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BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, 
 
 APRIL 16, 1855. 
 
 The Special Committee appointed to investigate the pro- 
 priety of rebuilding the Fordham Bridge, presented the 
 following report thereon; and also, on the importance 
 of the navigation of the Harlem river, which was laid 
 on the table and ordered to be printed. 
 
 D. T. VALENTINE, Clerk. 
 
 The Committee to whom was referred the annexed com- 
 munication from the Commissioner of Repairs and Sup- 
 plies; in relation to the importance and necessity of repair- 
 ing or rebuilding the bridge across the Harlem river, 
 known as the Fordham or Hadley Bridge, respectfully 
 
 REPORT: 
 
 That they have given the subject careful attention, having 
 twice visited the bridge, examined its location, and con- 
 sulted with various parties, interested and disinterested, 
 familiar with the importance of the matter, and they are 
 fully satisfied that there exists an absolute necessity for 
 immediate action of some kind, on the part of either the 
 Board of Supervisors or the Common Council, in relation 
 to the subject referred to them. 
 
25 
 
 2 NM3 
 
 In the prosecution of their inquiries, the attention of 
 your Committee has been called to some matters of public 
 interest, which were not, perhaps, entirely within the scope 
 of the subject entrusted to them, but yet, in such degree 
 connected with it, so far as they relate to obstructions in 
 the navigation of the Harlem river, as to justify a some- 
 what elaborate consideration in this report. 
 
 In examining the question submitted to them, your Com- 
 mittee became deeply impressed with the vast interests 
 involved, to the city at large, as well as to the owners of 
 upland on the margin of the Harlem river, in establishing 
 '-and maintaining a free and unobstructed navigation, 
 through Speyten Duyvel Creek, from the North to the 
 East river. This navigation, for vessels of considerable 
 size, is now comparatively unobstructed, from the East 
 river to the old bridge, which your Committee was ap- 
 pointed to examine, so that within the last three or four 
 years, steamboats have made pleasure trips from this city 
 to its abutments through all the draw-bridges on the route, 
 as well as the High bridge. The old bridge under con- 
 sideration, forms the only absolute barrier to vessel and 
 steamboat navigation to King's bridge, which is less than 
 half a mile beyond it, on the New York side, although the 
 bridges are nearly a mile and a half distant from each 
 other, on the Westchester shore; and your Committee are 
 satisfied, from the information they obtained, that upon 
 the removal of the abutments of the old bridge, or its re- 
 construction with a draw, there will be no difficulty in 
 vessels drawing twelve feet of water, passing directly 
 from the East river to the easterly sido of King's bridge, 
 which is not more than t,vo or three hundred feet from 
 the navigable waters of Speyten Duyvel Creek, which are 
 
3 
 
 competent to carry a draft of fifteen feet of water to the 
 North river. 
 
 The obstructions to free navigation, at this point, which 
 consist of King's bridge itself, the old mill, which stands 
 • directly over tide water, and the dam which has been 
 made there, to obtain a head of water and create a fall, 
 can be readily removed for a comparatively trifling expen- 
 diture, and thus can be secured an uninterrupted naviga- 
 tion around the entire territory of our city and county, 
 the value of which, in time to come, can hardly be esti- 
 mated. 
 
 The artificial impediments in the way of vessel naviga- 
 tion, to which we have alluded, being removed, as they 
 might and should have been, years ago, when the people of 
 that neighborhood ceased to have occasion for the use of 
 a grist mill, and when the questionable right granted to 
 McComb, by the state, to maintain his dam across tide- 
 water, and to prohibit navigation by the location of his 
 mill, became void; the whole difficulty in taking vessels 
 from the East to the North river, through this passage, 
 will be overcome. The waters of the two great rivers 
 will then unite, and allow a free transportation of sloop?, 
 schooners, steamboats and barges, from one to the other, 
 with the tide, through a channel allowing a draft of at 
 least twelve feet of water, the entire distance, interrupted 
 only by the necessary draw-bridges, which it will be re- 
 quisite to maintain. 
 
 Once open this navigation, which may be so easily ac- 
 complished, and we will have secured an advantage of 
 almost incalculable value to our city, and to the trade and 
 commerce of our state. Its value to those engaged in the 
 
coasting trade, can hardly be estimated, when we consider 
 what will be saved to vessels laden with produce or mer- 
 chandise, bound from the North river to eastern ports, or 
 desiring to land bricks, lumber, coal or other freight in 
 the upper portion of our city, in avoiding the dangers, 
 expense and loss of time involved in a voyage down the 
 North river, around the Battery, up East river, and 
 through Hell Gate, a distance of about twenty-five miles, of 
 very hazardous navigation. The same saving of distance, 
 time, danger and expense, will, of course, be secured to 
 vessels of a similar character, from the upper part of the 
 city or the Eastern States, bound to Albany, or any other 
 place on the North river. 
 
 The amount of coasting trade and commerce which 
 would avail itself of such a short and direct cut from one 
 of our noble rivers to the other, would unquestionably be 
 immense, and your Committee regret that it is not in their 
 power to furnish the data upon which to found a reliable 
 estimate of its extent and importance. Every business- 
 man, however, will readily comprehend something of its 
 magnitude, and directly perceive the vast advantages to 
 be secured to it, as well as to our city, by the opening of 
 this convenient and perfectly practicable " North-west 
 Passage" from Long Island Sound to the Hudson river. 
 
