This selection of prints represents the golden age of ship construction on the Rondout. Following the opening of the Delaware and Hudson Canal in 1828 the community at Rondout, also historically known as Kingston Landing, experienced rapid growth and diversification as new businesses took advantage of shipping and transportation opportunities. Ship construction became a mainstay industry, and specialty vessels of all sorts were constructed and sailed by local firms throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries. These specific images testify to some of the variety and scale of shipbuilding in the years between World War I and World War II.
The images that comprise this collection were previously in the care of the Greene County Historical Society but were transferred to the care of the Ulster County Archives after an evaluation determined they were of minimal reference value to the original collecting institution. This donation was accomplished in the Winter of 2024.
