Helen Rogers’ diary records the daily life of Cold Spring Harbor in the mid-19th century, including the activity of the Cold Spring Whaling Company and the town’s transition from a whaling port to a resort town. Helen Rogers (1828-1874) would have been between 16 to 17 years old when she started keeping this record. Also included in her papers are two notes and four almanacs.
Cold Spring Harbor has a long history as a working town. In 1836 the Cold Spring Whaling Company was launched by local entrepreneurs John H. Jones, Walter R. Jones, and thirty-three local investors. After the collapse of regional whaling, Cold Spring Harbor became a popular destination. From the 1880s and into the 1900s, steamers visiting from New York City brought day-trippers looking for a bucolic picnic setting. Hotels, bakeries, restaurants, and fashionable shops emerged to cater to this population.
1936 was the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Cold Spring Whaling Company which inspired the creation of two organizations, the Society for the Preservation of Cold Spring Harbor’s History and the Whaling Museum Society. The Whaling Museum was founded as the Whaling Museum Society in 1936. The Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum opened to the public in 1943.