 Again, when we consider the great addition this 
 opening of navigation, as above contemplated, will make 
 to the value of the real estate of the city, by rendering 
 available, for commercial purposes, a now, almost useless wa- 
 ter front of about fifteen miles in length, and its inevitable 
 tendency to hasten the improvement, and rapidly increase 
 the population nnd business of the Twelfth Ward, by the 
 
erection of wharves, and the location of manufactories 
 and store-houses, to which it is desirable to have access by 
 navigable water, all along the shores of this capacious 
 inlet from both of our great rivers, we are led to wonder 
 that the attention of our city or county government has not 
 before been seriously given to a subject, which forced itself 
 so prominently upon the consideration of your Committee. 
 
 The admirable adaptation of the shores of the Harlem 
 river for the location of large factories, iron foundries, 
 machine shops, and other descriptions of business requiring 
 convenience to navigable water, w T ill be perfectly appar- 
 ent to all who will give them an examination; while at 
 the same time, there is no place in the neighborhood of the 
 city capable of affording; such conveniencies for extensive 
 trade in lumber, brick, and other building materials — for 
 stone yards, steam mills, &c. 
 
 Leaving entirely out of the question the great advan- 
 tages your Committee have already enumerated, and 
 which must inevitably be secured, upon the removal of the 
 obstructions to navigation through this important M arm 
 of the sea,"' at and near King's bridge, we are persuaded 
 that there are still other inducements which ought to 
 stimulate our corporate authorities to engage in the work 
 of clearing out the Harlem river and rendering its naviga- 
 tion available. The saving which will accrue to our own 
 citizens, who are yet to erect the great multitude of build- 
 ings that are destined, within the next twenty-five years, 
 to cover the territory of the Twelfth and Nineteenth 
 Wards, in the item of building materials alone, to say 
 nothing of fuel and provisions, will, unquestionably, many 
 times, defray all the expense that need be incurred in 
 
6 
 
 establish! ii g and maintaining a navigable channel of twelve 
 feet in depth, through Speyten Duyvel Creek, from the 
 Hudson river to Long Island Sound. 
 
 The price of lumber, brick and other materials, at Har- 
 lem and Yorkville, has always been considerably more 
 than in other portions of the city, on account of the 
 difficulty attending their delivery. The entire reverse 
 of this would be the case, if vessels could go from 
 the North river to those places, through Speyten Duyvel 
 Creek. A cargo of lumber, brick or stone, coming down 
 the North river, destined for building in Harlem, York- 
 ville, or even in any part of the Nineteenth or Twenty- 
 first Wards, or perhaps in the Eleventh, Thirteenth or 
 Eighteenth Wards, could be delivered at considerable less 
 cost, if brought through the Harlem river, than if sub- 
 jected to the delay and consequent expense involved in a 
 circumnavigation of the Battery, Corlaer's Hook and Hell- 
 gate, amid the dangers of collision with the ferry boats, 
 steamers and numerous other vessels that constantly 
 crowd our waters in the lower part of the city; a voyage 
 which sometimes requires two or three days to accom- 
 plish. Even now, the brick-makers on the North river 
 will deliver their merchandise at King's bridge at prices 
 from twenty-five to fifty cents less, per thousand, than they 
 will at Harlem, Yorkville, or even at Kipp's Bay, in the 
 East river. The people in those localities are subjected 
 to these increased prices solely on account of the trifling 
 obstructions in the navigation existing at and near King's 
 bridge, which extend but a few rods, and but for which 
 they would be supplied at the same prices that govern such 
 articles on the North river side of the city. 
 
Your Committee are persuaded that not one in a thou- 
 sand of our citizens, have the least idea of the vast import- 
 ance and incalculable value of the Harlem river to our 
 city, or in the remotest degree, realize the advantages to 
 be derived from opening its navigation, improving its 
 water front, and rendering it available to the business of 
 commerce and trade. The time, however, is not far dis- 
 tant when the waters and the shores of this now neglected, 
 uselessly obstructed and beautiful river, will cease to be 
 regarded with indifference by ourmuncipal government or 
 our enterprising citizens. 
 
 What the Seine is to Paris, and even more useful and 
 important, the Harlem river is destined to become, to this 
 great metropolis, when its population shall expand, as it 
 surely must, till it becomes as dense upon either margin of 
 that navigable tide-water, as it now is in any part of our 
 city. It certainly requires no great stretch of the imagi- 
 nation, at this day, to believe that the child is now born, 
 who will live to see the Harlem river near the centre of 
 the immense population of the great emporium of com- 
 merce, capital and American enterprise. 
 
 In this view of the ultimate destiny of our city, your 
 Committee regard the opening of the navigation of the 
 Harlem river, and it3 preservation from further obstruc- 
 tions and encroachments, as a matter of the very highest 
 public importance; and they have no hesitation in recom- 
 mending that immediate measures be taken to establish a 
 permanent exterior line, upon both its shores, throughout 
 its entire length, from the East to the North river, where 
 the same has not already been fixed, so that its navigable 
 
8 
 
 channel may be unmistakably defined and protected from 
 all further incumbrances. 
 
