Hopper frequently paid the fare for discharged convicts taking the steamer or ferry to/from New York City. In referencing the Steamer for Piermont, Hopper was referring to the train or ferry system connecting New York City to Lake Erie, in which Piermont was an intermediary destination. The railway station at Piermont was part of the Erie and New York Railroad companies, which were chartered on April 24, 1832. The railroad company was granted the “power to construct a single, double, or treble railroad or way, from the city of New York to Lake Erie: commencing at the city of New York, or at such point in its vicinity as shall be most eligible and convenient therefor.”[1] In essence, the company had the power to build railway tracks, comprised of either a single track, or double/triple tracks, that connected New York city to the Northern portion of New York state, including Piermont. In 1841, the station at Piermont opened to connect travelers on the Hudson River to trains or ferries destined for New York City and Dunkirk, NY. The railway was completed in 1851 and provided for the transportation of people and goods across the entirety of New York State. At the time, the distance traveled between Piermont and Dunkirk was 447 miles, making the railway the longest in the world.[2]

[1] Charter and Laws Relating to the New York and Erie Railroad Co: General Railroad Law. (New York: Snowden Printer, 1849). 4. Accessed February 20, 2019 from https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu51623960;view=1up;seq=9

[2] “Piermont Historical Society.” Accessed February 20, 2019 from http://www.piermonthistoricalsociety.org/tale-of-two-railroads.html