MORRISANIA 21 



extending from the Harlem River to One Hundred and Thirty- 

 eighth Street, commenced by him in 1850, the Mott Haven Canal. 



It was not until 1848, however, that any concerted effort was 

 made to colonize The Bronx. A number of citizens, chiefly me- 

 chanics and laborers, had met at various- times to discuss the 

 advisability of building homes of their own on land within com- 

 muting distance of the city and possessing at the same time the 

 advantages offered by the country. It was also figured that 

 the children would derive incalculable benefit from the pure air 

 and the quiet healthful environment so woefully lacking in the 

 city. 



Tho the project met with ridicule from the skeptical and 

 timid, the enthusiasm of the leaders of the movement did not 

 wane. Following the third meeting, a committee of three, consist- 

 ing of Jordan L. Mott, Charles W. Haughton, and Nicholas Mc- 

 Graw, was selected to act merely as purchasing agents of the 

 would-be settlers. 



After a long search, it was found that the Gouverneur Morris 

 property, embracing two hundred acres of well-drained land, was 

 the most suitable for their purpose. The purchase price was 

 $37,622 — or about $173 an acre. When the avenues and streets 

 were laid out, there were 167 acres for development. 



Within two years the land was clear of debt and its name was 

 changed from New Village to Morrisania, in honor of its former 

 landlord. The total population of this village in 1850 was 961 

 persons in 149 dwellings. Between 1856 and 1868 no less than 

 eighteen distinct communities, including Mott Haven, Port Morris, 

 East and West Morrisania, Eltona, Woodstock, Bensonia, High- 

 bridgeville, Claremont, Belmont, Grovehill, and Melrose grew up 

 around Morrisania, and were incorporated with it into one 

 village. 



One of the curiosities of Morrisania was the "Huckleberry 

 Road" with its bob-tail cars. Old residents never tire of relating 

 some of the peculiar experiences they went thru when this 

 ancient horse-car line was in operation. It is said that whenever 

 the driver hit up the horses to urge them on to greater speed, the 

 car would jump the track; whereupon the conductor would request 

 the gentlemen to alight and help lift the car back upon the tracks. 

 The stoppages were so frequent that the passengers found ample 

 time to pick huckleberries along the road. 



