From 1837 to 1900 freight and passenger transportation by water was the most common way of traveling to and from Roslyn to New York City. The steamboat Idlewild was built in 1871 and worked the water route from Roslyn to Peck Slip in Manhattan (near current day South Street Seaport) for 29 years. This rare 1880 Idlewild ticket was recently found in excellent condition in our archives.
The3-hour trip from Roslyn to New York City made stops in Glenwood, Sea Cliff, Glen Cove, Sands Point, Great Neck and Whitestone.
As seen in this 1880 ad, Idlewild was used for weekend excursions up the East River and Long Island.
This 1885 ad promoted Idlewild's "quick and rapid transit."
By the 1890s, steamboat transportation was being replaced by trains and, soon, automobiles. Moreover, the sand mining operations across Hempstead Harbor in Port Washington caused silting of the shipping channel so that Idlewild could not turn around except at high tide.
In 1900, Idlewild was the last steamboat to use the Roslyn dock which was located just north of Cedarmere. The steamer was destroyed on January 8, 1901 by a fire while lying in winter storage at Brooklyn.
2 Comments
Great find in RLS files and very interesting history of steamboat travel. Bryant took an earlier ship from I think Glenwood Landing, but about 1871 started more often taking rail.
Debra Biedrzycki Baker
This is fantastic! Does any of the documentation show the cost for a trip to NYC? Just curious.
Great question! Anyone know the answer?