Quiet Contemplation
Quietly contemplating the beauty of the Hudson River valley at sunset from the tip of the Peirmont Pier.
My subject, unknown to him that he was being photographed, stood absolutely motionless for the 30 seconds of this exposure.
The Piermont Pier is a unique feature of Peirmont NY. The pier, originally built by the Erie Raiload, juts about 1 mile out into the Hudson River.
The Erie Railroad was chartered in April 1832 from the banks of the Hudson River to the shores of Lake Erie as the New York and Erie Railroad, with the restriction that it could not enter any other state or connect with railroads from other states. This location was chosen due to it's ease of access via a river valley through the Palisades cliffs, and it being just north of New Jersey, it would be the closest point the railroad could access the Hudson to New York City. The railroad brought an army of laborers to the marshy waterfront area and put them to work constructing a massive rail yard and pier. Using picks and shovels, the laborers cut down the hillside above and deposited rock and fill to create 90 acres of new land, including a long pier extending almost a mile out to the deep water channel of the Hudson. In 1839, the area was renamed Piermont, combining a reference to the Erie pier and the mountain above.
On May 14, 1851, President Millard Fillmore and Secretary of State Daniel Webster, plus a long list of politicians and dignitaries, traveled to Piermont on the steamboat Erie. Arriving with great fanfare, they then boarded two lavishly decorated trains and set out for Dunkirk on Lake Erie. This star studded first voyage inaugurated the railroad that would help revolutionize transportation in the nation and the world, and move forward the westward course of empire.
However, the glory days of the railroad were short lived in Piermont. As soon as interstate regulations were changed in 1852, the Erie moved their main terminus to Jersey City NJ, closer to Manhattan, leaving repair shops and related functions in Piermont. The population declined by close to half, and even the shops were closed by 1869 – left abandoned and ultimately destroyed by fire.
The pier however, continued to be used by steamboats bringing tourists and vacationers to the area and a growing tourist business in the Hudson Valley ensued.
The last use of Piermont pier was during World War II. The pier was taken over by the US Government, extended and improved and used as the principal embarkation point of soldiers heading to Europe. 40,000 US troops per month passed across the pier where ships were waiting to transport them to military duty in war-torn Europe. Piermont became known as the "Last Stop USA." After the war was won, over half a million men returned home, across the same pier, first setting foot back in the US out in the middle of the Hudson River at the end of the pier.
Roll your cursor over the red dot on the map and you'll see how far out into the river this pier extends.
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