JACKSON TOWNSHIP'S FLIRTATION WITH A PLANK ROAD

By David Winterstein

            Still have your Rubik's cube or pet rock?  (I admit to still having my Rubik's cube, but I never had a pet rock.)  Fads come and go and are relatively harmless.  I guess they are part of human nature, but when they go beyond the individual level to the group, community or governmental level, things can really start to get carried away.

            Plank road mania spread throughout the United States like wildfire from about the mid-1840s to the mid-1850s.  Pennsylvania incorporated approximately 315 plank road companies, second only to New York's 335.  Building a plank road became the "In" thing to do.[i]

            Not everyone enjoyed a positive experience with the “Era of the Plank Road.”  Brown, in its 1897 history of Tioga County, referred to the “Era of the Plank Road” as an " infection" that was caught by certain parts of our county.[ii]  Munsell's 1883 history of Tioga County, in its discussion on the subject, stated that "the animosities and warm blood stirred up have cooled down, the rough and jagged points in the controversy have been worn and smoothed away by time, and it is better that they not be  revived again in this history."[iii] So, what was the fuss all about?

            Today, we take for granted the system of roads and highways we enjoy, and often, fail to comprehend the vast sums of public treasury that are expended annually to maintain those roads and highways.  How did our predecessors in olden times cope without today's road graders, super pave materials, transportation bond issues and gasoline taxes?

            In the first half of the 19th century, they relied to a certain extent on a system of public/private partnerships to raise the capital needed to construct and maintain highways.  It took the form of publically regulated, privately owned and financed turnpikes that were essentially toll roads.  From  1792 to 1845, Pennsylvania incorporated  342 turnpike companies, second only to New York's 457.[iv]

            Plank road technology was introduced into Canada from Russia in 1840.[v]  From there, it was introduced into New York State.  From there, the plank road era began.  The technology promised longer lasting, cheaper constructed, and lower maintenance toll roads.  The idea was to create a system of roads in areas not serviced by the railroads and canals.  Plank road technology brought with it an economic boom, but when everyone realized its promises were exaggerated, a big bust soon followed.

            At least in Pennsylvania, a privately owned plank company was clothed with the power of eminent domain.  The company had the power to decide the exact route of the roadway.  It had the power and authority to take over existing roadways.  Landowners were forced to sell to the company any land designated by the company.  In addition, it had the power and authority to force owners of land contiguous and near the roadway to sell to the company any timber, stone or gravel, sand or earth that it needed.  Think about it.  A representative of the company could knock on your door and inform you that the company was taking over the road in front of your home.  In addition, you were told that the company needed some of your land and road materials from the remainder of your property.  You had to do this whether or not you wanted to.  When the road was completed, you had to pay a toll to use it.  I doubt that anyone in Jackson Township had ever experienced anything like that in their life.  No wonder "animosities and warm blood stirred up" among the inhabitants of Jackson Township.

            Consider this though.  Change "a privately owned plank road company" to "the Department of Environmental Protection and the Jackson Township Municipal Authority," "plank road" to  "wastewater treatment facility and collection lines" and "tolls" to "tapping fees and sewer user charges."  Notice any big difference?  Like the saying goes, if you wait long enough, what's old will be new again.

            Mention was made on November 17, 1847, that contracts on the construction of a plank road from Blossburg to Ralston would soon be forthcoming.[vi]  The seeds of the idea of a plank road from Wellsboro to Tioga had probably been planted by that time as well.

            By at least the early part of 1848, it was widely circulated that construction of a plank road from Wellsboro was in the works.[vii]   The proposed route was from Wellsboro to Tioga and from thence to Elmira by way of Spencerville (Daggett).  I do not know the precise route that the road would have taken to get from Tioga to Daggett.  It would be very interesting to see how that route was laid out.

            Why that particular route?

             From what I have found, I gather that the roads in those days were in horrendous condition.  Part of the argument for the plank roads was public convenience, but I believe the motivating factor for the plank roads, at least in Tioga County, was access to railroads for businesses to transport their products to outside markets. 

            Wellsboro had no railroad access at that time.  I believe the route was chosen primarily for Wellsboro access to a railroad.

