In the early part of this century Kingston Point was the only park in the city. As Columbus Point it had been historically important from very early times. Whether Hendrick Hudson stopped there when in 1609 he sailed up the great river which now bears his name is a moot question, but it certainly became a trading post early in the seventeenth century and tradition has it that the British landed there when they burned Kingston in 1777. Important in Colonial days, it gradually sank into obscurity, to be revived by its purchase in 1893 by the late S.D. Coykendall.

In the same year the old horse-drawn cars were replaced by electric trolleys, and in 1896 the Ulster and Delaware Railroad made it a terminal, meeting the Day Boats there and conveying their passengers to their destinations in the Catskills. In 1902 the rival line, the Colonial, was bought by Mr. Coykendall, and, the two lines combined, covered the greater part of the city, making Kingston Point delightfully accessible to the whole population. In a day when the automobile was practically non-existant and comparatively few families had horses and carriages, the only way for the average citizen to get around was on foot or by trolley. On a hot night in summer it was pleasant for the whole family, perhaps with guests, to board one of the "open trolleys," with seats running across the car, breeze down to the Point at an outlay of ten cents per person, round trip, and amuse themselves, according to age and inclination, with what the park had to offer.

There was a merry-go-round for the children (the two largest and best horses were named for the Spanish War heroes, Gen. Shafter and Gen. Miles) and various and sundry games. For the lover and his lass, there were canoes for rent in which to paddle idly round the lagoons, or more rashly on the river, and there were secluded seats in the shadowy parts of the wooded area for what was then called "spooning." For adults there were still pictures shown on a screen, the forerunner of the cinema, and there was "Morphy the man who sings to beat the band" and did he sing to beat the band! A large man, clad in white suit and cap, with a nautical air, his vocal effects were fortissimo to the nth degree! There were picnic tables at which to eat lunch or supper, there was Bath Beach where bathing in the river could be enjoyed, and there was the arrival of the Day Boats, north and south bound. The river played an important role in travel to New York and Albany. If time were no object, it was a delightful way to go to town, though for the very young the night boats, the Baldwin and the Romer, were more exciting. To go to bed in Kingston, and wake up in the great metropolis with a whole day to spend before the Mary Powell brought one home was a rare treat in those days.

My own recollections of Kingston Point, assisted by the diary which all young girls kept in my time, are especially connected with two dates, 1908 and 1909. On May 29, 1908 the Point was the scene of an impressive ceremony. I was a student at Vassar College then and a number of my classmates were visiting me. We went down to Kingston Point to see the flotilla come in, the escort of the ship bearing Gov. George Clinton's remains from Washington where he died in 1812, while serving as vice-president of the United States, to Kingston, the scene of his inauguration as governor of New York. The unusual sight of the U.S. Navy ships in the river, five destroyers and two sub-marines, the salutes exchanged, the crowds massed there was an interesting experience. The next day, alas, a heavy rain set in and the funeral parade up Broadway to the First Dutch Churchyard where Gov. Clinton's body was interred with pomp and circumstance was marred by the weather. The gloom was considerably lightened for us, however, by the fact that my father's friend Capt. W.H. Webb U.S.N.RET. brought a suitable number of young naval officers to call on us. Among them were acting captains Bingham, Marquart and Daniel and we had a delightful time with these young men. During the weekend, Mrs. Thomas J. Hickey took some of us out to the torpedo boat DeLong. As soon as the officers heard my and my sister's name they looked at us with more attention and brought out from what looked like lockers in the wall of the officers mess-room where they were entertaining us where ship's papers and the log of George W. DeLong who commanded the Jeannette in the ill-fated Arctic expedition in which my father's cousin Lt. Charles Winans Chipp U.S.N. perished, in 1881.

In 1909 there occurred the Hudson-Fulton Celebration and again the river was full of ships , including the replicas of the Half Moon and the Clermont which were anchored off the Point. Some of the ships bore men that day who have since become famous. On the Worden was Lt. Harold R. Stark, later chief of operations at the time of Pearl Harbor. On the Dupont was Lt.  William F. Halsey, later an admiral and one of the outstanding figures of World War II.

