Joanne Michaels - Hudson River Towns: Highlights from the Capital Region to Sleepy Hollow Country

HUDSON RIVER TOWNS

Mathilda, Hudson River Maritime Museum

Cementon cement plant, Hudson River

Cold Spring and Constitution Marsh, Hudson River

HUDSON RIVER TOWNS

Highlights from the Capital Region to Sleepy Hollow Country

PHOTOGRAPHS BY HARDIE TRUESDALE

TEXT BY JOANNE MICHAELS

Published by STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, ALBANY

Text copyright Joanne Michaels 2011
All photographs copyright Hardie Truesdale 2011
All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

EXCELSIOR EDITIONS is an imprint of STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu

Production and book design, Laurie Searl
Marketing, Fran Keneston

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Truesdale, Hardie.

Hudson River towns : highlights from the capital region to Sleepy

Hollow country / Hardie Truesdale ; with text by Joanne Michaels.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4384-3963-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)Pictorial works. 2. Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)Pictorial works. 3. Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)Description and travel. 4. Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)Description and travel. 5. Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)History, LocalPictorial works. 6. Cities and townsHusdon River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)Pictorial works. I. Michaels, Joanne, 1950 II. Title.

F127.H8T89 2011

974.7'3dc22

2011010864

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the people and organizations in the Hudson Valley who love their villages, towns, and cities and especially those who have continually worked to preserve the scenic beauty and heritage we so often take for granted.

E-Commerce Square, Albany

cover photograph: View of July 4th Fireworks over Nyack and Piermont, from Hook Mountain State Park

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Hudson River Way Pedestrian Bridge

Our heartfelt gratitude to the people throughout the cities, towns and villages of the Hudson Valley and Catskills who have fought difficult battles against all odds to preserve the heritage and beauty of our historic region. A special thanks to everyone who played a part in bringing this book to fruition, including those who gave interviews and contributed their time, insights and memories: Kathleen Hickey at The Beacon Institute, Kathy Stevens at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Kristen Cronin at Cornerstone, Evelyn Trebilcock at Olana, Anthony Pellegrino at Philipsburg Manor and Kykuit, Jim Fox at West Point, Linda Pierro at Flint Mine Press, Scott Sailor at Bruised Apple Books, Lauren Dunn, Greg Helsmoortel, Karl Krause, Fred Schaeffer, Brad Rosenstein and Lori Selden. Additionally, several reference librarians and local historians throughout the Hudson Valley proved to be more helpful than any researcher could hope them to be.

We are also grateful to James Peltz, director of SUNY Press, for his continual support and patience. He was always willing to listen and was extremely responsive in overcoming the roadblocks encountered during the course of the publishing process. Enormous thanks are also due to production editor Laurie Searl whose assistance and suggestions were invaluable. No authors create a book alone and both James and Laurie were there for us from beginning to end.

INTRODUCTION

As the author of two guidebooks to the Hudson Valley that have been in print for over two decades, I continually travel throughout this scenic historic region. On these trips I often spend time in several of the villages and cities along the Hudson River. Each one of them has a unique ambiance and its own colorful history. And each is a dynamic entity, constantly changing.

Over the years, as I drove around the Valley I passed through cobblestone streets, explored the ruins of an old factory, or watched the renovation of a celebrated theater. I grew curious about the stories behind these buildings and historic sites and why the towns grew up where they didan aspect of the region I had not yet delved into.

And so I set out on a journey that spanned from Albany, Kingston, and Poughkeepsie to Newburgh, Beacon, and Nyack, to name just some of the places award-winning photographer Hardie Truesdale and I have explored. The photographs and text here present only a glimpse of what these vital places have to offer. The book follows some of the major Hudson River cities, towns, and villages, from Albany in the north to Westchester and Rockland counties in the south, approximately half the 315 miles of the Hudson River.

In these busy hubs of the region, change is the only constant. Houses disappear, riverfront parks sprout up, and towns are transformed in one generation into totally different communities. Entire industries are lost, relocate, or are replaced by new technologies. One example of this phenomenon is the whaling industry of the city of Hudson that has left behind only a small collection of model ships at the local historical society. Nothing in the city today suggests the atmosphere of a whaling port.

Between 1820 and 1830, the Hudson Valley was the fastest growing region in the nation, and the Hudson River was the main artery of trade in America. The strategic importance of the Hudson River increased after 1825 when the Erie Canal was completed.

Every town and village from Manhattan to Albany had a fleet of sloops, and these graceful vessels dominated the river until 1807 when Robert Fulton introduced the steamboat. At the time, steamboats were cheaper and faster than sloops and they accommodated large numbers of passengers as well. But their heyday was short lived.

The Civil War marked the end of one period in Hudson Valley history and the beginning of anotherthe era of the railroads. By the end of the nineteenth century, accessible areas north of Manhattan had expanded greatly thanks to rail travel. Also between 1825 and 1875 the land area of the United States more than doubled and the population of the country more than tripled. The prosperous years of the Catskills were to a great extent a result of the rise of the railroads.

In the early twentieth century, the automobile evolved from a luxury item to a widely used vehicle for both pleasure and business and approximately 2,500,000 cars were registered. After state and federal highway systems were built, this led to increased interest in Hudson Valley real estate and tourismand the demise of the railroads.