Art, obsession, and identity
The Hudson River is one of the most famous rivers in the United States. First explored by Europeans in the early 17th century, the river later became synonymous with conflict and trade. Throughout its history, the Hudson has been party to incredible feats of civil engineering and pioneering human endeavor. But it's also been the scene of human tragedy, as the recent helicopter crash in which six people died sadly illustrates.
Exploring this iconic waterway is to take a voyage through American history. So, are you ready to navigate its meandering course? Click through the following gallery and embark on a journey of discovery.
On April 10, 2025, a helicopter on a sightseeing tour crashed into the Hudson River near Newport, Jersey City. All six onboard—a family of five and the pilot—were killed. The river has witnessed triumph and tragedy throughout its long history, but this accident was especially appalling given the fact that three young children were among the dead.
The iconic Hudson River is one of the most important rivers in the Unites States. It runs for 315 miles (507 km) through much of eastern New York state.
The Hudson originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York at Lake Tear of the Clouds, one of several postglacial lakes sunk into verdant forest near Mount Marcy.
The river is named for Henry Hudson, an English explorer and navigator who explored the waterway in 1609.
Hudson had landed in North America that year on behalf of the Dutch East India company, ostensibly to discover a northern sea lane to Asia that eventually became known as the Northwest Passage.
Before Hudson and the arrival of Europeans, however, the area around the river was home to Indigenous peoples who used it as a source of food and as a major waterway.
The Lenape, Wappinger, and Mahican branches of the Algonquians lived along the river. The river was known to the Mohican Indians as Muhheakunnuk, or the "Great Waters Constantly in Motion."
The first known European name for the river was the Rio San António, as named by a 16th-century Portuguese explorer in Spain's employ, Estêvão Gomes. Later, the Dutch generally termed the river the Noortrivier, or "North River." The first use of the name Hudson River on a map was in 1740, on a chart created by the cartographer John Carwitham.
In 1610, Henry Hudson explored the sea channel linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea, later named the Hudson Strait. During the summer of that year, Hudson also voyaged across a bay English explorers and colonists eventually named Hudson Bay.
After surveying the bay, Hudson, at the helm of Discovery, continued his search for a sea lane to Asia. However, most of the members of his crew expressed a desire to return home. Matters came to a head in June 1611, when much of the ship's company mutinied. Hudson, his son, and loyal crew were set adrift. They were never seen again.
Dutch settlement of the Hudson Valley began in 1629, with the region near Tarrytown especially attractive.
The Dutch West India Company operated a monopoly on the region for two decades, operating out of three major outposts: New Amsterdam, Wiltwyck, and Fort Orange. In 1647, the company's director-general, Peter Stuyvesant, took over management of the New Netherland colony. Stuyvesant subsequently became a major figure in the history of New York City.
The conquest by the English of New Netherland and the fall of New Amsterdam in 1664 saw the Hudson Valley colonized by the British. The region became a fertile agricultural hub.
The Hudson River proved a strategic waterway during the American Revolution. It was the scene of numerous battles and campaigns, including the decisive American victory over British forces that led to the surrender of General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777.
Well-known names associated with the conflict and the Hudson River region during this period include Benedict Arnold (pictured), the American military commander of forts in the Tappan Zee area, who escaped to a British ship anchored near the village of Garrison after his discovery as a traitor, and George Washington, who made his headquarters at Newburgh, along the river's west bank, in 1782.
The 19th century saw the opening of three canals that linked the river with the Great Lakes and the Delaware and lower St. Lawrence rivers. The most significant of these was the Erie Canal. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.
The development by American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton of the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the North River, marked the beginning of practical steam navigation. In 1807, North River traveled on the Hudson River with passengers from New York City to Albany and back again. The success of Fulton's steamboat changed river traffic and trade on the Hudson and other major American rivers.
During the Industrial Revolution, the Hudson Valley proved attractive to railroad companies. The first railroad in New York, the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, opened in 1831 between Albany and Schenectady on the Mohawk River.
The mid-19th century saw the establishment of the Hudson River School, an American art movement founded by Thomas Cole. Widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter, Cole and other exponents of the movement drew on the scenic river for inspiration, their paintings typically depicting the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, including the Catskills, Adirondack, and White Mountains.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the railroads prompted the construction of several bridges across the Hudson. When the Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in 1889, it became the longest single-span bridge in the world. Today it's pedestrianized and known as the Walkway Over the Hudson.
In 1910, American aviation and motorcycle pioneer Glenn Curtiss flew his plane for five hours from a field near Albany to Governor's Island just south of Manhattan, flying over the Hudson River for most of his flight. In doing so, he broke the American distance record, having flown 152 miles (244 km).
Until the first decade of the 20th century, passage across the lower Hudson River was possible only by ferry. That all changed in November 1927 with the opening of the Holland Tunnel.
Named for Clifford Milburn Holland, the tunnel's first chief engineer, the subterranean underpass represented a remarkable feat of civil engineering. At the time of its inauguration, it was the longest continuous underwater tunnel for vehicular traffic in the world.
Four years later in 1931, the upper level of the George Washington Bridge opened (the lower level was added in the 1960s). Spanning the Hudson between New York and New Jersey, the George Washington Bridge is today the busiest bridge in the world.
The 1930s also saw the completion of the center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel linking New Jersey with Midtown Manhattan. This picture was taken as one of the first cars to test the runway passed through in December 1937.
In 2004, clean water advocate Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River. The swim took 36 days to complete, along the waterway's entire course from the Adirondacks to New York City. He undertook the grueling challenge to raise awareness of the need to make the river safe for drinking and swimming.
On January 15, 2009, the Hudson River witnessed one of the most dramatic episodes in its long history when US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency ditching onto the water beside Manhattan. All 150 passengers and five crew members survived the ordeal.
New Yorkers were amazed to see a humpback whale swimming in the Hudson River in 2016. The mighty cetacean was spotted frolicking in the water west of 63rd Street in Manhattan. Whales have become a more common site in the river lately thanks to concerted cleanup efforts by conservationists.
Areas of the river afforded landmark and protection status include the Palisades, a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson. This natural wonder ranks among the most dramatic geologic features in the vicinity of New York City.
The Hudson River itself was designated as an American Heritage River by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1997.
Sources: (Hudson River Maritime Museum) (Britannica) (Hudson River Valley Institute) (CNN) (World Record Academy) (The New York Times)
See also: Cities that are halved by rivers
A voyage through the history of the Hudson River
Exploring one of America's most iconic waterways
LIFESTYLE History
The Hudson River is one of the most famous rivers in the United States. First explored by Europeans in the early 17th century, the river later became synonymous with conflict and trade. Throughout its history, the Hudson has been party to incredible feats of civil engineering and pioneering human endeavor. But it's also been the scene of human tragedy, as the recent helicopter crash in which six people died sadly illustrates.
Exploring this iconic waterway is to take a voyage through American history. So, are you ready to navigate its meandering course? Click through the following gallery and embark on a journey of discovery.