Hudson River Maritime Museum
  • Home
    • About
    • Board >
      • Join Our Board
    • News
    • Newsletter
    • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Visit
    • Hours And Directions
    • Parking
    • Museum Store >
      • Museum Online Store
    • Docking
    • Book A Charter
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Facility Rentals
    • Area Attractions
  • Museum
    • Lighthouse Film
    • RiverWise >
      • Documentary Films
    • Museum at Home
    • Exhibits >
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
      • Online Exhibits
      • Walking Tours
    • Lecture Series
    • Speaking Engagements
    • School Programs
  • Boat Tours
    • All Boat Tours
    • Meet Solaris
    • Lighthouse Tours
    • History Tours
    • Tasting History
    • Special Guest Tours
    • Ecology Tours
    • Evening Cruises
    • Private Charters >
      • Visiting Vessels >
        • Maiden
        • Eleanor
        • John J Harvey
        • Kalmar Nyckel
        • Impossible Dream
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Lecture Series
    • Pilot Gala
    • Celebration of Woodworking >
      • Kingston Boat Builders Challenge
      • Sponsor
    • RiverWise
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • NE Grain Race
    • Sail Freight Conference
  • Boat School
    • Wooden Boat, Sailing, & Rowing Blog
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Instructors
    • Maritime Training
    • RWBS Library
    • Restoration
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing Program
    • Student Resources
    • Sea Scouts
    • Sailing Instructors
  • Rowing
    • Learn to Row
    • Rowing Instructors
  • Research
    • Research Requests
    • Research Library Catalog
    • Collections >
      • Digital Collections
    • History Blog
    • RiverWise
    • Submerged Resources Project
    • Pilot Log
    • Hudson River History >
      • Henry Hudson
      • The Hudson River
      • Sloops of the Hudson River
      • Robert Fulton
      • Hudson River Steamboats
      • New York Canals
  • Support
    • Member Login
    • Become A Member
    • Donate
    • Memorial Donation
    • Donate Items
    • Artifact Donations
    • Wish List
    • Boat Donations
    • Planned Giving
    • Volunteer
    • Museum Store
    • Library Membership
    • Business Supporters
    • Green Museum
    • Our Sponsors

History Blog

Last Trip of the Skillypot

11/24/2021

0 Comments

 
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 October 15, 1972.
Picture
Black and white photo of the ferry "Riverside," a.k.a. "Skillypot" leaving the Rondout slip and headed for Sleightsburgh. Rondout House, the Metropolitan, and Hiltebrant Coal in the background. Donald C. Ringwald Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum.
Of all the steam propelled vessels that have floated upon the waters of Rondout Creek, probably the one that was best known locally in her day was the ungainly little ferry boat that used to cross the creek from the foot of Hasbrouck Avenue to Sleightsburgh. Known throughout the area as the “Skillypot,” she made her last trip from Rondout to Sleightsburgh on Oct. 14, 1922 — exactly 50 years ago yesterday.

“Skillypot” - reportedly a corruption of the Dutch word for tortoise — wasn't even her right name. It was the “Riverside,” a name that many would-be patrons often changed to where she usually was found - the “Otherside.” She may not have been loved as was the “Mary Powell” or admired as were many other steamboats, but she certainly was well known, and almost universally as the “Skillypot.”

Her fame on both sides of Rondout Creek rested securely until the opening of the 9-W highway suspension bridge in 1921 - the only way in her latter years to get across the creek, unless of course one owned or rented a rowboat or wanted to walk to Eddyville. She played an important part in the daily lives of many area residents, especially when the Rondout section of Kingston was important to the business and social life of the community. 

Wherever there has been a natural barrier such as a river or a creek, people it seems have always wanted to get to the other side. 

A Scow Was First
At Rondout, the first recorded vessel to regularly cross the creek was a small scow that was sculled across by hand from Sleightsburgh and could carry one wagon and a team of horses. This means of transportation existed until the spring of 1855 when the small steam ferryboat “J. P. Sleight” made her appearance. 

Built by the sons of John P. Sleight and named for their father, the new ferryboat had two slide valve steam engines connected by cog wheels to two large steel drums. The drums were connected to a chain which was secured to both sides of the creek, a distance of about 440 feet. The drums would rotate and pull the ferry back and forth across the creek on the chain. The chain was of sufficient length to rest on the creek bottom except where it passed around the drums. 