 The northern boundary of our city and county extends 
 to the opposite shore, and our jurisdiction covers the 
 entire navigable portion of the river, it being thus defined 
 in our ancient city charter, as well as by the Revised 
 Statutes of the State, which fix the boundaries of the 
 several counties: — "Beginning at Spey ten Duyvel Creek, 
 where the same empties itself into the Hudson river, on 
 the Westchester side thereof, at low-water-mark, and run- 
 ning thence along said creek, at low-water-mark on the 
 Westchester side thereof, to the East river or Sound," &c. 
 Although Westchester county is quite as deeply interested 
 as this city, in any improvements that may be made upon 
 this river, and the property of her citizens upon its margin 
 will share equally with that of ours, all the benefits 
 that may accrue in opening its navigation, making the 
 necessary survey and marking out its channel, it is not 
 probable that she will be willing to share in the expense 
 that may attend these operations, on the ground that she 
 possesses no jurisdiction, and that the expenditure is all 
 to be made beyond her boundary line. 
 
 The attention of your Committee was called to several 
 unwarrantable encroachments already made upon the ter- 
 ritory and jurisdiction of our city and county, by the 
 owners of upland in the county of Westchester, which 
 they deem it their duty to bring to the especial notice of 
 the Board of Supervisors in this report, and which clearly 
 demonstrate the necessity and importance of immediately 
 causing the river to be surveyed and the establishment of 
 an exterior line, beyond which no one shall be allowed to 
 dock out on either side of the channel. 
 
Between the High Bridge, and the Hadley or Fordham 
 bridge, on the Westchester side, two piers have already 
 been built, which extend into the territory of our city some 
 two or three hundred feet, and which are calculated to 
 seriously obstruct the navigation, inasmuch as they en- 
 croach upon the channel, which it is important should be 
 preserved from all incumbrances of that kind. Also, at 
 King's bridge, besides the old mill which occupies a posi- 
 tion directly in the middle of the river, and which is now 
 being repaired, preparatory to being fitted up as a hotel, 
 your Committee found that an area of about one hundred 
 and fifty by three hundred feet has been filled in, or 
 docked out, froin the Westchester shore, to a bulkhead 
 near the middle of the river, adjoining the bridge on the 
 westerly side, extending into the territorial limits of our 
 city at least one hundred and fifty feet. Besides adding 
 to the impediments to navigation already existing at this 
 point, which must be eventually removed, this encroach- 
 ment is designed to annex nearly an acre of valuable 
 ground, originally under water, and indisputably within 
 the limits of the city and county of New York, to the 
 county of Westchester, without the consent of our county 
 or municipal government. On the New York side also, 
 a bulkhead has been erected, extending farther into the 
 river than should be permitted, if it be designed ever to 
 open the navigation, to permit the passage of vessels 
 through to the East river. 
 
 In the erection of the bulkheads, and the filling in, to 
 which your Committee have alluded, the unquestionable 
 rights of our city have been manifestly disregarded and 
 invaded, to an extent which demands the serious and 
 active consideration of the Common Council as well as 
 
10 
 
 the Board of Supervisors. And your Committee recom- 
 mend that the Counsel to the Corporation be instructed 
 to take immediate measures to have the rights of the city 
 defined, in a proper legal tribunal, and the incumbrances 
 removed, if they are found to be encroachments upon our 
 territory and the chartered privileges of the city, as we 
 are led to believe they are. 
 
 Upon a considerate review of the whole matter referred 
 to them, your Committee are constrained to doubt the ex- 
 pediency of either repairing or rebuilding the old Ford- 
 ham bridge, if it be desirable to establish and maintain 
 the navigation of the river, as they have proposed. It is 
 true, that the distance between our city and Fordham vil- 
 lage is lessened about a mile and a half, by crossing at 
 this bridge, instead of at Kingsbridge, and that its main- 
 tainance would be a great convenience and saving to the 
 people of that part of the township of West Farms; but 
 your Committee are not convinced that sufficient advan- 
 tages will be derived from the support of two bridges, so 
 near together as that and King's bridge, to compensate for 
 the expense that will attend the reconstruction of one, 
 and the necessary annual repairs of the two. 
 
 In the opinion of your Committee, a new draw -bridge about 
 midway between the two, as they now stand, would answer 
 all the purposes of travel across the river in that neighbor- 
 hood, and afford every requisite convenience that the best 
 interests of the public will justify, besides lessening the 
 impediments to navigation. The number of bridges across 
 the river should be as few as possible, and two should 
 never be tolerated where one can be made to so complete- 
 ly accommodate the travel, as at this point. 
 
11 
 
 Your Committee would therefore recommend that the 
 old King's bridge, as well as the Hadley or Fordham bridge 
 be entirely removed, and that a substantial new draw- 
 bridge be erected at a place between the two, in nearly a 
 direct line with the present traveled road, before it turns 
 the point around the hill, between Varian's Hotel and 
 King's bridge. This road, which is but a continuance of 
 Broadway, a few rods beyond the thirteenth mile stone, 
 now bends around a high hill, and runs for some distance 
 in a northerly direction, before it strikes King's bridge; 
 and one important advantage to be achieved in the erec- 
 tion of the new bridge proposed, will be to obviate this 
 awkward crook, and to straighten as well as shorten, the 
 principal public thoroughfare leading out of the county. 
 This consideration alone, in the opinion of your Commit- 
 tee, is sufficient to warrant the erection of the new bridge 
 and the discontinuance and removal of the two old ones, 
 as they have recommended. 
 
 The idea of opening and maintaining vessel navigation 
 through Speyten Duyvel Creek, from the North river to 
 Long Island Sound, is by no means new. The importance 
 of this navigation has always been conceded; and in all 
 the grants for bridging and damming the stream that 
 have been made, from time to time, an opening for boats 
 and vessels has invariably been provided for. 
 
