A River Highway

For most of Clermont's history, a dock stood along the estate's Hudson River shoreline and, before railroads and highways, provided an essential link to the Livingstons' New York City home and business interests when passengers and freight moved mainly by ship. It was the landing place for major events: British forces arrived there when they burned Clermont in 1777, George and Martha Washington disembarked there during their 1782 visit, and the Marquis de Lafayette came ashore there on his triumphal American tour in 1824-25. In the era of sailing vessels, travel between Albany and New York took from three days to two weeks depending on wind and tides. Steamboats cut the trip to 32 hours, though ice often halted winter service. On August 18, 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat stopped at Clermont on its maiden voyage from New York City to Albany; popularly called the Clermont, it was the first commercially successful steamboat, capable of making four miles an hour against the tide, and Robert R. Livingston, who helped design and finance it, was aboard. The Livingston family's sloops regularly carried grain, produce, and raw materials south to New York City and brought European manufactures and luxury goods north for use at Clermont or sale in Albany. Boat travel declined after the Hudson River Railroad developed in 1848-1851, reducing the trip to five or six hours, and many river docks, including Clermont's, eventually fell out of use.

Clermont, New York · United States