Product Details

Beautifully engraved antique stock certificate from the Warwick Valley Rail Road Company dating back to the 1880's. This document, which is signed by the company President and Secretary, was printed by F. Halstead of New York and measures approximately 10" (w) by 6 3/4" (h).

The vignette features five vignettes - a group of cattle at the center; the New York State Seal, a bust of Grinnell Burt and a farming scene along the left side; and a train at the bottom.

Images

You will receive the exact certificate pictured.

Historical Context

Grinnell Burt and a group of men from Warwick, New York and Vernon, New Jersey organized the Warwick Valley Railroad Company in 1862, building the first line from Warwick to Chester (Greycourt) which connected with the main line of the Erie with its Newburgh branch. This resulted in Warwick farmers no longer needing to haul their milk by horse and wagon all the way to Chester.

Thanks to the use of the first refrigerated cars in America to transport fluid milk to New York, the dairy business in Warwick was instantly transformed.

In 1880, the line was consolidated with the Waywayanda Railroad to form a reorganized Warwick Valley Railroad. Two years later, the line was merged with a number of other small lines to form the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway.

Grinnell Burt

Grinnell Burt was President of the Warwick Valley and Waywayanda Railroads and was made president and general manager of the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway was formed in 1882. He was a mover and a shaker in the railroad industry as well as various projects for bridging the Hudson River, including the Storm King, Poughkeepsie and Peekskill bridges. He was active in incorporating the Village of Warwick under a special charter, building the town's reservoir and water works and served on the Board of Education for 32 years.

Burt also served for varying terms as director, reorganizer, superintendent or president, of a number of other rail lines, including the Pittsburg & Western; Cincinnati, Van Wert & Michigan (later the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw); New Jersey Midland (later the New York, Susquehanna & Western); Kanawha & Ohio; New York & Greenwood Lake; Middletown, Unionville & Water Gap, which he brought out of its chaotic condition and placed on a sound footing, and the Toledo & Ohio Central, generally conceded to be one of the most successful reorganizations of a bankrupt company ever effected.

At the time of his death in 1901, special trains came from both directions bringing employees of the railroad as well as friends from all along the line and distant points. After the funeral service, more than 500 people gathered in Burt’s 18-room mansion on Maple Avenue, known as “the Arches” to pay their respects.

In 1937 the house was sold to the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis and became the St. Anthony’s Community Hospital. Its three story brick addition opened in 1939.

Warwick's Lake Grinnell was named for Grinnell Burt, by Grinnell Burt. Burt purchased the lake for ice production and changed the name from Lanes Pond. A stop on the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway was built at Lake Grinnell, presumably to speed transport of Burt's ice and other perishable products to the New York City area.