Hudson Valley

Hudson Valley Portal

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The Hudson River watershed, showing the Hudson Valley watershed

The Hudson Valley refers to the canyon of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, generally from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy. Historically a cradle of European settlement in the northeastern United States and a strategic battleground in colonial wars, it now consists of suburbs of the metropolitan area of New York City at its southern end, shading into rural territory, including "exurbs," farther north. Geographically, the Hudson Valley could refer to all areas along the Hudson River, including Bergen County, New Jersey. However, this definition is not commonly used and the Tappan Zee Bridge is often considered the southern limit of the area. Though Westchester County is often classified as part of the region, Westchester residents who live at the southern end of the county (and especially the locations closer to the Long Island Sound than the Hudson River) generally do not associate themselves with the region.

The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami, Muhheakantuck, Θkahnéhtati in Tuscarora), is a river that runs through the eastern portion of New York State and, along its southern terminus, demarcates the border between the states of New York and New Jersey. It is named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609. The Hudson River was originally named the Mauritius River, which is claimed to be the name given by Hudson in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau.

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The Dutch Reformed Church is one of the most prominent architectural landmarks in Newburgh, New York. It was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1835 in the Greek Revival style common in America in that time period. It is his only surviving church in that style and is considered to be his latest building still standing that largely reflects his original vision. It is located at 132 Grand Street, just north of the Newburgh Free Library. Its historical importance comes from not just over a century of use as church, but its centrality in the struggle by modern preservationists to save and restore the city's many landmark buildings. Today it is a National Historic Landmark. It was almost razed in the late 1960s, and even today is far from completely restored. The church is 50 feet (15 m) wide and high, and 100 feet (30.5 m) long. The four front Ionic order columns are 37 feet (12 m) high (the capitals have been removed for safety considerations at the moment). It sits on a bluff 250 feet (76 m) above the Hudson River, a few blocks away. The southward orientation of the columns and facade, the direction in which most shipping approached the city, was meant to echo the similar marine outreach of the Parthenon or the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion in Greece. While the church had the neighborhood of Grand Avenue and Third Street to itself at the time of its construction, today it has become rather crowded.

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Eastbound view along NY 312 just north of its western terminus at US 6 in Southeast More selected pictures...

Did you know?

... that Richard Upjohn's Gothic alterations to the Mandeville House, the oldest in Garrison, New York, were removed by a later owner?
... that Sprout Creek, whose subwatershed covers 29,342 acres of land, is the largest tributary of the Fishkill Creek?
... that Charles Scribner II's country house in Cornwall, New York, combined a Shingle Style exterior with a Colonial Revival interior?

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York – April 12, 1945) (ˈfɹæŋklɪn ˈdɛlənoʊ ˈɹoʊzvɛlt), often referred to by his initials FDR, was the thirty-second President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945 and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. He was a central figure of the 20th century during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Roosevelt created the New Deal to provide relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of the economic and banking systems. Although recovery of the economy was incomplete until almost 1940, the programs he initiated such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continue to have instrumental roles in the nation's commerce. One of his most important legacies is the Social Security system.