Women and Whaling in Hudson: A Docent-Led House History Tour & Panel Discussion

WHAT:                A Docent-Led House History Tour & Panel Discussion

LOCATION:       Historic Robert Jenkins House, 113 Warren Street, Hudson

WHEN:                Saturday, April 26, 2025 & May 31, 2025 

                              Docent-Led House Tour, 1:00pm & 2:00pm

                              Public Discussion Panel, 3:00pm

TICKETS:           Free, RSVP recommended, phone: 518 828 9764

Women and Whaling in Hudson 

Three Columbia County organizations, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Hudson Area Library, and the Columbia County Historical Society, are working collaboratively to address a ground-breaking, first-time-ever project on whaling. Without whaling, there would be no “Hudson Miracle” that began in 1783 with Nantucket merchants and whalers. This story covers the peak era of Hudson’s whaling—1783-1829 and more. The story needs to be told and shared with the Hudson community. Few are familiar with this “Hudson Miracle.” Women’s roles during whaling have not been explored. How women lived, adapted, survived, and thrived in this era will be brought to life at the country’s 250^th birthday.

Historic Robert Jenkins House History Tour:

Saturday, April 26 & Saturday, May 31, 1:00pm & 2:00pm, free

Each tour features the Historic Robert Jenkins House, built by Robert Jenkins in 1811. Jenkins was the son of a Proprietor and twice a Hudson Mayor. The Chapter’s extensive historic collections and items reflecting women’s endeavors and their households are included in the tour. This tour provides reflection on women during this exceptional era.

Panel Discussion:

Saturday, April 26 and Saturday, May 31 at 3:00pm, free

Women and Whaling in Hudson will examine, provide civic dialogue about, and describe the lives of women in this dynamic time. In 1783 Hudson was radically altered. The Treaty of Paris was about to be signed. Seeking a deep-water harbor away from harassing British, a group of 33 entrepreneurial Nantucket Quaker businessmen, “Proprietors,” led by brothers Seth and Thomas Jenkins, sailed up the Hudson River. They bought land at Claverack Landing from the Dutch owners. Many were Revolutionary War veterans. Their families followed. By 1785, Hudson, as incorporated and renamed, went from 150 to 1,500 residents. It was the first chartered city in the U.S., the first planned American city based on a modern grid, and on its way to becoming a booming shipping and whaling seaport. Hudson grew rapidly. It was nearly named the state capital and for years was a Port of Entry. A new city in a new country, it entertained leaders like Jefferson, Madison, Jay, and the Marquis de Lafayette.

But how did women adapt as they moved into this radical new era? The Dutch inhabitants went from living in a quiet farming community to living in a city with several wharves, 25 sailing ships, four warehouses, a ropewalk, spermaceti-works, whale oil processing and candle-making, 150 dwellings, shops, churches, and barns, a noted distillery, and fifteen hundred souls. The immigrants from Nantucket went from living on a small island in the Atlantic to living in a brand-new river town 120 miles removed from the ocean.

In addition to collaborators Hudson Area Library and Columbia County Historical Society, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter thanks the humanities council Humanities New York, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The chapter is also very grateful to its board, volunteers and staff and its many private, corporate and foundation supporters.

More Women and Whaling continues in the summer and fall of 2025. See hudson-dar.org/2025/03/22/women-and-whaling-in-hudson/.

Logo designed by artist, graphic designer and co-owner of Spotty Dog Books & Ale, Alan Coon.