is well enough in its place, but it will never build one inch of road. Action is what we want now, and action, is what we have there. We hope our county [Warren] will not be outdone in this matter by “little Elk;” but from present appearances they will have to be up and doing soon or knock under.

Rail Road Convention (Warren Mail 17 July 1851 from the Elk County Advocate 5 July 1851)

Agreeably to previous notice, a large and spirited meeting of the citizens of Elk and the adjoining counties, assembled at the Court House in Ridgway, on Saturday, July 5, 1851. The meeting was organized by the appointment of Hon. Wm. P. Wilcox, as President, Geo. Weis, Esq., Hon. Geo. Dickinson, Hon. Isaac Horton, and Charles Mead, Esq., Vice Presidents, and Charles Horton and Jerome Powell, Secretaries.

The object of the meeting having been stated, on motion the Chair appointed the following gentlemen as a committee to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of this meeting: E. C. Schultze, H. Souther, R. C. Winslow, Jesse Kyler and Ignatius Garner.

On motion of Hon. J. L. Gillis, the following gentlemen were appointed by the President as a corresponding committee for the county of Elk, to correspond with similar committees hereafter to be appointed by other counties relative to holding a general Rail Road Convention for the purpose of adopting measures to forward the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road: Messrs. J. L. Gillis, E. C. Schultze, and George Dickinson.

During the absence of the committee, Hon. James L. Gillis was called upon, and addressed the meeting at length upon the all absorbing topic of the day, the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road giving an elaborate and interesting account of the history and progress of this Road, its vast importance to the whole State of Pennsylvania, and its advantages when completed over all other lines of communication between the sea board and the lakes, and concluded by alluding to the flattering prospects of the speedy completion of that work.

The committee on resolutions then appeared and, through its chairman, made the following report:

Whereas, We are convinced that no time is now more properly spent than the time which we spend in the forwarding of the great project of the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road; and whereas, we have the strong proofs, and most flattering account from the movement of the present Company, and sincerely do we trust that the many promises made by the former Company, will be realized by those who are now at the helm of this Company. We see with pleasure the Philadelphians have become awake to their interests, and we hope ere long to see the time when we shall all meet together again to celebrate the opening of the work. Therefore,

Resolved, That the contemplated Sunbury and Erie Railroad calls for the united efforts of all interested in the completion of the work, and if that work had been completed in a reasonable time after it was first projected that Philadelphia would not only have outnumbered New York in the number of dwelling houses, but also in inhabitants, business and wealth -- and that we would have the 'City of Brotherly love' what nature intended her to be, the foremost city in the Union.

Resolved, That at this period, it is useless to cite statistical information to show the value of the trade of the Northern Lakes, when it is well known that that trade exceeds by over forty millions of dollars annually the whole export trade of the United States -- and that we are willing and anxious to give our mite to secure a portion of that trade to any city that will undertake the completion of the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road, and that we are well knowing to the fact that the increase in the value of the real estate along the line of the Road, when completed will more than pay for building the same.

Resolved, That the final completion of the Road would thickly populate the North Western portion of Pennsylvania, making the wilderness to resound with the hum of busy industry; its superabundance of valuable timber would seek an Eastern market, and fruitful fields, cities, and villages would occupy its place, making a fruitful soil to yield its abundance to enrich the farmer, and drawing from beneath the surface its rich treasures of iron and coal for manufacturing and exportation.

Resolved, That we as citizens of Elk county, pledge ourselves that we will raise in subscription to the stock of the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road two dollars for every one Subscriber and raised by citizens of the city and county of Philadelphia, taking the assessed valuation of the property of the two places, as a basis for such subscription.

The above resolutions were then taken up and read separately and unanimously adopted by the meeting.

The meeting was also addressed by Messrs. Schultze, Souther, Winslow, Pearsall, and others.

After the adoption of the resolutions, as an earnest [sic- word missing?] of their sincerity, books were opened and stock to the amount of about fifty thousand dollars was immediately subscribed to said road, with the understanding that such stock be expended in constructing the road through Elk county.

The following gentlemen were then appointed to solicit subscriptions to the stock of said Road in the several township[s] of this county with the request that each make returns at Ridgeway, on Friday next, July 12th, to wit: Ridgway, George Dickinson; Benzinger, George Weis; Fox, Isaac Horton; Jones, Alonzo I. Wilcox; Benezette, E. C. Winslow; Jay, Alfred Pearsall; Gibson, Thomas Dent; Highland, Wm. Stubbs; Spring Creek, Alvan H. Head.

On that motion, Resolved, That these proceedings be published in the Elk County Advocate and all papers friendly to the Sunbury and Erie Rail Road.

On motion adjourned.

(Signed by the officers.)