            The Corning and Blossburg railroad which traversed the Tioga valley was completed by 1840.[viii]   It would appear that a plank road from Wellsboro to Tioga could connect to the Corning and Blossburg railroad.  There would be no need for them to continue the plank road to Elmira.  Likewise, the route through Jackson Township to Elmira would gain railroad access in Elmira.  As you will see, there may have been problems with the condition of the Corning and Blossburg line as well as problems at the end of the line in Corning.  Rivalries between the Corning and Elmira areas may also have played a part.  You can see that problems might develop between the opposite ends of the proposed plank road.

            Public opposition to the plank road was well organized and very vocal.  In our area, groups formed in the Town of Southport, Jackson Township and Wells Township.  Meetings were held, petitions circulated and resolutions drafted.  I have found no evidence of any violence, however.[ix]

            Some of the objections expressed included concerns over the elements of eminent domain given to private companies, the tolls, the usual argument that the rich would get richer off the backs of the poor, and that locals were better able to maintain the roads (some might dispute that).

             On April 8, 1848, the Pennsylvania State Legislature incorporated the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company.[x] The company was authorized to construct a plank road from Wellsboro down Crooked Creek valley to Tioga.  It was to then proceed by the most practicable route to the state line on or near Seeley Creek to intersect the plank road from Elmira.  The plank road from Elmira to the state line had been built around 1846.[xi]

            The Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company roadway had a maximum width of 50 feet.  The company had the power of eminent domain, both for the roadway and building materials, but could not locate the roadway through any burial ground, place of public worship or dwelling without the consent of the owner.

            The enabling statute named William B. Clymer, R.G. White, Alvah C.  Bush, John W. Guernsey, Thomas L.  Baldwin, Benjamin C.  Wickham, Richard Mitchell, Vine DePuy and Samuel Miller commissioners.  Samuel Miller is probably Samuel Miller of Jackson Township.  Their duties included obtaining subscribers for at least 200 shares of 400 shares of stock by July 1, 1848.  The shares were to be sold for $50.00 per share, with $2.00 paid at the time of subscription.  Once shares were subscribed for and the $2.00 paid on all the shares thus subscribed, the commissioners were to so notify the governor, and he would then issue letters patent authorizing the organization of the company to proceed.  The initial stock offering would raise $20,000.00 if fully paid for.  The commissioners were required to raise $10,000.00, not in cash, but by subscription by July 1, 1848.  The actual cash needed to be raised by July 1, 1848, was at least $400.00 up to $800.00.  That is not much cash to build a road with, and if subscribers did not cough up the remainder when needed, finances could be a problem.

            The company had to proceed with constructing the road within one year and be completed within three years.  The company could erect tollgates every 5 miles.  The Act also specified the tolls to be charged.

            The commissioners failed in their duty to meet the July 1, 1848 deadline.[xii]  They also failed to pay a $10.00 enrollment fee due on the incorporation.  I am not sure of the legal penalty for not doing so.  Maybe the statute was not lawful until it had been paid.  The incorporation statute does not appear to have been published until the 1850 publication of the Session Laws.  Was the failure to pay the $10.00 the reason for that?

            On January 26, 1849, Pennsylvania adopted a comprehensive statute regulating plank roads.[xiii]  Among other things, the statute regulated tollgates, established tolls and created repair requirements.  Exempted from tolls were people on foot, persons going back and forth on their own property, and persons going to or from funerals, places of worship, military training or elections.  That legislation not only created rules and regulations but helped to streamline the individual incorporations by eliminating the need to include standardized requirements in each incorporation.

            As I previously stated, the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company had problems getting off the ground, and on April 5, 1849, the commissioners were granted an extension until July 1, 1850, for the stock subscription.  The commencement of the road itself was extended to three years and the completion date to seven years.[xiv]

            Also, James Miller, Seth Daggett, Edsel Mitchel, Levi J. Nichols, Henry H. Potter, Josiah Emery, Stephen L. Palmeter, John Stowel, Wright Dunham and Hector Miller were added as additional commissioners.  A majority of the new commissioners were from Jackson Township.  Was this a mere coincidence?  Was it was an attempt to garner more investors, or perhaps, an attempt to quell opposition from Jackson Township?

