The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism . Early on, the paintings typically depicted the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, including the Catskill , Adirondack , and White Mountains .
55-554: Kinderhook (Ichabod Crane) Central School District is located in between the Catskill and Berkshire mountains and serves a population of 8,296 residents in northern Columbia and southern Rensselaer counties in New York . The district is in a rural setting 26 miles southeast of New York's capital, Albany , 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Hudson , and 120 miles north of New York City . The Ichabod Crane Central School District
110-563: A local band of northern Lenape Native Americans who inhabited the banks of the Hudson and hunted in the highlands along the Esopus Creek . While the meaning of the name ("cat creek [ kill ]" in Dutch ) and the namer (early Dutch explorers) are settled matters, how and why the area is named "Catskills" is a mystery. Mountain lions (catamounts) were known to have been in the area when
165-634: A resurgence in popularity. The school gained interest after World War I , likely due to nationalist attitudes. Interest declined until the 1960s, and the regrowth of the Hudson Valley has spurred further interest in the movement. Historic house museums and other sites dedicated to the Hudson River School include Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York, the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in
220-415: A temperate rainforest. [3] 1. Averages at least 55 inches of precipitation per year with at least 10% of its average annual precipitation during the summer months. [4] 2. Cool, frequently overcast summers with average July temperature less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) 3. Infrequent forest fires/wildfires and fires do not play an important role in shaping the ecology or ecosystem of
275-521: Is 5a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −16.6 °F (−27.0 °C). The plant hardiness zone in Margaretville at 1,000 feet (300 m) is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −10.6 °F (−23.7 °C). The Catskill Mountains also is a temperate rainforest [1] [2] and meets all 4 of the criteria in Alaback’s definition of what qualifies or defines
330-785: Is consistent with the actual topographic relief. The Pocono Mountains , to the immediate southwest in Pennsylvania , are also a part of the Allegheny Plateau. The Catskills contain more than 30 peaks above 3,500 feet (1,100 m) and parts of six important rivers. The Catskill Mountain 3500 Club is an organization whose members have climbed all the peaks in the Catskills over 3,500 feet (1,100 m). The highest mountain, Slide Mountain in Ulster County, has an elevation of 4,180 feet (1,270 m). Climatically,
385-711: Is famous for its fly fishing , although in recent years it has been plagued by invasive plants . Road and mountain biking are fairly popular in the range. Bicycle racing includes the Tour of the Catskills, a three-day road stage race held in Green and Ulster counties each summer, and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham. Other cycling resources include the Catskill Scenic Trail ,
440-539: Is less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit). As for the 3rd criteria, forest fires or wildfires also are very rare and many places within the Catskills which have never had any forest fires ever before and many the trees and ecology of the forest is old and untainted by wildfires or forest fires have not played any significant role in the ecology or ecosystem of the forest with the exception of Native Americans who did prescribed burning in some areas in order to create land for farming. [7] And of course it also meets
495-754: Is noted for making an almost 270-degree turn around Panther Mountain , following a buried 6-mile (10 km) impact crater rim. It is famous for tubing , a sport of rafting down a river in an inner tube. Many tubers begin their trip at Phoenicia, New York , and head down the creek towards the Ashokan Reservoir at Olive, New York . The Ashokan Reservoir is part of the New York City water supply system, with fishing allowed under permit, but swimming and most other recreational uses are forbidden. River canoeing and kayaking are popular. There are 42 rapids ranging from class I to V+ . The Esopus Creek
550-559: The New York Evening Post on November 22, 1825. Cole was from England and the brilliant autumn colours in the American landscape inspired him. His close friend Asher Brown Durand became a prominent figure in the school. A prominent element of the Hudson River School was its themes of nationalism, nature, and property. Adherents of the movement also tended to be suspicious of the economic and technological development of
605-512: The Devonian and early Mississippian period (395 to 325 million years ago). Over that time, thousands of feet of these sediments built up, slowly moving the Devonian seashore further west. A meteor impact occurred in the shallow sea approximately 375 mya , creating a 10 km (6 mi) diameter crater. This crater eventually filled with sediments and became Panther Mountain through
