Vintage Postcard Tour through the Hudson Highlands

Join us every Saturday & Sunday as we explore the magnificent Hudson Highlands — from the Bear Mountain Bridge to Mt. Beacon — through vintage postcards.

Many thanks to Barry Ross for sharing his postcard collection with us for this project. Barry and his wife Mary Jean are a long time residents of the Hudson Highlands.  Barry practices law in New York City with an international law firm. Ten or so years ago at a Cold Spring antique emporium he saw – among the photos, postcards and other ephemera – a postcard of the Highlands and was hooked.  Since then he has collected over 150 postcards of the Hudson Valley – many of which show the Highlands as they were at the turn of the nineteenth century.  


Final Tour Stop: Casino and Power Station, Mt. Beacon

The Beaconcrest Hotel and Casino was a tourist attraction and resort that sat atop Mt. Beacon, peaking in popularity in 1926 hosting 110,000 visitors, mostly arriving by steamboat from New York City. The Beaconcrest was constructed in response to the booming success of the Mt. Beacon Incline Railway, providing tourists with a new mountaintop destination to enjoy at the end of their ride, in addition to the spectacular 75-mile panoramic views. The Incline Railway was constructed by the Otis Elevator Company and Mohawk Construction and opened on Memorial Day in 1902. It took passengers on a five-minute journey 1,200 feet up the mountain at a maximum gradient of 74 percent, making it the steepest passenger incline railroad in the world. It hosted 60,000 riders in its first year and became increasingly popular throughout the early 20th century.  

 At the peak of its heyday in early 1927, the hotel and casino were both heavily damaged by a fire. They were rebuilt later that year, but the fire foreshadowed a turning point in the success and popularity of the Beaconcrest. The onset of the Great Depression, World War II, and the widespread popularization of automobile-based travel slowly eroded tourist travel to the mountain throughout the middle portion of the 20th century. These conditions led to massive financial losses for both the hotel and the incline railway, limiting the ability to properly maintain them. The incline railway ceased operations by 1978 and the remaining structures were destroyed by fire in 1983. Today, Mt. Beacon has yet again become a popular tourist destination, currently owned by Scenic Hudson, it is one of the most popular hiking destinations in the area, boasting clear day views “from Manhattan to Albany.”  There has also been local interest in the possible restoration of the Incline Railway, most notably from the Mount Beacon Incline Railway Restoration Society. 


Tour Stop No. 10: The North Gate and Pollepel Island

As we continue north up the Hudson River, the next stop on our weekend tour is the North Gate to the Hudson Highlands, including Pollepel Island.

The North Gate to the Hudson Highlands is the passage where the Hudson River cuts through the Appalachian chain, at Breakneck and Storm King Mountains. From here near Newburgh Bay, south to Peekskill Bay, the Hudson River (which is generally straight and broad), becomes narrow, fast, winding, and deep. Early maps of this portion of the river reveal colonists’ respect, caution, and curiosity of the beauty and intensity of this area – names like World’s End, Dunderberg (Thunder Hill), Seylmaker’s Reach, and Devil’s Horse Race express this sentiment.

At the entrance to the North Gate is Pollepel Island. While today Pollepel Island is most often associated with its main feature – Bannerman’s Castle, the island itself actually has several namesake tales.  In her book, The Hudson River Highlands, Frances Dunwell shares the following:

“…danger was not the only concern of the colonial sailors who chartered the Highlands. Pollepel Island, for example, was a drop-off place where drunken sailors were left to sober up. In very early maps and journals it appears as “Potlepel Eylant” or Potladle Island, and some historians believe the island takes its name from a popular fifteenth-century Dutch expression “Die polopel hangt eem abt zide” (the potladle hangs from his side), which means roughly translated, “he’s dead drunk.”

In his book, Legends and Lore of the Hudson Highlands, Jonathan Kruk shares with us other namesake tales for Pollepel Island:

“Stories from the local Waoranek tribe describe the six-acre ‘island dividing the river’ as foreboding, fit only for manitous. They may have been trying to frighten off those ‘people who cross the salty waters’ since they probably used the isle to look out for foes. The New Netherlanders, who often related nature to dining, saw a pot ladle shape in the island. They carried small metal ladling cups for stew and beer. Also, sloop skippers established a rite of passage of ‘ladling’ greenhorn seamen or drunken sailors to the island in a basket-like contraption. They’d then have to survive various spirits. This gave rise to the Dutch name for the isle of Pollepel, meaning pot ladle.”


