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History Blog

Steamer "Homer Ramsdell", built 1887

9/30/2020

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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. See more of Murdock's articles in "Steamboat Biographies". 
Picture
Steamer "Homer Ramsdell" passing the Palisades. Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection.
                                                         No. 100- Homer Ramsdell
Although she left the waters of the Hudson- the river where she was launched- nine years ago, the memory of the steamer “Homer Ramsdell” is still a vivid picture to many of the present generation, and the vessel which once plowed the waters of the Hudson river, is still in service although the name “Homer Ramsdell” no longer appears on her bow.

The steel hull of the “Homer Ramsdell” was built by the T.S. Marvel & Company at Newburgh in 1887, and her engine was the product of William Wright, also of Newburgh. Her dimensions are listed: Length of hull, 225 feet, 8 inches, breadth of hull 32 feet, 6 inches (over guards, 37 feet, 6 inches), depth of hold 11 feet, 9 inches; engine compound fore and aft, diameter of cylinders, high pressure 28 inches, low pressure 52 inches by 36 inch stroke. She had two steel boilers of the lobster-back type which were constructed by W. & A. Fletcher Company at Hoboken, New Jersey. Her gross tonnage was 1181, and her net tonnage 822.

The “Homer Ramsdell” was built for the night line between Newburgh and New York, and was launched on February 24, 1887. She was owned by the Homer Ramsdell Transportation Company of Newburgh, and was a large, speedy, first class propellor steamboat of the most modern design. Her speed was rated at 16 miles per hour and she cost $115,000 when she was completed.

Two fast trips recorded in the history of the “Homer Ramsdell,” one on August 21, 1887, and the other on July 28, 1889, (from New York to Newburgh), give a good indication of the speed of the steamboat, when she completed the trip in three hours and nine minutes, and three hours and seven minutes respectively.

One year before the launching of the “Homer Ramsdell,” the Homer Ramsdell Transportation Company had the propeller steamboat “Newburgh” built at Philadelphia. The “Newburgh” was launched at the Quaker city on April 1, 1886, and the steamer “Homer Ramsdell” was constructed as a consort for the “Newburgh” on the New York line. These two vessels plied this route until 1899 when a new company was formed. This new company, the Central Hudson Steamboat Company, was formed out of the former Poughkeepsie Transportation Company and the Romer & Tremper Line of Rondout.

On Sunday evening, May 21, 1911, after 24 years of service on the Hudson river, the steamer “Homer Ramsdell” burned to the water’s edge at her wharf at Newburgh. Michael Boyle, a deckhand, was drowned when he jumped overboard to escape the flames. The fire was caused by the explosion of a lamp, and four of the crew were on board when the fire started. Three escaped to the dock while Boyle remained behind in an endeavor to start the pumps. The deckhand, believing his escape to the dock to be cut off by the fire, leaped overboard and was drowned. The owners of the “Homer Ramsdell” estimated their loss to be $250,000.

The hull of the burned steamboat was rebuilt- part of the wood for the joiner works coming from the steamboat “Central Hudson.” (formerly the “James W. Baldwin”), which had been abandoned. The rebuilt “Homer Ramsdell” made her first trip on December 2, 1911, and continued in the service of the Central Hudson Steamboat Company until May 1929 when the Hudson River Night Line and the Hudson River Dayline jointly purchased the assets of the Central Hudson Steamboat Company at a receiver’s sale. Five steamboats were included in the transaction. These were the “Jacob H. Tremper,” “Homer Ramsdell,” “Newburgh,” “Benjamin B. Odell,” and the “Poughkeepsie.” The “Jacob H. Tremper” was of little use and was broken up at Newburgh in 1929, but the other four vessels were placed in service on the Hudson river.
              