In those days before we had bridges across the Hudson I had some other less agreeable experiences at Kingston Point, for while I was at Vassar we had winters of extremely low temperatures. For two different years, the ferry stopped running for long periods and one was obliged to cross the river in a horse-drawn sleigh or on foot, both of which I did no two or three occasions. It was an eerie experience at any time, but in the late winter just before the break-up of the ice it was a nerve-racking one.

For many years now Kingston Point has suffered an eclipse, the change from trolleys to busses, the withdrawal of the great river boats, the fact that people now go to the Catskills by car instead of by train, the establishment of parks in other parts of the city has changed the situation. On the other hand, boating, water-skiing and allied sports are at a peak in this country and many more people now enjoy cruising on the lovely river at our doors. With that fact in mind a number of citizens interested in the welfare of Ulster County, have obtained promise of support from the Federal, the State and the city governments with the view of purchasing and maintaining Kingston Point as a park, so perhaps in the future a new and better Kingston Point may rise, like a phoenix, from the ashes of the old one, and our grandchildren may disport themselves, as we did, in that charming old playground, finding delight in the beauty of the Hudson and relaxation in new and more exciting water sports.

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. ​

The steamboat “General McDonald” is another one of those vessels that were originally built for passenger service and ended its career as a towboat on the Hudson river.
               
The wooden hull of the General McDonald was built at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1851. It measured 222 feet long, breadth of beam 29 feet 7 inches, depth of hold 9 feet, 7 inches, gross tonnage 541, and net tonnage 421. She was powered with a vertical beam engine with a cylinder diameter of 68 inches and an 11 foot stroke.
               
Built for service in southern waters, the “General McDonald” sailed on Chesapeake Bay between Baltimore and Frenchtown as a freight and passenger boat, and in May, 1852, she arrived in Philadelphia from Baltimore to enter into regular service between Philadelphia and Cape May in line with the famous steamboat, “Thomas Powell.” The next four years saw these two steamboats running in line to Cape May; and then they were both brought to New York.
               
Following a brief period in service to the east of New York, the General McDonald” was returned to the metropolitan area. During this period in her life, the steamboat carried two boilers on her guards and she was not known as a vessel capable of any great speed.
               
The month of April 1855 found the “General McDonald” on the market, and she was finally purchased by Jerry Austin of Albany, owner of a fleet of towboats. This marked the end of the “General McDonald” as a passenger carrier, as her new owner converted her into a towboat and placed her in service between New York and Albany, towing in line with the other towboat of the line, the “Austin.” Later, the “General McDonald” was in service with the towboat “Syracuse,” built in 1857, and the “Ohio.”
               
After some years of service in the Austin line, the “General McDonald” was rebuilt and her boilers were removed from her guards and one large boiler was placed in her hold. The removal of the boilers from the guards and the installation of one smokestack, changed the appearance of the steamboat quite a bit.
               
The General McDonald continued in service on this Albany towing route with the rest of the fleet until the fall of 1876 when the Austin line was abandoned. The towboat “Ohio” was broken up at Castleton on the Hudson, the “Syracuse” was purchased by Samuel Schuyler of Albany, and the “General McDonald,” “Austin,” and “Silas O. Pierce” were purchased by Thomas Cornell of Rondout in the winter of 1877.
               
This marked the appearance of the “General McDonald” in local steamboat history as she came to the Rondout creek in 1877 and ended her days of usefulness out of the same port. The former Austin line vessel was placed in regular towing service between Rondout and New York with the rest of the Cornell fleet, hauling scows and barges up and down the Hudson river for many years. During the latter part of the 19th century, the “General McDonald” had new boilers placed in her hold and two smokestacks took the place of the former lone stack- again changing her appearance considerably.
               
​For a span of 50 years the “General McDonald” was a familiar figure on the Hudson river, and finally at the turn of the century, she was found to be rather worn out and of no further use. She was sold to J.H. Gregory of Perth Amboy, N.J., and on September 5, 1905, she sailed from Rondout on her last trip down the Hudson- to the graveyard of many a river steamer, Perth Amboy.