Tour Stop No. 9: The Storm King Highway

View of Storm King Mountain before construction of the Storm King Highway.

The Storm King Highway, now known as NY State Route 218,  began construction in 1916 and opened in 1922. The initial impetus to build the highway was to shorten the automotive trip times between Newburgh and Cornwall and the neighboring towns to the south, which were separated by the highland peaks of Storm King and Butter Hill. Upon the highway’s opening, the driving route between Newburgh and West Point was shortened by 22 miles, a commute that would later be shortened again by the construction of U.S. Route 9W in 1940.  

Construction of Storm King Highway was first proposed in 1913 by state highway commissioner Gordon Reel. After initially considering the idea of building a cost prohibitive tunnel through the mountain, final plans called for the construction of a road cut into the eastern portion of Storm King at a cost of $400,000, the equivalent to almost $9 million today! The highway was not only expensive, but was also hampered by multiple construction, labor, and logistical complications, ranging from concerns over dropping dislodged boulders onto NY Central Railroad’s West Shore Line, widespread local opposition, construction firm bankruptcies, and a dwindling labor supply due to World War I.  Upon its opening in 1922, Storm King Highway was considered a major, modern feat of civil engineering, both greatly reducing automobile travel times through the western portion of the highlands and creating a local landmark, renowned for its scenic driving route, offering amazing panoramic views of the river and highlands at up to 420 feet. 


Tour Stop No. 8: Cold Spring on Hudson, Hudson River, N.Y.

Today we travel to a portion of Cold Spring’s waterfront in the late 1800s/early 1900s! The date on the back of this postcard reads December 21, 1914.

The large brick structure in the center of the postcard is the William La Due Construction Company shop. La Due designed and built several area railroad stations/depots – including Cold Spring’s original brick depot (1883) and Garrison’s granite depot (1893).

The other visible structure in this postcard is the Union Church, which is no longer standing. The Union Church, built in 1827, was the first church in Cold Spring. The stone, cedar-roof building stood near the river on Market Street and served several denominations. Presbyterians used it in the morning, other denominations in the afternoon. The Methodists were the first to build their own church; all other denominations eventually followed. In the 1890s, Titus Truesdell used the building as a pickle factory.

Photos from the PHM Collection.


Tour Stop No. 7: The Northern Highlands – Storm King, Little Stony Point, Breakneck Mountain, & Mt. Taurus. 

The Hudson Highlands are a collection of mountains on both sides of the Hudson River, formed by glacial cuts through the Appalachian Mountains during the Cenozoic Era. While these formations are some of the lowest summits in the Appalachians, they conversely form the deepest part of the Hudson River, with depths of 216 feet! For more information on the Ice Age in NY, check out: https://www.newyorknature.us/ice-age-new-york/.

One of the most prominent features of the Northern Highlands is “Wind Gate,” the narrows formed between Storm King Mountain and Breakneck Ridge. It is one of the most majestic views in the Hudson Valley and was popularly depicted by multiple artists of the Hudson River School. Storm King and its adjoining peak, Butter Hill, are the highest peaks in the Highlands, measuring at 1,380 feet. Henry Hudson initially named the mountain Klinkesberg, due to its wrinkled rock cliffs. Dutch colonists later named it Boterberg (Butter Hill) since they thought it looked like a lump of butter perched on the side of the river. The name Storm King was proposed in the mid 19th century by local resident and writer Nathaniel Parker Willis who said that the mountain should be “looked upon as the most sure foreteller of a storm.”  

Breakneck Ridge lies immediately across the river from Strom King and is well known for its high cliffs, which were formed as a result of heavy quarrying throughout the 19th century. Breakneck was originally known as St. Anthony’s Face, due to the presence of a face like stone formation in the cliffs, which was eventually destroyed by quarrying in 1846. Today Breakneck Ridge is an immensely popular hiking destination, located within Hudson Highlands State Park.  

