Program Description: Join our tenacious History Room researcher John Craig and Former Mayor Richard F. Tracy on the library’s first annual Hudson History Bus Tour for the lowdown on the REAL Hudson History! The tour begins and ends at Hudson Brewing Company (99 South 3rd Street) and winds its way through the streets of our beloved city stopping to discuss historic buildings, people, scandals and moments in history!
The tour is a fundraiser for the History Room and ticket prices will support the preservation, archiving, and digitizing of items in the library’s special collections pertaining to the history of the City of Hudson, Greenport and Stockport.
Date/Time: Sunday, June 9, 1-4pm.
Registration/Tickets: Tickets are $60 and seating is limited. UPDATE: As of 5/29 all seats have been reserved. If you would like to be added to the waitlist for this event or added to an email list to hear about future bus tours, please contact programs@hudsonarealibrary.org.
“Hudson is hot now but in many ways, it has been a fascinating place for more than two centuries,” said Hudson native and library board member Gary Sheffer, “There have always been people who saw Hudson’s beauty, its gritty and friendly nature, and its potential. The history of the city has ups and downs and unexpected outcomes, and our tour will bring it all to life with narration from experts who know its amazing story.”
Leading the tour is inimitable library History Room researcher John Craig (a Hudson fixture and according to the Gossips of Rivertown: “a tenacious researcher”). He will be accompanied by former Hudson Mayor Richard F. Tracy, who will also drive the tour bus. These two gentlemen will regale tour-goers with the real history of Hudson, the oldest city in the United States.
Established by whalers and merchants from Nantucket and New Bedford, Hudson has had many incarnations: as a safe harbor for maritime commerce, an industrial city with foundries, mills, cement plants, and factories; and then as a city valuing its history and historic architecture attracting retailers, writers, and other artists to the city. Hudson today is a city of many communities with economic, cultural, and racial diversity, that are debating through democratic means how the city should be defined, how it can best take care of its residents, and how it can thrive in its next iteration today and in the future.
Brenda Shufelt, the library’s program director said, “From my experience at the Hudson Area Library, especially in planning our History Room talks and exhibitions, locals, new residents, and visitors love the history of Hudson. It seems everyone who has a connection to Hudson values its amazing, colorful, and rich history. All are welcome on this tour, which will prove to be informative and entertaining!”
The Hudson Area Library History Room houses a special collection that pertains to the history of the City of Hudson, Greenport, and Stockport; as well as Columbia County and New York State. The History Room also hosts the Local History Speaker Series at the library, offering free monthly talks on diverse topics related to the history of Hudson, Greenport, Stockport, and Columbia County.
The History Room hours are Tuesdays 4 – 6pm and Saturdays 10am – 12pm, during which people can visit and browse the extensive collection of city directories, yearbooks and local history books; and research items in the archival collection. The public can also request information on local history that volunteers will research. Appointments outside of regular hours are available upon request. For more information email reference@hudsonarealibrary.org, call 518.828.1792 x100, or visit the main desk in the library.