Chapter Two: Harboring Change

Spring, 1872

 

Port Washington, with the Naval Hospital (left) and Hotel Dubuque (right).

 

Sunlight filtered into the dining hall of the Hotel Dubuque. Seated around a large table were a cadre of businessmen and important island officials, eating breakfast as they overlooked Port Washington. Leading the conversation was the former daimyo, Hosokawa Moritomo. The past two decades had not been kind to him. With the sudden death of his father in 1850, he had inherited a holding and given precious little time to enjoy it. With the shogunate handing away Kurofune in 1854, and the rest of his realm being stripped away during the Meiji Restoration of 1868, he was desperate to turn his fortunes around. At his lowest, he controlled only his old winter castle above Ishimura and a small sum of wealth pulled from the mainland, which he immediately deposited into a controlling interest in the Kurofune Quarry. Under his stewardship, he greatly expanded the quarry’s operations. By 1872, he had a respectable number of staff and a large stone masonry workshop on Ishimura’s waterfront. Kurofune’s black stone is a very heavy commodity, and transporting it from the edge of Ishimura to the deepwater Port Washington for international export proved to be time-consuming, challenging, and dangerous.

Hence why he had called a meeting with the island’s appointed governor and a few business owners and landholders on a warm Spring day in 1872. He stood at the head of the table, speaking loudly enough to pull attention toward him,

“Gentlemen, the island of Kurofune has grown greatly under American control. But there is a terrible...” he paused for a moment, looking for the word, “...bottleneck! Keeping us from expanding our industrial ventures. Who here knows what it is?”

The owners of the disparate island industries, mostly small workshops and mills on the waterfront, mulled over the question, before Moritomo spoke back up, “It is too hard to move our goods between Ishimura and Port Washington!” He said, gesturing out the window. They watched as a large steamship was being pulled in, with a flurry of dockworkers assembling to unload the day’s cargo, and load up goods for export. The textile mill owner, a heavyset American with a large gray mustache, spoke up,

“So what do you suggest, paving the road?”

 

Kurofune’s famous black stone being transported to Port Washington for export.

 

Moritomo’s mouth curled into a grin, “No, no... what I suggest is the construction of a railway, with a tunnel between Ishimura and Port Washington.” The businessmen conversed between each other, with the appointed governor interjecting,

“This would be a big expense, I hope you’re not expecting the United States government to put out a bond issue just so your rocks can get shipped a few hours earlier. Besides, who’s going to oversee this project of yours? You don’t strike me as much of a railway tycoon.” Moritomo put his hands up in a display of acquiescence, “No, no, I expect this to be financed by our business community. This will be a profitable venture, after all. As for my chief engineer, I’ve recruited someone I’m sure you’re familiar with.” He said, gesturing to the other end of the table. Harold Miriam put a hand up, directing attention toward himself. 

Harold Miriam had been dismissed from the island governorship in 1862, as Port Washington’s construction was wrapping up, and the American Civil War was beginning. He had been recalled back to the United States to maintain railways for the Union Army. After the war, he retired from the service to come back to Kurofune, where he married and fathered a son. He spoke to the governor,

“I wouldn’t call myself a railway tycoon either, but I know a thing or two about the process.” He said, eliciting a chuckle from much of the table.

A few weeks later, Miriam was standing in Sakanaya with a small team of American engineers he had lured with the promise of decent wages and interesting work. The first step was to find the appropriate routing for the railway, taking into account terrain, placement of stations, and property to be purchased and built over. In the past twenty years, Sakanaya had stagnated, as nearly every new immigrant had moved into Ishimura or Port Washington. This was a relief to longtime residents, but it meant that there was plenty of space for the construction of a railway depot and terminus station. 

 

Sakanaya, looking south.

