Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 6th at 6pm
Hudson Area Library

The exhibit is on view through June 30, 2025.

The short film, Whaling in Hudson? What!?, was produced by local filmmaker Karl Frederick Mattson of 542films. The film will be shown at the opening reception, March 6th

Many may wonder about Hudson’s great whaling past. This small city nestled among the hills and valleys of the Hudson River in upstate New York has a rich maritime history. Now, thanks to the steadfast stewardship and dedication of local researchers, many historical artifacts and documentation of Hudson’s whaling past berths back into our city.

For the past two years, the staff and volunteers of the Hudson Area Library History Room, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution and the Columbia County Historical Society have been diligently gathering, cataloguing, and documenting whaling history in the city of Hudson and the surrounding area for a three-site exhibit Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce

Brenda Shufelt, History Room Coordinator and Elaine Eichelberger, Volunteer and Archivist, Richard Bazelow, local researcher, and Virginia Martin, Regent of the local chapter of DAR traveled throughout the northeast to bring documents and images of Hudson’s whaling past back to Hudson. Their research led them to places such as the National Archives, NY Public Library, Nantucket Historical Association, Mystic Seaport, Syracuse University, the Vedder Research Library and the Bronck Museum

In 1784 Hudson was founded by a group of whalers and merchants, largely from Nantucket, who purchased Claverack Landing from Dutch settlers. The established river port soon became a busy port with whaling and transatlantic voyages. Between 1784-1845, there were forty-seven whaling voyages out of Hudson, some successful and some financially devastating. Industries turning out products such as shipbuilding, rope, sail, soap and candle making rose along the wharves, and in 1795 Hudson became a U.S. Port of Entry.
-Hudson Area Library History Room

The project started two years ago, when Richard Bazelow, a local history researcher, who has scoured digital archives at various museums and libraries for Hudson-related artifacts about its whaling past approached Brenda about doing an exhibit. He found newspaper articles, voyage journals, and letters from sailors have been digitally reproduced and will be available for viewing during this exhibition.

The exhibition coincides with a re-printing of Margaret Schram’s book Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers: The Rise and Fall of a River Port 1783-1850. The re-printing includes a new foreword by writer Carole Osterink, creator of The Gossips of Rivertown. The book will be for sale at Spotty Dog Books & Ale, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Hudson Area Library, and the Columbia County Historical Society.

Kim Bach of Verdigris Tea has designed a tea based on bohea tea, the tea of the time. It will be for sale at Verdigris, the library, the DAR, and the historical society. Hudson River Tattoo will be offering tattoos of SPOUT the whale at a discount and will be donating to the library per tat! Talbott & Arding are donating their delicious iconic chocolate whale cookies for the opening reception!

The Hudson Area Library exhibit explores the early years of Hudson and the role whaling and maritime commerce played in forming our city. The Columbia County Historical Society exhibit features an immersive, illustrated timeline from the 1600s to present day, bringing to life the historical context of whaling. The exhibit highlights captivating whaling stories from the origins of Moby Dick, the unique opportunities for Black Mariners, to the gripping accounts of whaling ships of the Port of Hudson. The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution exhibit focuses on women in whaling and explores the untold stories of the wives who remained on shore as well as those who set sail with their sea-captain husbands. The exhibit looks at how women in this era lived, adapted, survived, and thrived.

The culmination of years of research will be on display in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library starting Thursday, March 6th with an opening reception at 6pm. The exhibit is on view through June 30, 2025.