 KINGSBRIDGE. 
 
 Was uilt long before the revolutionafy war, and 
 your Committee are not in possession of the records 
 to show from what source the authority was derived 
 to erect it over tide water. It has always been maintain- 
 ed, and kept in repair, as a public highway, at the expens 
 of this city and county. It is located at the narrowes 
 
12 
 
 point on the whole line of the river, and is so situated, 
 that it would be impracticable to convert it into a draw- 
 bridge for vessels to pass through; and this is one of the 
 reasons which induce your Committee to recommend its 
 entire removal, when the proposed new bridge shall have 
 been erected. 
 
 THE HARLEM BRIDGE, 
 
 At the termination of Third avenue, was first au- 
 thorized by an act of the legislature, passed March 
 31st, 1790, granting the privilege to Lewis Morris, 
 his heirs and assigns. This grant was subsequently 
 assigned to John B. Coles, who, on the 24th of March, 
 1795, obtained an act of the legislature, authorizing 
 him, his heirs or assigns to build a dam across the 
 Harlem river, at this place, to be of stone, and so built, as 
 to answer for the foundation of the above-mentioned 
 bridge, as well as to collect the waters of the river for 
 the use of grist and other mills. This act provides for 
 building a lock eight feet wide, forty feet long, and a 
 depth of water two feet, at low water; that the grantees 
 shall keep a man in attendance, upon said lock, at all 
 times; that the bridge shall not be less than twenty-four 
 feet wide, and shall be built within four years, from the 
 passage of the act; and that Coles, his heirs or assigns, 
 shall keep it in repair for sixty years, and collect tolls, 
 after which it shall become vested in the people of the 
 state. 
 
 In 1797, an act passed the legislature, for the relief of 
 John B. Coles, which, after giving him permission to 
 build certain roads in Westchester county, repeals the 
 clause in the grant above referred to, relating to the lock 
 and lock tender, and extends the limitation of the time. 
 
13 
 
 Under thi3 grant, Coles and associates built the present 
 Harlem bridge, which has been maintained, to the present 
 day, as a toll bridge, and which, in the course of a year 
 or two, will revert to the people of the state, and become 
 a free public highway, unless the grant is renewed by the 
 legislature. 
 
 The present proprietors of this bridge, are now making 
 application for a renewal of this old grant, and your 
 Committee deem it highly important.; to the best interests 
 of the city, that active and efficient measures should be 
 taken, on the part of the county and city government, to 
 prevent the passage of any act, by the legislature, calcu- 
 lated to perpetuate the burthens now inflicted upon the 
 traveling public, by continuing the present Harlem bridge 
 as a toll-bridge. The monopoly has been long enough en- 
 joyed by the grantees, and they have been, thousands of 
 times, remunerated for all their outlay, in building the 
 bridge, and keeping it in repair during the existence of 
 the charter, which is about to expire. 
 
 As it is not possible for them to present any valid rea- 
 sons for the further enjoyment of the privileges which they 
 have had for the last sixty years, it seems hardly probable, 
 that a renewal of them can be obtained at the hands of 
 the legislature, if the matter is rightly understood. This 
 bridge, which is so soon to become free for the public 
 travel, by virtue of the expiration of the grant to Cole3 ; 
 in 1790, should never again be allowed to fall into the 
 hands of private individuals, or a corporation, with the 
 privilege of collecting tolls* It should be maintained, as 
 a public highway, at the expense of the county. 
 
14 
 
 THE HADLEY OR FORDHAM BRIDGE, 
 
 Your Committee are unable to trace to any record. 
 When, by whom, or by what authority, it was erected, 
 is more than can be told by any records in the arch- 
 ives of our city. It is said to have had an exist- 
 ence before the revolution, and is supposed to have 
 been built by the proprietors of Fordham Manor, to 
 afford them and their tenants more ready access to the 
 city, and save them several miles' travel, to cross 
 Yonkers Creek, in order to get upon the state road lead- 
 ing to King's bridge. It has been supported always by the 
 city of New York, and kept in traveling order from the 
 funds appropriated to roads; the authorities of Westches- 
 ter county contending, that inasmuch as the bridge was 
 entirely within the boundaries of New York, it was the 
 duty of that corporation to keep it in repair. It is now 
 so much dilapidated, that your Committee have no hesi- 
 tation in recommending, that the Superintendent of Roads 
 be directed to expend no more money in endeavors to keep 
 it in a travelable condition, whether their proposition to 
 erect a new bridge be adopted or rejected. 
 
 THE OLD GRIST MILL, 
 
 At Kingsbridge, is the next recorded obstruction to 
 the navigation of the river. The grant to erect this 
 mill is very singular, inasmuch as it was made by 
 the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the city of 
 New York, to erect buildings in the middle of a naviga- 
 ble river, or " arm of the sea." This grant to Alexander 
 McComb, from the Mayor, &c, made December 2, 1800, 
 cedes to him or his heirs and assigns forever," 
 
 " All that certain piece or parcel of land covered with 
 water, situate in the Seventh Ward of the city, beginning 
 
15 
 
 by west side of King's bridge, at low watermark, on the 
 north side of the river, creek, or run of water called 
 Spuyten Duyvcl; thence running westerly along the said 
 creek, at low water mark one hundred feet, to be measur- 
 ed on a straight line; thence crossing the said creek, to a 
 place at low water mark, one hundred feet distant from 
 King's bridge; thence along the said creek easterly, at 
 low water mark, to King's bridge; and thence along the 
 west side of the said bridge; to the place of beginning 
 reserving and excepting always thereat, a passage or way 
 along the course of said creek, fifteen feet wide, to be 
 kept clean, open and unincumbered, so that all small boats 
 and craft may, freely and without obstruction, pass and re- 
 pass the same." &c. 
 
