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The
Railroad War of 1844
The Long Island Railroad came to
Yaphank in 1844. Before the railroad, a stage carrying passengers and mail
took 2 ˝ days to reach the middle of the island.
When the railroad was completed,
it was received with anticipation that great changes would come with it. You
could now travel from Yaphank to NYC in a stunning two hours. Mr. Pfeiffer
could now take his wagon to Yaphank and pick up an order and bring it back
to his Middle Island general store. By 1890, you could go to the Yaphank
freight office and place an order from a Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog.
The order filled and shipped back to the freight station. The Amazon of its
day.
The railroad would also bring
some unforeseen problems for our farmers. One of the most valuable assets
for a farmer was his woodland and the cordwood it produced. Many farmers
including William Weeks of Yaphank hired laborers to cut cordwood to be sold
in the city and elsewhere. Wood was king for much of Long Island.
It began in a dry period in April
and May when sparks from passing locomotives caused forest fires. In May
100,000 acres of timber was destroyed. These fires would often sweep in
whatever direction the wind blew and a fire that started in Manorville could
make its way to Rocky Point before being controlled. Robert Randall of Ridge
lost 1000 cords of firewood to one of the fires. The estimated loss of his
firewood amounted to $2,500.
So, the farmers appealed to the
LIRR for redress, but their pleas fell upon deaf ears. It wasn’t long before
threats replaced appeals. Local farmers loaded their wagons with men
and tools and began lifting rails along the tracks. Not wanting to injure
passengers a huge bushy pine tree was felled across the track giving warning
for the engineer.
In a show of force the railroad
responded by arming laborers to guard the tracks. Undaunted, the farmers of
our area took the tracks off near Calverton causing a locomotive to leave
the track and settle in a swampy area. The next attack on a train was at the
Carmen's River bridge.
One night, a single armed guard
was inspecting the track line when he was approached by two armed farmers.
As he stopped about 100 armed men emerged from the woods. He was soon
relieved of his weapon and sent back to the station. He was told to please
extend an invitation to the rest of his company and if they were to come
they would find out just how handy the farmers were with shotguns and
crowbars. That was the last guard that ever passed down the track.
With a significant loss in
ridership and money the LIRR decided to settle. They paid money to the
farmers for the destroyed woodland and in other cases agreed to pay for the
destroyed cordwood.
Who were these farmers that took
on the mighty railroad? Some of them had Revolutionary War blood flowing in
their veins as their fathers had served during the Glorious Rebellion. The
names of the men who participated were never divulged and no written stories
of their actions were ever found. All that was ever mentioned of the
participants was that they were some of the most respected members of the
community. Credit to Paul Infranco
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