HUDSON RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM
  • Visit
    • About
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Guided Tours
    • Events Calendar
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Docking
    • Visiting Vessels
  • Learn
    • Lecture Series
    • Youth Programs
    • School Programs
    • Exhibits on View >
      • Working Waterfronts
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
    • Online Exhibits
    • Speaking Engagements
  • Solaris Cruises
    • Cruise Schedule
    • Meet Our Boat
    • Book A Charter
  • Wooden Boat School
    • Boat School
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Boat Building Classes
    • Boats For Sale
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • Sea Scouts
  • Join & Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Ways to Give
    • Our Supporters

History Blog

Steamer "Saugerties", 1882 - 1906

9/26/2019

1 Comment

 
 Editor's Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article written by George W. Murdock, for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman newspaper in the 1930s. Murdock, a veteran marine engineer, wrote a regular column. Articles transcribed by HRMM volunteer Adam Kaplan. 
                                                No. 59 - “Saugerties”
                                                        ————--
She came from “foreign waters” under the name of the Shenandoah, she served on the Hudson River under the name of the Saugerties, and she went to a watery grave as the result of the ravages of flames; thus reads a brief history of the Saugerties.
 
Her wooden hull, built at Brooklyn in 1882, was 200 feet long with a 33 foot breadth of beam, and she was rated at 424 net tons. A vertical beam engine with a 36-inch diameter cylinder and a 10 foot stroke furnished the power for the Saugerties.
 
The steamboat was originally named the Shenandoah and was built for the old Dominion Steamship Company in whose service she plied the James river and Chesapeake Bay, carrying freight and passengers to and from the company’s steamships in Norfolk, Va.
 
In 1888 the Shenandoah was purchased by the Saugerties Company to run between Saugerties and New York on the night line in line with the steamer Ulster. She was completely overhauled and her name changed to the Saugerties, and she was advertised as “the largest little steamboat on the Hudson river.”
 
On Sunday, November 23, 1906, the Saugerties, under Captain Charles Tiffany, made her last run and ended her career as another steamboat that fell before the flames which wrote finis to the term of service of many of the river steamboats. The fire occurred at the dock at Saugerties village and caused the death of Charles Rosch, a member of the crew from New York city.
 
The Saugerties arrived at her dock at the up-river village on Sunday morning with a cargo of freight and passengers. It being Sunday, no freight was removed from the steamboat which was scheduled to make her return trip to New York on Monday evening. About 5 o’clock on that Sunday afternoon in November, flames were discovered coming from the oil room of the vessel, and a few moments later the entire lower section of the boat was ablaze.
 
The men who were aboard the steamer were compelled to flee for their lives and were unable to take the time to gather any of their possessions other than the clothes they were wearing. The ill-fated Rosch, a member of the crew, made his way back to the burning steamer after he had safely reached the wharf, in order to rescue a suit of clothing in which he had four dollars. Others on the wharf shouted to him that his efforts were foolhardy but he dashed into the smoke and flame and was suffocated.
 
The flames spread to all parts of the stricken vessel with amazing rapidity, eating their way along the upper deck and completely enveloping the steamer within 15 minutes. The roar of the fire could be heard for some distance and the heat from the flames was terrific.
 
The burned hulk sank at the dock at 2 o’clock Monday morning; the water of the Saugerties inlet squelching the last flames too late to save the fine steamboat. The Saugerties had been practically rebuilt during the years when she was the property of the Saugerties Steamboat Company, and her loss was estimated at $100,000. Of that sum, $80,000 was the estimate placed on the vessel itself and the other $20,000 was the value of the cargo.

Author

George W. Murdock, (b. 1853 - d. 1940) was a veteran marine engineer who served on the steamboats "Utica", "Sunnyside", "City of Troy", and "Mary Powell". He also helped dismantle engines in scrapped steamboats in the winter months and later in his career worked as an engineer at the brickyards in Port Ewen. In 1883 he moved to Brooklyn, NY and operated several private yachts. He ended his career working in power houses in the outer boroughs of New York City. His mother Catherine Murdock was the keeper of the Rondout Lighthouse for 50 years. 

