Rivers, Bridges, Stagecoaches, and Settlement System Development in early Nineteenth Century Maine Donald G. Janelle University of California, Santa Barbara A T h i n k S p a t i a l presentation 30 April 2013
a work in progress (slowly) 1967 Northwestern University Transportation Library; Moscow 1976; Maine 2010 The general research problem: What is the developmental response of settlement systems to changing transportation technologies and infrastructure? How do settlement and transport systems evolve spatially in frontier settings of rapid change?
Places and the settlement system Competition among places for regional and continental dominance Competition among places for information Extending networks to capture hinterlands How do settlement systems accommodate technological transitions in transportation and communication? Historical transportation geography of the United States: Donald Meinig, The Shaping of America (3 vols) James Vance, Jr, Capturing the Horizon: The Historical Geography of Transportation since the Transportation Revolution of the 16 th Century George Taylor, The Transportation Revolution: 1815-1860 Edward Chase Kirkland, Men, Cities and Transportation: A Study in New England History, 1820-1900
Page 1, first sentence: Are there laws which determine the number, sizes, and distributions of towns? 1933
Mercantile Model James Vance Sequence of development Taaffe, Morrill & Gould
B B P
S B W B A
Alan K. Philbrick Dimensional Regions of Coastal Maine in DG Janelle (ed.) Geographical Snapshots of North America (NY: The Guilford Press, 1992), pp. 245-249.
Alan K. Philbrick Dimensional Regions of Coastal Maine in DG Janelle (ed.) Geographical Snapshots of North America (NY: The Guilford Press, 1992), pp. 245-249.
Settlements
Bridges Rivers for transportation and communication Fording crossings and ferry services for landlocked and tidewater regions Bridges and the head of navigation/resource access The Kennebec River: Competitive struggle for the first bridge--sets the head of navigation Struggles for a bridge seaward of the first bridge Bridge technology and settlement Swing bridges and lift bridges
Historical Context: Maine in the 1820s Why the 1820s? Rapid frontier expansion (demand for resources & land; accommodating immigration) Industrialization / demand for both power and access Population: 1820 300K to 1830 400K (+33%) Statehood (1820) selection of new capital at Augusta Transition in transportation/information The turnpike and canal eras, and the dawn of steam power Issues: Uncertainty over the northeastern boundary dispute with Great Britain Bridges and jockeying for position on the river (Kennebec)
Goodrich, A. T. The Northern Traveller. Containing the Routes to Niagara, Quebec, and the Springs, with the Tour of New England and the Route to the Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 2n ed, improved and extended. New York, A. T. Goodrich, J & J Harper, Printers, 1826.
Badger, W., and Porter, R. The Stage Register. Containing a Full Account of the Principal Lines of Stages, Steamboats and Canal Packets in the New England States and the State of New York. No. XXIII. Boston: Press of the American Traveler, 1829.
Stagecoach Network Maine Derived from: Goodrich, A. T. The Northern Traveller. Containing the Routes to Niagara, Quebec, and the Springs, with the Tour f New England and the Route to the Coal Mines of Pennsylvania, 2n ed, improved and extended. New York, A. T. Goodrich, J & J Harper, Printers, 1826.
Stagecoach Network Maine Derived from Badger & Porter s:
Stagecoach Networks Maine
Stagecoach Networks Maine 1826
Stagecoach Networks Maine 1829
Bangor stage arrivals and departures Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat 1826 Weekly Totals Arrivals 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 5 Departures 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 5 1829 Arrivals 2 6 7 6 6 6 7 40 Departures 2 7 6 6 6 7 6 40
Layover time (hours)* at Augusta 1826 Departing stage Arriving stage A B C D E Row Totals Augusta & Bangor (A) 32 32 44 12 9 129 Augusta & Belfast (B) 32 128 20 12 9 201 Maine Stage Augusta & Waterville (C) 8½ 8½ 32½ ½ 69½ 119.5 Maine Stage Portland & Augusta (D) 37 37 1 16 11 102 Portland, Hallowell & Augusta (E) 34 34 46 14 11 139 Column totals 143.5 239.5 143.5 54.5 109.5 690.5 *Average delay between arrival and departure
Layover times for stage connections at principal transfer centers Maine, 1826 and 1829 Average layover (hours) 1826 1829 Augusta 27.6 16.2 Bangor 25.3 12.7 Bath 4.1 7.8 Belfast 24.2 10.5 Brunswick 9.3 3.2 Paris 37.0 12.0 Portland 25.4 13.1 Saco 6.3 7.9 Waterville 8.0 6.3 Wiscasset 10.0 9.3
Discrepancies Goodrich 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
Changes in Stage Network Flows: 1826 1829 Total Absolute Percent Rank* Weekly Change Change Departures 1826 1829 1826 1829 Augusta 15 40 25 167 6 5 Bangor 5 16 11 220 16 14 Bath 21 35 14 67 3 7 Belfast 10 30 20 200 9.5 9 Brunswick 35 58 23 66 1 2 Bucksport 4 9 5 125 18.5 18 China 6 26 20 333 14 10 Gorham 4 10 6 150 18.5 17 Gray 8 6-2 - 25 11 22.5 Hallowell 18 33 15 83 5 8 Hampden 6 7 1 17 14 20 Kennebunk 7 47 40 571 12 4 Orrington 4 18 14 350 18.5 12.5 Paris 2 2 0 0 22 27 Portland 33 68 35 106 2 1 Saco 20 55 35 175 4 3 Standish 4 8 4 100 18.5 19 Thomaston 6 12 6 100 14 15.5 Vasselboro 10 38 28 280 9.5 6 Waldeboro 12 18 6 50 8 12.5 Waterville 3 12 9 300 21 15.5 Wiscasset 13 25 12 92 7 11 Total* 246 500 254 103 *Totals/Ranks include 1829 departures for Farmington 3, Fryeburg 2, Kennebunkport 6, Norridgewock 6, Parsonfield 2
Daily directional biases of network connectivity (Gamma Index) Maine stage-coach system, 1826 1829 1826 network of 18 places Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Portland-directed 20.8 31.3 29.2 20.8 33.3 22.9 20.8 Periphery-oriented 16.7 31.3 16.7 37.5 20.8 18.8 35.4 1829 network of 18 places* Portland-directed 18.8 37.5 43.8 37.5 41.7 37.5 43.8 Periphery-oriented 18.8 45.8 37.5 43.8 39.6 43.8 39.6 * Gamma Index = e/(3(v-2))(100), where e is the number of edges and v equals the number of centers (18 in this case). Interpreted as the percentage of observed number of stage lines to the maximum possible number of links for a network of v places. - Highest gamma values for the directed networks are underscored.