September 10, 1832, Boston Courier (Boston, Massachusetts)
The Poughkeepsie Whaling Company have purchased the ship Vermont, 3000 tons burthen, which they will proceed immediately to fit out for a voyage to the Pacific Ocean.
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November 1, 1832, Newburgh (NY) Telegraph
The Whale ship Vermont, owned by the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company, left this place yesterday morning for her voyage.  She was saluted by the firing of cannon on her departure.  We hope her voyage will be short and prosperous, and her master and crew return in health. — Poughkeepsie Tel.

November 10, 1832, Charleston Courier (South Carolina)
Whale Ship - The Vermont, a fine ship, and the first fitted out by the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company, took her departure for a three years voyage in the Pacific, under a National Salute from an eminence adjacent to the village of Poughkeepsie, (NY)

June 13, 1833, Newburgh (NY) Telegraph
The Poughkeepsie Whaling Company have purchased the ship Elbe, and intend to fit her out immediately for the South Atlantic.

August 10, 1833, Columbian Register (New Haven, Connecticut)
The ship Elbe, owned by the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company, came down from that place on Monday, and will sail in a day or two on a three years cruise in the Pacific. She was provisioned and manned at Poughkeepsie, and we hope the company may be remunerated for their enterprize by a profitable voyage. – N.Y. Gazette

Of all the holidays, Christmas is the one that seems to be most closely related to thoughts of home and hearth.  If it is at all possible to do so, almost everyone would like to spend the holiday at home.  Boatmen are no exception. 

Many, many years ago, navigation on the Hudson River would virtually cease when the river would freeze over, generally in mid or late December.  Then, since most of the boats had wooden hulls and the ice would cause damage to the wooden hulls, the river steamboats and tugboats would lay up until the river ice went out in March.  Most of the boatmen would be layed off.  Some who had saved part of their summer earnings looked forward to this period at home, while many others would gain winter employment harvesting the annual crop of ice at the many ice houses along the upper Hudson. 
As time went on, the steamboat companies began to feel the increasing competition from the motor trucks using the new roads being built along the Hudson's shores.  In order to keep their vital freight business, some of the steamboat lines tried to run all winter.  One of these in the late 1920's was the old Central Hudson Line, running to Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Kingston.

Two in Operation
During the winters of 1927-28 and 1928-29, the Central Hudson Line operated their steamers “Poughkeepsie” and “Newburgh” between Kingston and New York.  Just before Christmas of those two winters, the crews — knowing they would have to work on Christmas — decorated their boats with Christmas trees.  On each vessel a Christmas tree was installed on the bow, another on the flag staff in back of the pilot house, and a third one on the after mast. 

As they came in or left Rondout Creek during the Christmas season, how nice they looked! This was especially so at dusk when their red and green side lights and white lights around the cabins and decks would sparkle in the clear winter air. 

I particularly remember the old “Newburgh” on one occasion.  It was at the twilight hour and a light snow was falling.  She had on her after deck a sky light with colored glass over the passenger cabin.  The lights from her cabin, through the colored glass of the sky light, showed up very bright through the falling snow.  This, together with her port and starboard running lights, white deck lights and the snow settling on her Christmas trees, made for a near perfect Christmas card setting.  Somehow, Rondout Creek never looked nicer.  All that now belongs to the long, long ago. 

Her Last Trip
During the same period, Christmas Day 1928, the tugboat “J. C. Hartt” of the Cornell Steamboat Company was bound north with a tow for Clinton Point through drift ice and a snow storm.  It was her last trip of the season and after landing her tow, she was to proceed on to Rondout and lay up for the winter. 

On another Christmas several years later, I was talking to Barney McGooy, the pilot of the “Hartt” on the long ago Christmas day. 

He said that when they were opposite Buttermilk Falls, south of Highland Falls, they sat down to eat their Christmas dinner. 

Barney said to me, “What do you suppose we had for Christmas dinner?” I answered, “Turkey." “No,” he said, “we had stew!”

Wanted Regular Dinner
Barney said to the cook, “It’s bad enough we have to work on Christmas.  I think the least you could have done would be to have a regular Christmas dinner.”

