New Hamburg Yacht Club

New Hamburg Yacht Club was incorporated on December 20th 1869 by the local millionaires, river captains and village residents as the “New Hamburg Ice Yacht Club”. It is considered the 6th oldest yacht club in the United States! The dues at the time were $3.00 for active members (those who owned yachts) and $2.00 for non-active members (those who did not). It was said to be the pioneer ice yacht club in this area. Summer boating wasn’t included in its activities until many years later.To early Hudson River boatmen, the rocky point of land in the angle between the Hudson and the mouth of Wappinger Creek was known as High Point (New Hamburg) and the low area which projected into the river a few miles south was known as Low Point (Chelsea). Road records of 1770 show that there were shipping facilities in New Hamburg called “Hood Landing.” In 1815, John Drake Jr., had docks, a store, and 30 acres of land at that location which was assessed at $9,550 (a tidy sum in those days). It was then known as Wappingers Landing. Members of the Drake family had docks at New Hamburg for several generations. One of the Drakes is said to have been instrumental in having the road built between Hughsonville and Hopewell Junction. This was to encourage farmers to use his landing, and he built the first bridge over the lower Wappingers Creek known as “Drake’s Drawbridge.”