The Hudson River was named for English
sailor Henry Hudson who traveled the river in 1609. Made official in 1664, the naming was an attempt by England to justify its takeover of the region. But of course the
area already had a name: Mahicanuck, a Mohican word loosely translated to "river that flows two ways."
The Hudson runs from the Adirondacks
to the Atlantic Ocean. In geologic terms it’s a “drowned river” in which
rising sea levels after glacier retreat filled the coastal plain and brought
salt water further up the river. The
fresh and salted water mixes in the stretches around Poughkeepsie and Newburgh,
depending on the season and weather patterns.
Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, the nation’s first publicly-operated historic site, overlooks the Hudson. Its Hasbrouck House
served as George Washington’s headquarters during part of the Revolutionary
War. The site was chosen for its safe location and proximity to West Point. It
was in Newburgh in 1783 that Washington issued his Proclamation of Peace,
ending the Revolutionary War.
Hudson River: www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4923.html
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