In March 1870, a severe freshet caused by melting snow and rain caused the ice in the upper creek to let go. The ice coming down the creek carried the “J. P. Sleight” right along with it. At the mouth of the creek, the “Sleight” smashed into the lighthouse that then stood on the south dike. Mrs. Murdock, the keeper of the light, caught a line from the ferry, but it parted and away went the “J. P. Sleight," drifting with the ice floes down the river. 

In a few hours, the Cornell ice breaking towboat “Norwich” got underway and, breaking her way through the heavy ice fields off Esopus Meadows lighthouse, spotted the “J. P. Sleight” in another ice field down off Esopus Island. The “Norwich” brought the “Sleight” back to Port Ewen, where it was found her light hull had been damaged beyond repair. Her owners decided to build a new ferryboat which became the “Riverside.”

Contract to Washburn
Abraham and Isaac Sleight gave a contract for the new ferryboat to Hiram and John Washburn. When she was launched, the “Riverside” measured 55 feet long and 20 feet wide. Her engines came from the old “J. P Sleight" and were installed by John Dillon of Rondout. 

The new “Riverside” was a success from the start. Upon the death of Isaac Sleight, ownership of the ferry passed to Herbert A. Starkey, and then in 1903 to Albert Norris who operated her until 1906 when Josiah Hasbrouck became the owner. It is not known at what, point in time the “Riverside” became better known as the latter name by which she was known far and wide in Ulster County. 

As time went by and the automobile came along, new highways were being built along the banks of the Hudson. It soon became evident a bridge was badly needed across Rondout Creek. As a matter of fact, it was long overdue. After World War I on summer weekends, automobiles would be lined up on the Sleightsburgh side almost to the middle of Port Ewen and on the Kingston side to the top of Hasbrouck Avenue. Then, the “Riverside” really was a “Skillypot."

On summer weekends when automobiles were backed up on both sides of the creek, enterprising Sleightsburgh boys would earn money by showing unknowing motorists how to get across the creek by going across the bridge at Eddyville.
Picture
The ferry "Riverside," a.k.a. "Skillypot" crossing from Sleightsburgh to Rondout. A young boy sits on the pier on the Rondout side and looks back at the camera. Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection.
​Pilots for a Fee
For a fee, they would get in a waiting car and “pilot” the motorist through New Salem and Eddyville to Rondout. There, they would reverse the process by taking a motorist from Hasbrouck Avenue through Eddyville to Port Ewen. 

At times in some winters the “Skillypot” would be the only steamboat in operation on the upper Hudson. To keep her operating, men would cut a channel through the ice using ice saws and pike poles to shove the cakes of ice under the solid ice or, if it seemed easier, pull them up on top of the ice. During the summer, when the ferry “Transport” would come over from Rhinecliff, the swells from her paddle wheels would carry up the creek. Then how the “Skillypot“ would rock back and forth sideways and cause concern to some of the passengers. 

The “Skillypot” always made her last trip of the day at 10:30 p.m. She would land at her Sleightsburgh slip and blow one blast on her small, clear, shrill whistle, signifying her toils were over for that day. Then if people still wanted to get across the creek, they would have to take a small scow, sculled by a single oar by Lyman Perrine.

Finally, the long awaited day came when the new bridge was open to traffic. The “Skillypot” still continued to operate for a period, but foot passengers even took to walking over the new bridge to save the two cents fare. So on Saturday night, Oct. 14, 1922, a Saturday then as it was this year — the “Skillypot” at 10:30 p.m. blew her final one long shrill whistle. As the echo died, so did she “Riverside.”
Picture
The ferry "Riverside," a.k.a. "Skillypot" making a run from Rondout to Sleightsburgh with an automobile on board. The newly completed Rondout Creek Suspension Bridge can be seen in the background, along with floating docks for the shipyard at Island Dock. Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection.
No More Chains
On Monday, Oct. 16, the two engineers, Charles Van Leuven and Charles Becker, and Peter Shoemaker, the deckhand, started to lay her up. They drained the water out of her boiler, disconnected the chains that connected her to each shore for so many years, and stowed ashore other equipment like lanterns and life preservers.