            In January 1849, a Wellsboro newspaper stated that the delay had been occasioned by certain inaccuracies in the original incorporating legislation.[xv]  The supplemental legislation adopted April 5, 1849, did not appear to me to correct any “inaccuracies.”  Fake news in 1849?  Had the delay been caused by inexperience or neglect?  Was there disagreement within the ranks?

            The newspaper also gave a cost estimate of $27,100.00 for the section of the plank road from Wellsboro to Tioga.  Why not an estimate for the entire length of the road?  Was that a sign there may have been trouble in paradise?

            The estimate exceeded the amount of the authorized capital stock of the company, and that estimate was only for one section of the road.  It would appear that the Company was way undercapitalized.  How was the Company to make up the difference?

            On April 10, 1849, the Elmira and Jackson Plank Road Company was incorporated.[xvi]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from Yeoman's steam sawmill in Jackson Township to the New York state line in the direction of Elmira.  The distance was estimated to be about 5 miles.[xvii]

            Stephen L. Parmeter, Wright Dunham, Hector Miller, John Stowell and James Miller of Jackson Township and Thomas Maxwell and John Arnot of Elmira were named as commissioners.  250 shares of stock were initially authorized at $50.00 per share.  Construction of the road was to commence within 3 years and be completed within 7 years.

            Many of these commissioners were also commissioners of the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company. 

            It appears that this plank road would run through Millerton, not Daggett as proposed by the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company.  Was this new road intended as a modification of the previous road, a new independent plank road or a break with the existing company?  Was this a sign that the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company was beginning to break apart?

            In August of 1849, public notice was given by the commissioners of the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company of the various dates and places in Pennsylvania and New York State where the public could throw down their $2.00 and subscribe for capital stock in the company.  The first place announced where one could subscribe for stock was Tioga.  Next, Jackson Township residents could appear at the home of James Miller on the 17th and 18th of October.  Next came Elmira, followed by Wellsboro.[xviii]   The public notice was purportedly in the name of all but one of the combined commissioners.  They appeared, at least in this notice, to be united. 

            The first advertised date was for Tioga on the 15^th and 16^th of October.  No one appeared in Tioga at that time to subscribe for stock.  As a result, the commissioners did not appear at any of the following advertised places at the dates specified.  That first offering was a dismal failure.

            An unnamed commissioner of the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company submitted a letter to the Wellsboro Advertiser which was reprinted in the January 30, 1850 edition of the Tioga Eagle.  The commissioner admitted that the commissioners had failed to take any action in furtherance of the 1848 incorporation and to pay the $10.00 enrollment fee.  No reason or excuse was given.

            He acknowledged the amending legislation and the notices for the subsequent stock subscriptions.  Prior to the subscription offering, written “pledges” in the amount of $7,000.00 were obtained from the Wellsboro end of the project “in order to show those interested in the improvement on the other parts of the route what the people of Wellsboro' would do.”

            He acknowledged that no one came for the subscription offerring in Tioga for “various causes not now necessary to be mentioned.”  Later in his letter, he wrote that men in Tioga who could be expected to be interested in the project were away on business that day.

            After the fact, $10,000.00 in additional written “pledges” were obtained, mainly from Tioga and the Crooked Creek valley.  I gather that no actual cash was received.

            The letter estimated that the cost of building the plank road from Wellsboro to Tioga was around $28,000.00.  Both sets of “pledges” were conditioned on the road from Wellsboro to Tioga being built first.  The stated goal of that section of the road was to connect with the Corning to Blossburg railroad.

            The author mentioned that the Jackson Township end of the road, together with the owners of the steam sawmill, had collected “pledges” suffficent to build a plank road from the sawmill to the state line.  Similarly, those “pledges” were conditioned on the money being used only for that section of the road.  Mention was made of the incorporation of the Elmira and Jackson Plank Road Company.

            The author then began to suggest or propose what we would call trial balloons today.  He suggested that the feasibility of breaking up the existing company into two companies, one company building from Wellsboro to Tioga and one from Tioga to the New York state line, should be considered.  Also, that the best route to connect to the New York and Erie railroad should be considered.  Finally, he suggested the possibilty of building a plank road from Tioga to Lawrenceville to connect to a plank road from there up the Cowanesque and to connect to the New York and Erie railroad at the mouth of the Canesteo.

