As often happens, the interest and concern that gathered around the maritime center, has reached out to revitalize the neighboring historic buildings and areas. At right is the Daily Freeman Building and beyond a handsome row, which in 1978 was abandoned and threatened with demolition (SH 11 , p4) .
museum quality restorations of wooden boats. The rigging loft is the place to step back in time with the all-permeating odor of pine tar , the neat rope coils and the traditional riggers' too ls in use. In the meantime Rondout itself was coming alive with old buildings sporting freshly painted facades, and a new park with a gazebo appeared on what was once a litter-filled parking lot. The museum held two outdoor festivals in those early days with the hope of luring visitors into Rondout and the museum . First a spring rite called the Shad Festival. The local fishermen donated freshl y caught shad (yes, they ' re safe to eat), the ferry sloops Woody Guthrie and Sojourner Truth sailed to our dock , sloop singers sang their best sea shanties, the fi sh was panfried for the crowd , and an annual event was born. Then , in the autumn , the lovely Hudson River sloop Clearwater sailed into the creek to the museum fo r the Pumpkin Festival. Clearwater travel s up and down the river every October with a cargo of pumpkins piled on the deck for the valley's children to buy . They make me feel like a kid again , seeing the circus for the first time . The hundredfoot sloop ghosts up to the bulkhead earl y in the morning when the mist is still hovering over the water, and the crew begiris rolling the fat pumpkins into the yard. Then the fire is built for the stone soup cauldron, the banners go up , the booths appear, and two thousand children arrive to sing, dance, clamber all over the boat and the crew, and learn about their river. Who could resist joining a mu seum that is having so much fun ? Then in 1983 South Street Seaport Museum donated the 1898 steam tu g Mathilda to the museum . After sinking at the Museum in 1976, Mathilda had been sitting forlornly out on the end of Pier 92 in the Hudson River. We were in need of a wonderful old steam tu g to make us feel like a real maritime museum , so we lobbied hard and they graciously gave her to us. The negotiations were helped along by that grand gentleman, Mr. James P. McAlli ster, who continues to keep an eye on hi s favorite tug . The use of a McAllister tug and the Witte heavy lift crane Century were donated to effect the move from New York to Rondout. The monster derrick , largest in the Western hemisphere, traveled up the river during the night bearing our Mathilda , rather like Cleopatra cruising up the Nile into Mark 18
Antony's eager embrace . (At least this is the way we saw it. ) Half of Kingston crowded into Rondout for this event , and held its collective breath while the valiant crane crew hoisted our heavy beauty out into a suddenly diminished yard . When everyone started breathing again , a great cheer went up . The cheer was to be repeated agai n when another lovely Matilda (Cuomo) rechristened the tug as an educational display for the people of the State at Rondout Landing's Ded ication Day. The tug is now a neighborhood landmark and symbolizes the museum's very idea of itself: hard working , good looking , built to last---even jaunty. All those positive adjectives apply to the Maritime Center. And positive we are. We have a long way to go, but in five short years we have made progress to be proud of. We have an exhibit hall , archives, boat shop and ri gging loft, a growing collection , a fled gling oral hi story program , a small staff, and enou gh committed volunteers to keep the whole thing afloat. This year we began a special partnership with the City of Kingston to renovate the 191 3 Rondout Lighthouse as a museum . The lighthouse has been leased from the Coast Guard for twenty years and is open to the public on weekends by scheduled boat tours. The future seems bright. Educational programs are in the planning stages , bonds are being forged with other Hudson River groups , and expansion is being di scussed among our growing membership (now over 700 strong). A museum is of course , like any other institution , the sum of the dedicated people who come together with a common goal. More are always welcome--come join us! '1 JOINT MEMBERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
For those who feel a special affi nity for the heritage of the Hudson River, a special joint membership is offered which will give you the benefits of membership in the National Society and membership in the Hudson River Maritime Centerwhich is the keeper of the keys for the Hudson River and other New York State waterways . This combined membership will bring you SEA HISTORY and the ex cellent FOC'SLE NEWS of the HRMC. If you are already a member of the National Society, please send in an extra $ 10 ($ 1S after December 3 1st) , and yo u will be enrolled as a member of HRMC as well. If you are not a member of the National Society , send us a check made out to NMHS- HRMC for $30 ($35 after December 31), and you will be enrolled as a member of both organizations.
MANORS by Dr. Jacob Judd Shortly after the discovery of the Hudson River in 1609 , the Dutch began a regular trade with the Indi ans living in the Hudson Ri ver Valley. Because so many independent traders were active, the Dutch government decided to establish a ¡c ompany with exclusive trading ri ghts to the Hudson Ri ver area . The New Netherland Company came into being with great expectations , but was suppl anted by the more important Dutch West Indi a Company. Primarily concerned with establishing an ongoing fur trade and a naval base from which Dutch vessels could operate, the Company , in 1625-26, made the fatefu l decision to send a small group to establi sh a settlement on Manhattan l s land . It was in the year 1626 that Frederick Philipse , the fou nder of Philipsburg Manor, was born in the small town of Bolswaert in the northern Dutch prov ince of Friesland. In the short space of twenty-five years the tiny settlement grew to a bustling community already exhibiting its famo us cosmopolitan nature . From the outset settlers had come from many regions of Western Europe in the hope of maki ng a better life for themselves in this hamlet by the sea. Thi s was a re lative ly prosperous community whose econo my was based in fi sh , flour and furs. Although people were willing to come o f the ir own accord there were never enough capable bodies available for the many tasks at hand . Perhaps it was the urge to improve hi s condition in life , combined with an adventurous spirit, that drew the yo un g Philipse to New Amsterdam in the 1650s . He came as an employee of the West India Company in the capac ity of a carpenter. A carpenter in those days was a master architect who could plan , prepare and build any type of stru cture. New Amsterdam was a veritab le land of opportunity for any person of ambi tion. Philipse soon began to ri se in importance in thi s environment which sought people with skill s , energy and foresight. He traded on his own acco unt with the Indians for furs and with the Virginia settlements for tobacco . New Amsterdam prospered as a Dutch commercial center in the midst o f English communities to the north and south along the Atlantic seacoast. England had been castin g an anxiotJS eye at this fore ign intruder for a number of years , but internal politica l turmoil prevented her from any further action. After the accession of Charles II in 1660 , the country entered a prosperous period , and the long awaited move against the Dutch colony occurred in 1664. Because the inhabitants felt that EnSEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1985