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 16 6 22 Brunswick 6½ 32 2 24 Bucksport 29 3 27 3 29 Gorham 24 50 22 42 17½ 47 Paris 35 60 30 53 28 58 24 Portland 11½ 39½ 6 30 4 35 1 11 Saco 26 50 10 40 8 45 14 13 2 Thomaston 41 38 9 6 11 23 29 40 17 27 Waterville 3½ 16 13 16 11 29 28 36 15½ 26 40 Wiscasset 30 28 2 20 4 25 22 32 10 20 6 34
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 8 6 9 Brunswick 6 23 1 16 Bucksport 11 3 24 3 26 Farmington 12 32 38 34 27 35 Gorham 13 27 11 25 7 31 34 Kennebunk 15 31½ 11 33 10 34½ 35½ 10½ Kennebunkport15½ 32 11½ 33½ 10½ 35 36 11 ½ Norridgewock 10 34 28 36 29 37 36 36 33½ 34 Paris 12 32 28 34 27 35 36 34 35½ 36 38 Parsonfield 27 36 14 38 13 49 60 7 13 13½ 38 106 Portland 9 18 5 20 2 29 29 1 2½ 3 20 29 8 Saco 14 30½ 10 30 9 34 35 10 ½ 1 32½ 34½ 12 2 Thomaston 24 20 6 6 21 17 52 26 28 28½ 54 52 31 25 27½ Waterville 3 27 21 29 11 30 29 29 26½ 27 7 31 31 13 25½ 47 Wiscasset 9 26 1 8 2 23 35 10 12 12½ 38 34 24 7 11 5 31
Changes in stagecoach accessibility for places in Maine 1826 1829 Avg. travel Absolute Change time* (hours) convergence in 1826 1829 (hours) trip times Augusta 20.60 10.33 10.27 -.50 Bangor 30.70 20.71 9.99 -.33 Bath 15.17 12.58 2.59 -.17 Belfast 23.20 16.16 7.04 -.284 Brunswick 14.70 12.58 2.12 -.14 Bucksport 29.40 22.16 7.24 -.25 Gorham 26.70 19.50 7.20 -.27 Paris 35.00 31.88 3.12 -.09 Portland 15.21 13.33 1.88 -.12 Saco 23.40 19.83 3.57 -.15 Thomaston 23.90 23.04.86 -.04 Waterville 22.30 24.79 + 2.49 +.11 Wiscasset 19.42 13.92 5.40 -.283 *Average travel time required to go from each place to all other 12 places
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. 1826 1829 Augusta 50 88 Bangor 33 18 Bath 58 71 Belfast 42 41 Brunswick 58 65 Bucksport 17 12 Farmington - 6 Gorham 8 47 Kennebunk/Kb-p - 47/47 Norridgewock - 12 Paris 17 6 Parsonfield 41 Portland 75 65 Saco 42 53 Thomaston 42 17 Waterville 50 24 Wiscasset 33 71
Summary: the Maine settlement system Volatility in frontier settlement access Frequent changes in schedules (trial and error) Changes in settlement connectivity Discontinuity of space and time (periodicity) Stability and reinforcement of places and routes Persistence of Portland as dominant center/gateway 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 Technology transitions (competition, complementarity, hegemony)
Landscapes of Uncertainty (economic, environmental, weather, accidents, technology, information accuracy, etc.) Unanswered Questions Will these findings persist through transitions from stages to rail, to improved roads/limited-accesshighways, air, and the era of instant communications? How might qualitative insight be documented and added to quantitative assessments?: 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
Stage entrepreneurs Decisions on where and when to enter the market, scheduling, coordination (with ferries, teams, drivers, lodging, seasonality, advertising) Coordination with other stage providers, river boats, rail The role of information / information providers Transition to railroad era feeder-lines/competition The role of places
Consumers of stage services Who travelled and for what purposes? Trip preparation accessing information Trip experience (dis)comfort, social context, Uncertainties
Some generalizations In a developing landscape, technological shifts in transportation tend toward a thinning out of active settlement nodes Chance and the sequencing of events plays a role Distributional patterns for new transport technologies tend to reinforce patterns of existing advantage and disadvantage among places
Thank you Don Janelle
Impression of Stagecoach Travel on the Airline Road (Maine), by a New York Illustrator in 1860