 This grant also contains a clause, that if the passage- 
 way above-mentioned is not kept open, the Corporation 
 may, at any time, re-enter, and dispossess the grantee or 
 his heirs or assigns. 
 
 It appears that this contemplated passage-way for boats 
 was never kept open, according to the stipulations of the 
 grant, and that if McComb and his heirs ever possessed 
 the right to build a mill over the tide water, by virtue of 
 this grant, the same has been forfeited by their non-com- 
 pliance with its conditions. It has, however, since been 
 established by the highest courts of our state, that neither 
 the city Corporation, nor the Legislature even, have the 
 power to authorize any such erections to the hindrance of 
 legitimate navigation in this river. The mill, therefore, 
 as it stands, is a public nuisance, impeding the free pas- 
 sage of vessels, through naturally navigable waters, and as 
 such, should be removed. The ostensible owners of the 
 
16 
 
 building have no power or right to keep it there, even if 
 they have fully complied with the conditions of the origi- 
 nal grant; and yet they are even now repairing it, and, 
 as your Committee are informed, putting it in condition 
 to be occupied as a public hotel, and will-probably hold 
 possession of the land under water, specified in the grant 
 above referred to, until legally dispossessed by due pro- 
 cess of law. 
 
 Your Committee would therefore recommend that the 
 Corporation Counsel be instructed to immediately com- 
 mence the necessary proceedings to determine the nullity 
 of the grant made by the Mayor, &c, December 2, 1800, 
 to Alexander McComb, and to cause the building erected 
 upon the land so granted, to be removed. 
 
 The consideration for the above lease or grant, is an 
 annual rent of twelve dollars and fifty cents per annum; 
 and all the privileges granted under it are to be forfeited 
 if the rent is not regularly paid. Until April of last year, 
 (1854,) no rents had been received upon this lease for 
 nearly twenty years. At that time the heirs of McComb 
 came forward and paid up all arrears of rent, and thus re- 
 suscitated privileges and rights of property which had 
 been obsolete for years, and which had been clearly for- 
 feited, for non-payment of rent, even supposing the city 
 authorities to have had a right to grant the lease origi- 
 nally, which they probably had not. The rent for the 
 current year has also been paid, and it is quite probable 
 that the present holders of the grant will continue to pay 
 regularly, so long as they are permitted to hold possession 
 of the land under water, or are suffered to maintain a 
 public hotel upon it. 
 
IT 
 
 It is a matter of regret that the Comptroller should 
 have accepted the back rent upon this lease instead of 
 forfeiting it. And yet there will probably be no difficulty 
 in establishing the nullity of the grant, by declaring the old 
 mill a public nuisance, in the manner prescribed by law. 
 
 BRIDGE TO WARD'S ISLAND. 
 
 In the year 1807, the proprietors of Ward's Island, con- 
 templating the use of their property for the location of 
 factories and the erection of a manufacturing village, ap- 
 plied to the legislature for authority to connect it with 
 New York Island, by a bridge. An act was passed 
 February 20, 1807, authorizing Philip Milldoller and 
 Bartholomew Ward to build a bridge across the Harlem 
 river, from Milldoller's land to Ward's Island, with an 
 opening in the centre of not less than twenty-five feet, and 
 a draw of twelve feet in width. This bridge was built as 
 contemplated, and maintained for many years, until the 
 project of settling a large town on Ward's Island " died 
 out," when the bridge was suffered to decay, for lack of 
 inducement to keep it in repair. 
 
 The abutments of this bridge are still in existence, and 
 it may become necessary, at some future time, to cause 
 them to be removed, as they are found to offer some con- 
 siderable impediment in the way of the navigation through 
 " Little Hell Gate," as well as the mouth of Harlem 
 river. 
 
 McCOMB's dam. 
 
 This dam, at the termination of the Seventh avenue, 
 and which is now used as a bridge, from which the osten- 
 sible proprietors collect a toll of all who cross it, without 
 2 
 
18 
 
 any legal authority, as your Committee can discover, was 
 originally designed to gather and hold the waters of the 
 river for the benefit of the grist-mill at King's bridge, 
 making a pond of the waters between it and the mill, by 
 preventing their ebbing out, after the pond had been 
 filled by a flood tide. 
 
 This dam was erected by permission of the legislature 
 of the state, which passed an act, April 8, 1813, author- 
 izing Robert McComb, his heirs or assigns, first obtaining 
 the consent of the Mayor and Com monalty of New York, to 
 build a dam across the Harlem river, from Bussing's Point, 
 in the Ninth Ward of the citv of New York, to Devoe's 
 Point in the town of Westchester, to be constructed of 
 earth and stone, or other durable materials, with an open- 
 ing in the centre, or other part thereof, of sufficient width 
 to allow the water to pass freely through, on which open- 
 ing may be constructed flood-gates or other contrivances 
 needful to retain the waters of the river. 
 
