West Point Lighthouse

Long before cities and ports were established along the Hudson River's twisting 315-mile route from the Atlantic Ocean to its source in the Adirondack Mountains, its strategic value was recognized. Henry Hudson, for whom the river is named, sailed along the shores of present-day Manhattan in September 1609 seeking the fabled Northwest Passage. His voyage, which took him as far north as the area around Albany, was financed by the Dutch East India Company.