Collections

The collection of the Hudson River Maritime Museum is composed of donations from hundreds of donors since our founding in 1980. The collection includes archival material and items related to Hudson River steamboats, tugboats, ferries, iceboats, and industries. Much of the collection dates from the 1870s through the 1950s with some older and newer materials
.Specific named collections include:
Types of items in the museum’s collection include boat models, photos, paper ephemera of many types, hardware from boats including steam gauges, lanterns, and bells, boat nameboards, boat building tools, ice-cutting tools, and many framed prints and original paintings.

Also included in the collection are pieces of historic steamboats and tugs, including pilot wheels, and a number of small boats including shad boats, iceboats, rowing shells, a birchbark canoe, and a lifeboat from the famous steamboat Mary Powell. The number of items in the collection is at least 20,000.
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Oral History Collection

Hudson River Commercial Fishermen's Oral History Collection
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The Hudson River Maritime Museum’s oral history collection consists of over 30 interviews with Hudson River commercial fishermen and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation officers conducted by Marguerite Holloway and Christopher Letts in the 1980s and 1990s. These interviews cover a range of topics, but focus on the commercial fishing of shad, sturgeon, striped bass, and other fish like herring, as well as the changing water quality of the river, changes in fishing gear and techniques, and personal anecdotes. 

This collection was digitized in part through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in cooperation with the Sound and Story Project of the Hudson Valley. 
Other Collections
The Hudson River Maritime Museum also has an undigitized oral history collection from a project called "Rondout Remembers," as well as video interviews with area boat captains. We are also actively collecting new oral histories in straight-to-digital format with area people connected to the history of the Hudson River. If you would like to nominate yourself or someone you know to be interviewed for an oral history, please contact [email protected]. ​

Digital Collections

The Hudson River Maritime Museum strives to makes its collections accessible to the general public. We are proud to partner with New York Heritage, an online digital repository for collections from all over the state. 

You can visit the Hudson River Maritime Museum's own portal to New York Heritage to view our collections, or do a search of all collections. 

​Historic Newspaper Articles Collection

The Hudson River Maritime Museum has a database of historic newspaper articles pertaining to Hudson River Valley history that covers three centuries. Gathered by volunteers the articles cover a wide range of river related topics including sloops, schooners, steam, tug and ice boats, whaling, villains & evil-doers, sea serpents, bootlegging, ice harvesting and more. For a list of topics and more information about accessing these articles, contact: [email protected].

Enslavement in Ulster County

Resources and research regarding Ulster County's legacy of enslavement can be found on the county's website, "Bearing Witness". 
Please consider making a donation to the museum to help us expand our digital collections and access. If you would like to volunteer to assist with digitization efforts, please fill out an application or email [email protected]. ​