In 1784 Hudson, NY, 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 and 1845, there were 47 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.
The opening reception for a year-long series of exhibitions, “Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce,” will be Thursday, March 6, at 6 pm at the Hudson Area Library in Hudson.
This event is the launch of a three-site exhibition developed collaboratively by the Hudson Area Library, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Columbia County Historical Society. It focuses on Hudson’s beginnings and its era of whaling and maritime trade.
Everyone who drives through the city of Hudson sees signs with the whale logo paying homage to Hudson’s beginnings as a whaling and maritime port. This legacy of whaling left a lasting imprint on Hudson’s cultural and economic landscape.
Each exhibit partner is focusing on a different aspect of whaling in Hudson:
The Hudson Area Library exhibit traces Hudson’s founding and early history, focusing on the era of whaling and maritime commerce that created Hudson and built its wealth as well as its reputation as a whaling town. The exhibit is on view March 6 – June 30, 2025. The Hudson Area Library’s exhibit was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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 opening will be in June at a date to be announced and the exhibition will run through 2025 and into 2026.
The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution exhibit focuses on women in whaling and explores the untold stories of the wives who remained on shore and those who set sail with their sea-captain husbands. It looks at how women in this era and this place lived, adapted, survived, and thrived. The exhibit will open in the spring and will run through 2025. The Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s exhibit “Women and Whaling in Hudson” is made possible with support from Humanities New York.
Alan Coon, artist, graphic designer, and co-owner of Spotty Dog Books & Ale, has designed the graphics for the exhibition.
In conjunction with this exhibit and for the 20th Anniversary of the book, Black Dome Press is reprinting Margaret Schram’s book Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers, with a new foreword by Carole Osterink, creator of the blog The Gossips of Rivertown. The book will be for sale at Spotty Dog Books & Ale and all three institutions.
And, exclusively for this exhibit, Kim Bach of Verdigris Tea and Chocolate Bar has designed a tea in honor of Hudson’s heritage. Proprietors’ Tea will be sold at Verdigris and at the three organizations.
In addition to this three-site exhibit, the Hudson Area Library History Room has announced a short film, Whaling in Hudson? What!?, introducing the people and vision behind the upcoming exhibition, “Hudson: The History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce.”
Produced by local filmmaker Karl Frederick Mattson of 542films, the short film introduces Hudson’s rich maritime heritage through interviews with residents and business owners, highlighting the people and narratives that brought this city to life.
This film will be shown at the opening reception, which includes a short panel discussion led by Library Trustees Gary Sheffer and Joseph Ferris.
The genesis of this exhibition came from the work and vision of Richard Bazelow, a local history researcher. For the past five years he’s been searching special collections at museums, libraries, the National Archives and historical societies for Hudson’s artifacts and whaling past.
Mattson is an image-based artist living and working in Hudson, where he quietly engages with his surroundings through pictures, video, and collected ephemera. His work often reflects on place, memory, and the passage of time, seeking to commemorate the environment around him. He is the owner of 542films, an independent video production company that operates at the intersection of documentary and narrative moving pictures. In addition, he also works in the Photography Program at Bard College.
Illustration: “Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce” exhibit logo design by Alan Coon.
Read more about whaling in New York.
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