Then on Oct. 18, 1922, at 4 p.m. when the tide was high, they pulled the “Riverside” by hand to the east of the Sleightsburgh slip and beached her high on the shore. Just as they were about to pull her out of the slip, Richard Sleight, one of the brothers who operated J. Sleight’s Sons general store next to the ferry slip, ran out and jumped aboard, saying he wanted to have one last trip on the “Skillypot." She stayed on the beach at Sleightsburgh until Oct. 20, 1923 when she was towed to South Rondout after being purchased by former Alderman John Fischer. There, by a quirk of fate, she was put inshore alongside the remains of the famous “Mary Powell," then being dismantled. To this day, at low tide, parts of her old bones may be seen on the shore east of the railroad bridge.

Many an old riverman and Town of Esopus resident saw duty on the “Skillypot.” In addition to her final crew of Charles Van Leuven, Charles Becker and Peter Shoemaker, the roster included Elmer Marsh, David Relyea, William Sleight, James Devoe, Theodore Relyea, Andrew Taylor, James Rodman and Isaac C. Sleight.

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!​
Donate Now
Join Today
0 Comments

Featured Artifact: Souvenir Shoe Brush from Suspension Bridge Dedication

11/20/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Souvenir shoe brush from the dedication of the Rondout Creek Suspension Bridge, November 29, 1921. Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, November 29, 1921, over a thousand people gathered at the Kingston, NY Armory for a celebratory dinner. The dinner was part of a whole day of celebrations around the opening of the Rondout Creek Suspension Bridge, which connected the town of Port Ewen and the City of Kingston. One of the oldest suspension bridges in New York State (it predates the Bear Mountain Bridge by 3 years), and according to an article in the Daily Freeman ("Ten Thousand Hear Governor at Rondout Creek Bridgehead," November 30, 1921), the largest suspension bridge built in the county since 1909 (no word on which other bridge was built then). 

The festivities included an enormous parade, speeches by  New York State Governor Nathan L. Miller and other officials, and a ceremonial walk across the bridge, including a ceremonial meeting of the two towns in the middle of the bridge, represented by young women shaking hands. When the official festivities were closed, the general public was allowed to cross the bridge. So many people were crowded on either side that the Freeman reported, "So tightly was the crowd packed into a compact mass that if it had rained, few drops would have sifted through to the pavement. It is estimated there were 10,000 persons in the crowd." As nearly all the people walked across the bridge, the Freeman again commented, "It is hardly likely that the bridge will ever receive a more severe test or a heavier load." 

​The event was followed with a fireworks display. 

Picture
Souvenir shoe brush from the dedication of the Rondout Creek Suspension Bridge, November 29, 1921. Top view showing gilded image of bridge. Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection.
So what's all this got to do with a shoe brush? This curious little souvenir from the Hudson River Maritime Museum archives was donated by John Wagman in 1994. A leather-backed brush meant to clean shoes or clothes, it features an image of the bridge on the back in gold and reads "Souvenir. Kingston, N.Y. Nov. 29, 1921" and below "Rondout Creek Bridge. State Highway Link to Kingston, N.Y. Catskill Mts. Ashokan Reservoir and the West." 

The brush was a souvenir of all who attended the celebratory dinner at the armory. The same Freeman article had this to say about the brush:

"Wang Designed Brush Back.
"Many who received the souvenir brush at the bridge banquet at the armory were struck with the fine design of the bridge on the back of the brush. The design was the work of C. Y. Wang, a Chinese student who is with the state highway department, who furnished the art drawing of the bridge for the brass die used to stamp in gold the bridge picture on the backs of the brushes. Mr. Wang deserves great credit for his fine work of art."


Why a shoe brush was chosen as the souvenir for the event is unclear, but it may have become immediately useful to many attendees, as the Freeman also reported the prodigious amount of mud at the construction site, writing:

"Plenty of Mud.
"The rock cut was filled with water from the recent heavy storms and on either side of the cut the mod was deep. It was a clayey mud that made walking slippery, but thousands braved the mud to clamber up the hill and to look down upon the open space where the fireworks were set off. 

"Those who had not the foresight to wear rubbers were kept busy when they got home in cleaning the mud from their shoes, but what was a little mud to a good view of the really excellent display of fireworks set off by the Pain Company of New York?"


