The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is calling for submissions of ideas and plans for use and public access to the historic Saranac Lake Union Depot building on the former New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division line in the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about State Seeks Comments, Plans For Saranac Lake Railroad Depot Reuse
Transportation History
The Canal Era in the Finger Lakes
As the population of interior New York increased, developers pushed for a faster method of transportation between the area and developed population centers like the city of New York.
The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, revolutionized inland travel and ushered in a broader era of canal construction across the state, connecting the state capital of Albany on the Hudson River to Western New York and the Great Lakes. [Read more…] about The Canal Era in the Finger Lakes
Replica Sailing Canal Schooner Lois McClure Donated to Canal Society of New York
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
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
Asher Durand’s Painted Puzzle of Progress
What Thomas Carlyle in 1829 called the Age of Machinery – later renamed the Industrial Revolution – radically altered conventional modes of being and marked a turning point in man’s relationship with his environment. New production systems delivered an abundance of goods for consumption, but in the process natural resources were depleted, water and soil polluted, whilst fumes contaminated the air. [Read more…] about Asher Durand’s Painted Puzzle of Progress
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Acquires Historical Paintings by Ernest Haas
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
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
Euro-American Expansion Into The Finger Lakes Region
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended hostilities between the British and Americans; however, the treaty did not include the allied Indian Nations, leaving their legacy treaties with the Europeans unresolved and their future to be resolved through separate treaties with the new American government. [Read more…] about Euro-American Expansion Into The Finger Lakes Region
August 1807: Robert Fulton’s Steamboat Makes History
Robert Fulton did not invent the steamboat. There were perhaps 20 others who worked toward the same goal before the North River Steamboat, later known as Clermont, left the dock in the city of New York for Albany on August 17, 1807. [Read more…] about August 1807: Robert Fulton’s Steamboat Makes History
Hudson River Tugboat Views: The West Shore Railroad, Track Walkers & Hoboes
Railroads have been operating along the east shore of the Hudson River for virtually its entire length between New York and Albany since 1851 and along the west shore of the river from Haverstraw [in Rockland County, NY] to a point below West Park [in the Town of Esopus, Ulster County] since 1883, Hudson River boatmen have had plenty of opportunity to observe the changes that have taken place over the years in railroading. [Read more…] about Hudson River Tugboat Views: The West Shore Railroad, Track Walkers & Hoboes