1 Comment

Steamer "Ida", 1881-1937

9/26/2019

0 Comments

 
Editor's Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article written by George W. Murdock, for the Kingston (NY) Daily Freeman newspaper in the 1930s. Murdock, a veteran marine engineer, wrote a regular column. Articles transcribed by HRMM volunteer Adam Kaplan. 
Picture
Saugerties Evening Line steamer "Ida" at pier in New York City.
                                                                  Ida
The steamboat Ida joined the Saugerties Evening Line as a replacement for the Saugerties in 1904. Ida had been built in 1881 at Wilmington, Del., and had been run by the Baltimore, Chesapeake & Atlantic Railway Co. The Ida had burned in Baltimore in Feb. 1894, but was totally rebuilt and returned to service. She ran with the Ulster through the season of 1920. Thereafter the Ida ran with the Ulster extensively rebuilt as the Robert A. Snyder. Capt. Charles A. Tiffany commanded the Ida for many years.

The Ida carried passengers and freight and ran at night. Freight going north was mostly wood pulp for the many paper mills at Saugerties, and perishables like milk for the summer resorts in the Catskills. Going south the freight was mostly finished paper of many types from the mills at Saugerties and hay for the many horses in New York City. Hudson Valley fruit was also carried in season. Passengers were mainly vacationers for the Catskills. The Ida ran through 1931 and was scrapped in 1937.
Picture
Saugerties Evening Line steamer "Ida" going out Esopus Creek to the Hudson River.

Author

George W. Murdock, (b. 1853-d. 1940) was a veteran marine engineer who served on the steamboats "Utica", "Sunnyside", "City of Troy", and "Mary Powell". He also helped dismantle engines in scrapped steamboats in the winter months and later in his career worked as an engineer at the brickyards in Port Ewen. In 1883 he moved to Brooklyn, NY and operated several private yachts. He ended his career working in power houses in the outer boroughs of New York City. His mother Catherine Murdock was the keeper of the Rondout Lighthouse for 50 years. ​

0 Comments

    Author

    This blog is written by Hudson River Maritime Museum staff, volunteers and guest contributors.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All
    Agriculture
    Amusement Parks
    Barges
    Black History
    Bridges
    Canals
    Captain William O. Benson Articles
    Catskill Mountains
    Environmental History
    Featured Artifact
    Ferries
    Fireboats
    George W. Murdock Articles
    Halloween
    House Boats
    Hudson River Commercial Fishing
    Iceboats
    Ice Harvesting
    Immigration
    Indian Point
    Indigenous Peoples
    Labor
    Lighthouses
    Marine Art
    Military
    Muddy Paddle Series
    Photo Contest
    Railroad
    RMS Titanic
    Rowing
    Sail
    Sail Freight
    Schooners
    Shipbuilding
    Shipyard
    Sloops
    Sports
    Steamboats
    Towboats And Tugboats
    Whaling
    Winter
    Women's History
    Wrecks And Mishaps

    RSS Feed

GET IN TOUCH
Hudson River Maritime Museum
50 Rondout Landing
Kingston, NY 12401

​845-338-0071
[email protected]


Contact Us

GET INVOLVED

Join & Support
​​Donate
Membership
Volunteer

Work with Us
​
RESEARCH
History Blog
Collections
Research Resources

stay connected

Join Our Email List
ABOUT
News
Publications
​Docking
Museum Store
Facility Rentals
Board
​
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Visit
    • About
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Guided Tours
    • Events Calendar
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Docking
    • Visiting Vessels
  • Learn
    • Lecture Series
    • Youth Programs
    • School Programs
    • Exhibits on View >
      • Working Waterfronts
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
    • Online Exhibits
    • Speaking Engagements
  • Solaris Cruises
    • Cruise Schedule
    • Meet Our Boat
    • Book A Charter
  • Wooden Boat School
    • Boat School
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Boat Building Classes
    • Boats For Sale
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • Sea Scouts
  • Join & Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Ways to Give
    • Our Supporters