Hudson River

The Poestenkill: Mountains, Waterfalls and Waterworks

September 26, 2021 by John Warren 7 Comments

On the Hudson River along upstate New York’s eastern border, within the natural boundaries of river and mountains, lies the rough rectangle of Rensselaer County. It is bisected by the Poesten Kill,* a powerful stream that scours its way from the mountains to the sea level flats of the Hudson River at Troy.

The Poesten Kill splits the county across the middle into two pieces of roughly equal size, north and south. From its source at about 1,600 feet in the Petersburg Mountains, to the village which bears its name, it’s a smaller steam tumbling over forested rocks and ledges, and forming pools and small waterfalls. At the village of Poestenkill it begins to meander across a 10-mile wide plateau of farmlands before falling abruptly through a series of steep gorges at Troy to settle into the Hudson. [Read more…] about The Poestenkill: Mountains, Waterfalls and Waterworks

Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway

September 7, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The shortnose sturgeon was the first fish listed as endangered with enactment of the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

Soon after, researchers conducted a population estimate for Hudson River shortnose sturgeon in order to develop recommendations for managing the recovery of this fish.

A second population study in the 1990s indicated a substantial increase in the spawning population from the 1970s. [Read more…] about Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway

The New Ninham Trail At Breakneck Ridge In Hudson Highlands

September 5, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new trail opened this season at Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve in the Hudson Valley that improves hiker safety on Breakneck Ridge, one of the most physically demanding hikes in the region. [Read more…] about The New Ninham Trail At Breakneck Ridge In Hudson Highlands

Invasive Round Goby Caught in the Hudson River

August 21, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environment Conservation’s (DEC) Marine Fisheries captured four round gobies at two locations in the Hudson River approximately 12 and 25 miles downstream of the Federal Dam in Troy during routine fish sampling in July, marking the first documented occurrence of this invasive fish in the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Invasive Round Goby Caught in the Hudson River

10th Annual Great Hudson River Fish Count July 31st

July 22, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that the 10th Annual Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count will take place at multiple sites along the banks and piers of the Hudson River on Saturday, July 31st. [Read more…] about 10th Annual Great Hudson River Fish Count July 31st

Albany’s John McBain Davidson: Safes, Steamboats & Horse Racing

July 21, 2021 by Bill Orzell 2 Comments

The Saratoga Dreams B&B at 203 Union Avenue gives a modern day traveler, the opportunity to step back into the marvelous past of Saratoga Springs. Climbing the stairs starts the adventure, where you first see the statue of Seabiscuit at the National Museum of Racing next door, and across the street you may catch a glimpse of runners being “tacked-up” in the paddock at Saratoga Race Course.

The large covered porch, typical of so many of Saratoga Springs’ Queen Anne style homes, allows an elevated view of “Tex” Hughlette Wheeler’s fabulous sculpture. Charles S. Howard, Seabiscuit’s owner, commissioned cowboy sculptor Wheeler (who’s unique given name of Hughlette was the surname of the doctor who delivered him during his mother’s difficult pregnancy), to “capture the horse from life,” and had two castings made. Howard’s heirs graciously donated this casting, originally at the Howard’s Ridgewood Farm, to the National Museum of Racing. The other bronze which Howard had cast has always stood in the Santa Anita paddock. [Read more…] about Albany’s John McBain Davidson: Safes, Steamboats & Horse Racing

Rensselaer County Floods: A Short History

July 16, 2021 by John Warren 2 Comments

Floods have been a fairly frequent occurrence in Rensselaer County, especially along the Poesten Kill and Wynants Kill and at their mouths which are impacted by the flooding of the Hudson River.

Two whales that ascended the river and were stranded during exceptionally high water in the Hudson in 1647 died there. In 1654 flooding all but destroyed the West India Company’s garden below Fort Orange and in 1666 Jeremias van Rensselaer reported that “fully forty houses and barns have been carried away, among which our house in which we lived, the barn and the brewery, the new as well as the old are lost also, so that hardly any traces can be found of where they have stood.” [Read more…] about Rensselaer County Floods: A Short History

Plans To Dam The Upper Hudson Would Have Been Catastrophic

June 21, 2021 by Mike Prescott Leave a Comment

On almost every stream, pond or lake in the Adirondacks there is still evidence of lumberman’s dams and lumbering operations. In the mid-to-late 1960s however, there was a controversial plan to dam the Upper Hudson River in order to supply water and hydro-electric power to the parched, urban, metropolitan area of New York City.

In the early 1960s there had been a severe drought along the entire northeastern seaboard. One of New York City’s answers to the drought problem was to tap the Upper Hudson to supply its seemingly unquenchable need for water. [Read more…] about Plans To Dam The Upper Hudson Would Have Been Catastrophic

Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda Draft Released

June 1, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the draft Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda 2021-2025, a five-year blueprint for conserving and restoring the Hudson River estuary and its watershed. [Read more…] about Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda Draft Released

Chains Across The Hudson River (Podcast)

May 28, 2021 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on The Historians Podcast, Bevis Longstreth is author of the novel Chains Across the River (Honeycomb, 2021), a historical novel dealing with the great chains that American forces stretched across the Hudson River during the American Revolution to prevent the British fleet from sailing from New York City to Albany. [Read more…] about Chains Across The Hudson River (Podcast)