Page 37 - Antiques and Collectibles September 2019 Historic Hudson Valley
P. 37
by Kary Pardy
The Hudson Highway
T he river that flows two ways, the river of tides, the Great River of
the Mountains – The Hudson has inspired countless artists and dreamers
but is more than just a muse. From the early 17th century to the present
day, the Hudson River served as a passageway into the northern and western
territories. Countless ships traveled her rolling waters, and even more goods
and passengers found their way through New York City and beyond on this
historic highway.
The maritime history of the Hudson is filled with discovery, ingenuity, and
opulence, and studying the river takes one through several key moments in
American history. Should this appeal to you, consider diving a little deeper
into a Hudson River maritime collection, one based on the fascinating history of
New York’s great river.
Exploration
The Hudson River Maritime Museum in Rondout, NY preserves exactly
what its name implies and, in 2000, history professor Robert Panetta working
with Ellen Keiter, the museum’s curator of exhibitions, staged an exhibit called
Boats on the Hudson: Navigating through History. In eight boats, they explored the
transitions seen on the river from the dugout canoes of the natives and Henry A marine historian as well as a renowned painter, James Bard recorded almost every steamer operating around
Hudson’s initial trip in 1609 to today’s freighters. Let’s take a similar approach, New York City. Bard was a self-trained artist who focused on the details and according to eulogist Samuel W.
and appreciate the river’s history through the ships that sailed her lengths. Stanton, painted with "absolute truthfulness … every part of a steamboat." America was a side-wheeled steam -
boat operating from 1852-1896. Photo excerpt from The Hudson River and Its Painters by John K. J Howat.
Styles of Transportation Right: The Hudson is a tidal estuary as far north as
The Hudson was thin and filled with tricky sandbars, and the first sailing Troy, New York and is subject to strong currents
vessels to make headway were sloops, agile, one-masted sailing ships that dominated and tides. The result is shifting sandbars that
river travel into the early 19th century. According to Panetta, in 1832 there make travel difficult for inexperienced river sailors
would have been approximately 1,200 sloops sailing at once. It was crowded. (or those without depth finders). Pilot boats and
There wasn’t much change to the scenery until Robert Fulton’s wave-making specific nautical maps help steer large barges
invention took off. In 1807, Fulton debuted his steamboat, the Claremont. She safely or guide them into port. This cross-section
took passengers from New York City to the important port of Albany, NY in of the map from 1891 shows estates along the
record time. While sloops took up to a week to make the trip, Fulton’s steamboat river, but the small numbers in the water are
supposed depths. Atlas of the Hudson River, from
did it in little more than a day. New York City to Troy … by F. W. Beers,
The Hudson was a busy passage, a north-south route that transported Courtesy of Old Maps- Blog.
pass-engers, cargo, and sightseers throughout the day and night. In 1825 the Erie
Canal opened, and for the next couple of decades, the river was the main artery
of trade and travel in the north. It was the number one passage north and a Below: Popular with businessmen like redeyes are
today, by the 1860s, passenger steamships that
primary means of traveling west. Accordingly, the Hudson River Valley was the traveled at night (typically of the famous
population center of America, and steamboat travel was enticing to tourists and Night Line) had become large, elegant vessels
transporters alike. favored by wealthy New Yorkers. They featured
crystal chandeliers, gilded woodwork, elegant
Moving Goods dining rooms with fine cuisine, live music, and
Steamboats broke into the trade market first with perishable goods. Their beautifully decorated staterooms. Taking the night
speed could not be beaten, and they, or their attached barges, carried what the boat was the fashionable way to travel between New
York City and Albany. Honeymooners regularly
slower sloops could not, while the sloops moved building materials and more chose the Albany Night Boat, a practice that continued
sturdy freight. The sail was still the cheapest method around, but larger schooners until the 20th century, when the Great Depression, lack of novelty, and other transportation options forced the
coming in from the ocean would need a little assistance, and collectors may night boat's decline. The last Albany Night Boat made its roundtrip voyage from Manhattan in January 1941.
find images of schooner flotillas being pulled down the river by steam tugs.
They could not navigate with as much dexterity as their sloop cousins.
Hudson River sloops were used to carry freight until the end of the 19th century
when steamboats became cheap enough to replace them. Lovers of sloops
can still see replicas on the river, or find them immortalized in Hudson River
School paintings.
The jewels of the mid-19th century, however, were the steamboats. By 1850,
steamboats dominated river travel. The best-known steamer company, the Day
Line, also offered a Night Line, to accommodate tourists and business travelers
alike. Steamships were luxuriously appointed, and like one of the most famous
examples the “River Queen” Mary Powell, they offered Victorian opulence and a Advertisement courtesy of Kevin A. McGrath
romantic travel experience. They also aided in the war effort. During the Civil
War, the Day Line and Night Line transported hundreds of thousands of soldiers
to muster at Albany and then took them to New York City and onward to
battlefields in the south. Soldiers in uniform traveling to or from the war traveled
for free.
