Transportation

Transportation. . , ALL IDEAS WELCOME , Desperation led Henderson and others to devise grand schemes to connect the iron making community to eastern markets over various routes and using several different modes of transport., RAILROADS , Henderson's and McIntyre's dreams were to have a rail spur built all the way to Adirondac. McIntyre lobbied the State Legislature to finance the route, but his efforts were not successful., HORSE DRAWN WAGONS AND SLEIGHS , The only way to get materials in and iron out was overland by wagon and sleigh, over a rough, muddy road or over ice and snow., A WOODEN RAILROAD , Henderson took matters into his own hands and had a rail line built using wooden rails, with freight carried in horse drawn wagons., BARGES , Dams were built on the Hudson River that created a water route from the new furnace to Lower Works. Barges were built, at least one powered by steam, to carry the freight., Map Details: , Existing Public Roads 1850s , A sparse network of public roads connected outlying communities, but many were only passable in late summer, after the mud season, and winter via sleigh. , Improve the Road to Crown Point , McIntyre constantly pushed the state legislature to fund improvement of the overland route to the works. , Develop the Schroon River Corridor , Build a rail line to Schroon River and a plank road, or a water route from there to Warrensburg. , Dam the Hudson , Henderson considered constructing a series of dams all the way up the Hudson from Albany to allow water access to the works. , Build a Rail Line Along the Hudson , Thomas C. Durant, builder of the eastern part of the Transcontinental Railroad, started a rail line to the works, but he was a decade too late. The line only made it as far as North River when Durant ran out of money. , Connect to the Erie Canal , Another scheme was to connect to the Erie Canal via lakes, canals, and railroads from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River. , Connect the St. Lawrence River to the Champlain Canal , Henderson even considered a route from the St. Lawrence River to the Champlain Canal using railroads, canals, and dammed rivers. Connect to a Rail Line From Sacketts Harbor , Henderson pushed for a connection to a proposed railroad from Lake Ontario at Sacketts Harbor to Saratoga. The railroad received a charter but was never built. . This historical marker was erected by Open Space Institute. It is in Tahawus in Essex County New York