 

The rest of the island had seen explosive growth. When he was governor, Miriam wanted to encourage the island’s self-sustainability, encouraging farmers from abroad to move and grow crops. By 1872, it was exporting a small surplus back to the mainland. With abundant food came low prices, encouraging American entrepreneurs to move in and construct factories. They had the ability to export into the Japanese market, without following foreign laws and paying favorable American taxes. This also encouraged Japanese citizens to immigrate to the island for work, creating a positive feedback loop. The farmers in the fertile plain between Ishimura and Sakanaya were encouraged to invest in the railway with the promise of a station dedicated to moving crops to port, meaning they could more easily and cheaply get their goods to the mainland.

 

Farmsteads spread across Kurofune’s fertile plains.

 

The largest population boom had been in Ishimura, as the price of large, new, Western-styled housing prevented Japanese immigrants from settling in the town of Port Washington. The population had increased approximately threefold, to around 1200-1500 residents. Ishimura had changed the most, and was nearly unrecognizable to longtime residents. It had established a small commercial corridor of Western-style buildings, capped off with a large government office for administration, mail, and policing. A Catholic church had also sprouted up, serving American immigrants and attempting to convert the local population. The urbanized area had expanded with the growth of the farming community, and construction of new homes was constant. The railway station was planned just north of the government quarter, allowing passengers to transit directly to Port Washington. This was a popular proposition, since Japanese immigrants could not afford housing close to the port, requiring a long walk to and from work each day.

Ishimura’s government quarter and commercial corridor. The green 4 story building left of center serves as town hall.

 

Church of St. Sebastian, Catholic, est. 1859.

 

Along Ishimura’s waterfront, an industrial sector had rapidly grown, taking advantage of the local workforce and shipping finished goods over road or via barge to Port Washington for export. The barge shipping, however, was a point of constant contention. The narrow entrance to Kurofune Bay meant that large, ocean-going vessels were competing with barges for space. These local mills and manufacturers provided ample financial backing for the railway proposal. A spur line was planned to connect them, providing a more convenient and less expensive method of transportation.

 

Factories, mills, warehouses. The Customs Office is on the right. Ishimura’s waterfront is too shallow for large ships.

 

To the east, the quarry had expanded with an office and a workshop. It was going to share a spur with the new sawmill further up the road. The sawmill was established after the closure of the original woodcutting camp, as farmland stripped away their forest. American investors moved in to take their place, constructing a set of modern cutting and planing equipment.

 

The expanded quarry operation.

 

The new, modern sawmill.

 

The railway would then curve around the mountain, before tunneling through a short pass between Ishimura and Port Washington. This would be the toughest part of the project, but would provide an ample boost to the island’s fledgling economy. The island’s government was also happy with the fact that it would connect Camp Presley O’Bannon, the military center on the island, with its biggest population center. Should trouble begin to brew, a regiment of Marines could be transported quickly to where they need to go. 

 

The railway would pass through a tunnel between Ishimura and Port Washington.

 

Port Washington, which is the name of the port and the town surrounding it, had sprung up as the Civil War came to a close. It housed most of the island’s middle class, including soldiers and their families, managerial and technical staff in the islands’ industries, and some of the dockworkers and foreman. The population numbered approximately 500. It would also be provided a station, and a rail spur along the length of the port to allow for seamless transfer of cargo to ocean-going ships. A naval office and hospital had been erected, as well as the luxurious Hotel Dubuque, meant to house traveling dignitaries, officials, and foreign travelers eager to experience the natural beauty of the island.

 

View of Port Washington.

 

Close-in of Port Washington and Camp Presley O’Bannon.

 

Church of the Resurrection, Protestant, est. 1864.

 

After a few weeks of surveying, sketching, and planning, the routing was finalized. A few months later, the capital had been raised from eager investors, and the newly formed Kurofune Railway Corporation was cleared to start work. In what seemed like no time at all, a railway front office and signage had been erected. Property negotiations followed. Most landowners had only settled in the last few years, which meant that they were happy to sell off a bit of acreage for a tidy profit. The rails, tools, and blasting equipment were placed on order and shipped from abroad, and work was set to begin...

 

Kurofune Island Railway sign outside Sakanaya.

 

The extent of development in 1872.

 

Thus ends another chapter of Kurofune's story. Please feel free to leave any suggestions or things you'd like to see in future installments in the comment thread. Thank you for reading!