The population of New York in 1697, was four thousand three hundred and two; in 1756, thirteen thousand and forty; in 1790, thirty-three thousand and thirty-one; in 1800, sixty thousand four hundred and eighty-nine; in 1810, ninety-six thousand three hundred and seventy-three; in 1820, one hundred and twenty-three thousand seven hundred and six; in 1825, one hundred and sixty-six thousand and eighty-six; and in 1830, two hundred and seven thousand and twenty-one. Its present population is three hundred and thirteen thousand six hundred and twenty-nine.
Norfolk, the commercial capital of Virginia, is situated on the east side of Elizabeth river, immediately below the junction of its two main branches, and eight miles above Hampton roads. The town lies low, and is in some places marshy, though the principal streets are well paved. Among the public buildings are a theatre, three banks, an academy, marine hospital, athenæum, and six churches. The harbor, which is capacious and safe, is defended by several forts. One is on Craney island, near the mouth of Elizabeth river. There are also fortifications at Hampton roads; the principal of which, Fort Calhoun, is not yet completed. Population, ten thousand five hundred and seventy-three.
Northampton is a post and shire town of Hampshire county, Massachusetts, on the west bank of Connecticut river, and ninety-five miles from Boston. Its population in 1840 was three thousand six hundred and seventy-two. It is built chiefly on two broad streets, in which are situated the churches and county buildings. This town is very beautiful, consisting of a number of villas of various sizes, and of pleasing, though irregular architecture, seeming to vie with each other in the taste and elegance of their external decorations. There is primitive white limestone in the vicinity, and much of the pavement and steps are of white marble. The trees in the neighborhood of the town are single spreading trees, principally elms, and of considerable age; the roads are wide, and the footpaths are excellent everywhere. Northampton is surrounded by rising grounds; but mount Holyoke, situated on the opposite side of the Connecticut river, is the hill which all strangers ascend, for the sake of the extensive and beautiful prospect from its summit. The valley that lies at its base, contains the most extensive and beautiful plain in New England, well cultivatedand populous. The spires of thirty churches are seen from the top of mount Holyoke, and in a clear day the hills of New Haven are distinctly visible. Round Hill school, in this town, is an institution of some note, somewhat on the plan of a German gymnasium. There are two banks here, woolen manufactories, an insurance office, and a printing office; the public houses are good, and the town is somewhat a place of summer resort.
Norwich, a city of New London county, Connecticut, situated at the head of navigation on Thames river, contains three compact settlements; of which Chelsea Landing, situate at the point of land between the Shetucket and Yantic rivers, is the principal. Its location is peculiarly romantic; and it is a place of much enterprise and business. What is called the town is two miles north-west of Chelsea, containing the court house, and some other public buildings; and the third settlement is Bean Hill, in the western part of Norwich. The city contains a bank, four or five churches, and several manufacturing establishments. The Yantic falls, one mile from Chelsea, are beautiful, and afford facilities for mills and manufactories. From a rock seventy or eighty feet in height, which overhangs the stream, tradition says a number of Narragansetts once precipitated themselves when pursued by the Mohegans.
On an elevated bank, north of what is called the cove, and near the Yantic falls, is the burying-ground of the royal family of the Mohegans, commonly called ‘the burying-ground of the Uncasses.’ Many of their graves are still designated by coarse stones; on some of which are English inscriptions. Uncas was buried here, and many of his descendants; but his family is now nearly extinct. There are one or two living who claim a kindred, but who have very little of the magnanimity or valor for which he was so conspicuous. Population of Norwich, seven thousand two hundred and thirty-nine.
Pawtucket, a town of Bristol county, Massachusetts, four miles north-east of Providence, Rhode Island. It is finely situated on the falls of Pawtucket river, near the Blackstone canal, and is one of the most extensive manufacturing places in the union. It contains numerous cotton factories, and shops for machinery, and other purposes. Population, two thousand one hundred and eighty-four.
Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, and naval station of the United States, is situated on the north-west shore of the bay of the same name. It was founded by a Spanish officer in 1699, and is built in the form of a parallelogram, nearly a mile in length. The harbor is safe and commodious, and the anchorage is good, though toward shore the water is generally shallow. It is regarded as a comparatively healthy place. Population, about two thousand.
Petersburg, a borough and port of entry, in Dinwiddie county, Virginia, on the south bank of the Appomatox. The river is navigable to this point for vessels of one hundred tons. In 1815, three hundred buildings were destroyed by fire. It has since been rebuilt of brick, and the new houses are generally three stories in height; it is of the first class of towns in Virginia, and presents an appearance of enterprise and wealth. Population, eleven thousand one hundred and thirty-six.
Philadelphia, the second city in size and population in the United States, is situated in a county of the same name, five miles above the junction ofthe Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, and, by the course of the river, about one hundred and twenty miles distant from the Atlantic ocean. It was founded by William Penn, in 1682, and was originally laid out in the shape of a parallelogram, two miles in length by one in breadth. The city now extends from the lower part of Southwark to the upper part of Kensington, about four miles, and from one river to the other. For municipal purposes, the legislature has, from time to time, established corporate governments in different parts of the suburbs, so that Philadelphia is divided into the following districts: the corporations of the city of Philadelphia, of the Northern Liberties, Kensington, Spring Garden, Southwark, and Moyamensing. The municipal government of the city proper is vested in a mayor, a recorder, fifteen aldermen, and a select and common council, besides subordinate executive officers.
‘Philadelphia, the reverse of Lisbon,’ says a recent English traveller, ‘at first presents no beauties; no domes or turrets rise in the air to break the uniform stiff roof-line of the private dwellings; and, if I remember right, the only buildings which show their lofty heads above the rest, are the state house, Christ church, (both built prior to the revolution,) a presbyterian meeting-house, and a shot tower. The city, therefore, when viewed from the water, and at a distance, presents any thing but a picturesque appearance. It is somewhat singular, too, that there should be such a scarcity of spires, and conspicuous buildings, there being no fewer than ninety places of worship, besides hospitals, and charitable institutions in great numbers. In place, too, of noble piers and quays of solid masonry, which we might reasonably expect to find in a city containing near one hundred and forty-thousand inhabitants, and holding the second rank in commercial importance in North America, there are but some shabby wharves and piers of rough piles of timber, jutting out in unequal lengths and shapes, from one end to the other of the river front; and these, again, are backed by large piles of wooden warehouses, and mean-looking stores. On the narrow space between them and the water, are hundreds of negro porters, working at vast heaps of iron bars, barrels of flour, cotton bags, and all the various merchandise imported or exported, singing, in their strange broken English tone of voice, some absurd chorus.