Tag Archives: 1800’s

From Colden Square to Clinton Square

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Situated in Colden Square from 1896, the statue of Governor George Clinton was relocated in 1989, to where he stands now, in Clinton Square.

Clinton Square

George Clinton Statue, Water Street at First Street

The original statue was created by sculptor H. K. Brown and stands in in Washington D.C, the copy that was erected in Newburg was recast the sculptor’s nephew, H. K. Bush-Brown.

Colden Square

 

Clinton Statue

 

Additional Resources

City of Newburgh

Source: City of Newburgh

At the corner of Fullerton Ave. and Third Street, Clinton Square marks the entrance to the Colonial Terraces district. In the center is a statue of General and Governor George Clinton.

Originally in Colden Square, the statue of Clinton was dedicated on October 6, 1896. A copy of the statue by local sculptor Henry K. Brown that stands in the Capitol in Washington, it was cast in bronze by his nephew, H. K. Bush-Brown. According to Ruttenber in 1881, “it may with truth be said of George Clinton that he was to the State of New York what Washington was to the nation.” He served as Brigadier General in the Continental Army, and was the first New York State Governor in 1777.

 

Clarence Kerr Chatterton

Source: Clarence Kerr Chatterton

Chatterton Painting of Clinton Square, Newburgh, NY

“I believe that
an artist should
express himself
with as little fuss
as possible
in a frank, uncompromising manner.”

Clinton Square, c. 1917, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in.

Early in the summer of 1917, Chatterton rented a small office on the second floor of the Highland Bank building in downtown Newburgh. It was cramped and hot, but by sticking his head out of the window he had a good bird’s-eye view in three directions. He spent the whole summer painting there and the three views became three large oil paintings — Water Street, Saturday Shopping, and Clinton Square.

In 1925, when he was 45 years old, Chatterton decided that a one-man show in a prestigious New York gallery was necessary for the advancement of his career. He approached the Wildenstein Gallery and, although they objected at first that they did not handle American artists, they finally agreed to give him an exhibition.

Wildenstein had three galleries: two large ones connected by a small one. Chatterton’s show was held in the small gallery, between a Toulouse Lautrec exhibition in one of the large galleries and a Fragonard show in the other. Evidently Chatterton’s work, mostly paintings of his Newburgh period, did not suffer in the invitable comparison as critical comment was quite favorable.

Although Clinton Square was not sold during the exhibition, the Wildenstein staff was so impressed that they included it in their Tri-National Exhibition, which they organized and sent to Europe and South America in 1926.

 

 

Newburgh Again: First City Church To Use Electricity

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First City Church To Use Electricity

The Evening News
March 31, 1984

The First Presbyterian Church here was the first church in New York State to be illuminated by electricity.

“The inspection of the electric light in Newburgh by Thomas A. Edison and others, including prominent gentlemen from New York, Poughkeepsie, and Norfolk, Va.,” is detailed in account in the Daily Journal, dated April 25, 1884.

One of the sites inspected was the church at South and Grand Street, now Calvary Presbyterian Church.

The century-old report came to light as the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands and Central Hudson cosponsored the centennial of the first electricity in Newburgh.

The newspaper listed the visitors, a veritable who’s who of the business and financial leaders of the era. They arrived at 6 p. m., according to the report.

Understanding the electric station in Newburgh was a model one, they wanted a close look. The Poughkeepsie contingent was considering organization of a company there to adopt electric light.

After supper at the “United States Hotel” (later the Palatine), visitors walked to the Montgomery Street electric plant and then to the church.

The lights were turned on and they were praised by the visitors as very fine and brilliant. 

The century old account continues: “Mr. Edison remained at the electric building, to converse with Mr. T.C. Conant, the electrician in charge, and other gentlemen.

“Mr. Edison, the great inventor, is a gentleman of ordinary appearance. He dresses in plain black, and wears a square-crown black hat. He is an incessant smoker, and during the animated conversations that he had while here a fragrant Havana contributed toward making him at ease.

“He is a ready conversationalist and when in conversation his countenance is illuminated, and a glance at in convinces the ordinary observer that he is a man of great brain power.”

“That he understands the working of electricity thoroughly goes without saying. He was very highly pleased with his visit, and complimented the gentlemen attached to the station here for the thoroughness of their work. He did not suggest improvements in its conduct, as the requirements had been well met. Other gentlemen spoke very favorably of the workings of the electric light, of its great merit, and the complete manner in which it was controlled and managed.”

The unidentified reporter carefully listed details which remain interesting 100 years later. He concluded:

“The visitors returned to the United States Hotel after their tour of inspection, held a brief conversation among themselves and a few Newburgh gentlemen, with whom they were acquainted, and then took the $.10 boat for Fishkill, the two parties separating at that place, and returning to their respective destinations, New York and Poughkeepsie.”

The Rev. Carlos Lantis, current pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church, researched the material and church secretary Betty Schoonmaker typed the information from a microfilmed copy to submit the material to the Evening News – helping to recall references of Newburgh and the historic edifice.

Newburgh Again: United States Hotel

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Newburgh Telegraph, 1834
“UNITED STATES HOTEL”

 

 
Newburgh.
 
Immediately at the head of the now Steamboat and Ferry Wharf, stands the spacious building erected during, the past year by Col. Carpenter for a public Hotel, and just finished, and opened try Col. E. Hathaway under the above cognomen, ,the “United States Hotel”. The location and admirable construction of this noble edifice are peculiarly calculated to render it one of the most agreeable retreats in the warm season, in the state.
 
It is built of brick, five stories high. On the side, fronting the water are three piazzas, extending the whole breadth of the building, sustained by lofty free-stone pillars, and enclosed with iron railings. The building is surmounted by a large observatory and promenade, commanding a view of the Highland mountains, West Point, the-verdant hills and rich fields of Dutchess, with the Newburgh Bay, and the Hudson, for ten or fifteen miles, forming a picture rarely met with in this or any other country.
 
In addition to its superb bar and dining rooms, there are nine Parlours, public and private, with near ninety lodging rooms, variously arranged for the accommodation of individuals or families ; and from the basement to the attick nothing is wanting in the furnishing of the United States Hotel; to render it what it was designed to be by its proprietor, a house of the very first class.
 
 Of mine host and hostess of the “United States,” it is needless to say that they are qualified both by nature and experience to have charge of such an establishment.
 

 


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