That Graceful Steamboat, the "City of Kingston"

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 Contributing Scholar Carl Mayer. This article was originally published November 19, 1972.

Steamboat "City of Kingston" at Rondout Creek dock. Hudson River Maritime Museum.

Most of the cities along the Hudson River, and even some of the villages, at one time had steamboats named in their honor. The old colonial city of Kingston was no exception and for a six-year period in the late 1880's, Kingston was the home port of a sleek and graceful steamboat named “City of Kingston.”

During the post-Civil War years, the Cornell Steamboat Company and the Romer and Tremper Steamboat Company operated freight and passenger steamboats out of Rondout Creek for New York, each company operating a steamer on alternate nights so as to provide daily service.  On March 27, 1882, the Cornell steamboat “Thomas Cornell” was wrecked by running up on Danskammer Paint, north of Newburgh, in a fog.  The “City of Kingston” was built to replace her and was launched at Wilmington, Delaware on March 11, 1884. 

When she first appeared, the “City of Kingston” was a sharp departure from other steamboats of the day.  Almost all steamboats then were wooden hulled side wheelers with walking beam engines, but the “City of Kingston" had an iron hull and a screw propeller powered by a 750 h.p. compound engine.  She was also equipped with 165 electric lights, which in 1884 put her well ahead of almost anything afloat or ashore.  She is generally credited with being the first steamboat of a type that later became standard as overnight freight and passenger carriers out of almost every major city along the Atlantic coast. 

Her First Trip
The “City of Kingston” arrived in New York from her builder’s yard the latter part of May 1884 and on May 31 set out on her first trip to Kingston.  With a group of invited guests, she left New York at about 1:30 p.m. and was escorted through New York harbor by the Cornell tugboats “Hercules,” ‘‘S.L. Crosy” and “Edwin Terry,” all gaily decorated for the occasion with flags and with guests aboard.  She arrived at Rondout shortly after 6 p.m. where she was greeted by a large crowd, including many local dignitaries. 

The “City of Kingston" entered regular service on June 2, 1884.  Her schedule called for her to leave Rondout at 6 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with landings at Esopus, Cornwall and Cranston's the later landing being named for the large hotel on the bluff south of the village of Highland Falls.  On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday she would leave her pier at the foot of Harrison Street, New York at 4 p.m. for the up-river run. 

During the summer, on Saturdays she would leave New York at 1 p.m. and make connections at Rondout at 6 p.m. with a special train of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad for Catskill mountain resorts.  Sunday nights, the train would make connections with the “City of Kingston’’ at Rondout from where she would depart at 11 p.m. for New York.  Arriving in the metropolis at 6 a.m., the steamer would then run right back up river to resume her regular Monday night schedule.  Normally, the steamer would run from the latter part of March until about the middle of December. 

On June 23, 1886 the “City of Kingston” had her first serious accident.  She left her last up-river landing at Cranston’s at about 9:40 p.m. and being somewhat ahead of schedule was proceeding down through the Hudson Highlands at reduced speed.  She had a good passenger list and a large load of freight, the principal item of which was Hudson River Valley strawberries.  It was a hazy night of early summer, the kind when the smoke from passing trains used to lay over the water off Conns Hook, there being no breeze to carry it away. 

Loaded With Cement
All of a sudden off Manitou, directly ahead of the “City of Kingston,” lay schooner the “Mary Atwater,” drifting with the tide.  The “Mary Atwater” had left the James Cement Company, opposite Wilbur, that morning loaded with 550 barrels of cement.  The schooner was displaying no lights, it frequently being the habit of schooner men in those days on a still night to keep all lights out so as not to attract mosquitoes and bugs. 
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They would have a lantern ready in the hold and when they heard the plop, plop, plop — plop, plop, plop of the side wheels of an approaching steamboat, they would then run the lantern up the mast.  On a quiet night, they would normally hear the pounding of steamer's side wheels up to two miles away.  The “City Kingston," however, having a propeller made no noise at all through the water.  Since she made no noise, the “City of Kingston” had become known to sloop and schooner men as ”The Sneak.”

In the haze, the “City of Kingston” was upon the darkened ‘‘Mary Atwater” too late to avoid a collision.  Her knife-like bow cut the schooner in two and the “Mary Atwater” immediately sank.  Although the schooner’s helmsman was saved, her owner and the cook asleep below decks were drowned.  The “City of Kingston" was undamaged. 

Many steamboatmen used to think nothing could surpass a sidewheeler for speed.  So on one of the “City of Kingston's” summer Saturday up-trips — July 2, 1887 — the crew of the smart sidewheeler ‘‘Kaaterskill” of the Catskill Line thought they would give a lesson to the new propeller steamer from Kingston.  The “City of Kingston” left her New York pier a few minutes after 1 p.m. and between there and Rondout was scheduled to make landings at Newburgh and Poughkeepsie.  The “Kaaterskill” got underway a few minutes later from her dock three piers below and was to go straight through to Catskill.

Accepted Challenge
On the “City of Kingston," they could tell by the smoke pouring from the ‘'Kaaterskill's’’ twin smoke stacks and by counting the strokes of walking beam, that her throttle was wide open and she was planning a race.  The “City of Kingston” accepted the challenge and, at the time, it was estimated she had a lead of nine minutes.

All the way up through Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay, if one was standing on the shore at Ossining, Rockland Lake or on the Haverstraw steamboat dock they could heard the heavy beating of the “Kaaterskill’s” paddle wheels pounding into the clear waters of the Hudson for more speed.  But try as she might, she could not shorten the distance.

The “City of Kingston" was cutting through the water like an eel and causing hardly any commotion in the water at her bow or stern, while the “Kaaterskill” was causing water fly in all directions from her large paddle wheels. 

The “City of Kingston” lost approximately nine minutes landing at Newburgh and Poughkeepsie which canceled her lead.  Leaving Poughkeepsie, the two steamers were almost abreast of each other, the "City of Kingston" slightly ahead.  Between there and Rondout Light, the "City of Kingston’’ steadily increased her lead and made the 10 mile run from Hyde Park to the mouth of Rondout Creek in exactly half an hour.  As she entered Rondout Creek, her rival, the "Kaaterskill’’ was below Port Ewen and the loser of the race by four minutes.  Many old boatmen told me the “City of Kingston’s” success was due in large measure to the skill of First Pilot William H. Mabie getting her in to her landings and on her way again in minimum time. 

Another Collision
The following year, on June 5, 1888, the “City of Kingston’’ was in a collision in New York harbor with the steam yacht ‘‘Meteor." The steamboat had just left her pier and the yacht was getting underway from her anchorage off 24th Street.  The yacht's bow sprit hit the “City of Kingston” on the starboard side and ripped out considerable joiner work before it broke off.  In the investigation that followed, the ‘‘City of Kingston” was held blameless and the captain of the yacht had his license suspended for 10 days. 
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In 1889, after only six years of service on the Hudson River, the "City of Kingston'’ was sold and went to the Pacific coast.  To get there she had to go all the way around Cape Horn.  

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. ​

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