When can I get there from here? Early 19 th Century Stagecoach Networks and Settlement Development in Maine

Transcription

1 When can I get there from here? Early 19 th Century Stagecoach Networks and Settlement Development in Maine Donald G. Janelle University of California, Santa Barbara Local organizer: Dave Chaplin Curtis Memorial Library Brunswick, Maine 9 Sept 2010

2 This presentation is dedicated to Maynard Weston Dow native son of Brunswick, Maine BSc US Naval Academy, PhD Syracuse U retired Colonel (USAF) retired Professor of Geography (University of New Hampshire, Plymouth) resident: Bristol, NH / Camden, ME devotee of the Maine landscape and of all things New England

3 Background to studying Maine stagecoach networks Settlement systems and the competitive status of places Maine documentation from early European occupancy The research: Time tables, registries, Census Prelim. analysis Northwestern U. Trans. Library (1967) U. Western Ontario (1974), Free U. Amsterdam (1975) Revival (2010), Liberty ME

4 Context of stage network development in Maine 1820s Rapid frontier expansion (demand for resources & land; accommodating immigration) K to K (growth rate: 33%) Statehood (1820) and selection of new capital at Augusta Transition in transportation/information technologies (dawn of steam era)

5 Alan K. Philbrick Dimensional Regions of Coastal Maine in DG Janelle (ed.) Geographical Snapshots of North America (NY: The Guilford Press, 1992), pp

6 Alan K. Philbrick Dimensional Regions of Coastal Maine in DG Janelle (ed.) Geographical Snapshots of North America (NY: The Guilford Press, 1992), pp

7 Alan K. Philbrick Dimensional Regions of Coastal Maine in DG Janelle (ed.) Geographical Snapshots of North America (NY: The Guilford Press, 1992), pp

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9 Frederick Gardiner Fassett, A History of Newspapers in the District of Maine, , University of Maine Studies, Second Series, No. 25 (Orono: University Press, 1932), p. 184.

10 Frederick Gardiner Fassett, A History of Newspapers in the District of Maine, , University of Maine Studies, Second Series, No. 25 (Orono: University Press, 1932), p Summary of Journalistic Expansion

11 Stagecoach Networks Maine

12 Stagecoach Networks Maine 1826

13 Stagecoach Networks Maine 1826

14 Stagecoach Networks Maine 1826

15 Discrepancies Goodrich (map) Burley & Arnold Sun none A to B Mon B to A B to A Tues none A to B Weds A to B B to H Thurs B to A H to B Fri none B to A Sat A to B none A = Augusta B = Bangor H = Hallowell

16 Stagecoach Networks Maine 1829

17 Stagecoach Networks Maine 1829

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19 Layover time (hours)* at Augusta 1826 Departing stage Arriving stage A B C D E Row Totals Augusta & Bangor (A) Augusta & Belfast (B) Maine Stage Augusta & Waterville (C) 8½ 8½ 32½ ½ 69½ Maine Stage Portland & Augusta (D) Portland, Hallowell & Augusta (E) Column totals *Average delay between arrival and departure

20 Bangor stage arrivals and departures Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat 1826 Weekly Totals Arrivals Departures Arrivals Departures

21 Shortest scheduled trip times in hours (one-way, either way) Maine stagecoach system 1826 Augusta Ban. Bath. Bel. Brun. Buck. Gor. Par. Port. Saco Thom. Wat. Bangor 16 Bath 9 30 Belfast Brunswick 6½ Bucksport Gorham ½ 47 Paris Portland 11½ 39½ Saco Thomaston Waterville 3½ ½ Wiscasset

22 Layover times for stage connections at principal transfer centers Maine, 1826 and 1829 Average layover (hours) Augusta Bangor Bath Belfast Brunswick Paris Portland Saco Waterville Wiscasset

23 Shortest scheduled trip times in hours (one-way, either way) Maine stagecoach system 1829 Augusta Ban. Bath Bel. Brun. Buck. Farm.Gor.Ken. Ken-p Nor. Paris Pars. Port. Saco Thom. Wat. Bangor 8 Bath 7 28 Belfast Brunswick Bucksport Farmington Gorham Kennebunk 15 31½ ½ 35½ 10½ Kennebunkport15½ 32 11½ 33½ 10½ ½ Norridgewock ½ 34 Paris ½ Parsonfield ½ Portland ½ Saco 14 30½ ½ 1 32½ 34½ 12 2 Thomaston ½ ½ Waterville ½ ½ 47 Wiscasset ½

24 Changes in Stage Network Flows: Total Absolute Percent Rank* Rank* Rank* weekly change change of center percent absolute 1826 departures increase Augusta increase Bangor Bath Belfast Brunswick Bucksport China Gorham Gray Hallowell Hampden Kennebunk Orrington Paris Portland Saco Standish Thomaston Vasselboro Waldeboro Waterville Wiscasset Total* *Totals/Ranks include 1829 departures for Farmington 3, Fryeburg 2, Kennebunkport 6, Norridgewock 6, Parsonfield 2

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26 Average Time- Space Convergence Land 60 min/yr ( ) Land -Air 29 min/yr ( ) Railroad 3.4 min/yr ( ) DG Janelle, Central Place Development in a Time-space Framework, The Professional Geographer, 20 (Jan 1968) 5 10.

27 Avg TSC 26 min/yr

28 Changes in stagecoach accessibility for places in Maine Avg. travel Absolute Percent Accessibility Convergence time* (hours) convergence change rankings rankings (hours) trip times Absolute Relative Augusta Bangor Bath Belfast Brunswick Bucksport Gorham Paris Portland Saco Thomaston Waterville Wiscasset *Average travel time required to go from each place to all other 12 places

29 Defining the core of Maine s settlement system Numbers = percent of all places that each town has access to without need for overnight lodging. Core defined: as less than 1-day access without overnight delays for at least half of all places in the system at least once per week and for all centers within the core on any day of the week Augusta Bangor Bath Belfast Brunswick Bucksport Farmington - 6 Gorham 8 47 Kennebunk/Kb-p - 47/47 Norridgewock - 12 Paris 17 6 Parsonfield 41 Portland Saco Thomaston Waterville Wiscasset 33 71

30 Summary Volatility in frontier settlement access Frequent changes in schedules (difficult to document) Discontinuity of space and time (periodicity) Stability and reinforcement of places and routes Emergence of interior corridor from Portland to Bangor Emerging centrality of Augusta (accessibility gains, convergence) First bridge (1797/1819), head of navigation, and capital conferred centrality Persistence of Portland as dominant center/gateway Technology transitions (complementarity to hegemony) stage to rail to auto

31 Extending the research Include rail, limited-access-highway, air, and the era of instant communications Add qualitative insight to quantitative assessment: Experiential (diaries/stories/anecdotes) Motivation of transportation entrepreneurs Motivation of travelers Role of information Leading centers and their information hinterlands Content analysis of newspapers and legislative debates Uncertainty (economic, environmental, weather, accidents, technology, information accuracy, etc.)

32 Thank you! Special thanks to Dave and Joyce Chaplin Don Janelle For information on the UCSB Center for Spatial Studies