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#1732786963144660-544: The Düsseldorf School of Painting , and they were educated by German Paul Weber . Thomas Cole is generally acknowledged as the founder of the School. He took a steamship up the Hudson in the autumn of 1825, stopping first at West Point then at Catskill landing. He hiked west high into the eastern Catskill Mountains of New York to paint the first landscapes of the area. The first review of his work appeared in
715-544: The Taconic Mountains are located today (though significantly larger). Finer sediment was deposited further westward, and thus the rocks change from gravel conglomerates to sandstone and shale . Further west, these fresh water deposits intermingle with shallow marine sandstone and shale until the end, in deeper water limestone . The uplift and erosion of the Acadian Mountains was occurring during
770-514: The Van Ness home , and the two friends continued a pen-pal correspondence for thirty years. The Columbia County Historical Society (New York) owns the original Kinderhook Schoolhouse named after the Irving character based on Merwin, the town's first schoolteacher. Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains , also known as the Catskills , are a physiographic province and subrange of
825-576: The Village of Kinderhook in 1809, where he wrote the satire, ' A History of New York '. Later, he wrote the short stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which take place regionally. The Kinderhook school district is named "Ichabod Crane". for the Irving character, Ichabod Crane , which was based on the original Kinderhook schoolmaster named Jesse Merwin . Irving and Merwin became friends in Kinderhook, where they boarded together at
880-693: The village of Kinderhook ) and Martin H. Glynn (in the village of Valatie ) have been deaccessioned by the school district: The Martin Van Buren School is now Jack Shainman Gallery | The School , and the Martin H. Glynn School is now the Town Hall of Kinderhook and the Village Hall of Valatie . The total district enrollment is approximately 1700 students with a professional staff of 220 and support staff of 140. Washington Irving lived in
935-589: The 1970s as fire spotting from airplanes had become more effective and efficient, so the fire towers were decommissioned; the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower was the last to be taken out of service in 1990. Six remaining towers were renovated and opened to the public as observation posts with panoramic views and a tower was opened at the Catskill Visitor Center in 2022. In 2024 a tower was restored to Bramley Mountain , bringing
990-662: The 4th criteria of dormant season caused by lower temperatures in the winter and snow is very common in the winter Although the Catskills are sometimes compared with the Adirondack Mountains farther north, the two mountain ranges are not geologically related, as the Adirondacks are a continuation of the Canadian Shield . Similarly, the Shawangunk Ridge , which forms the southeastern edge of
1045-785: The Catskill Mountain Branch of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad which was absorbed into the New York Central railroad in 1932. Oneonta to Kingston passenger rail service continued until 1954. Part of the line still exists but now serves only freight. The southern part of the Catskills was served by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway . Over the course of 1950, service on the NYO&W downscaled to summer only. In its last years it ran trains from Roscoe to Weehawken, New Jersey , via Liberty . It connected with
1100-734: The Catskill region are Albany International Airport to the north and Stewart International Airport in Newburgh to the south. Smaller airports in the region include: The Catskills serve as the setting for many works of fiction, such as the short story Rip Van Winkle , and the children's book My Side of the Mountain . The Hudson Valley Film Commission maintains a list of films set in the Hudson Valley/Catskills Region. Of them, more than three dozen films are set in
1155-609: The Catskills and the White Mountains. Eliza Pratt Greatorex was an Irish-born painter who was the second woman elected to the National Academy of Design. Julie Hart Beers led sketching expeditions in the Hudson Valley region before moving to a New York City art studio with her daughters. Harriet Cany Peale studied with Rembrandt Peale and Mary Blood Mellen was a student and collaborator with Fitz Henry Lane . Hudson River School art has had minor periods of
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#17327869631441210-546: The Catskills are notable in American cultural history for their role in the development of modern stand-up comedy . Comedians such as Rodney Dangerfield , Jackie Mason , Alan King , and Don Rickles all got their start performing in Catskill hotel venues colloquially referred to as the Borscht Belt . Hudson River School Works by second-generation artists expanded to include other locales in New England ,
