Erastus Corning - Later Years

Later Years

Corning's personal papers make little reference to the nature of his ill health, but from his retirement on, Corning slowly began reducing his commitments and public activities. Through the 1860s he began to focus more on land speculation and less on his business holdings. He resigned from the New York Central in 1865, two years before the railroad was bought out by Cornelius Vanderbilt. In 1867, Corning was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention. It was his last public office.

By 1871, Corning had passed control of his business interests on to his sons and close associates, and at one point passed up the opportunity to buy a share in a new land deal in Nebraska, saying that "I find that my health is such that it will not do for me to take hold of any new undertaking." He remained on the board of the Albany State Bank, and also continued as vice chancellor of the board of regents of the University of the State of New York, positions he had held by that time for over 30 years. He died at home in Albany in April, 1872.

Corning's grandsons Edwin and Parker Corning both held various political positions in the state of New York in the early 1900s. His great-grandson, Erastus Corning II, was mayor of Albany for over 40 years, from 1941 to 1983. The Rensselaer Iron Works eventually became part of the larger Troy Iron & Steel Company, in its time the largest iron and steel manufacturer in the United States, but the company eventually went out of business. The New York Central remained one of the most significant American railroads through the end of the 19th Century; it was eventually merged with its arch-rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and ultimately became a part of Conrail in the 1970s. Parts of the New York Central, including parts of the original Utica & Schenectady, are still in use today by CSX. The locks on the St. Mary's River remain the busiest locks in the world. Erastus Corning's personal papers, almost 50,000 pages worth, are held by the libraries of Cornell University.