Hudson River Valley History

As the center of the colonies at the time of the American Revolution, the Hudson River Valley provided a nexus for the conflict and hosted many key figures, battles, and political events throughout the eight years of war.

Regiments from the Hudson River Valley participated in most of the major campaigns of the war, both in the Eastern and Western Theatres, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorseville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Appomattox, the battles for Atlanta, Sherman's March to the Sea, and Bentonville, among many others.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were long-time Hudson River Valley residents, with the Roosevelt Estate in Hyde Park always acting as a return destination, and eventually a final resting place.

The Hudson River has served as a corridor of commerce for as long as humans have lived along its banks. From prehistoric times to the present, people and good have traveled on the water, the shores, and in the skies above.

Environmental aspects of the Hudson River Valley are complex and numerous. We are working with associates and Marist College students to create interesting and useful materials for students, educators, and enthusiasts.

This region was a river valley long before the river was named for Henry Hudson. At the time of contact with European explorers and colonists, the Mohicans who lived in the region referred to it as the Mahicannituk, often translated as “the river that flows both ways,” or “the waters that are never still.”

In 2002, the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission planned and developed the 400th anniversary celebrations of the voyages of discovery made by Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, as well as 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton's steamship voyage along the Hudson River.