County, in matters of the highest importance, was largely due to the
difficulty of communication with other sections of the country. For the
first eighty years the Worthington turnpike, running by way of
Northampton, was the only means of passage to the east. In 1830 the
Pontoosuc turnpike going through Westfield was completed and transferred
traffic from the old road to the new, which led to Springfield. A little
before this time the Erie Canal project was successfully carried out.
Thereupon arose in Massachusetts a wide-spread desire for engaging in a
similar enterprise. Several routes were explored for a canal from Boston
to the Hudson. One of them passed through Pittsfield at an altitude of
1,000 feet, and the route recommended as feasible was 178 miles in
length, and required a tunnel of four miles under the Hoosac mountain.
One of its opponents showed that according to the Commissioner's data,
fifty-two years would be required in which to finish the tunnel. At this
point came the news of successful steam locomotion in England, and a
discussion began as to the comparative merits of railways and canals.
For several years horse-power was proposed to be employed, but before
actual work began the superiority of steam had been demonstrated. In the
face of indifference, skepticism, and active opposition, which brought
about discouraging delays, the road was built, and the first railroad
train entered Pittsfield May 4, 1841. That week occurred the first
accident. An old man jumped off the train as it approached his house,
and was severely injured. Thus, in 1842, chiefly through the exertions
of Lemuel Pomeroy, the Western Railroad was completed, and trains ran
from Albany to Boston. Several short local roads have since been
constructed, which have done more to bind the county together, and have
contributed greatly to its wealth and comfort. On the west the physical
barriers were less difficult to surmount, and the advent of railroads
has only diminished the inequality. New York is still the metropolis;
the mass of travel, the business relations, are turned in that