1265-621: The Catskills lie within the Allegheny Highlands forests ecoregion . According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Catskill Mountains have two climate zones. The vast majority of the Catskills have a warm summer humid continental climate ( Dfb ) with some isolated locations in valleys with hot summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ). The plant hardiness zone on Slide Mountain at 4,180 feet (1,270 m)
1320-543: The Catskills still average at least 55 inches annually. [6] For the 2nd criteria, summers in the Catskills are indeed cooler, not as hot and frequently cloudy, overcast, and foggy and even frequently chilly overnight as soon as the sun goes down. The tops of the mountains also meet the criteria of average July temperature less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in July. The top of Slide Mountain for example has an average July temperature of 60.3 degrees Fahrenheit which
1375-524: The Catskills, is part of the geologically distinct Ridge-and-Valley province and is a continuation of the same ridge known as Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania. The Catskill Mountains are more of a dissected plateau than a series of mountain ranges. The sediments that make up the rocks in the Catskills were deposited when the ancient Acadian Mountains in
1430-481: The Catskills. The town of Bethel, New York , located in the Catskills, was home to the famous Woodstock music festival that took place August 15–18, 1969. The event, wherein 32 music acts performed in front of over 500,000 concert-goers, was captured in the documentary movie Woodstock (1970). The site is now home to the world-renowned Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The many hotels and vacation resorts located in
1485-875: The Catskills: Belleayre Mountain (run by the Olympic Regional Development Authority ); Hunter Mountain (the first ski area to install snowmaking machines in New York); Windham Mountain ; Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun in Monticello ; and Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury . Joppenbergh Mountain , in Rosendale Village hosted its first ski jumping competition in 1937. Ski jumping was continued on
1540-478: The Dutch arrived in the 17th century and may have been a reason for the name. The confusion over the origins of the name led over the years to variant spellings such as Kaatskill and Kaaterskill , both of which are also still used: the former in the regional magazine Kaatskill Life , the latter as the name of a mountain peak and a waterfall . The supposed Native American name for the range, Onteora ("land in
1595-803: The Headwaters Trails in Stamford and the Roundtopia trail network (mapped by the Round Top Mountain Bike Association). Several ski centers provide downhill mountain bicycling in the warmer months. Within the range is the Catskill Park , comprising over 700,000 acres (280,000 ha). Catskill Park is part of New York's Forest Preserve . Not all the land is publicly owned; about 60% remains in private hands, but new sections are added frequently. Most of
1650-852: The Maritimes , the American West, and South America. The school of landscape painters flourished between 1825 and 1870, which was often called the "native," "American," or "New York" school. New York City was the center of it, many members had studios in the Tenth Street Studio Building in Greenwich Village . The term Hudson River School is thought to have been coined by the New York Tribune art critic Clarence Cook or by landscape painter Homer Dodge Martin . The name appeared in print in 1879, it
1705-657: The New York Central's West Shore Railroad at Cornwall . This service lasted until September 10, 1953. The Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad , based in Arkville, New York , that still runs a scenic part of the track from Highmount to Hubbell Corners, New York, for tourist use. The Catskill Mountain Railroad is also a heritage railroad in the Catskills, operating from Kingston up to Highmount. The Catskills are accessible by automobile from
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1760-634: The age. The second generation of Hudson River School artists emerged after Cole's premature death in 1848; its members included Cole's prize pupil Frederic Edwin Church , John Frederick Kensett , and Sanford Robinson Gifford . Works by artists of this second generation are often described as examples of Luminism . Kensett, Gifford, and Church were also among the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Most of
1815-537: The count to eight. The current towers are: The Catskill Mountain House , built in 1824, was a hotel near Palenville , New York , in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the Hudson River Valley . In its prime at the turn of the century, visitors included United States Presidents Ulysses S. Grant , Chester A. Arthur and Theodore Roosevelt . From 1872, the northern part of the Catskills were served by
