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History + Culture

As the first woman state paleontologist in the country, Winifred Goldring changed the way New York thought about its natural...

How the Mid-Hudson Bridge Was Almost Too Hard to Build

A Mid-Hudson Bridge was desperately needed, even begged for, in...

How the Century-Old Bear Mountain Bridge Changed the Valley Forever

The opening of Bear Mountain State Park in 1913 flung...

Not a Castle, Never a Mansion: Bannerman Island’s Surprising Past

Among the natural wonders of the Hudson Highlands is a...

Savor the History of Las Villas, the Latin Catskills

Growing up around his parents’ business, Ishmael Martinez, Jr., would spend his summers mowing lawns...

The Valley’s World-Beating Natural Cement Industry

Along with brick-making and ice harvesting, the manufacturing of natural cement earned the region national renown in the...

Appreciating the Indigenous Roots of Kayaking

Carbon fiber and neoprone — kayaking can feel like a slick modern sport that requires pricey,...

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Not a Castle, Never a Mansion: Bannerman Island’s Surprising Past

Among the natural wonders of the Hudson Highlands is a man-made curiosity that speaks of wealth and power from an...

The Valley’s World-Beating Natural Cement Industry

Along with brick-making and ice harvesting, the manufacturing of natural cement earned the region national renown in the 19th century. It also helped fuel...

How Irish Immigrants Helped Build the Hudson Valley

Thousands are expected to line the streets of Pearl River, N.Y., this year to watch the 62nd annual Rockland County...
Summer view of a sailboat on the Hudson River. Photo by Seth Martel.

Sloops: the Special Boats That Transformed the Hudson

The Hudson River has provided a way of getting from here to there since humans first appeared in the region....

Hats Off to Beacon

From the mid-19th century to the 1930s, few people would think of leaving home without putting on a hat. With all...

How Valley Milk Helped Win the Civil War

Before the mid-1850s, Hudson Valley farms kept a cow or two to supply the family’s dairy needs. It took a...

The Glory Days of Hudson Valley Ice Harvesting

Block ice was once a can’t-live-without-it piece of American culture. For about a century beginning in the 1830s, keeping food...

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Appreciating the Indigenous Roots of Kayaking

Carbon fiber and neoprone — kayaking can feel like a slick modern sport that requires pricey, cutting-edge equipment. The truth is...

The Longtime Wonders of the Freshly Appreciated Pawpaw Fruit

Even though it’s native to North America, pawpaw is a delicious fruit that manages not to be widely known among...

Valley Corn’s Sweet Roots

Few things offer the sweetness of a Hudson Valley summer more than biting into an ear of local corn. By...

Take a Fresh Taste of Hominy, Corn Processed the Brilliant Indigenous Way

Even many foodies might believe hominy is an exclusively Mexican menu item. Not a chance. In reality, it’s a traditional...

Connecting With the Valley’s Indigenous-Spirited Ceremonial Stone Landscapes

Rocks possess a spirit, an energy that draws people. They are sacred beings … and they carry the weight of...

Get Inspired at These Five Indigenous History Sites

Not long after the last glacier receded from the Hudson Valley 10,000 years ago, the region’s wildlife-filled forests, rich soils,...

Who Built Those Stone Walls in the Middle of the Woods?

Walk through many forests in the mid- and lower Hudson Valley — including those at Scenic Hudson’s Shaupeneak Ridge, Esopus...

Explore More: The Hudson Valley’s Indigenous Heritage

The region we call the Hudson Valley has a deep Indigenous heritage. Early Native American inhabitants of the valley  —...

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How Winifred Goldring Revealed More of New York’s Natural History

As the first woman state paleontologist in the country, Winifred Goldring changed the way New York thought about its natural...
Eleanor Roosevelt walking outside with a group of women

How Eleanor Roosevelt Championed the Planet

“Conservation of land and conservation of people frequently go hand in hand.” — Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt is rightfully lionized...

Five More Hudson Valley Claims to Fame

When it comes to superlatives, the Hudson Valley definitely holds its own. Here are five more sites that rank supreme...

How a Pioneering Woman Aeronaut Shattered Limits From the Hudson Valley

A race in the clouds on the Fourth of July, with one hot air balloon piloted by a woman! That’s...

Get Inspired by Three of the Valley’s Revolutionary War Women

As thousands of men went off to fight in the American Revolution, many women kept the home fires burning — which...
Madam C.J. Walker drives three friends in an early automobile, 1911.

How Madam C.J. Walker Made It (and Shared It)

She built one of the most striking homes on the Hudson River — and the nation’s first female self-made millionaire...

Appreciating Edna St. Vincent Millay at the Literary Legend’s Valley Home

Described by one writer as the “Bob Dylan and Madonna of her generation,” poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was...

Pioneering Female Astronomer’s Legacy Lives On

From the beginning, stargazing has been part of the curriculum at Poughkeepsie’s Vassar College. That’s because Maria Mitchell — America’s...

Seven Women Who Improved Life Here

They fought for working women’s rights, advocated for vulnerable children, even rescued drowning sailors. And of course, they called for...

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