Maritime History

1819 Letters From Greenwich Village

November 20, 2023 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The following text is from the 1819 letters to his father by Henry Meigs (1782-1861), who served as Congressman from New York from 1819 to 1821, describing his life in then rural Greenwich Village. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer George A. Thompson and lightly edited for clarity and annotated by John Warren.

1819: New York, February 6th, 1819

Dear father. Since I last wrote you, Julia and I have decided on placing our tent in the Country [at what is now Greenwich Village] as we call it for the ensuing summer. Where we can live much more economically and deliciously. [Read more…] about 1819 Letters From Greenwich Village

Deep History: Place Names of Lake Champlain

November 19, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Writer and adventurer Erik Schlimmer dedicated two years of research and was assisted by a platoon of historians to produce Deep History: Place Names of Lake Champlain (Beechwood Books, 2023).

Described as “the only book dedicated to this unique aspect of Lake Champlain antiquity,” 440-page Deep History investigates the lake’s 392 toponyms – 124 in New York and 268 in Vermont. For those unfamiliar with the term, toponyms are the names of natural features such as bays, islands, points, and reefs. [Read more…] about Deep History: Place Names of Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Names New Director

November 16, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum announced today the appointment of new executive director, Chris Sabick. Sabick has been the museum’s director of research and archaeology since 2013 and brings decades of experience and a career-long dedication to Lake Champlain, research, history and public access into this new leadership role. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Names New Director

New Grant Program to Support Maritime Heritage

October 31, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced almost $400,000 in federal grant awards from the National Maritime Heritage Program for maritime heritage education and preservation projects in New York State.

The National Park Service (NPS) awarded $2 million in maritime heritage grants to fund 12 preservation projects in nine states, including two awards totaling $392,500 to State Parks. [Read more…] about New Grant Program to Support Maritime Heritage

The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve

October 30, 2023 by Peter Hess 2 Comments

On May 17, 1870, Judge Rufus Wheeler Peckham was appointed a justice of the New York Court of Appeals, but in the early 1870s he began to show signs of skin cancer – a tumor had appeared on his lip. Advised that no known cure was available in the United States, he decided to undertake a trip with his wife to Europe to seek medical help.

On November 15, 1873, Judge Peckham sailed for Europe on the SS Ville du Havre of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) bound for Havre, France near Paris. [Read more…] about The Sinking of the Steamship Ville du Harve

Replica Sailing Canal Schooner Lois McClure Donated to Canal Society of New York

September 26, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont, is donating its replica 1862-class sailing canal schooner Lois McClure to the Canal Society of New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the state’s historic canals. [Read more…] about Replica Sailing Canal Schooner Lois McClure Donated to Canal Society of New York

New York Steamboats & The Mississippi River

September 25, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

This article is excerpted from “The Keelboats and Flatboats of the Early Days — Discouragements Overcome by Fulton and his Associates,” originally reprinted from the New Orleans Times-Picayune in The New York Times on August 14, 1891. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer Carl Mayer and slightly edited for clarity and annotated by John Warren.

Of the various persons who have disputed Robert Fulton’s laurels as the inventor of the first perfect steamboat, Edward West’s claims are the strongest. West, father of the noted painter William West [William Edward West, 1788–1859, provided numerous illustrations for the books of Washington Irving]. [Read more…] about New York Steamboats & The Mississippi River

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Acquires Historical Paintings by Ernest Haas

September 17, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Historical painter Ernest Haas has donated a collection of his original artworks, prints, and materials to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont. Haas has been a longtime supporter of the museum, which already holds a few of his works.

This donation brings the total number of Haas’ original paintings held by the museum to 29. [Read more…] about Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Acquires Historical Paintings by Ernest Haas

1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats

September 13, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

This article, “Tows on the Hudson. The Great Fleets of Freight Boats That Come Down the River,” first appeared in the August 18, 1889 edition of The New York Times. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer Carl Mayer and annotated by John Warren.

Very few persons who journey up and down the Hudson River either upon the palatial steamers or upon the railway trains that run along both banks of this great waterway know how great an amount of wealth is daily floated to this [New York] city on the canal boats and barges that compose the immense tows that daily leave West Troy [now Watervliet], Lansingburg, Albany, Kingston, and other points along the river bound for this city. [Read more…] about 1889 Tows on the Hudson River: Great Fleets of Freight Boats

Hudson River Whaling Industry History

August 29, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Whales were always part of Hudson River life (they were spotted at Albany in 1647), and whaling was a major industry in New York, especially on the Hudson River, for over 60 years. It helped to shape the region’s economy and culture, and it left a lasting legacy. Today, there are several historical markers and museums in the Hudson Valley that commemorate the region’s whaling past and the Great Seal of the City of Hudson still includes a whale. [Read more…] about Hudson River Whaling Industry History