 It also provides, that the clam shall be so constructed, as 
 to allow the free passage of boats and vessels accustomed to 
 navigate the river, either by means of a gate-lock, apron, 
 or other contrivance; that the grantee, his heirs or assigns, 
 shall have at all times a person in attendance, so that no 
 unnecessary delay shall happen to persons wishing to pass 
 the same with boats or vessels. This law gave no autho- 
 ity to erect a toll bridge, or to collect tolls of any one 
 who should pass over the dam, from one side of the river 
 to the other. 
 
 In compliance with the above-named act of the legisla- 
 ture, Mr. McComb applied to the Common Council for 
 
L9 
 
 the consent required, to erect his dam, and on the 20th 
 September, 1813, a resolution was adopted, giving per- 
 mission to construct the dam, according to the legislative 
 grant, upon which a lease was issued, securing to Mc- 
 Comb and his heirs or assigns, forever, all the land under 
 water required for their purpose, which now includes a 
 considerable amount of upland, embracing a valuable gore, 
 between the road leading to the dam and the Seventh 
 avenue, upon the payment of an annual rent of twelve dol- 
 lars and fifty cents. One of the covenants in this lease 
 provides, that if this rent is not regularly paid within ten 
 days after the frrst day of May, in each year, the Corpo- 
 ration shall have a right to distrain, and that the lease 
 shall be forfeited. 
 
 Like the grant at King's bridge, for the mill site, the 
 rent stipulated in this lease had remained unpaid for 
 about twenty years, until April 1854, when the amount in 
 arrears was all paid up, and all future rents commuted, by 
 the execution of a quit-reut deed, for a consideration of 
 two hundred and eight dollars and thirty-three cents, be- 
 ing calculated as the principal upon which the annual 
 rent of twelve dollars and fifty cents was based. The 
 unnecessary acceptance of this back rent, and the paltry 
 commutation of future claims for rent, upon the basis pro- 
 vided by law, invests the fee of a very valuable property 
 in the heirs of McComb, which was clearly forfeited to 
 the city, and for which the public have great need. The 
 interests of the city were clearly lost sight of in this 
 settlement, and in the execution of the quit-rent deed; 
 and yet, it is very probable that all may yet be restored 
 to the city, by the abrogation of the original grant for 
 non-compliance with other stipulations which it contains, 
 
20 
 
 as well as for the utter disregard which the grantees 
 have ever manifested for the conditions of the legislative 
 grant, in neglecting to provide for the ready passage of 
 vessels through the dam. 
 
 The entire perversion of both of the McCoinb grants, 
 above referred to, from the purposes for which they were 
 given, is probably sufficient to secure their forfeiture in 
 the courts of law. Instead of a grist mill for the con- 
 venience of the neighborhood, which was contemplated in 
 the first grant, a hotel is to be established; and in place 
 of a mill dam, to gather and hold the water* of the river, 
 for the purposes of the mill, in the second grant, we have 
 a private toll bridge, without any authority of law, levy- 
 ing an involuntary tax upon all the travel over an im- 
 portant avenue leading out of the city. An abuse exists 
 in suffering toll to be collected of those who pass over this 
 dam, which ought to be abated. With a view to the 
 establishment of free travel over Mc Comb's Dam, your 
 Committee would urge the immediate prosecution of a 
 suit to determine whether ail the rights and privileges 
 originally granted to McComb, have not been forfeited, 
 and whether the dam does not belong to the city, and may 
 not be used as a free public highway. 
 
 The fact, that McCoinb's Dam, King's bridge, and the 
 mill, are public nuisances, which can be abated and re- 
 moved by any person having occasion to navigate the 
 Harlem river, or by indictment, has been established by 
 the highest courts of law in this state, in the decisions 
 rendered in the case of Renwick vs. Morris. See Hill's 
 Reports 3d vol., p. 621, also 7th vol., p. 575. 
 
21 
 
 It appears that in 1839, Mr. Lewis Morris, with others, 
 in order to obtain a passage through McComVs Dam with 
 steamboats and other vessels, forcibly removed the dam 
 between three of the abutments, and completely took away 
 one entire abutment. For this act, Mr. Renwick, repre- 
 senting the heirs of McComb, brought a suit in the Supe- 
 rior Court, to recover damages for trespass, when the 
 judge charged that the bridge was a public nuisance, and 
 that defendant had a right to abate it by his own act, in 
 the removal of so much of the dam as was necessary to 
 make a safe and convenient passage for all vessels, at any 
 time of tide, which had been accustomed to navigate the 
 river; judgment was consequently rendered for defendant. 
 The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court, where the 
 judgment was sustained, after able arguments on both sides. 
 Mr. Justice Cowan, in rendering the opinion of the court 
 said: — "The Harlem river being navigable, McComb and 
 his assigns would, independently of the statute, have been 
 guilty of a public nuisance in building the dam. The only 
 effect of the statute was, to vest a power in him and his 
 heirs to build and maintain the dam in the manner pre. 
 scribed by the legislature. " Not having so maintained 
 the dam, any one has a right to remove it so far as it ob- 
 structs the navigation of the river. Not content with 
 this decision, the plaintiff carried his suit to the Court of 
 Errors, on an appeal, where the judgment of the courts be- 
 low was finally affirmed. Chancellor Walworth, in giving 
 the opinion of this tribunal, said : — " The Harlem river 
 was an arm of the sea, and a public navigable river ; and 
 it was a public nuisance to obstruct the navigation thereof, 
 without authority of law. The act of the legislature did 
 not authorize the obstruction of the navigation of the 
 
22 
 
 river in the manner in which it was done by the dam in 
 question. The length of time which this public nuisance 
 had been continued, did not legalize it; for every continu- 
 ance of the obstruction was of itself a nuisance." 
 