On November 28, 1929, the Nantasket Beach excursion fleet was burned. The destroyed vessels (all sidewheelers) included the “Old Colony,” “Mary Chilton,” “Rose Standish,” “Betty Alden,” and “Nantasket,” and this event marked what is probably the end of the “Homer Ramsdell’s” service on the Hudson river. In the spring of 1930 the “Homer Ramsdell” and the “Newburgh” were sold to the Nantasket Steamboat Company and were converted into excursion steamboats. May 1, 1930, saw the name “Homer Ramsdell” disappear from the bow of the former Hudson river vessel and the name “Alleston” take its place. The “Newburgh" was renamed the “Nantasket” on the same date, and the two vessels were taken east to run from Boston to Nantasket Beach where they are still in service.

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. ​

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Music Monday: Leave Her Johnny - Johnny Collins

9/28/2020

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The traditional sea chantey, "Leave Her Johnny," sung by English folk singer Johnny Collins.

Johnny Collins (10 May 1938 – 6 July 2009) was an English folk singer based in London, England, specializing in traditional maritime music and sea shanties.
Collins was born in Norfolk, England and adopted by a railway worker and a music teacher living in Norwich. He joined the British Army in 1956, where he learned to play the guitar in jazz and folk clubs while posted in London. He was posted to Singapore in 1959 where he began performing in bars and cabarets in his off hours, and was posted to Hong Kong in 1965 where he began performing large concerts with other folk performers in the British and U.S. military.

He also performed on television and radio (including the "Voice of America in East Asia") and played venues like the Hong Kong Hilton. In 1967 he was posted again to Singapore where he began his own folk club at the Anophel Inn. Tom Lewis and Pam Ayres performed there, among others. He was demobilized ("demobbed") in 1968, and he began to perform full-time.

In 1983 he and Jim Mageean, performing as a duo, won the Intervision Song Contest in Rostock, in East Germany. Later, in 1987, they were invited by the East German government to perform at a sea shanty festival in Berlin commemorating the city's founding. Collins and his business partner Joyce Squires, assisted by Bernard Peek ran The Singing Chef. This service provided a wide range of home-cooked food at smaller folk-festivals throughout the UK. On occasions Collins sang on-stage wearing his chef's toque supported by backing singers (The Cheffettes) drawn from his kitchen brigade.

Although slowed down by health problems, Collins continued to tour and perform worldwide up to the time of his death. including in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and France as well as making frequent appearances in his native country at Cutty Sark Tall Ships Races, and maritime festivals at Hull, Lancaster, Bristol, Dundee, Maldon, Portsmouth, Gosport, Greenwich and Chatham. He died on 6 July 2009 while on tour in Gdańsk, Poland, aged 71. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Collins

LEAVE HER JOHNNY - LYRICS
Oh the work was hard and the wages low
Leave her Johnny, leave her
I guess it's time for us to go
And it's time for us to leave her
Leave her Johnny leave her
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her

Oh I thought I heard the old man say
Leave her Johnny, leave her
Oh tomorrow you will get your pay
And it's time for us to leave her
Leave her Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her

The winds blew foul and the seas ran high
Leave her Johnny, leave her
We shipped up green and none went by
And it's time for us to leave her
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her
Oh the voyage is done and
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her

The mate was a bucco and the old man was a Turk.
Leave her Johnny, leave her.
And the boatswain was a begger with a middle name of work
And it's time for us to leave her.
Leave her Johnny, leave her,
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her.
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

The old man swears, and the mate swears too,
Leave her Johnny, leave her.
The crew all swear, and so would you
And it's time for us to leave her,
Leave her Johnny, leave her,
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her.
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And its time for us to leave her.

The starboard pump is like the crew
Leave her Johnny, leave her.
It's all worn out and will not do
And it's time for us to leave her,
Leave her Johnny, leave her,
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her.
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

The rats have gone and we the crew
Leave her Johnny, leave her.
It's the time be-damned that we went too
And it's time for us to leave her,
Leave her Johnny, leave her,
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her.
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

 Well I pray that we shall ne're more see
Leave her Johnny, leave her.
A hungry ship, the likes of she
And it's time for us to leave her,
Leave her Johnny, leave her,
Oh leave her Johnny, leave her.
Oh the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