Due to the weather, the bridge did not officially open to motorists until the spring. According to a Yonkers Herald article entitled "Rondout Bridge is Dedicated At Last" published December 1, 1921, "It will be a boon to motorists who have suffered long delays in crossing the slow-moving, antiquated chain ferry at Rondout." 

The Wurts Street Suspension Bridge, as it is often known today, turns 100 years old this year, as does this shoe brush. Happy Birthday to them both!

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!​
Donate Now
Join Today
0 Comments

Woman Welder on the Rondout

3/31/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
"'The New way and Old Way,' Showing Old Riverside and Rondout Creek Bridge, Kingston, N.Y." Hudson River Maritime Museum Collection.
This year is the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Rondout Suspension Bridge (or the Wurts Street Bridge, the Port Ewen Bridge, or the Rondout-Port Ewen Bridge, etc!), which opened to vehicle traffic on November 29, 1921. 

The bridge was constructed to replace the Rondout-Port Ewen ferry Riverside, which was affectionately (or not so affectionately) known as "Skillypot," from the Dutch "skillput," meaning "tortise." Spanning such a short distance, the ferry was small, and with the advent of automobiles, only able to carry one vehicle across Rondout Creek at a time, causing long delays. Motorists advocated for the construction of a bridge, which was set to begin in 1917. But when the United States joined the First World War that spring, construction was delayed until 1921.

Staff at the museum had long known that there was a woman welder on the construction crew, but we knew nothing beyond that. Had she learned to weld at a shipbuilding yard during the First World War? Was she a local resident, or someone from far away? There were more questions than answers, until a few weeks ago when HRMM volunteer researcher and contributing scholar George Thompson ran across a newspaper article that he said went "viral" in 1921. Entitled, "Woman Spider," and featured in the Morning Oregonian from Portland, Oregon, the article indicated that "Catherine Nelson, of Jersey City" was our famous woman welder.

Having a name sparked off a flurry of research and the collection of 37 separate newspaper articles, all variations on the same theme. Fourteen articles were all published on the same day, September 3, 1921. But only one had more information than the rest - "Never Dizzy, Says Woman Fly, Though Welding 300 Feet in Air. Mrs. Catherine Nelson Has No Nerves, She Loves Her work and Is Paid $30 a Day," published in the Boston Globe. Which, wonderfully, included a photo of Mrs. Catherine Nelson!
Picture
"Mrs. A. E. Nelson" - Catherine Nelson as pictured in the Boston Globe, in her work overalls and cap, her welding goggles in her hand. From the article, "Never Dizzy, Says Woman Fly," Boston Globe, September 3, 1921.
Here is the full article from the Boston Globe:

KINGSTON, NY, Sept 3 – Three hundred feet above the surface of Rondout Creek, a worker in overalls and cap has been moving about surefootedly for several days on the preliminary structure that is to support a suspension bridge across that stream.

Thousands of glances, awed and admiring, have been cast upward at the worker, stepping backward and forward and wielding an instrument that blazed blue and gold flames and welded together the cables from which the bridge will swing.

“Some nerve that fellow’s got!” was a favorite remark, to which would come the reply: “You said it!”

But there’s more than awe and admiration now directed aloft, for it turns out that “that fellow” is a woman – Mrs. Catherine Nelson of Jersey City, the only woman outdoor welder in the world.

Isn’t Afraid of Work

She isn’t afraid of her work; she loves it; and – of course this is a big inducement – she gets $30 a day for it. She has never had an accident in her seven years’ experience at the trade. She’s as strong as a man, weighing 180 pounds to her 5 ft 6 in of height, and is a good looking, altogether feminine, Scandinavian blonde. She’s 31.
​
"I was born in Denmark and was married there," Mrs Nelson told the reporter. "But my husband died and left me with two small children, so I had to shift for myself.

"For two years I worked as a stewardess on an ocean liner, but I could not have my children with me and my pay wasn’t much, so I cast about for harder and better-paid work, so I could have my own little home.

"My husband was a garage keeper in Denmark, and I had worked with him, so I knew something of machinery. I got a job in a machine shop in this country. They had an electrical welding department there and I soon got a place there. I grew to love the work and I’ve been at it for seven years.

Does Not Get Dizzy

"This is the highest job I’ve been on, but one of my first was on a water tower at Bayonne, 225 feet tall. I’ve been on smokestacks and tanks plenty. No, I don’t get dizzy. I wear overalls and softsoled shoes, and I’m always sure of myself, for I haven’t any nerves.

