The Cornell Steamboat Company

The Cornell Steamboat Company. . , Thomas Cornell came to the Rondout and began shipping with a sloop in 1837. His first cargoes were coal from the D&H Canal. Steam came to dominate freight transport as it had already taken over passenger transport. Cornell's business grew as more coal and other products such as wood, stone, plaster, tanning bark, animal hides, millstones, glass, charcoal, lead, and stoneware were brought to the Rondout to be shipped by steam towboats and barges. , Rondout became the main port between Albany and New York with coal the leading product being shipped. Despite the competition of at least ten steamboats, Cornell continued and eventually prevailed against competitors in towing freight, while giving up passenger service, except for the ferry service between Rhinecliff and Kingston Point, which he soon moved into the Rondout. , After the 1830s, there was great demand in the New York metropolitan area for coal from the D&H Canal for fuel, common brick from the many brickyards lining the Hudson to build houses and factories, Ulster County bluestone for sidewalks and curbing, Rosendale cement to build buildings and bridges (1880s), grain from the Midwest via the Erie Canal for food, as well as hay for the thousands of horses on the city streets. Later natural ice became a major cargo, as well. All, except for perishable food products which traveled by steamboat, were towed in barges or scows. , Thomas Cornell and his son-in-law S.D. Coykendall pursued the opportunities in a highly competitive business with enterprise and vigor. This resulted in a virtual monopoly of towing on the Hudson River which included buying out smaller firms or driving them out of business. At its peak, the Cornell Steamboat Company owned more than sixty towing vessels and was the largest towing company in the nation. , 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 ) , , Cornell tugs in front of company workshops, c. 1940s. Cornell had a fleet of up to 62 tugs at one time. These are some of the larger ones. From the Hudson River Maritime Museum archives. , , The Cornell Steamboat Company building located at the foot of Broadway on the Rondout Creek, c. 1900. Other businesses of Cornell like the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, and company lawyers also had offices there. From the Hudson River Maritime Museum archives.