Thanks to HRMM volunteer Mark Heller for sharing his knowledge of Hudson River music history for this series.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​
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Real Estate for Sale

9/25/2020

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Editor's Note: In 1759, riverfront and wharf access was a selling point.
Picture
​September 24, 1759 -- New-York Gazette
To Be Sold, Four hundred and fifty acres of land, whereon is a good house, a barn of 50 feet square, two good bearing orchards, and about 150 acres of clear land. The whole farm is well water’d and timber’d. And there can be made on the same one hundred acres of good meadow, clear of stone. It lies about one mile and a half from the church, saw and grist mills, and three miles from the North River Landing. The said land lies in New York Government, in Orange County, 8 miles from the court house in Orange Town. The title is indisputable. Any person inclining to purchase the same, or part, may apply to Robert and Cornelius Campbell, living at Tappan.
To be Sold also, A convenient place for a Merchant, Packer, or Bolter, at Tapan Landing, whereon is a good dwelling house, a barn, and a good store house, garden and orchard. The Landing is so convenient, that a boat can lay along side the store house, and take in her loading. There is likewise a good grist mill close by the said store house.
Picture
 October 15, 1759 - New York Gazette (Weyman's) 
                             To be Let for a Term, and enter'd upon immediately.
THE Lower Mills on the Manor of Philipsburg, commonly called the Yonkers Mills, 16 Miles from New-York by Water; containing two Double geared Breast Mills, a large Mill House three Storie high, and a stone Dam; they are constantly supplied with a fine Stream that the Mills can grind in the greatest Drought in the Summer; together with a good Dwelling House, and 20 acres of Land adjoining, and a Sufficiency of Timber for Flour Casks.  The above Place is situated in a Wheat Country, and would be very suitable for a Bolter and Store Keeper, there being no Store within Ten Miles of the same.  Likewise a Mill Boat that carries 900 Bushels of Wheat.  For further Particulars enquire of F. Philipse.

Author

Thank you to HRMM volunteer George Thompson, retired New York University reference librarian, for sharing these glimpses into early life in the Hudson Valley. And to the dedicated HRMM volunteers who transcribe these articles.

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Steamer "Nuhpa" 1865-1897

9/23/2020

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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. See more of Murdock's articles in "Steamboat Biographies". 
Picture
Drawing of the steamer "Nuhpa", built in New Baltimore, NY at the Baldwin Shipyard. Image courtesy of Hudson River Maritime Museum.
                                                                    No. 89- Nuhpa
Built originally for service on the Hudson river, the “Nuhpa” was in use for 33 years and was finally broken up at Boston, Massachusetts, after spending her last years on Long Island Sound. During her career on the Hudson river, she ran afoul of the ice on two occasions, sinking in one instance and being run aground to save herself in the second encounter.
              
The hull of the “Nuhpa” was rebuilt from the hull of the ill-fated steamboat “Berkshire” which was destroyed by fire in 1864 with a loss of 30 lives.  [Editor's Note: see "Berkshire"'s story below.} J.R. Baldwin and H.S. Baldwin rebuilt this hull in 1865 at New Baltimore, N.Y., the length recorded as 253 feet, breadth of beam 37 feet, depth of hold 10 feet. The gross tonnage of the “Nuhpa” was listed at 1232, not (sic) tonnage 906, and she was powered with a vertical beam engine with a cylinder diameter of 37 inches with a five foot stroke. A feature of this engine was its placement- crosswise of the vessel with a direct connection with the propeller which was a departure from the usual custom of gears. This resulted in an exceptionally fast steamboat, and the “Nuhpa” was the largest propeller steamboat built for the Hudson river up to that period.
              
The “Nuhpa” was constructed for George H. Powers and other parties of Hudson, N.Y., for service on the Hudson and New York night route, and she has the distinction of being the largest and fastest vessel that ever made the city of Hudson her home port.
              
