Rondout-Sleighsburg Ferry: Riverside, a.k.a. Skillypot

Rondout-Sleighsburg Ferry: Riverside, a.k.a. Skillypot. . , In the days before the Rondout Creek bridges, people crossed the creek by ferry. , , First, a wooden scow which was sculled or rowed across the creek was used for many years. , Then a steam-driven chain ferry, John P. Sleight, was used from 1855 to 1870. After being wrecked in a spring freshet, the Sleight was replaced by the Riverside in 1870. , The nickname Skillypot, a version of the Dutch word for tortoise, was given to the chain ferries because of their slow speed. , The Skillypot's slip was located here on the property that is now the Hudson River Maritime Museum. The ferry crossed directly to Sleightsburg meeting the bottom of the road we can still see today from the museum. , In 1921, the new suspension bridge to Port Ewen opened and put the Skillypot out of business. However, for residents of Sleightsburg, especially those without a car, it was quite out of the way to cross the new bridge to get to downtown Rondout to shop, so enterprising local citizens with rowboats took people across for a nominal fee. , Funding for this sign was provide by a grant from the Hudson River Estuary Program, part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. For more information, visit www.dec.ny.gov , Text and images for this sign were provided by the Hudson River Maritime Museum of Kingston, New York. For more information, visit www.hmm.org , The City of Kingston supports the creation and use of these interpretive panels on public and private property for the public good. Visit www.kingston-ny.gov , ( photo captions ) , , Ferry Riverside leaving Sleightsburg, c. 1900. Notice the boatyard to left in the background where barges were built and other vessels repaired. A small building labeled "Meat Market" flanked the ferry slip. From the Hudson River Maritime Museum archives. , , The ferry Riverside or Skillypot leaving Rondout for Sleightsburg. The chain ferry's slip was located at the foot of Hasbrouck Avenue, a spot now part of the Hudson River Maritime's Museum's property. None of the bulldings in the picture still stand; all were taken down during Urban Renewal In the late 1960s. The wooden coal storage building at right was located where the Maritime Museum is today. From the Hudson River Maritime Museum archives.