The Northern Highlands have played an important role in the origins of the American environmental preservation movement, starting in the 19th century when local residents lobbied the state to have the area established as protected lands due to their growing concerns related to the unregulated deforestation and quarrying of the mountains. In 1962, the Scenic Hudson Preservation Coalition began legal action seeking to block a Con Edison hydro-electric plant that proposed cutting away the riverside portion of Storm King. Scenic Hudson eventually prevailed in federal court and Con Edison fully abandoned the plan in the 1970s.  

Today, the Northern Highlands have maintained their role as a foundation of artistic inspiration, a sailing and hiking destination, a local point of pride, and an ongoing source of natural beauty for residents and visitors alike. 

Tour Stop No. 6: “Picnicing at West Point, on the Hudson River.”

Picnicking gained popularity throughout the 1800s/early 1900s as society became more industrialized. As more people lived in urban areas and worked in factories and offices, a “return to nature” was often recommended for its rejuvenating qualities. With the Hudson Highlands close proximity to New York City and accessibility via steamboats, trains, and then cars, places all along the river became ideal picnic locations for day visitors as well as local residents.

This postcard features three women beautifully dressed for a picnic at West Point. Contemporary Cold Spring Recorder articles provide us with a glimpse of these picnics:

– One woman recalled a Fourth of July picnic in 1876 at Cronk’s Cove, a favorite spot between Crow’s Nest and Storm King, about one and a half miles from Cold Spring. The storyteller wore a “high boned-collar shirt waist, full ankle-length shirt, high-buttoned shoes and, as was the fashion…was tightly corseted and wore several petticoats…” She remembered the intense heat but said, “Pride feels no pain.” Her grandson, who had heard the story often, described the event: “A flotilla of rowboats left Cold Spring’s shores, the occupants singing as they crossed the river. Picnic tables had been set up and all enjoyed the food and games following the meal…They rowed home after dark, and many boats had a lantern in the bow. It made a pretty picture, accompanied by the music of singers in each boat.”

– In July, 1898, a group of young people was reported to have traveled to “Polipel’s Island…in search of the pleasures of the picnic and…found them there in great abundance, not the least of these was the total absence of the pestiferous mosquitoes, which make life miserable at every other picnic ground.”

– In 1908, the Old Homestead Club, a Cold Spring men’s social organization, held “their big picnic” on Labor Day “on the west back of the Hudson, beneath towering Storm King Mountain.” The preparations required the transport of materials over the river. At five that morning, “a group of men had gathered there to build a platform as smooth as a ballroom floor, and equal to the demands of the most exacting singer and speaker” and set up “stands, tables, booths, and seats for the expected crowds.” Just past noon, “the dinner gong sounded, and the Squire served it fast and hot” by dropping “clam after clam into the stewing brew, stirring it around with a billiard cue.”

– For an 1897 picnic at St. Joseph’s Church, a Catholic church in Garrison, there was “every reason to believe that a large number of persons from Cold Spring and West Point” would attend because “the Garrison and West Point Ferry Company have kindly tendered the use of the ferryboat Highlander to the church, to convey parties from the above places who are in attendance, back to their respective homes free of charge.”

Tour Stop No. 5: West Point

West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. The construction of the fortifications began in 1778 and were designed by Thaddeus Kosciuszko. George Washington established his headquarters at West Point, originally known as Fort Arnold in 1779, continuing the construction of batteries and redoubts and the installation of a 150-ton chain stretched across the Hudson river. Today, West Point is the site of the United States Military Academy, established in 1802 by legislation signed by Thomas Jefferson.  

West Point has an exceptionally distinguished list of alumni, including two U.S. presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower, famous generals such as William T. Sherman, George Mead, Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton, George Armstrong Custer, Robert E. Lee, David Petraeus, and Norman Schwarzkopf, 76 Medal of Honor recipients, astronauts, athletes, inventors, CEO’s, government officials, and Rhodes scholars. 

