'Will o' the Wisp' once Sailed Chenango Canal

                      Will o-the-Wisp came and went on the Chenango Canal

                                                By Richard F. Palmer

    In 1863 an unsuccessful effort was made by two Binghamton businessmen to establish steam packet boat service on the Chenango Canal between there and  Hamilton. It was run in competition with horse drawn packet boats that had operated on this canal since the 1840s.

   The steamer, built in Binghamton, was called the Will o’ the Wisp, an appropriate name for a vessel that occasionally appeared and then vanished.  No published histories of the Chenango Canal mention it. If it wasn’t for the newspapers of the day its story would be lost.

 In February, 1863, Daniel S. Dickinson, a prominent Binghamton attorney, presented to the New York State Canal Board a petition to allow Binghamton businessmen Abram Bevier and Nelson Orcutt to operate a steam packet boat on the Chenango Canal.(1)

  Apparently the Canal Board granted permission for soon William Ogden of Binghamton started construction of a fairly large boat that could accommodate 100 passengers and 25 tons of freight. The 12 horsepower engine and paddle wheels were constructed by Shapley, Dunk & Co. of Binghamton. This firm had a foundry on Hawley street commonly known as the Valley Iron Works. They manufactured steam engines and boilers as well as machinery and tools. (2) 

  The plan was run from Binghamton to Hamilton in 11 hours. This would be record time considering the average trip of a horse drawn packet boat was 12 hours to Norwich, a distance of 46 miles. Hamilton was another 21 miles north of Norwich. There were 17 locks between Binghamton and Norwich, and 13 locks between Norwich and Hamilton. This would calculate to 3.62 miles per hour for the horse-drawn packet boat and 6.09 miles per hour for the steam packet. However, it appears it never ran that fast.

    By late May the Will-o-the Wisp had been launched and was lying at the dock at Shapley & Dunk’s machine shop waiting for the engines to be installed. A local newspaper editor commented: “A steamboat line on the Chenango canal will be a novelty and a great convenience.” (3)

    Finally the steamer made a surprise appearance at Oxford. On Wednesday, June 24, 1863, the Oxford Times reported:

   “The steam packet, owned by Captain Orcutt, so long promised that had well nigh passed out of mind, or came to be regarded as more of a matter of fancy than fact, actually made its appearance last Wednesday evening, after having announced its approach with all the pomp of larger craft, by blowing its whistle.

“There was quite a gathering in the vicinity of the canal bridge to welcome the distinguished stranger, whose name Will o’ the Wisp, is to say the least quite romantic for a voyager upon the raging canal. The boat is very neat and pretty, and we sincerely trust will prove a success to those who have the enterprise in charge. The arrival of the first steam boat certainly marks an era in the history of our quiet village. It commenced its regular trips on Monday.”

   After a brief stop in Oxford it sailed off on its trial run another 10 miles to Norwich where it was greeted by a large crowd. At this point Orcutt altered his plans and decided not to push on to Hamilton at this time. Being confident of the boat’s success, Orcutt announced he would run on alternate days to the horse packet boat between Norwich and Binghamton. Thus daily packet service between the two communities was to be provided. (4)

However, this sort of service doesn’t appear to have taken effect until early August, 1863. It was now intended to run from Binghamton to Norwich Monday, Wednesday and Friday and return Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  The steamer was also made available for excursion parties to a popular nearby picnic area known as Mead’s Pond, about two and a half miles north of Norwich along the towpath of the canal. (5)

The Chenango Telegraph of Norwich of July 1, 1863 reported:

    “The Sherburne people are getting anxious to see the new steam canal packet that is to run from Binghamton to Hamilton. They have about given up seeing the “light that can’t be caught,” (Will o’ the Wisp,) and think it has. Can one give us any light on the subject?” 

    A visitor to Norwich that summer remarked “They have a steam packet making excursions to localities on the route for the accommodation of pleasure parties.” Nothing more was heard about the steamer  again until the shrill of the whistle announced its arrival in the village of Hamilton at 7 a.m.  on Wednesday,  September 14, 1863.  This was partially due to a rash of breaks on the canal that summer due to problems on the canal that consumed 30 days of the navigation season to repair - such as the floor collapsing on the aqueduct  at Greene. All indications were that the canal was poorly built.  (7)

    Upon its arrival in Hamilton the editor of the Hamilton Republican was invited aboard to ride a few miles on board. He noted:

    “The boat is neatly finished, with a cabin on each end, which are of sufficient capacity to accommodate 100 or more persons. Captain Orcutt, who is large and good natured, and every inch a gentleman, has not succeeded in gaining the speed of his boat he hoped to, but now he averages four or five miles an hour, including lockages, which is infinitely more pleasant and comfortable than being jammed into a close, jolting stage.

    “The Will o’ the Wisp may be expected back here on Thursday afternoon, and will remain here Friday for the purpose of giving our citizens an excursion, and if sufficient inducements are held out, Capt. Orcutt intends to make regular trips from Binghamton here until the close of navigation. We hope our citizens will interest themselves in this matter and secure the benefits of the visit of the packet.” (7)

    The Binghamton Press of Oct. 8, 1932 stating in part:

    “A company was formed headed by the eminent ‘Soapy’ Orcutt, a citizen who dreamed dreams. After months of hard work, enough capital was raised. The steamboat was built, launched and duly christened Will-o’-the-Wisp, a prophetic name, as it proved.

   ‘“Soapy” announced the date of the trial trip – noon of a certain Saturday – and prophesied that the fast craft, if all went well, would arrive at its destination, Port Crane, before dark!

    “The packet dock, and all-the-neighborhood, was crowded with gaping folk when “Soapy” pulled the whistle cord and the Will-o’-Wisp, with flags flying, tooted a shrill farewell as she backed with stately dignity out of the placid canal. Among the throng of passengers was a present officer of the Binghamton Savings Bank – a stowaway in the hold.

    “All went well on the voyage until, at a point about a mile and a half from the village, a large stick of floating wood was picked up by the churning paddle wheels. This did the Will-o’-the-Wisp no good and, much to the disappointment of the passengers she had to return to the packet dock for repairs.

    “After a long delay the repairs were completed, and then the Will-o’-the-Wisp ran into another snag. The canal superintendent ruled that steamboats would not be permitted to use the canal because they washed the banks away. The project was abandoned, the company dissolved, and  ‘Soapy’ Orcutt and his brethren mourned the end of a bright dream.”  Reminiscing about his boyhood days in  Norwich, an anonymous person wrote:

     “One year a steam packet made its appearance on the canal. It ran but a single year and I always understood that its wake so washed the banks that the authorities refused to let it continue.” Unfortunately no record has been found as to the fate of this boat. (8)

1. Binghamton Republican, February 24, 1863

2. Broome Republican, August 4, 1858

3. Chenango Telegraph, Norwich, May 27, 1863 

4. Oneida Weekly Herald, June 30, 1863.

5. Chenango Telegraph, August 6, 1863.

6. Chenango Telegraph, August 1 and August 12, 1863

7. Hamilton Republican, Thursday,  September 17, 1863

[Note:. Orcutt’s nickname “Soapy” was derived from the fact that on November 27, 1866 he filed a patent (No. 60,041) on a formula for making soap. [Vol. 11, P. 1484 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents. 1867].

8. Chenango Telegraph, June 4, 1915.