            The commissioner was not named in the letter, but I suspect he was from the Wellsboro end of the road.  He certainly knew what was going on.  That letter suggests that turmoil and dissension existed within the Company, probably between the two ends of the proposed plank road.

            There was a pre-existing rivalry between Elmira and Corning.  Elmira was trying to make itself into a transportation hub.  The Tioga Navigation Company received permission to build a railroad from Blossburg to the New York state line in 1833.[xix]  Construction on the line began around 1836.[xx]  Elmira tried to create interest in a railroad from Elmira to Willardsburg (Tioga) as early as 1837.[xxi]  The Corning and Blossburg railroad through the Tioga valley was completed in 1840.[xxii]  I assume the push for an Elmira to Willardsburg railroad was in response to the building of the Corning and Blossburg railroad.  I believe the purpose of such a railroad was to intercept the flow of coal from Blossburg going to Corning.

            Elmira did not have very nice things to say about Corning when the Corning to Blossburg  railroad went into operation. 

            I do not know much about the Corning end of the railroad.  A feeder canal of the Chemung canal was completed to the Corning area around 1833.[xxiii]  I believe that feeder canal was the initial destination of the railroad.  The New York and Erie railroad developed east and west across New York State reaching Corning around 1849.[xxiv]   The connection between that railroad and the Corning and Blossburg railroad then became the objective, not the canal. 

            The gauge of the Corning and Blossburg railroad was narrower than the gauge of the New York and Erie line.[xxv]   When the goal became connecting to another railroad at Corning, trains traveling over the Corning and Blossburg line reaching Corning had to be unloaded, the loads stored for a time and then reloaded on another train.  That was done at a cost to the users of the Corning and Blossburg railroad and at a profit to Corning.[xxvi]

            Elmira claimed that was being done intentionally.  The facts show that the Corning and Blossburg line existed before the New York and Erie line making that assumption untrue.  True or not, it created problems for businesses using the Corning and Blossburg line to ship goods into New York State.  Elmira credited the creation of Corning to this tactic.  I presume Corning sources made similar derogatory remarks about Elmira.[xxvii]

            On March 17, 1838, the Tioga and Seely Creek Railroad Company was incorporated.[xxviii]  It was authorized to construct a railroad from Willardsburg to the New York state line to connect with a railroad running from Elmira, to connect with the railroad being built by the Tioga Navigation Company (Corning to Blossburg railroad) and to connect with the proposed Willardsburg and Jersey Shore Railroad Company.  That railroad was not built.

            By the time of the incorporation of the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company in 1848, the Corning and Blossburg line was a joint venture.  The line from Blossburg to the state line was owned by the Tioga Navigation Company, and the line from the state line to Corning was owned by the Tioga Coal, Iron, Mining and Manufacturing Company.[xxix]

            It was being reported as early as May of 1851 that the Corning and Blossburg line had been unfit for use for several years.  Complaints were also being made about the situation in Corning.  Efforts to build a railroad from Elmira to the Tioga area were being revived.[xxx]

            It was agreed by the owners of the Corning and Blossburg line to rebuild the line.  The Tioga Navigation Company wanted to change the gauge of the line to eliminate the problem in Corning.  The Corning side of the line supposedly did not.[xxxi]

            The matter was resolved and a new line was in use by the end of 1852 that eliminated the problem in Corning.  The Corning and Blossburg railroad now had a direct connection with the New York and Erie railroad.[xxxii]  By that time, the Tioga Navigation Company had been renamed the Tioga Railroad Company.

            John Magee had taken possession of the Corning end of the railroad around 1851 and acquired legal ownership in 1852.  Perhaps, he was the one responsible for changing the gauge of the track into Corning.[xxxiii]

            What role did the condition of the Corning and Blossburg line play in choosing the initial route for the Tioga and Elmira plank road?  What part did the rivalry between Elmira and Corning and the railroads play in promoting the plank road route?  I am sure both areas and the railroads were eager to connect with the plank road.  Remember, a plank road had been built from Elmira to the Pennsylvania state line, and individuals from Elmira were granted permission to participate in the companies formed in Tioga County that would connect to that plank road.

