According to historian George Slocum:
Horse cars were used upon this road for two seasons, principally to bring
flour and
plaster from the mills upon its line to
Scottsville for shipment. Forty thousand dollars was expended and lost in this venture. This road was exclusively a
Wheatland undertaking; its corporators and stockholders were residents of this town. In its inception the building of this road was no visionary scheme. It was intended by its projectors to push on to Batavia and the west, and to connect at Canandaigua with the road then in process of construction from
Auburn to that village. Those engaged in this project were men of enterprise and broad views, and were eminently worthy of if they did not achieve success. The following text comes from
History of the Town of Wheatland, by Carl F Schmidt, 1953. Farmers were raising large crops, and more and more land was being cultivated. They wanted better means to get their products to the growing eastern markets than hauling their products to the river warehouses or to
Rochester by ox teams. A letter written by Donald McKenzie of
Caledonia to the "
Genesee Farmer" in 1832, suggested a railroad from LeRoy, through
Caledonia,
Mumford, and Scottsville to
Rochester. ::"After a long and general acquaintance with the western part of this state, I am convinced that a railroad from LeRoy to Rochester, along the valley of Allen's Creek (
Oatka) and the
Genesee River, would be a public benefit, were it to serve no other purpose than to facilitate the forwarding of materials for the building of other railroads in the western district. The inexhaustible quarries of building stone of the first quality on the banks of Allen's Creek and adjacent region, the abundant supplies of gravel for horse paths, of water
lime, of bog lime,
plaster of paris, oak, pine, and cedar are found in various parts of Caledonia, LeRoy and Wheatland would then be easily conveyed to other sections of the State where other railroads were being built. ::The consequences of which would be a great reduction in the price of these necessary materials for constructing railroads. It is worthy of remark that there are strong indications of coal and other minerals in this region, and that the oak timber is of superior quality. There are also an abundance of
water privileges, where plaster, water, lime, etc., can be prepared. ::::::D. McKENZIE." This period in local history saw the
Tonawanda Railroad built from Rochester to Batavia. Plans to route it through Scottsville, Caledonia, and Le Roy on its way to Batavia were not adopted when the decision fell in favour of a more direct route. This contributed to increased support for the
Scottsville and LeRoy Railroad proposal. On December 3, 1835, an agreement was signed in which a number of people agreed to pay Powell Carpenter, Philip Garbutt, John McNaughton, and E. H. S. Mumford for the purpose of getting surveys and estimates for the route of a railroad along
Oatka Creek from Scottsville to
Mumford. The next meeting by the people of Wheatland interested in such a railroad, was held in the home of Mr. Boughton December 24. Powell Carpenter was chairman and J. P. Sill was secretary of the meeting. Mr. Alvin Savage, who made the survey of the contemplated route, reported that the building of the railroad was practicable. A new committee was elected, consisting of Powell Carpenter, Abraham Hanford, William Garbutt, E. H. S. Mumford, Philip Garbutt, and Clark Hall. Another meeting was held January 9, 1836, at the house of George Ensign in Scottsville. A motion was passed "that the memorial in circulation to be presented to our
Legislature for an Act on
Incorporation in behalf of the contemplated Scottsville and LeRoy Railroad Company be so altered that
Caledonia village be inserted and mentioned as one of the places by which said railroad shall pass." A contract was made with William Wallace on March 5, 1836, to act as
engineer and to begin work as soon as the weather permitted. He was to receive $3.50 per day for his services.
Establishment of a corporation A charter was obtained in May for the construction of a railroad from Scottsville to LeRoy. According to some sources (e.g.,
Early American Railroads, Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner's "Die innern Communicationen," 1842–1843), the original intention had been to go as far as Batavia, a distance of twenty-six miles. Powell Carpenter, Abraham Hanford, Philip Garbutt, E. H. S. Mumford, Clark Hall, Ira Carpenter, Thomas Halsted, Nathaniel Clark, Donald McDonald and Thomas Brown were named as incorporators. The capital stock of the corporation was $200,000.00 which was divided into
shares of fifty dollars each. In April 1836, by Legislative enactment, a group of Wheatland men were authorized to form a company to construct a railroad from Scottsville to
Canandaigua. It was proposed to connect this railroad at that point with the road, then in process of construction, from
Auburn to Canandaigua. The section of the railroad from Canandaigua to Rochester had been completed as far as the
Pittsford hills, and according to an old letter, "Rochester folks had partly given up the Geneva and Canandaigua Railroad because they could not get over the Pittsford hills. They dreaded the consequence of exploring the route by
Mendon and the
Honeoye valley for fear of its branching across the
Genesee River to intersect the Caledonia and LeRoy Railroad to
Batavia." Another letter written by Eliphalet Murdock dated January 29, 1837, said in part: "The ground for a railroad from
Buffalo to Batavia is all bought in and building will commence next summer, and I learn that the road from
Auburn to
Geneva and
Canandaigua and
Rochester is to come down the valley of the Honeoye outlet and if so we shall only have to cross the
Genesee River to open the communication from Buffalo to
Albany if these improvements go into effect of which I think we have a fair prospect. The great thoroughfare of the state by railroad will pass through this place and if so here will be a chance for
speculation." A preliminary
survey of the route was made by Wallace, but no further action toward any construction was even taken.
Completion Financial difficulties intervened, delaying completion of the Scottsville to Caledonia link until September 1838. The Scottsville and LeRoy Railroad was, most likely, completed as far as Mumford in 1837 and extended as far as Caledonia late in 1838. Steven's survey of the village of Scottsville indicates that the railroad started in front of E. T. Miller's warehouse and continued across the "millyard," in front of the mills, about one hundred and fifty feet south of Main Street. It then gently curved and ran southwest through Scott Crescent; crossed Caledonia Avenue and followed the embankment near the south line of the Catholic cemetery. It continued through farms and fields until it reached the highway just east of the McVean house. The railroad continued on the highway to the store of Philip Garbutt, where it passed in a depression under the platform in front of the store. The railroad tracks were on about the level of the basement floor, thus permitting the loading and unloading directly into the basement store room. The railroad curved southward across the fields, on an embankment, and rounded a hill almost parallel with the tracks of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At
Wheatland Center it met the highway and then ran on the south side and parallel to the highway to
Mumford. At a point about due north of Smith Street it turned sharply south, crossed the creek on a bridge, and continued south in a straight line through Smith Street. It then followed the east bank of Spring Creek, passed Donald McKenzie's saw mill, to the grounds of the old Caledonia school. ==Construction==