By The Red Hook WaterStories team
Henry Farrer was born in England in 1844 but moved to America, ending his career in Brooklyn in 1903. He was known for his tonalist watercolor landscapes and etchings. His listed works include On Buttermilk Channel, At Red Hook (1880) and...
By The Red Hook WaterStories team
As early as the 1800s, chroniclers have had differing accounts as to whether or not the Buttermilk Channel separating Red Hook from Governor's Island was once so narrow and shallow that cattle could be herded across it. Edwin Williams wrote in 1834...
By The Red Hook WaterStories team
From the 1830s to 1965 Castle Williams on Governors Island served as a military prison. Over the years prisoners have attempted to escape by swimming across the Buttermilk Channel to Red Hook. Text from two Articles Click on the images at bottom for...
By The Red Hook WaterStories team
Wandering cows? Jostled milk? How did Buttermilk Channel, the water between Red Hook and Governor's Island, get its name? Contemporary explanations usually fall into two camps. We found an older one. 1) Dairy farmers shipped their milk to...
