page_title: History of Rockland County, New York (1798–1900)
section_title: Historic steamboats
hierarchical_section_title: History of Rockland County, New York (1798–1900) / Transportation during the earlier years / Historic steamboats
caption_attribution_description: English: Handbill promoting Hudson River steamboat Chrystenah, built 1866.
context_page_description: The recorded history of Rockland County, New York begins on February 23, 1798, when the county was formed as an administrative division of the state of New York. It is located 12 miles north-northwest of New York City, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of New City. The name comes from rocky land, an early description of the area given by settlers. Rockland is New York's southernmost county west of the Hudson River. It is suburban in nature, with a considerable amount of scenic designated parkland. Rockland County does not border any of the New York City boroughs, but is only 9.5 miles north of Manhattan at the counties' two respective closest points
  Most of the early settlers were Dutch, with a sprinkling of Huguenot and Quaker families. The settlers lived almost entirely off the land, farming – berries, fruits and vegetables, as well as hunting, fishing, and trapping.
  Early attempts to settle the county by the Dutch were generally unsuccessful, and in 1664 they handed over the territory to the English.
context_section_description: With the lack of roads, travel was largely confined to sloops, which made regular trips up and down the river. Steamboats were built to travel up and down the Hudson, carrying both passengers and freight. Steamboats provided much of the transportation to New York City.  Steamboat navigation in Rockland started with a local steam vessel named the "Orange" referred by some as "Pot-Cheese" in reference to her beauty and others “The Flying Dutchman" because of her speed. She provided regular schedule between Nyack and New York. The North River Steamboat or North River (often erroneously referred to as Clermont) is widely regarded as the world's first commercially successful steamboat. It was not until twenty years later that a boat was used that could be depended on to make a round trip in one day attracting competition from steamboats later built at Haverstraw and Tappan. To facilitate steamboat traffic from Tappan Landing, a road was built over the marshes to the end of a 500-foot pier, which within a few years became the terminus of the New York & Erie Railroad. The construction of this road was an invaluable aid in the development of the county. It caused the building of Piermont with its lone pier which made possible the founding of a half dozen villages and opened the way to the utilization of the mineral and agricultural resources of Rockland. Other railroads followed. The first steamer bringing passengers to the railroad for the historic trip from Piermont to Ramapo was named "South American" and the steamer "Utica" brought passengers from New york City on the opening of the Erie railroad  to Goshen, New York.
  Hudson River Day liners included PS Alexander Hamilton, PS Chauncey Vibbard, PS Washington Irving
  Prominent Hudson River steamboats included Chancellor Livingston (1816), James Kent (1823), DeWitt Clinton (1828), Robert L. Stevens (1835), Rip Van Winkle (1845), Isaac Newton (1846), Daniel Drew (1860), Thomas Cornell (1863), Chauncey Vibbard (1864), Dean Richmond(1864), Charles W. Morse (1904), Hendrick Hudson (1906), Robert Fulton (1909) constructed or engines built by Allaire Iron Works, Cornelius H. DeLamater, Harlan and Hollingsworth, Jonh Stevens, W. & A. Fletcher Company, West Point Foundry.
caption: Chrystenah handbill
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