1870-476: The east along Interstate 87 / New York State Thruway , which runs north–south through the Hudson Valley . To the south and southwest, the Catskills are accessible by a variety of highways, including New York State Route 55 , U.S. Route 44 , U.S. Route 209 , and New York State Route 17 . Access to the western Catskills is provided by New York State Route 30 ; and the vaguely defined far-western edge of
1925-418: The east were rising and subsequently eroding. The sediments traveled westward and formed a great delta into the sea that was in the area at that time. The escarpment of the Catskill Mountains is near the former (landward) edge of this delta, as the sediments deposited in the northeastern areas along the escarpment were deposited above sea level by moving rivers, and the Acadian Mountains were located roughly where
1980-688: The eighth president of the United States. Glynn, raised in the village of Valatie , served as a U.S. representative, as well as the governor of New York from 1913 to 1915. Ichabod Crane High School, located on U.S. Route 9 in the Town of Kinderhook, currently serves approximately 530 students in grades 9 - 12. Ichabod Crane Middle School houses approximately 680 students in grades 6 - 8. The Ichabod Crane Campus now serves all grades K-12. Kinderhook's original two elementary schools, Martin Van Buren (in
2035-489: The finest works of the second generation were painted between 1855 and 1875. Artists such as Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt were celebrities then. They were both influenced by the Düsseldorf school of painting , and Bierstadt had studied in that city for several years. Thousands of people would pay 25 cents per person to view paintings such as Niagara and The Icebergs . The epic size of these landscapes
2090-483: The forest 4. Dormant season caused by lower temperature or even occasional snow. [5] For the first criteria, majority areas within the Catskill Mountains do indeed average at least 55 inches of precipitation annually and summer is the wettest season hence it by far meets the criteria of at least 10% of its average annual precipitation during the summer months. Slide Mountain and nearby Hunter Mountain average about 63 inches of precipitation annually and most areas within
2145-499: The larger Appalachian Mountains , located in southeastern New York . As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park , a 700,000-acre (2,800 km ) forest preserve protected from many forms of development under New York state law. Geologically, the Catskills are a mature dissected plateau , a flat region subsequently uplifted and eroded into sharp relief by watercourses. The Catskills form
2200-501: The late 19th century, the Catskills have been a haven for artists, musicians and writers, especially in and around the towns of Woodstock and Phoenicia . Nicolaes Visscher I 's 1656 map of New Netherland located the Landt van Kats Kill at the mouth of Catskill Creek . The region to the south is identified as Hooge Landt van Esopus (High Lands of the Esopus ), a reference to
2255-551: The mountain until February 7, 1971, when the last competition was held. The Mountain Trails Cross Country Ski Center in Tannersville has 22 miles (35 km) of trails. The Catskill Mountains fire towers were constructed to facilitate forest fire prevention and control. Twenty-three fire towers were built in the Catskill Mountains between 1908 and 1950. The fire towers fell out of use by
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2310-482: The mountains. Grooves and scratches in exposed bedrock provide evidence of the great sheets of ice that once traversed the region. Even today the erosion of the mountains continues, with the region's rivers and streams deepening and widening the mountains' valleys and cloves. In the mid–20th century, summer resorts in the Catskills, nicknamed the Borscht Belt , were a major vacation destination for Jewish New Yorkers. At its peak of popularity, about 500 resorts operated in
2365-641: The northeastern end of the Allegheny Plateau (also known as the Appalachian Plateau ). The Catskills were named by early Dutch settlers. They are well known in American society as the setting for films and works of art, including many 19th-century Hudson River School paintings, as well as for being a favored destination for vacationers from New York City in the mid-20th century. The region's many large resorts gave many young stand-up comedians an opportunity to hone their craft. Since
2420-792: The park and the preserve are within Ulster County, with a significant portion in Greene County, and parts in Sullivan and Delaware counties as well. Many of the trails in public areas are maintained and updated by the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference and the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club . Devil's Path is one of the many trails open for hikers. Spots to camp in the Catskills include Bear Spring Mountain , Little Pond, Mongaup Pond, and North-South Lake . There are five main downhill ski and snowboard areas in
