I recently became employed by the Department of Sanitation here in New York City. The garage I am currently in is located directly next to Pier 54. On one of the buildings I noticed the name Gansevoort in silver letters and wondered why it was up there. I also took notice to the fact that there was a Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking district and there are two hotels here with the same name. After seeing the name so many times I decided to search the name and try to find it’s history and what it’s significance to NYC was.
After a bit of searching I was led to a man by the name of Peter Gansevoort who was born in Albany, NY. His family lived in Albany since 1660 when it was the dutch colony Fort Orange where his father, Harmen , owned farms and a brewery. His Son, Herman Gansevoort, built the Gansevoort Mansion in 1813 and in 1976 it was added to the National Register of Historical Places. He is also the grandfather of the American novelist Herman Melville.
Peter Gansevoort was a solider of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He’s best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger’s Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. After becoming a Major he led the New York forces to stop the British advance on Lake Champlain. After successfully thwarting the British advances in 1776 he was put in command of Fort George. Eventually he became a Colonel and was appointed the commander of the 3rd New York regiment.
Along with Colonel Marinus Willett, his second in command, he restored Fort Stanwix and withstood a three week siege from British Forces. He received thanks of congress and To quote John Adams “Gansevoort proved that it is possible to hold a fort.” Fort Stanwix was then handed down to the 1st regiment of New York and he led the Sullivan Expedition of 1779.
Peter Gansevoort settled down in Albany and ran the family brewery, grist mills and lumber mill in what’s now know as Gansevoort, NY. He served for a while as the sheriff of Albany and in 1809 he was a Brigade General in command of the Northern Department. In 1811 he presided over the trial of General James Wilkinson who was charges as an accomplice in the western conspiracy. Among this time he also had many different roles in the army and other forces and was suffering on and off from illness. After the trial of James Wilkinson Peter Gansevoort passed away in Albany July 2nd, 1812.
As I stated before in NYC there are two hotels named after Colonel Peter Gansevoort as well as a street in the Meatpacking district. Across the street from the Meatpacking district is where I work, which as I stated is right next to Pier 54. While I was looking up this info I also found out that the body of water surrounding the garage and surrounding piers is known as Gansevoort Peninsula. Now Pier 54 and the pier that the garage is located on also had a bit of history behind it.
Pier 54 was part of the original Chelsea Piers in 1910 and stretched much further than the three piers it is today. In 1912 the RMS Titanic was headed to Pier 59 when it struck that iceberg and sank. The RMS Carpathia was the ship that was sent out to retrieve the survivors which were brought to Pier 54. In 1915 the ill fated RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed and acted as our foot in the door for World War I, left from Pier 54. The pier was used for luxery liners for a while and then was used to house troop ships during World War II. In 1991 the building was torn down leaving only the open pier and the steel entryway at the front of the pier. In 1998 the pier became part of Hudson River Park and is now used for a variety of events.
So a few buildings where I work and a pier where they hold the occasional concert or show a free movie is actually a very historical place. After a bit of curiosity I manged to learn a lot about a man who was a successful Colonel in the army. I also learned a lot about the pier I see everyday at work which at one point was the first piece of land the survivors of the RMS Titanic stepped foot on. I stare out into the water and imagine just how amazing it must have been to see the Lusitania docked there standing tall. It’s amazing how much history can be right in front of you without you ever knowing it. All it takes is a little time and a bit of curiosity.