September 2019 35
The Hudson Highway
T he river that flows two ways, the river of tides, the Great River of
the Mountains – The Hudson has inspired countless artists and dreamers
but is more than just a muse. From the early 17th century to the present
day, the Hudson River served as a passageway into the northern and western
territories. Countless ships traveled her rolling waters, and even more goods
and passengers found their way through New York City and beyond on this
historic highway.
The maritime history of the Hudson is filled with discovery, ingenuity, and
opulence, and studying the river takes one through several key moments in
American history. Should this appeal to you, consider diving a little deeper
into a Hudson River maritime collection, one based on the fascinating history of
New York’s great river.
Exploration
The Hudson River Maritime Museum in Rondout, NY preserves exactly
what its name implies and, in 2000, history professor Robert Panetta working
with Ellen Keiter, the museum’s curator of exhibitions, staged an exhibit called
Boats on the Hudson: Navigating through History. In eight boats, they explored the
transitions seen on the river from the dugout canoes of the natives and Henry A marine historian as well as a renowned painter, James Bard recorded almost every steamer operating around
Hudson’s initial trip in 1609 to today’s freighters. Let’s take a similar approach, New York City. Bard was a self-trained artist who focused on the details and according to eulogist Samuel W.
and appreciate the river’s history through the ships that sailed her lengths. Stanton, painted with "absolute truthfulness … every part of a steamboat." America was a side-wheeled steam -
boat operating from 1852-1896. Photo excerpt from The Hudson River and Its Painters by John K. J Howat.
Styles of Transportation Right: The Hudson is a tidal estuary as far north as
The Hudson was thin and filled with tricky sandbars, and the first sailing Troy, New York and is subject to strong currents
vessels to make headway were sloops, agile, one-masted sailing ships that dominated and tides. The result is shifting sandbars that
river travel into the early 19th century. According to Panetta, in 1832 there make travel difficult for inexperienced river sailors
would have been approximately 1,200 sloops sailing at once. It was crowded. (or those without depth finders). Pilot boats and
There wasn’t much change to the scenery until Robert Fulton’s wave-making specific nautical maps help steer large barges
invention took off. In 1807, Fulton debuted his steamboat, the Claremont. She safely or guide them into port. This cross-section
took passengers from New York City to the important port of Albany, NY in of the map from 1891 shows estates along the
record time. While sloops took up to a week to make the trip, Fulton’s steamboat river, but the small numbers in the water are
supposed depths. Atlas of the Hudson River, from
did it in little more than a day. New York City to Troy … by F. W. Beers,
The Hudson was a busy passage, a north-south route that transported Courtesy of Old Maps- Blog.
pass-engers, cargo, and sightseers throughout the day and night. In 1825 the Erie
Canal opened, and for the next couple of decades, the river was the main artery
of trade and travel in the north. It was the number one passage north and a Below: Popular with businessmen like redeyes are
today, by the 1860s, passenger steamships that
primary means of traveling west. Accordingly, the Hudson River Valley was the traveled at night (typically of the famous
population center of America, and steamboat travel was enticing to tourists and Night Line) had become large, elegant vessels
transporters alike. favored by wealthy New Yorkers. They featured
crystal chandeliers, gilded woodwork, elegant
Moving Goods dining rooms with fine cuisine, live music, and
Steamboats broke into the trade market first with perishable goods. Their beautifully decorated staterooms. Taking the night
speed could not be beaten, and they, or their attached barges, carried what the boat was the fashionable way to travel between New
York City and Albany. Honeymooners regularly
slower sloops could not, while the sloops moved building materials and more chose the Albany Night Boat, a practice that continued
sturdy freight. The sail was still the cheapest method around, but larger schooners until the 20th century, when the Great Depression, lack of novelty, and other transportation options forced the
coming in from the ocean would need a little assistance, and collectors may night boat's decline. The last Albany Night Boat made its roundtrip voyage from Manhattan in January 1941.
find images of schooner flotillas being pulled down the river by steam tugs.
They could not navigate with as much dexterity as their sloop cousins.
Hudson River sloops were used to carry freight until the end of the 19th century
when steamboats became cheap enough to replace them. Lovers of sloops
can still see replicas on the river, or find them immortalized in Hudson River
School paintings.
The jewels of the mid-19th century, however, were the steamboats. By 1850,
steamboats dominated river travel. The best-known steamer company, the Day
Line, also offered a Night Line, to accommodate tourists and business travelers
alike. Steamships were luxuriously appointed, and like one of the most famous
examples the “River Queen” Mary Powell, they offered Victorian opulence and a Advertisement courtesy of Kevin A. McGrath
romantic travel experience. They also aided in the war effort. During the Civil
War, the Day Line and Night Line transported hundreds of thousands of soldiers
to muster at Albany and then took them to New York City and onward to
battlefields in the south. Soldiers in uniform traveling to or from the war traveled
for free.
September 2019 35