"I like to pride myself on the fact that I’ve never turned down a single welding job because it might be dangerous.'

Showing Mrs. Nelson’s standing in her trade, it was she who was sent up from Jersey City when Terry & Tench, the bridge contractors, asked the Weehawken Welding Company for their best operator. 

"My children and I are happy and comfortable now,' she said; 'and I hope to afford to take them home to Denmark for Christmas. But I will come back and tackle some more welding jobs."


The last published article we could find, "Says She Has No Nerves," published in the Chickasha Star, in Chickasha, Oklahoma on September 16, 1921, is almost a verbatim reprint of the Boston Globe article.
Picture
The partially-completed Rondout Suspension Bridge, with just the cables stretching across Rondout Creek, 1921. Rev. George D. Wood Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum.
As a cable welder, Catherine Nelson was responsible for welding together the cable splices that made up the longest length of the cable span. Wire cable is produced in limited sections, and often the cable was spliced together with welding, which is among the strongest of the splices, replacing the earlier versions of wire wrapping, and later screw splicing. Welded splices are stronger and more durable than both. 

Most welding was typically done in a shop setting, but some, as with Catherine Nelson, were done on site. She may have done additional welding while walking the cables, as most of the newspaper stories focus on her working 300 feet up in the air. 

Once the initial suspension cables were in place, supporting cables for the deck of the bridge could be constructed, which were designed to provide additional support, rigidity, and to spread the weight load across the entire bridge. 
Picture
The Rondout Suspension Bridge, with trusses underneath, still under construction, 1921. Donald C. Ringwald Collection, Hudson River Maritime Museum.
This particular bridge is said to be unique for its "stiffening truss," located under the deck of the bridge. 

The bridge was opened on November 29, 1921 to great fanfare. It remains the oldest suspension bridge in the Hudson Valley, predating the longer Bear Mountain Bridge by several years.

As for Catherine Nelson? We've yet to find any additional information about her, but if you have any leads, or are a relative with family stories, please let us know in the comments!
​

Author

​Sarah Wassberg Johnson is the Director of Exhibits & Outreach at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, where she has worked since 2012. She has an MA in Public History from the University at Albany. 

Many thanks to George Thompson for finding Catherine Nelson and helping answer a long-held question!

​​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!​
Donate Now
Join Today
0 Comments