April 7, 1873, is the date of the first encounter with the ice- and the “Nuhpa” came out of the affair “second best.” She was on her way from the up-river city to the metropolis when she was crushed by the ice off Barrytown about 2 o’clock in the morning. She sank and was abandoned, and about April 25th was raised and towed to New York. She was repaired and returned to her regular route. In December, 1876, she again met defeat before the crush of the river ice- this time she was cut through by the ice and run ashore on Esopus Island to avoid sinking. This accident took place just above the location where the “Sunnyside” met her fate a year before.
              
​In the spring of 1877 the “Nuhpa” was returned to her regular route- seeing service for another year, when she was transferred to the excursion business, making a round trip per day from New York to Iona Island. On August 24, 1878, she was sold by the New York and Hudson Steamboat Company to parties in Bridgeport, Conn., and in 1879 she was again placed in service on excursion trips to Iona Island. In July, 1879, the name of the “Nuhpa” was changed to the “Metropolitan” and in 1880 the “Metropolitan” was sold to the New London Northern Railroad Company who operated her in line with the “Tillie” and “Doris” between New York and Groton, Connecticut, until 1896 when two new steamboats, the “Mohawk” and “Mohegan,” made their appearance, and the “Metropolitan” was laid aside as a spare vessel.
              
​ In 1897 the “Nuhpa” under the name of the “Metropolitan” was sold to a concern in Boston, Mass., who took her to Boston where she was broken up.
                                                            No. 22- Berkshire - 1864
The largest steamboat ever constructed for the Hudson-New York Route, the “Berkshire,” was one of the show boats of her time, but her career was short, and the memory of the “Berkshire” is one of those horrors which occurred in the early days of steamboating.

The “Berkshire” was built at Athens in 1864 with a 250 foot keel and a beam of 37 feet. She was owned by George H. Powers, of Hudson, and had a speed of 18 miles per hour.
           
On June 8, 1864, one of the most heartrending disasters in the annals of steamboating occurred to the “Berkshire.” She left Hudson early in the evening for New York City, and as she was rounding Krum Elbow about two miles from Hyde Park, a fire was discovered in her crank pit. The cause of this blaze was never determined but it was thought that some interested passenger who had been watching the great crank revolve, had actually dropped the lighted stump of a cigar into some cotton waste in the pit.
           
It was not long before the flames were roaring up through the engine shaft and setting fire to the deck cargo of bailed hay, cutting off communication from either end of the boat. There were 130 passengers aboard, most of whom had embarked at Hudson and Catskill, and of these 40 were either burned to death or drowned. The scene of the catastrophe was one that will long be remembered by the survivors, and the bravery of a Mr. Carter, of the editorial staff of the New York Times, who crawled over one of the paddle boxes to safety, leading with him many more, was one of the highlights of the accident. A Mrs. Hannaford, with a baby in one arm and her daughter in the other, leaped overboard, leaving her little son on the deck. Both her baby and daughter slipped from her grasp in the water and she herself was saved by a man who was obliged to let go his grasp on his own little boy in order to save the woman. All the children were lost. A Saugerties merchant by the name of French, jumped from the hurricane deck with his son and daughter clinging to him, and escaped the clutching fingers of death.
           
The heat of the flames had driven the engineers from their posts and the paddle wheels continued to revolve after the boat had run aground. Many of the struggling passengers who found themselves in the water, were disabled by being struck by the paddles or were forced out into the river by the current set up by the motion of the wheels, and were drowned. Those who were fortunate enough to escape were picked up by the “James W. Baldwin” of Rondout, which hurried to the rescue and put out small boats to pick up those in the water.
           
​What remained of the “Berkshire” was rebuilt into a freight and passenger craft named the “Nuhpa”, which ran the same route between Hudson and New York.