The cook, however, said nothing.  The captain also said nothing.  Both the captain and the cook were getting on in years and had been together for many long seasons on the Catskill Evening Line steamers “Walter Brett,” “City of Catskill," “Kaaterskill” and “Onteora." Because of their long association together and having known each other since childhood, I suppose the captain said to himself, “Let it slide, it's Christmas.”
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Today, this is all changed.  There are no more steamboats.  The tugboats all have steel hulls and high powered diesel engines.  Because of the demand for fuel oil and gasoline and since construction projects no longer cease due to cold weather, the tugs run all winter long pushing the oil and cement barges through the ice.  The one unchanging factor is the boatman’s desire to be home for Christmas.  Most companies recognize this and rarely are boats in operation on the Holy Days.  

The Hudson River Valley is part of Lenapehoking - or the Lenape homeland. As residents of the southern Hudson Valley and the New Jersey coastline, they were some of the first Indigenous people in the Northeast to make contact with Europeans, and therefore among the first to bear the brunt of disease, violence, and forced removal. In the Hudson Valley, Manhattan, Tappan, Ramapo, Neversink, Wappingers, and Esopus are all place names derived from Lenape tribal names or words. ​

Editor's Note: This introduction to the Delaware Tribe of Indians Lenape and more information can be found here: https://delawaretribe.org/
​The name DELAWARE was given to the people who lived along the Delaware River, and the river in turn was named after Lord de la Warr, the governor of the Jamestown colony. The name Delaware later came to be applied to almost all Lenape people. In our language, which belongs to the Algonquian language family, we call ourselves LENAPE (len-NAH-pay) which means something like “The People.” Our ancestors were among the first Indians to come in contact with the Europeans (Dutch, English, & Swedish) in the early 1600s. The Delaware were called the “Grandfather” tribe because we were respected by other tribes as peacemakers since we often served to settle disputes among rival tribes. We were also known for our fierceness and tenacity as warriors when we had to fight, however, we preferred to choose a path of peace with the Europeans and other tribes.

Many of the early treaties and land sales we signed with the Europeans were in our people’s minds more like leases. The early Delaware had no idea that land was something that could be sold. The land belonged to the Creator, and the Lenape people were only using it to shelter and feed their people. When the poor, bedraggled people got off their ships after the long voyage and needed a place to live we shared the land with them. They gave us a few token gifts for our people’s kindness, but in the mind of the Europeans these gifts were actually the purchase price for the land.
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Our Delaware people signed the first Indian treaty with the newly formed United States Government on September 17, 1778. Nevertheless, through war and peace, our ancestors had to continue to give up their lands and move westward (first to Ohio, then to Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, and finally, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma). One small band of Delawares left our group in the late 1700s and through different migrations are today located at Anadarko, Oklahoma. Small contingents of Delawares fled to Canada during a time of extreme persecution and today occupy two reserves in Ontario (The Delaware Nation at Moraviantown and The Munsee-Delaware Nation). https://delawaretribe.org/home-page/about-the-tribe/

Editor's Note:  A bumboat is a small boat used to ferry supplies to larger boats off shore. As Mrs. Wilson relates, bumboats acted as small stores as they travelled alongside the long tows going down the Hudson River and provided goodies like ice cream. Once the long tows got underway, they didn't stop until the final destination was reached.

1987 conversation with Pearl Kilmer Wilson and family - her youth on Erie Canal and Hudson River tugboats
Pearl Kilmer Wilson:  Was on the canal (referring to her father William). He was a captain and he run these boats for the Dunbar Association in Tonawanda, he was on the canal 5 or 6 years.

Oh, yes, I went to New York. I went to school down there, but not when Daddy was on the boat but then my grandfather went down one year and he got a lovely job down there; and he was captain of New York Central Barge and we stayed right in New York. Our home port was 6th Pier, New York. The Piers where you tied were all numbered and number 6 was our home.

You know how I went to school? They come and got me every morning on a tug. The tug is the one that draws the other boats around the harbor. When you went to school the other kids in New York they called us the Boat Kids. The Boat Kids, but we went. Then, when it was time, there was a teacher walked us down to the Pier and the boat would be there waiting to take us back home.