            The next area of the County to organize for a plank road was the Cowanesque Valley.  On March 4, 1850, the Cowanesque Plank Road Company was formed.[xxxiv]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from Knoxville to Lawrenceville.  The initial capital stock was 2,000 shares at $25.00 per share.  The road was to be commenced in three years and completed in seven years.

            On March 14, 1850, William B.  Clymer, William E.  Dodge, Edward Bayer, George M'Loud, Levi J.  Nichols, Josiah Emery, R.G.  White, H.H.  Potter, Edsel Mitchell, Daniel Holiday, Jr., D.G. Stevens, Sylvester Beckwith, Seth Daggett, David A. Clarke, Vince DePui, T.J. Berry, T.L.  Baldwin, C.H.  Seymour, Joseph Atkin, Abel Humphrey, Austin Lathrope, Moses S.  Baldwin, Pardon Domon, William K.  Mitchell and Lyman Fisk were appointed commissioners for the newly incorporated Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Road Company.[xxxv]  The route authorized ran on the present road, or otherwise, from Tioga to Lawrenceville, with an option to extend the road from Tioga up the valley of Crooked Creek to Wellsboro.  Capital stock consisted of 800 shares at $25.00 per share.  The road had to be commenced in three years and completed within seven years thereafter.  The statute incorporating the Tioga and Elmira  Plank Road Company was repealed.

            The creation of the Cowanesque Plank Road Company and the Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Road Company and the repeal of the incorporation of the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company had all been fortold in the January 30, 1850 issue of the Tioga Eagle.

            That repeal ended joint efforts between Wellsboro and Jackson Township to build a plank road through Jackson Township to Elmira.

            Were the incorporations of the Cowanesque Plank Road Company and the Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Road Company done in concert to link together and form a road leading to the New York and Erie railroad rather than the deteriorating Corning and Blossburg railroad?  Was the idea to bypass the Corning and Blossburg railroad and connect with the New York and Erie railroad?  Would Wellsboro allow the route from Wellsboro to Tioga to be put on the back burner?  Did the commissioners strike a better deal with the New York and Erie railroad, or had relations with the Corning and Blossburg railroad deteriorated?

            On March 24, 1851, the name of the Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Road Company was changed to the Wellsboro and Tioga Plank Road Company.[xxxvi]  The route from Wellsboro to Tioga became the principal route with the Tioga to Lawrenceville route becoming the option.  Was this the real objective of the Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Company all along?

            I do not know the timetable involved in approving the changes to the Corning and Blossburg line.  Construction on the new line had begun by May 15, 1851.[xxxvii]

            Were the changes being made to the Corning and Blossburg line the reason for changing the name of the plank road company and for abandoning the Tioga to Lawrenceville plank road?  Wellsboro would now be able to have railroad access at Tioga through the Corning and Blossburg railroad to the New York and Erie railroad in Corning without the need of unloading and loading cargo on different cars.

            I believe problems developed early on in the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company over the route from Tioga to Elmira.   Economics surely played a part, but regionalism within the County may have as well.  I believe the improvements to the Corning and Blossburg line ended any chance of a plank road from Wellsboro to Elmira. 

            Continued talk about a railroad from Elmira to Tioga did not help the situation.  Who would want to invest in a plank road when a railroad might be built on the same route?

            While all this was taking place, life in the rest of the county went on.

            On April 6, 1850, the Mansfield Plank Road Company was incorporated.[xxxviii]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from Mansfield to Wellsboro, with the option to extend the road through Rutland, Jackson and Wells Townships to the state line at Shephard's Corners.  1000 shares of capital stock at $25.00 per share were authorized.  The road had to be commenced in three years and completed within seven years thereafter.

            On May 3, 1850, A.C. Bush, Levi Bigelow, C.H. Price, Seth Daggett, Thomas Mitchell, Joseph Atkins, Solomon Inscho, John W. Stowell, Stephen L. Parmenter, James Miller and Samuel Miller, Jr.  were appointed commissioners for the newly incorporated Tioga and Jackson Plank Road Company.[xxxix]  The route designated ran from Tioga to the state line near Shepherds' Corner on the bed of the present public road or otherwise as the company may direct.   Capital stock consisted of 1000 shares at $25.00 per share.    The road had to be commenced in three years and completed within four years thereafter.

