Simeon DeWitt predicted that '[Ithaca's] advantages and situation cannot fail of giving it a rapid growth and making it one of the first inland places of trade.' His prediction rang true in Ithaca's early years, as the population grew from 250 in 1809, to about 850 in 1820, to over 3,900 by 1835. Trade was strong during this period, and many people expected Ithaca to become a major regional or even national commercial hub. As Ithaca's transportation center, the Inlet was an integral part of this early development.

Shipping at the Inlet

Ithaca's Inlet first saw a boom in 1812 when a large number of gypsum shipments were handled at the port. The U.S. government had prohibited trade with Canada in 1808 due to the increased tension with Britain that led to the War of 1812. Nova Scotia had been an important source for gypsum for this rapidly developing nation, and new sources were sought. In Union Springs, Philip Yawger opened a mine and started sending shipments to Ithaca on rafts. At Ithaca's port, the rafts were made into wagons and hauled overland to Owego and the Susquehanna River. From there, they were floated south to parts of central Pennsylvania, where gypsum was used for fertilizer or on to Baltimore and Philadelphia, where gypsum was in demand as a key component in plaster for buildings. As many as 800 wagons a day made the trip from Ithaca to Owego.

The Inlet 'boomed' again with barge boat building and transfer stations when Ithaca became a significant port on the Erie Canal. Building of the Erie Canal began in 1817; by 1823, the eastern portion was complete. The entire canal opened in 1825. It provided an all-water shipping route from Albany to Buffalo and the Great Lakes; feeder canals made it quite a comprehensive transportation network. Local products such as lumber, shingles, wheat, potash, flour, and whiskey were shipped out from Ithaca, and salt, plaster (gypsum) and limestone were brought in and handled at the port. The local newspaper published weekly and yearly accounts of the goods moving in and out of port, giving evidence to the industriousness of the community.

Newspaper clipping.

Boatbuilding became established as an important local industry at this time. By the late 1830's, there were up to ten boatyards manufacturing barges. A contemporary report stated that:
'these yards extended from above the west bend of the Inlet, just south of the extension of Seneca Street to and a little way close by the East side of Humboldt Street building yards, as well along the Inlet thickly to the D.L.& W. Railroad engine house; and a few beyond down to the Steamboat Landing.' (note Humboldt Street is now Floral Avenue).

And by the 1860's, more than 150 men would be employed at boatyards, building 30 to 40 barges a year. This was no small undertaking, as barges ranged in length from about 75 feet to over 95 feet.

In addition to the main shipping and boat building operations, the Inlet had a number of lumberyards, mechanics shops, and storehouses. Simeon DeWitt understood this part of Ithaca as essential real estate. In 1824, he said "I consider the store lots along the Inlet as the most valuable part of my property. In twenty years time they will be like the wharves in front of Albany lined with canal boats".

Boatbuilding. An 1860's photo of

Travelling in Style - The First Steamboats

One boat fondly associated with Ithaca's waterfront is the steamboat. The Cayuga Lake Steamboat Company formed in 1819, seizing the opportunity to provide a passenger water link in a mostly overland stagecoach network. Steamboats were also used for towing barges for the Erie Canal shipping traffic. The 'Enterprise', Ithaca's first steamboat, was built at Inlet boatyards in 1820, and fitted with an engine made in Jersey City and hauled here by wagon. On June 1st of that year, the Enterprise set out with 150 passengers, an even greater number of onlookers, and a great load of wood for fuel for its inaugural trip. Unfortunately, the steamboat soon got stuck on the sandbar at the mouth of the Inlet. Rowboats came out to temporarily hold passengers while workmen shoved the steamboat off the sandbar. Soon enough, the Enterprise was on its way to the north end of the lake, stopping at many communities along the way.

Walton View from West Hill. Henry Walton's view of Ithaca

This humble moment did not dampen spirits. Rather, it heralded the beginning of a great steamboat era for Cayuga Lake, which saw steamboats on its waters until after the turn of the century. They kept a daily schedule, stopping at many landings on the route to Cayuga Bridge at the north end of the lake. As well as serving the growing communities along the lake, the 'Enterprise' became the preferred choice for passengers travelling from New York City to Buffalo. The established route had been up the Hudson by steamboat to Albany, than overland to Buffalo by stagecoach. By travelling instead by steamboat to Newburgh, stagecoach to Ithaca, steamboat to Cayuga Bridge and stagecoach to Buffalo, travelers made what was a four-day trip in three days.

To avoid the problem of the sandbar, a pier was built at the southeast corner of the lake at Port Renwick (now the eastern corner of Stewart Park). From 1821 until after 1827, when the Inlet was dredged and the sandbar cleared, the steamboats landed at Port Renwick and passengers took a stagecoach into town via Lake Avenue. The steamboats returned to the Inlet after 1827. A 1840 map is the first to clearly mark Steamboat Landing at the junction of the Inlet and Cascadilla Creek.

The Enterprise remained in passenger service until 1827 then operated as a towboat for barges until 1831. It was finally dismantled and used as an Inlet landing. A second steamboat, the 'Telemachus' was built in 1825 at Goodwin's Point (now Taughannock State Park) with an Ithaca built engine. The DeWitt Clinton came into service in 1829 and continued until 1840. Steamers remained a major feature of passenger travel through Ithaca until late in the 1870's, when trains took over as the preferred mode of travel. The last and most luxurious of the passenger steamboats was built in 1870. The Frontenac was150 feet in length, held 350 passengers and had a stately dining room. Despite the competition from the railroads it remained in service on the lake until a fire destroyed it in 1907.

Steamboat Landing (#2). Looking south across

Ithaca's First Train

In addition to the shipping commerce coming in from the Erie Canal, Ithaca tried to position itself to become the favored distribution center for Pennsylvania's coal transported from the south. It was not the only center vying for this commerce. By 1828, the Chemung Canal connecting what is now Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake to the Chemung River (and thus the Susquehanna and Pennsylvania) was already underway. The enterpreneurs of Ithaca chose to compete not with a canal but by trying an even newer technology - trains. They believed a train would have the advantage as it could run all year long. In 1828, the Ithaca & Owego Railroad Company was chartered, the second chartered in the state. It opened in 1834, hauling four cars of passengers and 45 cars filled with salt and plaster from its terminal at the Inlet to Owego. To deal with the steep terrain out of the Inlet valley, two inclined planes were built, on which the trains were drawn up by horses. Ithaca then became a distribution center for Pennsylvania's coal, but was hampered by the inefficiency of the steep track and much financial difficulty. With changes, however, this railroad did become profitable and busy with coal freight by the 1850's.

Greater Development Dreams

In this 1820's era of industry and possibility entrepreneurial Ithacans had visions of even greater commerce in Ithaca. Along with the southern rail connection, they proposed a direct connection to the Great Lakes via a Sodus Bay canal linking Lake Ontario with the north end of Cayuga Lake. As Jane Dieckmann explains in A Short History of Tompkins County, they envisioned that:

"deep-water ships would convey raw materials from the Middle West through the Great Lakes via this Sodus Bay Canal to Ithaca; here mills would convert these materials into finished goods, which would then be moved out to markets to the south, east and west. Coal from the rich Pennsylvania fields and lumber, grain, shingles, and plaster would move in and through and out of the region."

The Sodus Canal Company was formed in 1828, but the canal was not realized. The depression of 1837 saw the dissolution of the company and the end of that particular dream.