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. ​

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Music Monday: Tarrytown

9/21/2020

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Recorded in the summer of 1976 in Woodstock, NY Fifty Sail on Newburgh Bay: Hudson Valley Songs Old & New was released in October of that year. Designed to be a booster for the replica sloop Clearwater, as well as to tap into the national interest in history thanks to the bicentennial, the album includes a mixture of traditional songs and new songs. This album is a recording to songs relating to the Hudson River, which played a major role in the commercial life and early history of New York State, including the Revolutionary War. Folk singer Ed Renehan (born 1956), who was a member of the board of the Clearwater, sings and plays guitar along with Pete Seeger. William Gekle, who wrote the lyrics for five of the songs, also wrote the liner notes, which detail the context of each song and provide the lyrics. This booklet designed and the commentary written by William Gekle who also wrote the lyrics for: Fifty Sail, Moon in the Pear Tree, The Phoenix and the Rose, Old Ben and Sally B., and The Burning of Kingston.

The Hudson River Valley was settled by people who came from many parts of the world. They often brought with them the songs they had known in their homeland and, in time, these songs acquired a local flavor. One of these songs originally came from Ireland in a somewhat different form. John Allison, who wrote “Hudson River Steamboat” adapted and arranged this traditional song – and called it Tarrytown. https://folkways-media.si.edu/liner_notes/folkways/FW05257.pdf


TARRYTOWN - LYRICS
In Tarrytown I did dwell
And a lovely youth, I knew him well.
He courted me, my life away,
But now with me he will no longer stay.
Wide and deep my grave will be
With the  wild goose grasses growin’ over me.

Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grasses growin’ over me.

There is an inn, in Tarrytown,
Where my loves goes and sits him down.
He takes another on his knee,
For she has gold and riches more than me.
Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grasses growin’ over me.

Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grasses growin’ over me.

When I wore my apron low,
He’d follow me through rain and snow,
Now that I wear my apron high,
He goes right down my street and passes by.
Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grass growin’ over me.

Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grass growin’ over me.

In Tarrytown I did dwell
And a lovely youth, I knew him well.
He courted me, my life away,
But now with me he will no longer stay.
Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grasses growin’ over me.

Wide and deep my grave will be
With the wild goose grasses growin’ over me.

Thanks to HRMM volunteer Mark Heller for sharing his knowledge of Hudson River music history for this series.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​
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Trains & Trolleys at Kingston Point Park

9/18/2020

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Picture
Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection
Summer visitors at Kingston Point Park wait for a Hudson River Day Line steamer to come into port and pick them up for their journey home. The train in the background is part of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, and is back from the Catskills, c. 1905.  The U&D Railroad served as the Gateway to the Catskills transporting visitors from the Hudson River waterfront to summer resorts in the cooler Catskill Mountains. 
Picture
Donald C. Ringwald Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum
Trolley terminal at Kingston Point Park, ca. 1906. Designed by noted architect, Downing Vaux, Kingston Point Park opened in 1897. The park was financed by S.D. Coykendall, son-in-law of founder Thomas Cornell and second president of the Cornell Steamboat Company.  By the 1890s the Cornell Company transportation holdings included rail as well as boats. The Ulster & Delaware Railroad extended from Kingston Point Park west into the Catskills. The Kingston City trolley system ran throughout the city and out to Kingston Point. Both rail systems were owned by the Cornell company. The park was built to provide a landing for the Hudson River Day Line and its thousands of passengers who could spend a day there or take the Ulster & Delaware Railroad from the park up to the Catskills.  Before the steamboat landing at Kingston Point was built, large steamers docked across the Hudson River at Rhinecliff. Passengers took the Kingston-Rhinecliff ferry, also controlled at the time by the Cornell Steamboat Company, to reach Kingston. 
If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​
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‘Getting There Is Half the Fun’

9/16/2020

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Editor’s Note: The following text is a verbatim transcription of an article featuring stories by Captain William O. Benson (1911-1986). Beginning in 1971, Benson, a retired tugboat captain, reminisced about his 40 years on the Hudson River in a regular column for the Kingston (NY) Freeman’s Sunday Tempo magazine. Captain Benson's articles were compiled and transcribed by HRMM volunteer Carl Mayer. See more of Captain Benson’s articles here. This article was originally published December 16, 1973.
Picture

​In today’s jet age of airplane travel, and human nature being what it is, some people seem to take a perverse delight in recounting incidents where their flight — because of adverse weather conditions — was diverted to an airport other than that of their original destination, or now of delays encountered because of the energy crisis.  In the simpler age of steamboat travel, there were also on occasion unforeseen delays.
​ 
In that long ago era before the advent of the automobile and the airplane, virtually every trip of more than a few miles was made either by railroad or, if the destination was adjacent to navigable water, by steamboat.  Travel by steamboat was generally leisurely and delightful.  However, you always didn’t get to where you were going when you expected to. 