            On February 25, 1851, the Addison and Elkland Plank Road Company was incorporated.[xl]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from Elkland to intercept the plank road from Addison to the state line, with the option to extend the road to Knoxville.  The initial stock offering was for 500 shares at $25.00 per share.  

            On March 24, 1851, the Wellsboro and Mansfield Plank Road Company was given authority to commence building a road from Wellsboro to the state line at Shepherd's Corner by way of Mansfield and Rutland.[xli]

            On April 8, 1851, the Cowanesque Plank Road Company received authorization to begin construction at any point of its roadway.  It could erect toll gates every 3 miles.[xlii]            

            On April 12, 1851, the Pine Creek and Cowanesque Plank Road Company was incorporated.[xliii]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from Gaines center to the village of Westfield.  The initial stock offering was for 500 shares at $25.00 per share.

            On April 15, 1851, the Trout Run and Blossburg Plank Road Company was incorporated.[xliv]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from the mouth of Trout Run by way of Whitlock's steam mills and the old Block House to Blossburg.  The initial stock offering was for 10,000 shares at $25.00 per share.

            On March 25, 1852, the Osceola Plank Road Company was incorporated.[xlv]  It was authorized to construct a plank road from the Wellsboro and Tioga Plank Road Company's road near the H.H. Potter tavern in Middlebury Township to Osceola to connect to the Cowanesque Plank Road Company's road.  The initial stock offering was for 500 shares at $25.00 per share.

            On April 24, 1852, Alvah C. Bush, William B.  Clymer, Simean Benjamin, John W. Guernsey, Wright Dunham, Seth Daggett, Hector L. Miller, William Maxwell, David H. Tuthill, Riggs Watrous, Robert Covell Junior, Samuel B. Strang and William Webb were appointed commissioners for the newly re-incorporated Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company.[xlvi] The route ran from the state line by way of the Miller settlement (Millerton) and Yeoman's steam mill to the head of Westbrook Creek.  From there it proceeded down the creek to the river road, about 2 1/2 miles below Tioga Village.  Capital stock consisted of 1000 shares at $25.00 per share.  The road had to be commenced within two years and completed within four years thereafter.

            On April 18, 1853, that company was given permission to change the route of the road from a point at or near Yeoman's steam mill in Jackson by the best and most convenient route to the plank road built by the Wellsboro and Tioga Plank Road Company at or near Tioga.[xlvii]

            As you can see, there was a lot of incorporating going on in Tioga County, but little plank road building.  It would appear that they were all undercapitalized.  As far as I have been able to determine, the only plank road built was the road from Wellsboro to Tioga by the Wellsboro and Tioga Plank Road Company.

            The Wellsboro and Tioga Plank Road Company elected a board of six managers (Seth Daggett was one of them), and work began sometime in 1851 ending in late 1852.[xlviii]  The route was 17 miles long and cost $30,320.80.  That works out to be about $1784.00 per mile.[xlix]

            The road consisted of two 8 foot lanes, one planked and one not.[l]  The planked lane was the lane from Wellsboro to Tioga.

            The durability of the planking was not as promised, and by March 29, 1856, the State gave permission to the Company to cover or replace sections of the planking with earthen materials such as stone or gravel.[li]  I understand that much of the planking had been replaced with such materials by the end of the 1860s.  The road, however, continued on as a toll road or turnpike.

            The Company was forced to seek financing and borrowed $9,000.00 from the Bingham Estate and in return, executed a mortgage on the roadway.[lii]  The Company defaulted on the mortgage, and the road was sold in a sheriff sale on April 12, 1858, ending Company ownership of the road after only about 6 years.  No Company dividends were ever paid to the stockholders.

            Wellsboro gained direct railroad access around 1872.[liii]    A successor owner of the old plank road saw the futility of maintaining the road, and around 1876, he turned the road over to the municipalities through which the road ran, thus ending the road as a privately owned toll road or turnpike.

            There were at least five separate plank road companies formed that would have built a plank road through Jackson Township to connect to a plank road leading to Elmira and railroad access.  Some routes ran through Daggett, others through Millerton.

            I believe that the first Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company was formed primarily to provide Wellsboro with railroad access.  Railroad access was available in Tioga through the Corning and Blossburg railroad, but the condition of that line and its narrow gauge may have been the factors for the decision to extend the plank road through Jackson Township to the state line.

