If and when the proposed pedestrian bridge crosses the Mohawk River in Amsterdam, it will not charge tolls. That wasn’t the case in the early to mid-19th century.
According to historian Hugh Donlon’s “Annals of a Mill Town,” the towns of Amsterdam and Florida jointly contracted to build a river bridge in 1813. At that time, the only way to cross the river at Amsterdam was by ferry.
The community on the south shore of the river was destined to become a port on the Erie Canal, then in the planning stages. Local business interests realized that a bridge was needed to facilitate the flow of commerce.
The first attempt to build the bridge fell of its own weight during construction. The failed bridge had only one supporting pier. Learning a lesson, builders constructed the new bridge with two piers. The toll bridge and tollgate house were fi - nally completed in 1821, eight years after the start of the process but still in time for the opening of the Schenectady to Little Falls section of the Erie Canal in 1822.
The area on the South Side was first known as Stillwellville after John Stillwell, who operated two canal stores, according to Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar and Scott Haefner in their book, “Images of America: Amsterdam.” In 1835, the village became known as Port Jackson, named after Samuel Jackson, a prosperous farmer. Amsterdam annexed Port Jackson in 1888.
Frequent spring floods led to frequent bridge repair, Donlon wrote,
ncluding a new covered bridge built in 1842.
Tolls were collected for more than 40 years. When yet another bridge was built in 1864, toll charges were removed by an act of the state Legislature.
Another new bridge was constructed in 1876. That span lasted until March 27, 1913, when part of it collapsed during a flood caused by water pouring into the Mohawk River from the raging Schoharie Creek a few miles upstream. A temporary wooden addition was put in place but it too fell to the raging river exactly one year later. Donlon said March 27 became known as Bridge Day in Amsterdam.
A more substantial bridge was built in 1916. That one lasted over 50 years, until the current Route 30 arterial highway bridge replaced it in 1972. By Donlon’s estimation, the current bridge is the sixth span to be built across the Mohawk in Amsterdam. The planned pedestrian bridge would be number seven. Let’s hope it’s a lucky number.
MURDER IN AMSTERDAM
According to historians Farquhar and Haefner, there was a large turnout from the Artisans Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Amsterdam for the funeral of member Charles J. Landry in November 1895. Landry was a saloon keeper.
A horse-drawn hearse is seen in a vintage photograph with six men — possibly the pallbearers — standing in front of the hearse wearing light-colored sashes. Carriages are lined up behind the hearse as far as can be seen. A larger group of men — wearing dark-colored sashes — stand in the foreground, gazing with somber, even threatening expressions at the camera.
Landry’s death made headlines Nov. 6 when it was discovered that his mistress, Florence Haun, had murdered him. According to Daily Democrat headlines, Haun surrendered to police the day of the murder. A coroner’s jury returned a verdict of willful murder two days later. She was convicted of second-degree murder the following February.
Given a life sentence by a Justice Stover, Haun died of consumption at Auburn prison in March 1897. An appeal for clemency was made to Governor Frank Black shortly before Haun’s death, according to The New York Times.