One such incident was related to me years ago by Captain Ed Van Woert of the Cornell tugboat “G. C. Adams.” In December 1913, Captain Van Woert had to go to New York to testify in a lawsuit being held there pertaining to damage to a schooner that occurred while being landed at Hudson some months before.  He thought he would take his wife along for the trip.

On this particular day, Captain Ed left the ‘‘Adams” at Athens and went home to get ready.  That evening, he and his wife boarded the steamer “Onteora” of the Catskill Evening Line at Athens, expecting to be in New York the following morning. 

After going aboard the “Onteora” and getting their stateroom, they had a leisurely supper in the steamer’s dining room. 

After eating, Captain Ed said to his wife, “I guess I'll go up in the pilot house awhile and talk to my friend the pilot.”’ At this point, the “Onty” was approaching the landing at Cheviot and a snow storm had set in. 

On leaving Cheviot, the "Onteora" headed for County Island to get over in the main channel.  The snow storm had increased in intensity and visibility had decreased almost to zero.  The pilot held her on the west course a little bit too long and she went hard aground just north of County Island, with her bow in about five feet of water and her stern in deep water.  They backed and backed, but she wouldn’t come off.

The tide was falling and at daybreak the next morning the "Onteora" was still hard aground.  Captain Van Woert and his wife got off in a small boat and after being rowed to shore, walked through two feet of snow to the nearest railroad station to catch a train for New York.  The “Onteora” got herself off on the next high tide and was back on her run — although nearly 12 hours late — none the worse for her mishap.

Another incident that took place about the same period, although this time during the summer, was related to me by my old friend George W. Murdock, an old time Hudson River steamboat engineer who died at his home in Ponckhockie in 1940, well into his eighties. 

On a Saturday summer’s afternoon, Mr. Murdock boarded the “William F. Romer” at her New York pier for the run to Kingston.  At that time, the “Romer" of the New York to Rondout night line regularly would leave New York on Saturday in the early afternoon and arrive at Rondout in the early evening.  Mr. Murdock’s brother-in-law, Joel Rightmyer of Ponckhockie, was the “Romer's" pilot.  On this particular trip, the “Romer” was bucking a strong ebb tide from the time she left her New York pier.

The wind, like it so often does during the summer, was blowing straight up river out of the south.  Worse yet, what breeze there was was blowing at about the same velocity as the “Romer’s" speed through the water, so that while underway the “Romer’s” flags hung limp on their poles.  Underway, it was hot, humid, virtually airless and, because of the strong ebb tide, the steamer was running later and later with each passing hour. 

Past the Palisades and up through Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay, the “Romer” plodded her way up river.  It wasn’t much of a day for steamboating.  Finally, the "Romer" reached the Hudson Highlands and as she approached the landing at West Point, Mr. Murdock noticed a West Shore passenger train chuffing away from Highland Falls.  He decided to leave the steamer and catch the train for the rest of his trip to Rondout,

As he was leaving the steamboat, Mr. Murdock said to his brother-in-law, “Joel, I don’t think you'll get to Kingston by nightfall." Replied Pilot Rightmyer, “Well, George, if we don’t get there today, we’ll get there tomorrow.”

Mr. Murdock boarded the train at West Point, thinking he’d get home well ahead of the steamer.  However, as luck would have it, there was a freight train stuck on the West Park hill where the tracks make their incline from the river and head inland.  His train, on the same track as the freight, stood on the tracks for what seemed like an eternity in the hot summer air. 