West Point has historically been a popular travel destination for visitors and tourists. Its location, 50 miles north of NYC on the western banks of the Hudson, made it both popular and easily accessible to travelers arriving by boat. One of the most popular sites for visitors is Trophy Point, a scenic overlook and location of Battle Monument. The grounds contain a wide variety of monuments, neo-Gothic buildings, and the West Point Cemetery. Another popular destination is the West Point Museum, which opened to the public in 1854 and is the oldest military museum in the United States.  


Tour Stop No. 4: Day Line Steamers Passing the Highlands, Hudson River, N.Y.

On today’s tour stop, we’d like to share excerpts from the Hudson River Day Line Magazine, Centennial Season 1826-1926, published in 1926. Enjoy the tour and let the tide of the mighty Hudson carry you away to the past…  

DAYLIGHT JOURNEY ON HUDSON A SUCCESSION OF LOVELY SCENES  

…The daylight journey on the Hudson between New York and Albany, occupying a little less than ten hours of sailing, including all stops, is described as one of the most spectacular river trips in all the world.  

Crowded with gems of scenic beauty on every foot of its course on either side of the mighty river, there is so much of natural loveliness and grandeur to be seen that every moment is filled with delight for those who gather inspiration from natural spectacles…Neither words, never adequate, nor photographs which merely suggest the truth, can tell the whole story. The journey must be made to be appreciated.  


***** 

1926 IS THE HUNDREDTH YEAR OF HUDSON RIVER DAY LINE SERVICE  

If travelers who made their trips up and down the Hudson a century ago, when the steamship was young, could return for a day and experience the delight of a day on their favorite river, what would be their sensations?  

The contrast between travel conditions then and today would so utterly amaze them that perhaps they would not have capacity in their minds for a realization of the tremendous strides in all other lines that have been made in the century that has elapsed.  

~An unbroken line~ 

In that day—one hundred years ago this summer—the Day Line may be said to have begun its splendid passenger service between New York and Albany, with the scenic Hudson as its route. The “safety barges” of Abram Van Santvoord were the real forerunners of the present fleet of six magnificent passenger steamers that now through six months of each year carry hundreds of thousands of passengers in luxury and safety between New York and Albany…It was the steamboat that gave New York and Albany their first transportation service, for though the railroad today is considered the main vehicle of interior travel, the Hudson River steamboats were in use, there was no rail line in operation between those cities in 1851.  

The first advertisement of Abram Van Santvoord appears in the City Directory of 1826, as “The Steam Navigation Company, A. Van Santvoord, agent, operating ‘safety barges’ for passengers between New York and Albany.”  

Abram Van Santvoord lived until 1858, when Commodore Alfred Van Santvoord, born in 1819, succeeded his father in the business. The latter organized in 1863 “The Albany Day Line” under which name he and his son, Charles Townsend Van Santvoord operated the service until 1879, when it was incorporated as “The Hudson River Line” (later the Hudson River Day Line).  

Among the earlier steamers of the line were the “Commerce” and the “Swiftsure,” “Lady Clinton” and “Lady Van Rensselaer.” Other were the “Daniel Drew,” the “Armenia,” the “Chauncey Vibbard,” the “Mary Powell” and the “New York.”  

The present splendid fleet is famous throughout the world for its high and satisfying standards in all departments, providing comforts and luxuries that were undreamed of by the founders of the line. These steamers all of which are in service this season, are the “Hendrick Hudson,” “Robert Fulton,” “Alexander Hamilton,” “DeWitt Clinton,” “Albany,” and “Chauncey M. Depew.”  

****

ONE-DAY TRIPS ON THE HUDSON PROVIDE IDEAL SUMMER OUTINGS  

“Some of the most impressive scenery in America is viewed on one-day trips on the Hudson.”  By Thurston MacCauley  

You have just returned, we’ll say, from seeing family or friends off to foreign shores and are feeling rather dejected and, perhaps, not a little envious that you couldn’t cross the ocean, too. But, cheer up! You can have your own voyage and one just as replete with interesting and fascinating things to see—and return to Manhattan the same day.  

Step aboard one of the handsome Hudson River Day Lines steamers for a delightful cruise northwards, up the river that is one long, gorgeous panorama of almost unparalleled natural beauty. The boats sail around nine in the morning, so, if you wish, you have time for breakfasting beforehand; but, it is even more enjoyable to wait until you start and have the pleasure of eating and watching the magnificent river scenery at one and the same time.  