            Elmira had previously been interested in diverting Blossburg coal from going to Corning.  That interest took the form of promoting a railroad from the Tioga area to the state line at Seeley Creek.  It is likely that Elmira tried to influence the path of the plank road.  In fact, a plank road had been built from Elmira to the state line at Seeley Creek.

            I do not believe that Jackson Township was that involved initially in the plank road efforts.  Of the nine original commissioners named in the legislation setting up the company, only one appears to have been from Jackson Township.        

            Public opposition in the Township to the plank road was organized and was connected to groups from the Town of Southport and the Township of Wells, but I do not believe it had any effect.

            The Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company had problems in getting started.  An enrollment fee for the initial incorporation was not paid, and the company missed milestone dates that had been set in that initial incorporation.  The reasons for that are not clear.

            The initial incorporation legislation was amended to add additional commissioners, many from Jackson Township, and to extend the milestone dates.  It would appear that at some point in the process Jackson Township became “infected” with the plank road fever.

            Shortly after that amending legislation, several of the newly appointed commissioners from Jackson Township helped to incorporate the Elmira and Jackson Plank Road Company.  That company was charged to build a plank road from the state line to Yeoman's steam sawmill.  The distance was about 5 miles.  Two of the commissioners were from Elmira.

            That incorporation shows Elmira involvement in what was going on.  It can also be interpreted as a split within the Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company.  It would have been interesting to compare that route with the initial proposed route from Tioga. 

            The Tioga and Elmira Plank Road Company went ahead with plans to sell stock.  Public notices of the sales indicated that the commissioners were acting in concert, but no one showed up at Tioga for the first offering.  Why?  Was it because of turmoil going on at the time within the Company?

            The Company broke apart, and the legislation creating the Company was repealed.

            The Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Road Company was created to build a plank road from Tioga to Lawrenceville bypassing the Corning and Blossburg railroad.  It may be that there was coordination between that company and the company building a plank road between Elkland and Lawrenceville to form a connection to the New York and Erie railroad, thus bypassing Corning.

            The owners of the Corning and Blossburg railroad stepped up to the plate and rebuilt that line using a gauge of track compatible to the New York and Erie track, thus saving the railroad from Blossburg to Corning, and for a time, preventing a railroad from Tioga to Elmira.

            The Tioga and Lawrenceville Plank Road Company changed its name to the Wellsboro and Tioga Plank Road Company and built a plank road from Wellsboro to Tioga to connect with the Corning and Blossburg railroad.

            The roads through Jackson Township were never built as far as I have been able to determine.  The “infection” was there, but I suspect that money was the main reason why none of those roads were built.  Geography initially placed the Township in the path of the plank roads, but unfolding events probably diluted outside financial interest in building a plank road through the Township. Repeated efforts to build a railroad from Elmira to Tioga may have had a chilling effect on raising money. Public opposition probably had little impact.  The companies simply could not raise the capital necessary to build the roads.

            There are two local stories that I have often wondered were related to the plank roads.  Both stories involve the Miller family.  One story involves a member of the family building what was described as a mansion in anticipation of a new road.  The second story involves the sheriff taking action against Captain Sam Miller for building a wall or barricade across the path of a proposed road.

            The “Era of the Plank Roads” must have been interesting times in Tioga County.  In our area, you had the interplay between the railroads, between Elmira and Corning and between Wellsboro and Jackson Township.  Did the anticipated plank road influence the rebuilding of the Corning and Blossburg line, or did the rebuilding of that rail line influence the building of the plank road?

              It appears that every section of the county caught the “infection.”  You had new technologies (plank roads and railroads), promises of huge profits, talk of big money being thrown around, regional jealousies or differences, public opposition and possible collusion or backroom deals between the railroads and the investors.  Too bad the end product, the Wellsboro to Tioga plank road, was such a big flop, or was it?

            To those that invested in it, it was a financial flop.  Tioga County was involved at the time in developing its natural resources such as coal and lumber.  It was paramount to have access to outside markets.  Plank roads held the promise of providing that access.  I think it was the plank road technology that failed, not the efforts of those who sought to use it.

            It amazes me that the two major histories of Tioga County did not focus more on this story.  As a result, little has survived about a remarkable period in our history.

 

DCW 6/8/2018