Despite being over one hundred miles from the ocean, Hudson in New York’s Hudson Valley owes a debt to the brethren of Moby Dick. David Levine tells the TALE in the HEAR and THEN via HEAR about HERE audio.
Despite being over one hundred miles from the ocean, Hudson in New York’s Hudson Valley owes a debt to the brethren of Moby Dick. David Levine tells the TALE in the HEAR and THEN via HEAR about HERE audio.
Just Farms no More
Back in the days of the American Revolution, the area was known as Claverack Landing, a modest farming community of a few families. There were no whales or talk of whaling here. But somehow, the city of Hudson owes its existence to a thriving whaling industry.
Shutdown and Birth of a Whaling Hub
The shutdown of New England’s whaling ports during the American Revolution, led in 1783, to Nantucket merchants Seth and Thomas Jenkins traveling upstream in search of property. They discovered the perfect location in Claverack Landing and bought it from Dutch Patroons. They established a company called the Nantucket Navigators, laying the groundwork for a port and whaling city. The city was planned out to support the company and the city’s name was changed to Hudson when chartered in 1785.
From Tiny Settlement to Flourishing City
Within a short span, Hudson transformed from a small settlement to a bustling city. The population swelled from 150 to 5,000 by 1820. As the Navigators set sail on their final voyages around 1815, three more whaling companies emerged in the valley – the Hudson Whaling Company, the Poughkeepsie Whaling Company, and the Dutchess Whaling Company. While their combined fleet of thirty-five ships was impressive, it paled in comparison to the resurgence of New England ports after the Revolutionary War.
A Whaling Legacy
The Hudson Valley Whaling industry’s glory day, lasted only sixty years. With the rise of alternative fuels like kerosene, the need for whale blubber waned. The Poughkeepsie and Dutchess companies folded in the 1840s, and the Hudson Whaling Company sent its last ship to sea circa 1844.
For more info on this tale and others about New York’s Hudson Valley, check out “The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years” by David Levine.