2475-440: The process of uplift and erosion. By the middle of the Mississippian period, the uplift stopped, and the Acadian Mountains had been eroded so much that sediments no longer flowed across the Catskill Delta. Over time, the sediments were buried by more sediments from other areas, until the original Devonian and Mississippian sediments were deeply buried and slowly became solid rock. Then the entire area experienced uplift, which caused
2530-419: The range's eastern end, the mountains begin dramatically with the Catskill Escarpment rising up suddenly from the Hudson Valley . The western boundary is far less certain, as the mountains gradually decline in height and grade into the rest of the Allegheny Plateau , but maps from the 18th and 19th centuries consistently mark the border of the Catskill Mountains as the East Branch of the Delaware River, which
2585-410: The region is variously considered to be New York State Route 10 or Interstate 88 , though this boundary remains a matter of local preference. New York State Routes 28 and 23A cut east–west through the heart of the Catskills, serving many of the most popular outdoor tourist destinations. New York State Route 23 runs east–west across the Catskills' northern section. The closest major airports to
2640-421: The region. Later changes in vacationing patterns have led most of those travelers elsewhere, although there are still some bungalow communities and summer camps in the region catering to Orthodox populations. Esopus Creek is a 65.4-mile (105.3 km) tributary of the Hudson River , starting at Winnisook Lake on Slide Mountain . It flows across Ulster County to the Hudson River at Saugerties . The Esopus
2695-490: The remaining wilderness which was fast disappearing from the Hudson Valley just as it was coming to be appreciated for its qualities of ruggedness and sublimity. In general, Hudson River School artists believed that nature in the form of the American landscape was a reflection of God, though they varied in the depth of their religious conviction. They were inspired by European masters such as Claude Lorrain , John Constable , and J. M. W. Turner . Several painters were members of
2750-415: The sedimentary rocks to begin to erode. Today, those upper sedimentary rocks have been completely removed, exposing the Devonian and Mississippian rocks. Today's Catskills are a result of the continued erosion of these rocks, both by streams and, in the recent past, by glaciers. In successive ice ages , both valley and continental glaciers have widened the valleys and the notches of the Catskills and rounded
2805-563: The sky"), was purportedly created in the mid-19th century to drum up business for a resort. It is still the name of a school district and as the name of a Boy Scout summer camp ( Onteora Scout Reservation ). The Catskill Mountains are approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-northwest of New York City and 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Albany , starting west of the Hudson River . The Catskills occupy much of two counties ( Greene and Ulster ), and extend slightly into Delaware , Sullivan , and southwestern Schoharie counties. At
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#17327869631442860-407: The town of Catskill, the Newington-Cropsey Foundation 's historic house museum, art gallery, and research library in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York , and the John D. Barrow Art Gallery in the village of Skaneateles , New York. One of the largest collections of paintings by artists of the Hudson River School is at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut . Some of the most notable works in
2915-400: Was formed in 1954, incorporating seven community schools into one centralized district. Currently there are three buildings, down from five after in 2012 the district closed down the elementary school of Martin H. Glynn and Martin Van Buren, the latter named after Van Buren, who made his home in Kinderhook , served as a New York state attorney general, vice president under Andrew Jackson, and as
2970-593: Was initially used during the 1870s disparagingly, as the style had gone out of favor after the plein-air Barbizon School had come into vogue among American patrons and collectors. Hudson River School paintings reflect three themes of America in the 19th century: discovery, exploration, and settlement. They also depict the American landscape as a pastoral setting, where human beings and nature coexist peacefully. Hudson River School landscapes are characterized by their realistic, detailed, and sometimes idealized portrayal of nature, often juxtaposing peaceful agriculture and
3025-412: Was unexampled in earlier American painting and reminded Americans of the vast, untamed, and magnificent wilderness areas in their country. This was the period of settlement in the American West, preservation of national parks, and establishment of green city parks. Several women were associated with the Hudson River School. Susie M. Barstow was an avid mountain climber who painted the mountain scenery of
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