The First Era of Hudson Whaling: 1784-1819, Part One
Hudson’s first endeavour with whaling began as soon as the city itself began and the industry played a major role in defining both its economy and entrepreneurial spirit. Although the city was in its infancy, the whaling voyages that embarked out of Hudson were led by Nantucketers who were experienced whalers and knew the routes and the whaling grounds in the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean and the South Seas of the Pacific. Crewmen and dock workers followed these leaders to the area creating an infrastructure of skills, knowledge, and labor. The brig Claverack was the first documented whaling ship to leave out of Hudson, most likely in 1784, headed to Brazil and led by Captain Thomas Worth.
The earliest information on maritime activity in and out of Hudson’s port can be found in the shipping news section of its first newspaper, The Hudson Weekly Gazette. These entries chronicle both whaling and trading voyages and indicate the name of the vessels, dates of departure from Hudson, names of the captain, and destination ports. Immediately upon arrival merchants like Thomas Jenkins were doing business as they had in other port cities.
The first era of whaling in Hudson peaked during the 1790s with a prolific number of whaling voyages to ports overseas. Hudson’s image as a whaling town was secured during this period. By 1790, the population of Hudson had grown to 2,584 and due to the incredible growth of its commerce, it became a U.S. Port of Entry that same year. By 1800, the population reached 4,048, including 88 enslaved persons, and was third in the state in commerce, after New York City and Albany.
Whaling voyages often lasted three or more years and each returning ship represented the possibility of enormous wealth for the owners, captain, and crew. With the arrival of a whaling vessel at the port of Hudson the bells in town would ring and cause great excitement. Residents would run to Promenade Hill to watch the ships arrive and unload their cargo. Whale oil was transported to one of the two oil and candle factories in town where prized smokeless and odor-free spermaceti candles were made. The stench of the whale ships arriving at port was profound as described by Edouard Stackpole: “...with the smell of clover from the river banks came the pungent odor of whale oil, mixed with the salty tang of the ships which sailed up from the sea.”
Although whaling was a significant part of the early maritime industry in Hudson, it was not to the extent that Hudson lore would have it. At the turn of the 19th century, the list of sloops traveling out of Hudson were primarily packet voyages to destinations up and down the Hudson River. These commercial voyages actually dominated the maritime trade and shipbuilding continued to be a leading industry.