The Sissman Chronicle: Kendal Neighborhood Names
About a month or two ago, I wrote a short essay for this Website about how we came to be named Kendal. Now I will follow up with some comments on the names of our 4 buildings. They were assigned by Gay Berger, the “leader” of the small group of Westchester seniors who conceived the idea of a CCRC here and worked hard for many years to make it a reality. She chose the names of 4 19th century Hudson River steamboats, perhaps to emphasize the connection of our institution with its local environment. (in fact, all the names at Kendal refer to local places, with the exception of Adirondack).
The most historically important steamship was the Clermont. It was the first steamboat ever constructed. Its inventor and builder was Robert Fulton (1765-1815). The ship was named after the Columbia County estate of the man who financed Fulton’s project, Robert Livingston (1746-1813). Livingston had achieved some widespread recognition as one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, but he retired from politics to become a successful businessman.
The word Clermont can be roughly translated as French for “clear mountain.” When word of Fulton’s intentions circulated, most were highly skeptical that it could be done, and called it “Fulton’s Folly.” These voices were abruptly silenced on August 17, 1807, when the Clermont sailed from New York City to Albany on a 32-hour trip and returned the following day. Thus, the Clermont inaugurated the century-long era of Hudson River Steamboat pleasure cruises.
The Clermont under steam
The Mary Powell, named after the wife of a Newburgh owner of several steamboats, Thomas Powell, was built in 1861. Because it was the speediest ship on the river and one of the most lavishly appointed, it became known as the “Queen of the Hudson.”
The Mary Powell gliding along the Hudson
The Alida, an earlier ship, dating from 1847, was also a fast ship. I could not find an explanation of the origin of its name. The “Alida,” launched April 16, 1847, 265 feet in length, was built as a dayboat for the Hudson river traffic, making regular round trips between New York and Albany. With a speed of over 20 miles an hour, her best time was made on May 6, 1848, when a trip including 7 landings was made in 8 hours and 18 minutes.
The Alida, making daily round trips between New York and Albany.
Robert Fulton was, of course the inventor of the steamboat, but it was also the name of 1 of them, built in 1909. Built in Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Co. for Hudson River Day Line, she operated from 1909-1954. In 1956, she was sold for conversion to a community center in the Bahamas.
The speedy Robert Fulton
Steamboat Travel
The steamboats were lavishly furnished, particularly in their dining rooms. These featured crystalline chandeliers, the finest china, cutlery and linens, and desirable menus. The ships stopped at many towns lining the river’s shores. They were mostly safe, although occasionally captains raced other ships, sometimes leading to boiler explosions and sometimes running aground! One feature of the early ships that is not often depicted in illustrations was that the early fuel was wood, causing black plumes of smoke to belch from the ship’s smokestacks.
Taking a river cruise was enormously popular in the 19th century. Over 60 ships were built to accommodate the crowds. One historian estimated that in 1851 almost a million people took a trip. Residents of New York City were eager to escape the un-airconditioned heat and miasma of the urban summer. Visitors considered no stay in the city complete without a river cruise. The early price of the trips was 1 dollar for every 20 miles traveled; meals were 50 cents. The ships stopped at many of the towns along the river. One particularly common destination was Haverstraw, from which it was a short carriage ride to the beauties and pleasures of Bear Mountain State Park. The development of the railroads and, most importantly, the availability of automobiles ended the steamboat era.
Lastly, most of you have noticed that models of the Mary Powell and the Clermont are on display in the first-floor lobbies of their respective buildings. These were built by a founding resident, Ariel Verdesi. He used no kits or preformed parts; he studied drawings and some reproduced plans for the ships and constructed his detailed to-scale models. I consider them among the finest examples of model building I have ever seen.
Norman J. Sissman