Hudson, towns, United States

Hudson.

1 Industrial town (1990 pop. 17,233), Middlesex co., E central Mass., on the Assabet River, in an apple-growing region; settled c.1699, inc. 1866. Manufactures include communications equipment, locks, chemicals, plastics, electronic and metal products, and semiconductors.

2 City (1990 pop. 19,530), Hillsborough co., S N.H., on the Merrimack River opposite Nashua; est. 1673 as part of Dunstable, Mass., included in New Hampshire as Nottingham West in 1746; name changed to Hudson in 1830. There are various industries, such as apparel and textiles, sheet-metal fabrication, and printing; however, the city's growth mainly is due to the establishment of high-technology computer industries and added housing developments in the area.

3 City (1990 pop. 8,034), seat of Columbia co., SE N.Y. on the Hudson River; settled c.1622 by the Dutch and later in 1783 by English whalers; inc. 1785. The city was a whaling and trading port until 1812. Its industries included textiles, furniture, cement, and metal products, but these are now largely gone; Hudson has become an antiques center. Many colonial and Revolutionary era homes are in the area.

Hudson, river, United States

Hudson, river, c.315 mi (510 km) long, rising in Lake Tear of the Clouds, on Mt. Marcy in the Adirondack Mts., NE N.Y., and flowing generally S to Upper New York Bay at New York City; the Mohawk River is its chief tributary. The Hudson is navigable by ocean vessels to Albany and by smaller vessels to Troy; leisure boats and self-propelled barges use the canalized section between Troy and Fort Edward, the head of navigation. Divisions of the New York State Canal System New York State Canal System, waterway system, 524 mi (843 km) long, traversing New York state and connecting the Great Lakes with the Finger Lakes, the Hudson River, and Lake Champlain.
..... Click the link for more information. connect the Hudson with the Great Lakes and with Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River.

The Hudson is tidal to Troy (c.150 mi/240 km upstream); this section is considered to be an estuary. The upper course of the river has many waterfalls and rapids. The middle course, between Albany and Newburgh, is noted for the Catskill and Shawangunk mts. on the west and by the large estates (the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park is the most famous) on the east bank. From Newburgh to Peekskill the river crosses the mountainous and forested Hudson Highlands in a deep, scenic gorge. The United States Military Academy at West Point overlooks the river there, and Bear Mt. Bridge spans this section. Near Tarrytown the river widens to form Tappan Zee, which is crossed by the Tappan Zee Bridge; from there to its mouth the Hudson is flanked on the west by the sheer cliffs of the Palisades Palisades Interstate Parks (c.81,000 acres/32,800 hectares), a chain of hilly, wooded recreational areas lying along the west bank of the Hudson between Fort Lee, N.J., and Bear Mt., N.Y. There are scenic roads, trails for hikers, campgrounds, and facilities for winter and summer sports.
..... Click the link for more information. . At the mouth are the ports of New York and New Jersey. The Hudson forms part of the New York–New Jersey border, and the two states are linked by the George Washington Bridge, the Holland and Lincoln vehicular tunnels, and railway tubes.

First sighted by Verrazano Verrazano, Giovanni da (jōvän`nē dä vĕr'rätsä`nō; vĕr'əzä`nō), c.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1524, the river was explored by Henry Hudson Hudson, Henry, fl. 1607–11, English navigator and explorer. He was hired (1607) by the English Muscovy Company to find the Northeast Passage to Asia. He failed, and another attempt (1608) to find a new route was also fruitless.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1609. It was a major route for Native Americans and later for the Dutch and English traders and settlers. During the American Revolution both sides fought for control of the Hudson; many battles were fought along its banks. In 1825 the Erie Canal Erie Canal, artificial waterway, c.360 mi (580 km) long; connecting New York City with the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. Locks were built to overcome the 571-ft (174-m) difference between the level of the river and that of Lake Erie.
..... Click the link for more information. (now part of the state canal system) linked the river with the Great Lakes, providing the first all-water trans-Appalachian route. Many industries are located on the Hudson's banks, and pollution by raw sewage and industrial wastes became a serious problem in the 1900s; antipollution legislation passed in 1965 has sought to protect the river from further contamination. Although pollution continued throughout the 1970s and 80s, the state and municipal governments in addition to environmental groups have contributed a significant clean-up effort, complete with antipollution regulation. The Hudson is featured in the legend of Rip Van Winkle and other stories of Washington Irving Irving, Washington, 1783–1859, American author and diplomat, b. New York City. Irving was one of the first Americans to be recognized abroad as a man of letters, and he was a literary idol at home.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See R. Van Zandt, comp., Chronicles of the Hudson (1971); A. R. Talbot, Power along the Hudson (1972); A. G. Adams, The Hudson Through the Years (1983).

Hudson

1. Henry. died 1611, English navigator: he explored the Hudson River (1609) and Hudson Bay (1610), where his crew mutinied and cast him adrift to die