    Author

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

    Archives

    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
    17th Century
    1830s
    18th Century
    1950s
    1964 World's Fair
    19th Century
    20th Century
    21st Century
    9/11
    Abraham Lincoln
    Accident
    Accidents
    African American
    African American Philanthropy
    African Americans
    Agriculture
    Airplanes
    Albany
    Albany Rural Cemetery
    Albany To New York Marathon
    Algot J. Benson
    Alison Kraus
    American Eel
    American Revolution
    Amusement Parks
    Archeology
    Ashokan Center
    Ashokan Reservoir
    Atlantic World
    Australia
    Automobiles
    Baldwin Shipyard
    Ballooning
    Bannerman's Island
    Barge
    Barge Families
    Barges
    Barque
    Beacon
    Bear Mountain
    Benjamin Wright
    Benson
    Bicycling
    Billy Sunday
    Black History
    Boatbuilding
    Boat Christenings
    Boating
    Books
    Brickyards
    Bridges
    Britain
    Brooklyn Bridge
    Bud Atkins
    Buster Keaton
    Callanan Road Improvement Company
    Canada
    Canalboat
    Canals
    Canal Workers
    Canoes
    Captain Absalom Anderson
    Captain Benson
    Captain Benson Articles
    Captain Charles A. Tiffany
    Captain Samuel Schuyler
    Captain William O. Benson
    Capt. Eltinge Anderson
    Catherine Murdock
    Catskill And New York Night Line
    Catskill Evening Line
    Catskill Mountains
    Catskills
    Central Hudson Line
    Central Hudson Steamboat Company
    Charles Lindbergh
    Child Labor
    Chinese Exclusion Act
    Cholera
    Chris Mancuso
    Civil Engineering
    Civil War
    Claverack Landing
    Clean Water
    Clearwater
    Coal
    Coast Guard
    Conrad Milster
    Cornelius Vanderbilt
    Cornell Steamboat Company
    Covered Barges
    Coxsackie Lighthouse
    Crew
    Crime
    Cross-head Engine
    Croton Aqueduct
    Daniel Drew
    Danskammer Point
    Dar Williams
    Delaware Bay
    Delaware & Hudson Canal
    D&H Canal
    Disaster
    Dobbs Ferry
    Documentary Films
    Dogs
    Draft Riots
    Drydock
    Duck Hunting
    Dutch
    Dutch East India Company
    Duty To Rescue
    Earth Day
    Ed Carpenter
    Eddyville
    E. E. Olcott
    Electricity
    Elevators
    Environmental History
    Environmental Preservation
    Epidemics
    Erie-canal
    Erie-railroad-company
    Esopus-creek
    Esopus-island
    Esopus-meadows-lighthouse
    Excursion-boats
    Excursions
    Farmingdale
    Farmland
    FDNY
    Featured Artifact
    Ferries
    Ferryboats
    Fire
    Fireboat Fire Fighter
    Fireboat John J. Harvey
    Fireboats
    Fishing-nets
    Floods
    Foghorn
    Fourth-of-july
    Frances-franny-reese
    Franklin-delano-roosevelt
    Freight
    French-and-indian-war
    Freshets
    Frigates
    Fruit
    Geology
    George-washington-bridge
    George W Murdock
    George W. Murdock
    Ghost-fleet
    Ghosts
    Gradual-manumission-laws
    Grain Race
    Grain-race
    Grants-tomb
    Great-depression
    Greenport
    Half-moon
    Halleys-comet
    Halloween
    Harlem
    Harlem-river
    Harpers-weekly
    Haverstraw
    Hay
    Hay-barge
    Henry-gourdine
    Henry-livingston-jr
    Henry-tucker
    Historic News
    History-of-medicine
    Hoboken
    Holidays
    Holland-tunnel
    Homer-ramsdell-transportation-company
    Hospital-ship
    House-boats
    Hudson
    Hudson-athens-lighthouse
    Hudson-highlands
    Hudson River
    Hudson River Commercial Fishermen
    Hudson River Commercial Fishing
    Hudson River Day Line
    Hudson River Docks
    Hudson Riverescape
    Hudson River Fishermen's Association
    Hudson River Lighthouses
    Hudson River Night Boats
    Hudson River Reserve Fleet
    Hudson River Revitalization
    Hudson Riverscape
    Hudson River School Paintings
    Hudson River Sloop
    Hudson River Steamboat
    Hudson River Steamboats
    Hudson River Steam Yachts
    Hudson River Travel
    Hungarians
    Hyde Park
    Ice
    Ice Age
    Ice Barge
    Ice Barges
    Ice Boats
    Ice Breaker
    Ice Breaking
    Ice Fishing
    Ice Golfing
    Ice Harvesting
    Ice Houses
    Ice Skating
    Immigration
    Indian-point
    Indigenous
    Instruments
    Iona-island
    Iron Shipbuilding
    Island-dock
    Italians
    James-murdock
    Jay-ungar-molly-mason
    Jeffreys-hook-lighthouse
    Jim-malene
    John-a-roosevelt
    John-b-jervis
    Jones-point
    Juneteenth
    Just For Kids
    Kate Walker
    Ketch
    Kidnapping
    Kingston
    Kingston Point Park
    Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge
    Labor
    Labor Day
    Lady-bird-johnson
    Lecture
    Lenape History
    Life Ring
    Lighthouse
    Lighthouse Keepers
    Lighthouses
    Lilacs
    Lincoln Tunnel
    Livestock
    Long Dock Park
    Long Island Sound Steamers
    Lumber Barge
    Malden
    Manumission
    Marine Academies
    Marine Art
    Mariner's Mirror
    Marine Salvage
    Marvel Shipyard
    Matton Shipyard
    Media Monday
    Memorial Day
    Merritt-Chapman & Scott