And they have an aquarium down there where they had great big vats of fish in them. They have one there and there was one on a wall there half as big as this house, had a whale in it. Live, they're live fish in these tanks.

When they got to Cohoes, that's this side of Albany, there were 16 locks and every lock you couldn't steer your own boat thru there, you had to have an expert to take the boats thru those 16 locks. They'd go in like this and then when you come out you were on a different level. When you got to the end, you know where you was? In the Hudson River. There would be 20, 30 boats or so, all tied up waiting for the tow. 

And then the Red Star, that was one of the biggest boats there was, they even go across the ocean and they'd come and they'd tied them together themselves with a hawser, a big rope is called a hawser, and that's what they tied it together with; and that's what you went down the Hudson with. And when you got about half way down the Hudson there would be a bum boat come out, and he'd have ice cream and he'd have milk and he'd have bread and he'd have fish. Oh, I never ate so many fish, and I loved them. It was beautiful, they'd be fresh caught in a tub of ice; and everybody bought from the bum boat when they come out. They'd come out and they'd be 3 or 4 days supplying that big tall boat. 
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​And it was beautiful going down along the Hudson River in the night, you know the big Red Star, it was bigger than this house, Oh yes, two of them. It had a flashlight a revolving light, he'd do that up along the side and it's woodsy down through there, and oh was it beautiful. They had their horses in the boats too, they were in the bow in the stable and that's what they done, was eat and take care of their horses. A lot of them didn't go to bed at night, they'd sit out and see that beautiful scenery. It was just beautiful going in the tow, beautiful. I've been a lot of places in my life.

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Of all the boats that once used Rondout as home port, best known locally in their day were the "Mary Powell," the chain ferry "Riverside" or "Skillypot," and the tow boat "Norwich."
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It was an unlikely trio. The "Mary Powell" was known for her grace and speed and as a steamboat whose fame spread far beyond the boundaries of the Hudson River. The local renown of the "Skillypot" rested on the fact she was virtually the only way to get across Rondout Creek prior to the opening of the 9W highway bridge in 1921. The acclaim of the "Norwich" was due to her prowess as an ice breaker and her incredibly long life.

The "Norwich" was originally built in 1836 – only 29 years after Robert Fulton's first successful steamboat – to run as a passenger and freight carrier on Long Island Sound between New York and Norwich, Conn. She operated on that route for seven years and in 1843 came to the Hudson River to run between the thriving village of Rondout and New York.

In 1848 the "Norwich" was acquired by Thomas Cornell and he ran her for a season or two on her old route. Being rather small and slow compared to newer passenger boats, Cornell in 1850 converted her to a tow boat. She remained as such for the Cornell Steamboat Company until finally sold for scrap in 1923, at the ripe old age of 87.

The famous "Mary Powell" saw service during all or part of 57 seasons and was considered to be an exceptionally long-lived steamboat.

Yet the "Norwich" was in service for 25 years before the "Mary Powell" was built and was still running when the "Powell" turned her last paddle wheel. Indeed, the "Norwich" witnessed the first trips of the majority of steamboats to sail the Hudson and was still steaming on the river when they made their last trips.

As soon as the "Norwich" appeared on the Hudson, she gained a reputation as an ice breaker, even before she was converted to a towing steamer. On one occasion in 1845 she broke a channel through solid ice all the way from Kingston to Albany to break up an ice jam. For the rest of her days on the Hudson she was always known as a very good boat in the ice. For decades people all along the shores of the Hudson called her  the "Ice King."

When she was breaking ice, the "Norwich's" bow would ride up on the heavy ice and crush it with her weight. On occasion when she could not back off, the engineer would disconnect one paddle wheel from the other in an effort to free her. When that failed to get her off, the deckhands would roll large barrels of iron and stone from one side to the other and – by tipping her – her wind over-hanging guards would crack the ice, first on one side and then the other. When she was fully afloat, the "Norwich" would back up and smash into the solid ice again. Her hull was constructed especially for ice breaking and for many, many years the "Norwich" would be the first boat out in the spring and the last to lay up in the winter.

