“The Hudson: America's River” Author/Conservationist Dunwell to Speak

At the New-York Historical Society

Author and conservationist Fran Dunwell will speak at the New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, NY, NY on February 7, 2010

Drawing on the material in her recently-published book The Hudson: America's River, Dunwell will present a one-hour slide show and discussion. Her dramatic tales bring to life the stories of visionary people who change the direction of our national history even today, inspired by their deep relationship with the river. Using images of Hudson River School paintings, maps and period engravings, she captures the spirit of the river through the eyes of its many admirers. Her talk recounts how the Hudson River powered the growth of the country’s greatest industrial and financial empire and also produced leading American artists, writers, engineers and environmentalists. She makes the case for conserving the Hudson as a source of creative inspiration and demonstrates that the river continues to be a creative force today.

Copies of The Hudson: America’s River will be available for purchase following Dunwell’s talk. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has praised Dunwell's "wonderful stories about America’s river,” and her "beautifully written book." All royalties from sale of the book are being donated to the Natural Heritage Trust for conservation of the river. For more information on this event contact the New-York Historical Society at 212-873-3400.

Frances Dunwell has spent over thirty years in a number of nonprofit and governmental positions dedicated to conserving the natural and historic heritage of the Hudson River. She was instrumental in the Hudson's successful designation as an American Heritage River and its valley as a National Heritage Area. Her work has also resulted in the clean-up of river pollution and the protection of scenic vistas, historic sites, and fish and wildlife habitats.

Dunwell is a life-long resident of the Hudson Valley and recalls a childhood on the river when it was so polluted that she had to get shots before going on a boat in case she fell in. Her curiosity about the Hudson's unique history and legendary people was stimulated by a project she helped to coordinate which documented the engineering marvels, architectural wonders, artist studios, castles, industrial archaeology and rural cemeteries along the river. In her newest book, The Hudson: America’s River, she looks at this legacy and explains why the Hudson has produced so many innovators and left such a rich architectural legacy, and she explores the myriad ways that the river has influenced American history and culture.

Early in her career, in the mid 1970's, when Dunwell served as the Executive Director of the Center for the Hudson River Valley, she first met some of the transformative people who have influenced the river's recent history--people like Franny Reese, Bob Boyle, and Pete Seeger whose work to clean up the river set the stage for her generation to follow. Her ancestor Stephen Dunwell fought in the Revolutionary War battles of Fort Montgomery and Stony Point--battles described in her book. In 2008, Dunwell was honored by the Hudson River Environmental Society for a career of conservation. She has also received career honors from Scenic Hudson, the Black Rock Forest Consortium, Mohonk Consultations, and the Beczak Center. She was honored as a “Woman of Distinction“ by the Governor’s office under Governor Mario Cuomo.