    Merrygoround
    Mid-Hudson Bridge
    Milk
    MLK Day
    Model Boat
    Motor Boats
    Mountain-houses
    Muddy Paddle Able Seaman
    Muddy Paddle Bateau
    Muddy Paddle On The Erie Canal
    Muddy Paddle's Excellent Adventure
    Music Monday
    Nantucket
    National Maritime Day
    Native American
    New Baltimore
    Newburgh
    Newburgh Beacon Ferry
    Newburgh-Beacon Ferry
    New Jersey
    New Rochelle
    New Year's Eve
    New York
    New York City
    New York Harbor
    New York State
    New York State Barge Canal
    New York State Department Of Environmental Conservation
    Nightboat
    Nightboats
    North River Steamboat
    NY
    Nyack
    Ocean Liners
    Oil Crisis
    On The River
    Operation Sail
    Oral History
    Outboard Motor
    Packet Boats
    Palisades
    Paper Mills
    Parks
    Passenger Boats
    Passenger Steamboats
    Paul Robeson
    PCB Cleanup
    Peekskill
    Peekskill Riots
    People's Evening Line
    People's Line
    Peter Tucker
    Pete Seeger
    Philadelphia
    Photo Contest
    Piermont
    Piermont Pier
    Pilot Log
    Pleasure Barge
    Pleasure Groves
    Podcast
    Poetry
    Pollution
    Port Ewen
    Poughkeepsie
    Poughkeepsie Regatta
    Poughkeepsie Transportation Company
    Poultry
    Produce
    P. T. Barnum
    Race Tracks
    Railroad
    Railroad Travel
    Ray Ruge
    Real Estate
    Rescues
    Revolutionary War
    Rhinecliff
    Riverkeeper
    RiverWise
    RMS Titanic
    Robbins Reef Lighthouse
    Robert Boyle
    Robert Fulton
    Rockland Lake
    Rockland Lake Lighthouse
    Romer & Tremper Line
    Rondout
    Rondout Creek
    Rondout Lighthouse
    Rondout Suspension Bridge
    Rosendale Cement
    Rowing
    Safety Barge
    Sail
    Sail Freight
    Sail Freighter
    Sail Freighter Friday
    Sailing
    Sailing Vessel Biographies
    Samuel Ward Stanton
    Saugerties
    Saugerties And New York Steamboat Company
    Saugerties Evening Line
    Saugerties Lighthouse
    Saugerties Steamboat Company
    Scenic Hudson
    Schooner
    Schooner Vanda
    Schooner Wyoming
    Schuyler Steam Tow Boat Line
    Scow
    Sea Shanty
    Shad Fishing
    Shandakan
    Sheet Music
    Shipbuilder Thomas Collyer
    Shipbuilding
    Shipping
    Shipwrecks
    Shipyard
    Silent Film
    Sing Sing Prison
    Skiing
    Skillypot
    Slavery
    Slaves
    Slavic
    Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse
    Sleightsburgh
    Sloops
    Small Steamboats
    Snow
    Snowshoeing
    Solar Boat
    Souvenir
    Spalding's Winter Sports (1917)
    Sports
    Stagecoaches
    Statue Of Liberty
    Steamboat Bill
    Steamboat Biographies
    Steamboat Clermont
    Steamboat Crew
    Steamboat General Slocum
    Steamboat Hendrick Hudson
    Steamboat Mary Powell
    Steamboat Onteora
    Steamboat Rensselaer
    Steamboats
    Steamboat Santa Claus
    Steamboat Swallow
    Steamboat Thomas Cornell
    Steamboat Ulster
    Steamboat Whistles
    Steam Derrick
    Steam Engine
    Steamer Albany
    Steamer Alexander Hamilton
    Steamer Benjamin B. Odell
    Steamer Berkshire
    Steamer Chauncey Vibbard
    Steamer City Of Kingston
    Steamer City Of Troy
    Steamer-concord
    Steamer Constitution
    Steamer Crystal Stream
    Steamer C.W. Morse
    Steamer Hendrick Hudson
    Steamer Homer Ramsdell
    Steamer Iron Witch
    Steamer Isaac Newton
    Steamer Jacob H. Tremper
    Steamer James W. Baldwin
    Steamer Mary Powell
    Steamer Naugatuck
    Steamer Onteora
    Steamer-plymouth
    Steamer Point Comfort
    Steamer Poughkeepsie
    Steamer River Queen
    Steamer Saratoga
    Steamer "Sleepy Hollow"
    Steamer State Of New York
    Steamer Sunnyside
    Steamer "Sunnyside"
    Steamer Thomas Collyer
    Steamer Washington Irving
    Steamer "Water Witch"
    Stony Point Lighthouse
    Storm King
    Strikes
    Sturgeon
    Stuyvesant Lighthouse
    Submarine
    Sunday News
    Sunflower Dock
    Tappan Zee
    Tappan Zee Bridge
    Tarrytown
    Thomas Cornell Steamboat Company
    Tivoli
    Toboggan
    Tourism
    Towboat A. B. Valentine
    Towboats
    Travel
    Tug Bear
    Tugboat Osceola
    Tugboats
    Tugboat Thomas E. Moran
    Tug Cornell
    Tug Cornell No. 20
    Tug Cornell No. 21
    Tug Cornell No. 41
    Tug Edwin Terry
    Tug Eli B. Conine
    Tug George W. Washburn
    Tug Hercules
    Tug J.G. Rose
    Tug John D. Schoonmaker
    Tug Jumbo
    Tug Lion
    Tug Osceola
    Tug Perseverance
    Tug Peter Callanan
    Tug Pocahontas
    Tug R.G. Townsend
    Tug Rob
    Tug S.L. Crosby
    Tug William S. Earl
    Ulster Park
    U.S. Coast Guard
    U.S. Lighthouse Board
    US Merchant Marine
    Valentine's Day
    Van Wie's Point
    Washington State
    Water
    Weather
    Westchester County
    West Point
    Whaling
    Wharf
    Wildlife
    Winter
    Winter Festivals
    Winter Sports
    Women
    Women Lighthouse Keepers
    Women's History
    Women's History Month
    Women's Sports
    Wooden Ships
    Wood Pulp
    World War I
    World War II
    Yellow Fever