At different times the "Norwich" was called upon to pull steamboats that had run aground in the fog or heavy snow storms.

However, when she pulled a grounded steamboat, a propeller tug would always be in attendance; pushing her bow to hold her up against the tide, as a side wheeler has no rudder power until she gets underway.

When the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909 was held, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the discovery of the river by Henry Hudson and the 100th anniversary of the development of the steamboat by Robert Fulton, the "Norwich" played a prominent part. Even then, she was the oldest steamboat still in service.

While being made ready for the celebration at the Cornell shops in Rondout, the "Norwich" somehow caught on fire and was nearly destroyed. Quick work by Cornell's men and the Kingston fire department saved her, although damage was severe. The fire occurred Aug. 30, 1909, only 25 days before the celebration's big marine parade was scheduled to take place in New York harbor.

It was thought that would end any part the "Norwich" might play in the event. S.D. Coykendall, however, had different ideas and the Cornell shops worked around the clock to get her ready. She appeared in the parade, all evidence of the disastrous fire removed, and on her paddle wheels housings – in addition to her name – proudly carried the legend "Oldest Steamboat in the  World. Built 1836."

The "Norwich" continued to sail the Hudson through 1919, mostly on the upper end of the river. Sometimes she would be in charge of tows and, at other times, helping more powerful boats like the "Oswego" or the tugboat "Pocahontas."

After propeller tugs grew in numbers, the "Norwich" was not used much as an ice breaker and gradually was utilized only as a spare boat during the season's rush.

In the early 1920's, the "Norwich" was tied up at Port Ewen at the "Mary Powell's" old winter berth where the Hidden Harbor Yacht Club is now located. Talk along the waterfront as to why the "Norwich" was not broken up was that the old work horse was a particular favorite of Mrs. S.D. Coykendall, daughter of Thomas Cornell, and that as long as she lived the Cornell Steamboat Company would keep her. The "Norwich" was one of the first vessels owned by Mrs. Coykendall's father and rumor was she considered the old steamer a symbol of the family's fortune.

In any event, shortly after Mrs. Coykendall's death, the "Norwich" was sold in November 1923 to Michael Tucker of Port Ewen and he proceeded to break her up. He put the old tow boat at high water high on the beach at the south of his property and the dismantling went on for several years.

About 1928, the celebrated automobile manufacturer Henry Ford came to Kingston. At that time, he was acquiring material for the museum he was setting up at Dearborn, Mich. He went to Port Ewen to see Michael Tucker and find out if he could buy parts of the "Norwich" for his museum.

Tucker told him he was a little late, but he had some things junk dealers and others hadn't bought yet. Ford acquired the towboat's two drive shafts, two stands that had been in the captain's room and one of her flag poles. Tucker tried to get Ford to buy one of her anchors, but for some reason he would not.

During his Kingston visit, Ford also went to see John Fischer who had broken up the "Mary Powell" at Connelly and acquired a few items from the old "Queen of the Hudson." It is my understanding most of these things never actually went on display at the museum. Ford had acquired a tremendous amount of material from all over the country and during World War II scrap drives many iron and steel items, probably including the drive shafts of the "Norwich," were recycled.

During her long life, the "Norwich" suffered her share of mishaps. Among the more serious, in addition to the fire of Aug. 30, 1909, were the breaking of her engine's cross head while coming up river with a tow on Nov. 30, 1882, a bad fire on Dec. 16, 1906, and at least two sinkings in Rondout Creek.

​Also because of her many, many years of service, the "Norwich" served as a sort of training ship for men who later became some of the best known boatmen on the river. Many a Hudson River captain, pilot and engineer started their steamboat careers on the "Norwich" – either as a deckhand or fireman. Over those long ago years, some of the better known Hudson River steamboat captains who had captained the old "Ice King" from Rondout were Jeremiah Patterson, George Gage, Stephen Van Wert, James Welch, Harry Barber, Jacob DuBois, Ira Cooper and, at the end, Rol Saulpaugh.