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Work Begins on the D&H Canal 1825
Prior to 1825, much of the produce raised by Kingston's farmers was hauled a mile south to the Rondout Creek. There, Abraham Hasbrouck stored the goods in a warehouse. Once a week, he loaded a river sloop and made a trip down the river to New York City. In 1825, new faces from other parts of the state appeared at the Rondout landing. There was going to be a new canal and the coal, newly discovered in Pennsylvania and destined to heat the homes and businesses in New York City and other eastern points, would be coming out to the Hudson through the Rondout Creek. Sloops, Canal Boats, and Steamboats Hasbrouck's sloops kept running for many years, even as the creek filled up with coal-laden canal boats and later passenger steamboats, including such famous pliers of the Hudson as the Thomas Cornell and the Mary Powell . The landing itself quickly became a village named Rondout. Besides the coal hauling industry (eventually dominated by Thomas Cornell's company), Rondout and Kingston became the center of a building materials industry: natural cement (used in building the Brooklyn Bridge), bluestone slate (used in New York City's curbstones and sidewalks), and bricks made from Hudson River clay. In 1872, the thriving village of Rondout combined with the considerably more staid village of Kingston into the City of Kingston...and the new City Hall was built on the main road that connected them. The Historic Districts Today, the remaining part of the village of Rondout is an historic district and part of Kingston's Heritage Area . On the hill overlooking Rondout, many of the village's more affluent citizens built imposing homes on Chestnut Street , site of another historic district. Rondout restaurant owners and shopkeepers have revived the downtown area, where the Hudson River Maritime Museum , the Trolley Museum of New York , and seasonal festivals attract thousands of visitors. For additional information on the D&H canal please visit the National Park Services website. |