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Delaware & Hudson Railroad

The Showboat Era on Lake George 1933-1937

April 27, 2022 by Dave Waite 1 Comment

Horicon IIWhen the sidewheel steamboat Horicon II was launched on Lake George in 1910, she was both the longest and fastest passenger vessel to ever sail the lake. Over the next 29 years, she would be used for transportation of cargo and residents around the lake, as well as cruises for tourists.

The construction of a road on the west side of the lake, as well as the region’s rapidly increasing mobility with the introduction of the automobile, brought a dramatic decline in passengers. In response to this trend, in 1932 the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, owners of the steamboats on the lake through the Lake George Steamboat Company, announced that they would not be running boats that year. [Read more…] about The Showboat Era on Lake George 1933-1937

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Bolton, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Essex County, Jazz, Lake George, Maritime History, Musical History, Performing Arts, railroads, Steamboating, Ticonderoga, Transportation History, Warren County

The Saratoga Electric Railway’s Battle With The D&H

January 21, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Trolley Trestle in Geyser Park ca. 1900Many are aware that one of the first steam railroads in the country was the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad, which began regular service in 1832. The coming of the railroad provided a great boost to the growth of the resort town of Saratoga Springs.

Fewer may realize that sixty years later the resort and the surrounding communities benefited greatly by another transportation revolution, the electric railway. However, the beginning of the trolley age was not without its birth pains. [Read more…] about The Saratoga Electric Railway’s Battle With The D&H

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, railroads, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Saratoga Electric Railway, Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Traction Company, Transportation History

Gaslight Village: Lake George Fun Yesterday

December 12, 2021 by John Warren 5 Comments

gaslight village, lake george, nyGaslight Village in Lake George, NY was opened in 1959 by Charles R. “Charley” Wood.

Charley already owned a number of other investments, including Holiday House on the shores of Lake George, and Storytown, U.S.A., an amusement park with a Mother Goose rhymes theme (later expanded with Ghost Town, a western boot-hill theme, and Jungle Land, an animal park) which he opened in 1954. He later went on to build the Tiki Resort (one of America’s last original Tiki bars), a short lived wax museum, the Sun Castle resort, and more. [Read more…] about Gaslight Village: Lake George Fun Yesterday

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Amusement Parks, Chestertown, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Gaslight Village, Lake George, Performing Arts, Warren County

Saratoga’s Charles Dowd & The Origin of Eastern Standard Time

November 18, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Charles Ferdinand Dowd portrait (courtesy Library of Congress)Time is often referred to as a human construct, but time zones are definitely man-made, and they have a direct connection to Charles Dowd of Saratoga Springs and the month of November, when standard time began in 1883, and 21 years later when time ran out for Charles.

Local time once was set by the noon mark. Noon was defined to be the time at which the sun was directly overhead. This meant, for every approximately 69 miles traveled west, the moment of noon differed by four minutes. For example, the clocks in Boston were set about three minutes ahead of clocks in Worcester, MA. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Charles Dowd & The Origin of Eastern Standard Time

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Cultural History, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Geography, railroads, Saratoga County, Skidmore College, Transportation History

The Upper Delaware’s First Suspension Bridge

July 18, 2021 by John Conway 1 Comment

Barryville-Shohola Suspension BridgeJohn A. Roebling was born in Prussia on June 12th, 1806. Educated as an engineer, but finding the political unrest in his home country stifling, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1831 with a small group intent on establishing a community where technology could freely advance. They settled in Western Pennsylvania, establishing the community of Saxonburg. [Read more…] about The Upper Delaware’s First Suspension Bridge

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: D&H Canal, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Delaware River, Engineering History, Sullivan County, Transportation History

Folklife Center Acquires Unique Adirondack Railway Collection

June 20, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Deleware and Hudson Railroad CollectionThe Folklife Center at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls has received a new collection of materials from Jon Patten on the history of the Adirondack branch of the D&H Railroad, from Saratoga Springs to Tahawus in Newcomb.  [Read more…] about Folklife Center Acquires Unique Adirondack Railway Collection

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Folklife Center, Glens Falls, railroads, Transportation History

Clean-Up Planned For Historic Cooperage Site On Old Champlain Canal

March 10, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fredricksons Cooperage esterford with workers and horses near full of barrells wagonThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that cleanup of contamination a historic cooperage site on the old Champlain Canal is expected to resume this month.

In its early years, Friedrichsohn Cooperage (also spelled Fredrickson) made and refurbished wooden kegs and barrels. DEC says the cooperage dates to 1817, but some historians claim as early as 1791. Tradition has it that meat-packer Samuel Wilson of Troy (Uncle Sam) was among the company’s customers. [Read more…] about Clean-Up Planned For Historic Cooperage Site On Old Champlain Canal

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature Tagged With: Champlain Canal, Cooperage, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Environmental History, Industrial History, pollution, Waterford

One Not-So-Benign Influence Of The D&H Canal

January 26, 2021 by John Conway 5 Comments

canal boats unloading their coal at RondoutThe positive impacts of the Delaware & Hudson Canal on Sullivan County were indisputable. With its opening in 1828, the 108-mile-long waterway made it possible for the first time to easily transport goods in and out of the area, and directly led to the growth of the tanning and bluestone industries. Entire communities, such as Barryville, Wurtsboro and Phillipsport, owe their very existence to the D & H, and while the canal was in operation, each was among the largest communities in the county in terms of commerce and population. [Read more…] about One Not-So-Benign Influence Of The D&H Canal

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Western NY Tagged With: D&H Canal, Delaware & Hudson Canal, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Medical History, Public Health, Sullivan County, Transportation History

Sullivan County D&H Canal History Highlighted With ‘Kate Project’

December 23, 2020 by John Conway Leave a Comment

OntheTowpathDuring the month of December in 1824, brothers William and Maurice Wurts were diligently planning a presentation to potential investors in their ambitious project to build a canal connecting their coal fields in northeastern Pennsylvania to the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Sullivan County D&H Canal History Highlighted With ‘Kate Project’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: D&H Canal, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Hudson River, Industrial History, New York City, Sullivan County, Transportation History, womens history

The First (Short Lived) Suspension Bridge Across The Hudson River

December 17, 2020 by Mike Prescott 1 Comment

Robert Codgell GilchristRobert Codgell Gilchrist was born into an extremely wealthy well-connected Charleston family in 1829. The oligarchic families of South Carolina had made their wealth on tobacco, rice, indigo, and shipping and Charleston harbor was one of the centers of the southern slave trade. Robert Gilchist’s father had received a federal Judgeship from President Martin Van Buren and he owned an opulent home.

Each summer the wealthy Gilchrist family journeyed north to avoid the hot humid subtropical summers of Charleston. They stayed with maternal family members in the Great Northern Wilderness of New York. (The term Adirondacks is said to have been first used by geologist and surveyor Ebenezer Emmons in 1838 and took some time to come into general use). [Read more…] about The First (Short Lived) Suspension Bridge Across The Hudson River

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Chestertown, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, development, Hudson River, Johnsburg, North Creek, railroads

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