The prospect of finding work with the Pennsylvania Coal Company attracted many to Port Ewen. Port Ewen was served by the West Shore Railroad, which shipped, among other freight, high explosives produced by the Nitro Powder Company in Kingston.
Before the opening of the Kingston–Port Ewen Suspension Bridge in 1921, those wishing to cross the Rondout Creek would have to take the Skillypot, a chain ferry that ran to Sleightsburgh, noted for its sporadic service.
Passages that mention Port Ewen, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Ulster County, New York1907 · page 250Read the page →
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Port Ewen, near the mouth of the Rondout, was founded in 1851 by the Pennsylvania Coal Company, which had a coal depot there until 1865 when they removed to Newburg, where they received their coal by the Erie Railway instead of the Delaware & Hudson Canal, as at Port Ewen. This is still a thriving village, with a charming location on the bank of the Hudson, 180 feet above the river. The view is fine, and there are many fine houses, a post-office, stores and shops, with churches and schools. The name was bestowed in honor of President John Ewen,
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The history of Ulster County, New York1907 · page 249Read the page →
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Other Reformed churches in the town are, one at Dashville Falls, incorporated in 1833, church built that year and remodeled in 1859; one at Port Ewen, incorporated in 1851, church built the following year;
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History of Ulster County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880Read the page →
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their business was removed To Newburgh. This change was made in consequence of their adopting at that time the Erie Railroad for the transportation of coal, instead of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. The village of Port Ewen is beautifully situated on land gradually rising from the ! river-bank to the height of oue hundred and eighty feet, i The view is very fine, with the river and Dutchess County on the east, the Catskill Mountains in the north, while the
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History of the town of Marlborough, Ulster County, New York, from its earliest discovery1908 · page 415Read the page →
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dale church. They celebrated mass every two or three weeks, services being held in the old village hall and in Marlborough at different places until 1867, when the Rev. Michael Phelen, pastor at Port Ewen, purchased the old Methodist meeting-house at Marlborough. He officiated there most of the time until Father Mee came to Milton. The first pastor either church had was in 1874, when the Rev. James Francis Mee was
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Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
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