Page:Vincent F. Seyfried - The Long Island Rail Road A Comprehensive History - Vol. 2 (1963).pdf/68

52 the probable cost ascertained. In June the survey of the road was completed and there were shrewd guesses that Oliver Charlick was behind it. Four weeks passed and there were reports that the map of the new road had been filed, stock sold, and materials ordered. By December the hand of Oliver Charlick was clearly discernible and many believed that with such a backer, the road would become a reality.

With the new year of 1864, the fog that had enshrouded the activities of the new railroad suddenly lifted with the public announcement of the formal organization of the road. On February 24, 1864 the articles of association of the Woodside & Flushing Railroad were filed with the Secretary of State, and the slate of officers and directors published. The names included some of the most solid and wealthy men of Flushing; although the name of Oliver Charlick did not appear in print, it was obvious that he was a partner in the project, since the Woodside & Flushing would join his own Long Island R.R. at Woodside, and be run as a branch of the larger road.

The books of the company were immediately opened to subscription and the stock sold surprisingly well all during the spring months. As early as March 1, all but $20,000 of the capital stock was subscribed, and by the end of May, all the Flushing and Newtown proportions were fully subscribed. Provision was made even at this early stage for depot sites, for in May the officers leased a store on the southwest corner of Northern Boulevard and Prince Street for a station with the privilege of purchasing within a year. From Williamsburgh influential propertied men came in the hope of inducing the officers to build to the vicinity of North Twelfth Street, Brooklyn, an empty open area on the East River suitable for a deep water terminus.

Measures were taken early to insure the most important piece of construction on the road: the trestle and drawbridge over Flushing Creek. It was necessary to secure permission from the Legislature to cross a navigable waterway, and when the hearings opened, certain unidentified interests hiding behind the names of other persons and corporate bodies campaigned against the project. Covert opposition to the measure continued even after the bill passed both houses, but it was finally signed by the governor in April.

In June 1864 the officers and directors of the new road met