View 15: The Newburg-Beacon Bridge

Watercolor on Linen / 12.5“ X 18”

At the end of the third day, Hudson stopped at the site of another Indian crossing. In 1743 a ferry was established here that was an essential link with the colonies of New England. Used by both George Washington and Samuel Adams to lead their armies, it remained in operation for 220 years and in 1963 it was replaced by the elegant Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. A second bridge of the same design was built alongside it in the late 1970s and together they carry around 25 million vehicles a year.                                                                                

Newburgh is the site of Hasbrouck House, which George Washington used as his headquarters and where the British accepted defeat in 1783. Across the river, the city of Beacon was named to commemorate the historic fires that were set on top of the adjoining mountain to alert the Patriots of British troop movements during the war.