 The same decisions in the case above referred to, clearly 
 establish that all the obstructions to the navigation of the 
 Harlem river for vessels competent to pass through its 
 natural channel, are public nuisances, which can be re- 
 moved by indictment or otherwise, so far as they serve 
 to impede the passage of any water craft seeking to pass 
 over or through them. 
 
 It was with a view to the preservation of this valuable 
 navigation, that the city of New York was compelled to 
 expend about a million of dollars in the erection of the 
 High Bridge, in order to bring the Croton water into its 
 territory. The discussion that arose upon the question of 
 building that noble structure, which is, doubtless, familiar 
 to the members of this Board, established the fact, beyond 
 further doubt, that the Harlem river is "a navigable arm 
 of the sea," and that its navigation cannot be abolished, 
 even by the action of our state legislature. It is our 
 duty to preserve it, and improve it, not only on account of 
 its immense importance to our city, but because of its 
 great value to the trade and commerce of our country be- 
 tween the states. 
 
 With the same view, the legislature, in granting per- 
 mission to the Harlem and Hudson river railroad compa- 
 nies, to build bridges over the waters of this river, have 
 provided that they shall maintain draws capable of ad- 
 mitting the passage of all vessels desiring to pass through 
 them. 
 
23 
 
 It is perhaps proper to notice, that near the middle of 
 the river, at the point where your Committee would 
 recommend the erection of the proposed new bridge, 
 there is a small island, oh either side of which is a navi- 
 gable channel. This island, which, we are informed, was 
 originally but a small rock, of not half* the dimensions it 
 now contains, has been artificially enlarged by the par- 
 ties who have held possession of it by sufferance. The 
 Common Council, in February, 1814, voted to lease this 
 island to Robert McComb, for the term of twenty-one 
 years, but your Committee do not find any such lease ex- 
 isting, and it is therefore to be presumed that none was 
 ever executed. This small island, the fee of which be- 
 longs to the city, may be incorporated in the proposed 
 bridge, and save the expense of sinking an artificial abut- 
 ment, or it can be removed altogether if it should be 
 deemed advisable. 
 
 In consideration of the various subjects embraced in this 
 report, the attention of your Committee has been called to 
 the attempts that have heretofore been made to establish 
 water navigation through the territory of our city, be- 
 tween the two rivers, otherwise than by way of the natu- 
 ral channel of Spe} ten Duyvel Creek, to which projects 
 we will briefly call the attention of the Board. 
 
 HARLEM CANAL. 
 
 April 18, 1826,the state legislature incorporated the Har- 
 lem Canal Co., authorizing said company to construct a ca- 
 nal, basins, &c., across the island of New York, anywhere 
 between Ninety-fifth and One hundred and thirty-fifth 
 streets; and subsequently, April 13, 1827, the time for com- 
 
24 
 
 pleting said canal, was extended to four years from that 
 date. This canal had no direct connection with the naviga- 
 tion of the Harlem river, as it was designed to open an arti- 
 ficial passage for boats and small vessels, from the T^ast 
 to the North river, through the low grounds of Harlem 
 and the valley at'Manhattanville. The importance of such 
 navigation was at that time realized to some extent, and 
 a considerable sum of money was expended in the com- 
 mencement of the canal, before the project was abandoned. 
 The project of constructing a canal between our two 
 great rivers, at this point, is very feasible, and could, no 
 doubt, be made a very profitable one in the hands of a 
 private corporation, for the accommodation of the immense 
 trade and commerce between the East and North rivers, 
 to which your Committee have alluded, in another part of 
 this report, if the natural channel through the Harlem 
 river and Speyten Duyvel creek, should not be opened for 
 the free passage of vessels, as we have suggested. The 
 time, however, will come, when a canal f»om river to 
 river at this point will be of vast importance, and of im- 
 mense value for the accommodation of business in that 
 part of the city, when its population shall become dense, 
 and the advantage of water communication to the interior 
 of the city demonstrated, especially at this, the widest point 
 of our island. 
 
 • 
 
 HARLEM RIVER CANAL. 
 
 April 16, 1827, the legislature passed an act incorporating 
 the Harlem river Canal Company, authorizing the corpora- 
 tors to cut a canal from Speyten Duyvel creek to the Har- 
 lem river, and to improve the navigation of the Harlem river 
 for vessels, boats and other freighting craft, and also, for 
 
