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Delaware River

When Sullivan County Was A Sportsman’s Paradise

May 28, 2023 by John Conway 1 Comment

Callicoon Erie Railroad Train Station in Sullivan CountyLong before the Ontario and Western Railway touted the healing environment that was Sullivan County beginning in the 1880s, the Erie Railroad had been established along the county’s western edge. By 1850, the Erie had been completed through the county, and it was largely through its promotional efforts that the upper Delaware Valley began to receive notice as “a sportsmen’s paradise.”

By the 1870s, hundreds of people were traveling each weekend to dozens of resorts in the approximately 60-mile-long valley from the Delaware Water Gap to Narrowsburg. These people were drawn here by the river, lakes, and streams. They came to fish and to boat and to hunt. [Read more…] about When Sullivan County Was A Sportsman’s Paradise

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: boating, Catskills, Delaware River, Erie Railroad, fishing, hunting, railroads, Sullivan County

Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling: A Short Biography

April 30, 2023 by Peter Hess 2 Comments

Detail of Lord Stirling's last stand around the Old Courtelyou House (now known as the Old Stone House in Park Slope) during the battle of BrooklynWilliam Alexander was born on December 25, 1726 in the city of New York to well-known lawyer James Alexander and his wife Mary. Mary and James had emigrated from Scotland in 1716. When they married, Mary was already a widow with six children and she and James had seven more. William was the second son of Mary and James, but when his older brother died in 1731, William became the male heir to the Alexander clan. [Read more…] about Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling: A Short Biography

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Albany Plan of Union, American Revolution, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Brooklyn, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Saratoga, Battle of White Plains, Brooklyn, Delaware River, George Washington, James Monroe, Lafayette, Livingston Manor, Manhattan, Massachusetts, Military History, New Jersey, New York City, Pennsylvania, Schenectady

The Barryville Family School for Young Ladies

April 2, 2023 by John Conway 1 Comment

Margaret Bross ThomasChauncey Thomas was one of the most prominent residents of the Upper Delaware River Valley in the 19th century, a successful entrepreneur who, among other accomplishments, built the first suspension bridge connecting Barryville in the town of Highland, Sullivan County, NY and Shohola, PA, and envisioned the Shohola Glen Amusement Park that was eventually built by bluestone magnate John Fletcher Kilgore and attracted tourists from far and wide.

One of Thomas’ first and most ambitious projects was undertaken with his first wife, Margaret Bross Thomas, and was ultimately unsuccessful. It was the Barryville Family School for Young Ladies. [Read more…] about The Barryville Family School for Young Ladies

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Battle of Minisink, Catskills, Delaware River, Education, Emma Willard, Highland, Sullivan County, womens history

December 25th: The Continental Army Crosses The Delaware River

December 24, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851On December 25th, 1776, General George Washington led the Continental Army across the Delaware River in a late-night surprise attack on Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey.

A bold strike on Christmas night, Washington’s Crossing was a source of desperately needed momentum and a major morale boost for a Continental Army that had endured a brutal year and was on the brink of defeat. [Read more…] about December 25th: The Continental Army Crosses The Delaware River

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: American Revolution, Delaware River, George Washington, Military History, New Jersey

Henry Hudson & The Founding of Albany

November 22, 2021 by Peter Hess 6 Comments

Map of New Netherland and New England, with north to the rightIn 1565, the Spanish settled 600 soldiers and civilians at St. Augustine, Florida. In 1607, the English established their first settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, but after a series of floods, Jamestown was abandoned in 1699. Today Jamestown is a national park and archaeological site.

In 1602, the States General of The Netherlands granted a charter to a powerful group of Dutch merchants creating the Dutch East India Company and giving them the exclusive right to develop and conduct trade with the markets in the Far East which included the Spice Islands and China. Soon, these merchants began bringing exotic silk, clothing, ceramics, teas and spices back to the Netherlands. In their travels, the Dutch ship captains discovered the continent of Australia and named it “New Holland.” [Read more…] about Henry Hudson & The Founding of Albany

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, beavers, Colonialism, Delaware River, Dutch History, Fort Nassau, fur trade, Henry Hudson, Hudson River, Imperialism, Indigenous History, Maritime History, Mohawk, Mohican, New Netherland, small mammals

The Great Pumpkin Flood of 1903 & Other Delaware River Floods

October 14, 2021 by John Conway Leave a Comment

Pond Eddy BridgeThe last three weeks of October, 1903 proved to be difficult ones in the Upper Delaware region, as residents attempted to clean up after a particularly devastating flood.

Following three days of heavy rains, the Delaware River crested on October 10th, 1903, destroying several bridges, wiping out the Erie Railroad’s tracks in a number of places, and damaging homes and businesses in three states. [Read more…] about The Great Pumpkin Flood of 1903 & Other Delaware River Floods

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Agricultural History, Delaware River, Environmental History, Erie Railroad, floods, Logging, Pumpkins, Sullivan County, vegetables

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

Apple Orchards Are Returning Again to Sullivan County

July 10, 2021 by John Conway 1 Comment

seminary hillThere are still a few people who remember that Sullivan County apple producers at one time shipped apples to every state in the country except for Washington and Oregon.

Perhaps the largest apple producer in Sullivan County at the height of the industry here was Martin A. Smith of Fremont Center. [Read more…] about Apple Orchards Are Returning Again to Sullivan County

Filed Under: Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Apples, Delaware River, Food, Fruit, local farms, local food, Sullivan County

Northern Snakehead Sightings In The Delaware River

August 30, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Northern Snakehead courtesy USGSNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has encouraged anglers in the Delaware River to be on the lookout for northern snakehead, an invasive fish native to Southeast Asia.

A northern snakehead was recently caught in the Callicoon area of the Delaware River. Given the right environmental conditions, this invasive species can prey on and compete with other fish, upsetting the natural balance of local ecosystems. [Read more…] about Northern Snakehead Sightings In The Delaware River

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: DEC, Delaware River, fish, Fisheries, fishing, Invasive Species

Great Rivals: Lehigh Navigation and the D&H Canal

August 14, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Lehigh Coal Cos open pit Summit Hill mine on Mauch Chunk Mountain

The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, the great rival to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, was built a few years before the completion of the D&H and carried a significant amount of anthracite coal to the tide-waters of the Hudson and Delaware Rivers.

[Read more…] about Great Rivals: Lehigh Navigation and the D&H Canal

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: D&H Canal, Delaware & Hudson Canal, Delaware River, Geology, Hudson River, Lehigh Coal, Neversink Valley Museum, Transportation History

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