Genesee Street Horse-Drawn Trolley Late 1800s

While the railroads were joining larger communities, horse-drawn cars on rails were helping people travel within the cities. Beginning in the 1860s there were horsecar lines in Utica. These lines ran on tracks from Utica to New Hartford, Whitesboro and Deerfield. Each car was drawn by a team of horses. In the summertime, open cars were used. This was a pleasant way to travel on a sunny day.

In March 1890, most of these routes were changed so they could be powered by electricity. A pole on the roof of the car had a wheel at its end. This wheel or pulley was connected to electric wires overhead. The wheel drew electricity to the car so it could run. Another method of running the electric car was by a third rail. This was an extra rail laid alongside the regular track. A shoe or metal contact on the lower part of the car touched the third rail and drew electric power to run the car. This was called a trolley.

First Trolley to travel from Utica to New York Mills. Circa 1890

The trolley was the forerunner of the bus and like buses, and was primarily engaged in the passenger business. The interurban electric lines provided rapid transit both between and within Oneida County communities. The two major electric railways in the county were the Utica and Mohawk Valley, which ran between Rome and Little Falls in Herkimer County, and the Oneida Railway connecting Utica and Syracuse. The trip from Rome to Little Falls could be made in just under two hours, allowing for nine stops along the way. It took the same amount of time to travel from Utica to Syracuse if all 14 stops on that route were made.

One of the first routes was to Summit Park in Oriskany in 1897. This became one of the most popular recreation spots in central New York. Utica Park, later called Forest Park and located at the end of Bleecker Street, was a favorite picnic place. The open trolley made it possible to visit these parks.

The electric cars helped the suburbs to grow. These areas became "bedrooms" for the people who worked in cities. They didn't need to walk to work anymore. The electric cars and trolleys made travel time very short.

Soon electric railways were linking Utica with Deerfield, Frankfort, Ilion, Mohawk and Herkimer. The Clinton line brought Hamilton College close to Uticans. It ran from 1901 to 1936. The line from Rome to Little Falls ran from 1903 to 1933. In 1907 the Oneida Railway opened a route to Syracuse. This route, however, used the third rail instead of the overhead electric trolley wire. It operated until the end of 1930.

Trolley operators - Utica circa 1900

These lines were especially important during World War I. Often an electric train of six cars brought workers to Remington Arms in Ilion, to the Savage Arms in Utica and to other war plants. The third rail system to Syracuse was often faster than the steam trains of the New York Central. Traveling on these cars with their big arched windows and plush seats was like "riding on a feather."

Fares, or the cost of traveling on the city lines, began at a nickel. Gradually they got higher, a penny at a time. The fare reached a dime before the popularity of trolleys fell. Transfers, which were tickets permitting a rider to change from one bus, train, etc. to another were usually free.

For fifty years, from 1890 to 1941, electric cars served passengers in this area. The electric lines dominated the rapid transit scene until the improvement of highways during the 1920s and 1930s. Then the buses came. The first regular city bus line traveled over Utica's Parkway in 1923. The Oneida Street line in Utica began in 1925. One by one the trolley routes were converted to bus routes. The last trolleys ran on Genesee Street in Utica on May 12, 1941.