25 
 
 steam and other boats, to be used on said canal and river, 
 authorizing said company to purchase, build, or hire ware- 
 houses, wharves or other buildings necessary for the busi- 
 ness of the company, and providing that the consent of the 
 Common Council of the city, shall first be obtained for the 
 construction of the canal, and that the same shall be com- 
 pleted within two years from the date of the passage of 
 the act. In April, 1829, the work not being completed, 
 the time was extended two years from that date. This 
 extension was also suffered to expire; and May 13, 1836, 
 another act was passed, reviving that of 1827, and allow- 
 ing five years more, for the construction of the canal; pro- 
 viding also, that all persons residing on Harlem river 
 or Speyten Duyvel creek, should pass through this canal 
 at all times, with market or pleasure boats, without charge 
 of toll. This corporation was to continue fifty years, and 
 the consent of the Common Council was accorded, as re- 
 quired by the charter from the legislature, and the work 
 upon the canal commenced, and carried to a considerable 
 extent. The design of this canal, was to afford water 
 access to extensive marble quarries which it was intended 
 by this company to open and work upon its margin; but 
 before the canal was completed, the marble was condemn- 
 ed as unsuitable for building purposes, and the whole pro- 
 ject was abandoned. It would, however, require but a 
 small expenditure to complete the work which was com- 
 menced by this company, and to open a navigable passage 
 through the valley at this point, from Harlem river to 
 Speyten Duyvel creek. The actual distance at this place, 
 between the navigable waters of the Harlem river flowing 
 from Long Island Sound, and those of Speyten Duyvel 
 flowing from the Hudson river, is less than half a mile, 
 3 
 
26 
 
 while the distance through the natural channel, around 
 the Highlands, by way of King's bridge, is about three 
 miles. 
 
 The distance that might be saved by the opening of an 
 artificial channel at this point, has suggested the idea that 
 eventually it might be found advantageous to abandon the 
 natural channel around by King's bridge, and make one 
 here, of sufficient capacity to accommodate all vessels 
 that might desire to pass between the North river and 
 the East. Your Committee, however, adhere to the plan 
 of securing an unobstructed navigation through the nat- 
 ural channel, by removing the comparatively trifling in- 
 cumbrances at King's bridge. It may be desirable in the 
 future, to open a canal through this valley, as well as at 
 Manhattanville, and the propriety of the measure can only 
 be determined by time and circumstances. 
 
 THE EXTERIOR LINE. 
 
 In a previous paragraph in this report, your Committee 
 have referred to the importance of immediately causing a 
 survey to be made of the Harlem river, and the establish- 
 ment of a water line upon each of its shores, with a view 
 to the preservation of its channel from a multiplication of 
 such unwarrantable encroachments as already exist. The 
 legislative warrant for this survey has already been ob- 
 tained, by an Act passed April 14, 1852, which authorizes 
 the Common Council to lay out and fix a permanent exte- 
 rior street, " along the Harlem river, from the East river 
 or Sound, to the Hudson river," and to cause a map to be 
 made, which, when approved, shall be filed in the office of 
 the Street Commissioner. This act also gives the Com- 
 
27 
 
 mon Council the title to all lands under water, from low 
 water mark to the exterior street to be established, and 
 including the same. 
 
 In view of the great importance of the subject embraced 
 in this report, your Committee would recommend the 
 adoption of the following resolutions : 
 
 Resolved, That it is inexpedient to rebuild or repair the 
 Fordham, or Hadley Bridge, and that the Commissioner 
 of Repairs and Supplies be, and he is hereby instructed to 
 expend no more money, either in repairing the said bridge, 
 or the causeway leading to it from the King's bridge road. 
 
 Resolved, That the interests of the city and county will 
 be subserved, and the public convenience promoted, by the 
 erection of a suitable and substantial drawbridge across 
 the Harlem river, as a continuation of Broadway, or the 
 King's bridge road, from a point near the thirteenth mile 
 stone, in a straight line to the Westchester shore : and 
 that, upon the completion of such drawbridge, King's 
 bridge, as now existing, as well as the Fordham Bridge, 
 shall be abolished as a public highway, and the abutments 
 of each removed, in order to facilitate the navigation of 
 the Harlem river. 
 
 Resolved, That Edwin Smith, Civil Engineer, one of the 
 City Surveyors, be authorized, and he is hereby directed, 
 to make a proper survey of the location, and devise a suit- 
 able plan of a bridge across the Harlem river, as pro- 
 posed in the preceding resolution, to be submitted to this 
 Board for approval, with estimates of the probable amount 
 that will be required to complete it for the purposes of 
 travel, and the passage through it of vessels navigating 
 the river. 
 
28 
 
 Resolved, That the same surveyor, (Edwin Smith) be also 
 employed to make a survey of the Harlem river, and 
 Speyten Duyvel creek, and to make a map of said river, 
 defining an exterior line, in accordance with chapter 285 
 of the laws of the state, passed April 14th, 1852, on both 
 sides of the river, where the same has not already been 
 established ; and also to estimate and report the extent 
 of the obstructions to the navigation of said river, at and 
 near King's bridge, with a view to their ultimate re- 
 moval. 
 
 Resolved, That the Corporation Counsel, be and he is here- 
 by directed to examine the several grants to Rob't and Alex- 
 ander McComb, of land underwater, upon the Harlem riv- 
 er, with privileges to erect dams and a mill, and report to this 
 Board, whether said grants, if ever valid, have not been 
 forfeited ; and also, whether the mill and the dams erected 
 under those grants or leases, cannot be removed as a pub- 
 lic nuisance, without infringing upon the legal rights of 
 the heirs or assigns of the original lessees or grantees. 
 
 Resolved, That the Corporation Counsel be, and he is 
 hereby instructed to commence the necessary legal pro- 
 ceedings to cause the removal of all encroachments upon 
 the chartered rights of the city, to land under water upoa 
 the Westchester shore of Speyten Duyvel creek, by the 
 owners of upland, and to have said rights defined by a 
 competent tribunal. 
 
 ANSON HERRICK, 
 NATHAN C. ELY, 
 CUMM1NGS H. TUCKER, 
 
 Special 
 Committee. 
 
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