    RSS Feed

Hudson River Maritime Museum
50 Rondout Landing
Kingston, NY 12401

​845-338-0071
fax: 845-338-0583
info@hrmm.org

​The Hudson River Maritime Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries, and related industries. ​

Members Matter!

Become a member and receive benefits like unlimited free museum admission, discounts on classes, programs, and in the museum store, plus invitations to members-only events.
Join Us!

Support Education

The Hudson River Maritime Museum receives no federal, state, or municipal funding except through competitive, project-based grants. Your donation helps support our mission of education and preservation.
Donate Today
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
    • About
    • Board >
      • Join Our Board
    • News
    • Newsletter
    • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Visit
    • Hours And Directions
    • Parking
    • Museum Store >
      • Museum Online Store
    • Docking
    • Book A Charter
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Facility Rentals
    • Area Attractions
  • Museum
    • Lighthouse Film
    • RiverWise >
      • Documentary Films
    • Museum at Home
    • Exhibits >
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
      • Online Exhibits
      • Walking Tours
    • Lecture Series
    • Speaking Engagements
    • School Programs
  • Boat Tours
    • All Boat Tours
    • Meet Solaris
    • Lighthouse Tours
    • History Tours
    • Tasting History
    • Special Guest Tours
    • Ecology Tours
    • Evening Cruises
    • Private Charters >
      • Visiting Vessels >
        • Maiden
        • Eleanor
        • John J Harvey
        • Kalmar Nyckel
        • Impossible Dream
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Lecture Series
    • Pilot Gala
    • Celebration of Woodworking >
      • Kingston Boat Builders Challenge
      • Sponsor
    • RiverWise
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • NE Grain Race
    • Sail Freight Conference
  • Boat School
    • Wooden Boat, Sailing, & Rowing Blog
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Instructors
    • Maritime Training
    • RWBS Library
    • Restoration
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing Program
    • Student Resources
    • Sea Scouts
    • Sailing Instructors
  • Rowing
    • Learn to Row
    • Rowing Instructors
  • Research
    • Research Requests
    • Research Library Catalog
    • Collections >
      • Digital Collections
    • History Blog
    • RiverWise
    • Submerged Resources Project
    • Pilot Log
    • Hudson River History >
      • Henry Hudson
      • The Hudson River
      • Sloops of the Hudson River
      • Robert Fulton
      • Hudson River Steamboats
      • New York Canals
  • Support
    • Member Login
    • Become A Member
    • Donate
    • Memorial Donation
    • Donate Items
    • Artifact Donations
    • Wish List
    • Boat Donations
    • Planned Giving
    • Volunteer
    • Museum Store
    • Library Membership
    • Business Supporters
    • Green Museum
    • Our Sponsors