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Steamboating

Train Ferries: The Hudson River’s Most Unusual Steamers

April 7, 2021 by John Warren 4 Comments

Pioneer Hudson River Night Line auto ferry steamboat and former train ferry A Fred Saunders scrapbook Catskill Public LibraryAmong the many hundreds of steamboats plying the Hudson River when that waterway served as a primary method of moving people and freight, a few stand out as unusual. The most remarkable of these is perhaps the railroad transports, used to ferry railroad cars.

Also known as train ferries, or car ferries (not to be confused with auto ferries), they were fitted with railway tracks and doors at each end to allow for loading and unloading. [Read more…] about Train Ferries: The Hudson River’s Most Unusual Steamers

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Hudson River, Newburgh, NYC, railroads, Steamboating, Transportation History

A Haven of Immigrant Creativity In Long Island

January 24, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Delamaters Vermland mansionIn fiction and research, the history of an estate is often used to throw light on the lives of former residents and the cultural environment in which they acted. The monumental white mansion now known as Bevin House, Long Island, hides an intriguing tale that offers a snapshot of New York’s cosmopolitan past. [Read more…] about A Haven of Immigrant Creativity In Long Island

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: art, Industrial History, Long Island, New York City, Steamboating, Transportation History

Monticello Steamship Company

May 17, 2020 by John Conway 2 Comments

Monticello Steamship DockOnline auction sites regularly offer a number of collectibles — postcards, brochures, tickets, even china — bearing the name and logo of the Monticello Steamship Company of San Francisco.

Most of these items offer little information about the company, and the average collector would have little reason to believe that one of the most well-known enterprises on the West Coast around the turn of the 20th Century had any connection at all to Sullivan County, NY.

But it did. [Read more…] about Monticello Steamship Company

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Maritime History, Steamboating, Sullivan County, Transportation, Transportation History

Steamboat Days on the Hudson River

November 12, 2019 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Hudson River Steamboat Hendrick Hudson in 1906When steamboats plied the Hudson River it was a common occurrence to take the eight hour trip from New York City to Albany on a vessel adorned with chandeliers, oil paintings, and brass rails.
Multi-level, three and four hundred foot long vessels churned up the Hudson River at nearly twenty miles an hour with paddle wheels slapping, steam billowing from their stacks, and hundreds of people gathering at the rails to view the passing scenery.

[Read more…] about Steamboat Days on the Hudson River

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Columbia County Historical Society, Hudson River, Steamboating, Transportation History

19th Century Hudson River, New England Travel Diaries Published

March 24, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

majestic nature of the northThe new book The Majestic Nature of the North: Thomas Kelah Wharton’s Journeys in Antebellum America through the Hudson River Valley and New England (SUNY Press, 2019), edited by Steven A. Walton and Michael J. Armstrong, features the travel diaries of nineteenth-century artist, educator, and architect Thomas Kelah Wharton, documenting his trips in the lower Hudson River Valley and New Orleans to Boston and back. [Read more…] about 19th Century Hudson River, New England Travel Diaries Published

Filed Under: Books, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Book Notices, Books, Hudson River, Hudson River Valley, Steamboating, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Transportation History, Washington Irving, West Point

Hudson River Capt Telling History Stories in Kinderhook

February 27, 2019 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Stanley WilcoxU.S. Coast Guard Licensed Master Capt. Stanley Wilcox is set to speak in a program entitled “Tales of the Majestic Hudson: Rare and Little Known Stories of the Hudson River Valley” in Kinderhook, Columbia County, NY.

The Hudson River Valley begins above Albany and winds south for 150 miles to the New York Harbor, where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Native Americans, Dutch settlers, British forces, and American revolutionaries all left footprints, stories, and legends in the Hudson Valley. [Read more…] about Hudson River Capt Telling History Stories in Kinderhook

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Columbia County Historical Society, Hudson River, Kinderhook, Maritime History, Steamboating

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