To my mind, there is almost nothing that can be compared with a sail up the historic Hudson, particularly on a mid-summer day when New York is sweltering with heat and humidity, for out on the water there is always a fresh, invigorating breeze blowing…  


Tour Stop No. 3: Sugar Loaf Mountain

Traveling north from last week’s stops (the Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony’s Nose), this weekend we start our tour at Sugarloaf Mountain!  

Several peaks and hills in the Hudson Valley share this name. All of these mountains share a similar history though—they were shaped and rounded by the slow-moving glaciers from the most recent Ice Age (2.6 million years ago). The advancing and then receding masses of ice sheared off the tip of Anthony’s Nose and ground down plains around conical Sugar Loaf, creating hills and valleys. 

Author Frances F. Dunwell provides further details in her book The Hudson River Highlands,  

“…The glaciers also gouged a passage nearly one thousand feet below sea level through the Highlands gorge. Later, retreating glacial ice deposited more than six hundred feet of boulders and rubble in the channel. As the ice melted, the Hudson was filled by the rising sea and the fresh water of its rejuvenated tributary streams.”   

For more information, check out the Garrison Union Free School’s extensive website on Hudson Highland geology here: https://www.gufsee.org/geology.html


Tour Stop No. 2: Anthony’s Nose

Anthony’s Nose (a well-known Hudson Valley peak), together with Dunderberg Mountain, comprises the South Gate of the Hudson Highlands. Historically, sailors referred to this area of the Hudson River as “The Devils Horse Race,” for here the river is at its narrowest point with strong currents and winds subject to change.

This peak, rising approx. 899 ft, has been known as Anthony’s Nose since at least 1697, when the name appears on a grant patent. The origin of the name has long been the subject of curiosity and debate. Here is one of the proposed origin stories from Frances Dunwell’s The Hudson River Highlands:

The origin of the name Anthony’s Nose (Antonius’ Neus) has been a subject of considerable fun and speculation, as this 1836 entry found among the published letters of Freeman Hunt reveals. It was written after he had visited General Pierre Van Courtlandt in Peekskill:

“General V. is the owner of Antony’s Nose, (on the river), as it is called. He gave me the origin of that name. Before the revolution, a vessel was passing up the river, under the command of a Capt. Hogans; when immediately opposite the mountain, the mate looked rather quizzically, first at the mountain and then at the captain’s nose. The captain, by the way, had an enormous nose, which was not unfrequently the subject of good-natured remark; and he at once understood the mate’s allusion. “What,” says the captain, “does that look like my nose? Call it then if you please Antony’s Nose.” The story was repeated on shore, and the mountain thenceforward assumed the name, and has thus become an everlasting monument to the memory of the redoubtable Capt. Antony Hogans and his nose.”

Other historians suggest that the peak could be named after Saint Anthony since a rock formation known as Saint Anthony’s Face was part of Breakneck Ridge before it was changed by quarrying.

Anthony’s Nose location also played a critical strategic role in the Revolutionary War, as one of the Hudson River Chains stretched from Fort Montgomery to the foot of the mountain. Learn more here: https://newyorkalmanack.com/2019/09/hudson-river-chain-anthonys-nose-and-the-american-revolution/


Tour Stop No. 1: The Bear Mountain Bridge

The Bear Mountain Bridge opened to traffic on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1924 (it will turn 96 later this year!).

Fun Facts:
– The BMB was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was built in 1924, 32 feet longer than the Williamsburg Bridge over the East River in NYC.
– The BMB was the first vehicle crossing over the Hudson River south of Albany.
– The Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge Company financed and constructed the bridge in just 20 months and 4 days after the signing of the contracts.
– Tolls on the bridge were originally set at 80 cents for a car and driver, plus 10 cents for each additional occupant. When the NY State Bridge Authority purchased the bridge in 1940, tolls for passenger cars were set to 50 cents each way, with no charge for passengers, and reduced to 25 cents each way in 1945.

Check out more history and fun facts here: http://www.nysba.state.ny.us/…/B…/NYSWeb_bmb_page_NoLogo.htm