Finally another locomotive was sent down from Kingston and got the freight train ahead moving.  Eventually, Mr. Murdock got to Kingston and took the trolley car for Rondout.  As he was walking up Abruyn Street to his home in Ponckhockie, he glanced over his shoulder — just in time to see the top deck of the “William F. Romer” gliding past on her way in Rondout Creek to her berth on Ferry Street!
​
During the 1950’s the Cunard Line had a great slogan — “Getting there is half the fun.”  Generally it was.  Sometimes, though, as it is in all forms of travel, the fraction was wrong.

Author

Captain William Odell Benson was a life-long resident of Sleightsburgh, N.Y., where he was born on March 17, 1911, the son of the late Albert and Ida Olson Benson. He served as captain of Callanan Company tugs including Peter Callanan, and Callanan No. 1 and was an early member of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. He retained, and shared, lifelong memories of incidents and anecdotes along the Hudson River. ​

​If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​​
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Music Monday: The Hudson River Flows - Melissa Holland

9/14/2020

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​An original song by Melissa Holland. Performed by Melissa Holland (keyboard and vocals) with photography by Paul Hewitt. Melissa and Paul live in Beacon, New York on the Hudson River. Beacon was Pete Seeger's home town, and he was dedicated to revitalizing the Hudson after it had been badly contaminated by pollution. Melissa Holland performed regularly with Pete Seeger, and she performs regularly at the Hudson Valley Folk Guild.
THE HUDSON RIVER FLOWS - LYRICS

​We know the Hudson River flows
North and South, fast and slow
We know the Hudson River flows
She’s alive and well today

Years ago, they said she was dead
But people got together and they used their heads
Some said the future looked grim
But they dove right in

We know the Hudson River flows
North and South, fast and slow
We know the Hudson River flows
She’s alive and well today

Working, planning, side by side
Before too long they turned the tide
But the job is never done
It goes on and on

We know the Hudson River flows
North and South, fast and slow
We know the Hudson River flows
She’s alive and well today

Put those big old frackers down
Leave the gas underground
There’s power sources we’ve ignored.
That we can explore.

If we want her to stay
Education is the way
Don’t give up
Stand your ground and pass the torch on down.

We know the Hudson River flows
North and South, fast and slow
We know the Hudson River flows
She’s alive and well today
She’s alive and well today
She’s alive and well today

​Thanks to HRMM volunteer Mark Heller for sharing his knowledge of Hudson River music history for this series.​

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Ashokan Reservoir in the Early Days

9/11/2020

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Picture
Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection
Picture
Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection
The Ashokan Reservoir was built between 1907 and 1915 to supply water to New York City. The flooding of twelve communities and thousands of acres of farmland sparked long-lasting controversy. The last of the land claims were settled in 1940. Two thousand residents were moved, some of the communities were relocated, others were flooded.  The dam was constructed with Rosendale cement. Today trails along the Reservoir provide pleasant walking and biking opportunities.

In 1905 the New York State Legislature enacted legislation to create the New York City Board of Water Supply.  The Board had the authority to acquire land and build dams and reservoirs in the Catskill Mountain watershed. At the time it was built, the Ashokan was one of the largest reservoirs in the world. Water from the Esopus Creek and tributaries feed the Ashokan.
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Hudson Riverscapes Photo Contest Winner!

9/9/2020

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Picture
"Northbound Tug & Barge Breaking Through the Morning Mist" by Mark Heller
We are pleased to announce that the Grand Prize Winner of the Hudson Riverscapes Photo Contest is Mark Heller, with over 600 cumulative votes for his photo, "Northbound Tug & Barge Breaking Through the Morning Mist!"

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the photo contest and shared all their beautiful Hudson River photos with us! As a benefit effort to the museum, many of the Hudson Riverscape photographers are graciously allowing Hudson River Maritime Museum to turn their beautiful images into notecards, prints, maybe even jigsaw puzzles! HRMM is very grateful for their generosity.

If you would like us to do another photo contest, leave a comment on this post and let us know!

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!​

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Hudson River Maritime Museum
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