The HAL Oral History Project collection consists of CDs and digital files of oral histories conducted with residents of the City of Hudson, N.Y from 2013 to present, images of the interviewees, and supporting documentation of the project.

This postcard collection contributes to the collective, visual memory dedicated to the City of Hudson, New York. Beginning in the early 20th Century, these records depict living spaces such as Hudson street scenes, buildings, and landmarks, as well as infrastructures reflecting urban development (bridges, reservoirs, transportation, etc) of the City.

This collection, which dates from 1740-2004, includes dozens of hand drawn maps, and maps with engravings, most of them originals, as well as bound atlases, representing the City of Hudson and its immediate surrounding area, including Columbia County and portions of adjacent counties as well as New York State. These items contain important information about the history of Hudson and the surrounding region – from insurance and railroad maps, topographical and geological maps, to bird’s eye view drawings and developmental proposals. The collection also includes maps that provide information about The Hudson River as a site of commerce, industry, travel, and tourism, as well as wildlife and residential life, since the settling of the city of Hudson. The collection features maps and bound atlases from a multitude of important historic publishers, including Beers, Ellis & Co.; H.H. Rowley & Co; F.W. Beers; Hudson River Sloop Clearwater; The Sanborn Map Company; and Frank E. Richards, among others.

This collection, collected and donated by Hudson resident Willam E. Kline, documents the activities of The Playhouse in Hudson, NY during its heyday in the first quarter of the 20th century. The collection contains two scrapbooks and 42 programs from live performances (including dance, music, vaudeville, plays, and musicals) and movie screenings, dating from 1917 to 1926. Many of the programs represent shows put on by the Hudson Elks’ Minstrels, who performed annually for some consecutive years. The scrapbooks also include ephemera related to the final years of World War I, such as a program for “Soldiers Homecoming Celebration” at The Playhouse on Sept 9, 1919, newspaper clippings, and a pamphlet explaining War-Savings Stamps from 1917.

These black and white photographs – created within the date range of 1900s-1950s [bulk 1920s-1955] – mainly document family life and familiar and vanished streetscapes that tell a story of South Front Street life in Hudson, NY in the early-mid 20th century. The South Front Street neighborhood of Hudson was mostly demolished by Urban Renewal in the 1970s, and many of these photographs provide a view of a neighborhood that no longer exists. Most of the photos were taken by various relatives and friends of the Cipkowski family. A large portion of the photos document the childhood and teenage years of Patricia Cipkowski, who attended St Mary’s Academy in Hudson, N.Y. in the 1950s. There are also a few studio portraits made in Hudson, N.Y. and in New Jersey.

Located at 743 Warren Street in Hudson, Jinny & Wendy Neefus Photographers closed in 2013 after over 60 years in business. The studio was a local mainstay for graduation portraits and other life event photo sessions during the three generations they were in business. The Neefus family also photographed buildings, nature, and life in Hudson and across Columbia County, and processed photos for commercial use. The Jinny & Wendy Neefus Photographers Collection contains more than eighty sets of original negatives created by Jinny & Wendy Neefus Photographers between 1947 and 1989. Forty-six of these negatives were digitized by the library and printed as proof prints. The images document life in Hudson and Columbia County. Subjects and clients represented in this collection include, but are not limited to: various Hudson businesses (such as Grand Union, Kritzman-Maskin, Lawrence Tavern, General Worth Hotel, Smith’s Tire Shop, Scovill’s, and Paramount Grill) Hudson Firemen's Home, Red Mills in Claverack, Mount Washington House in Hillsdale, Columbia Country Club, Master’s Farm in Copake Falls, State Bank of Albany, Swiss Farms in Philmont, House of History in Kinderhook, Rip Van Winkle Clinic, Filney Mills in Philmont, Lakeview Inn in Chatham; a 1948 Hudson flood, a 1958 snowfall, a Hudson soap box derby, Christmastime in Hudson 1947, the 1950 Hudson Halloween parade. This is a useful collection for anyone interested in learning more about buildings, businesses, and the history of the area, especially in the 1940s and 1950s.

The collection consists of VHS and tape cassettes of oral histories of local black residents and the research notes and other supporting documentation about topics of research. These files are associated with the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Oral History Project and may have been maintained for the preparation of the interviews conducted from 1987 to 1989. The files include legal agreements, letters, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, book chapters, organization publications, and photographs. They also represent, in some cases, photographs and other memorabilia donated to the project by the interviewees.

Albert E. Clements Papers documents the literary career of Hudson resident, writer, novelist, and poet; consisting of personal documents, typescript drafts, reviews, and a few newspaper articles.

The collection contains materials related to Urban Renewal projects that Arthur Koweek helped to lead from 1971 to 1975 in the City of Hudson, New York. The materials document the City’s redevelopment efforts including reports, administrative records, photographs, publications, and maps

The collection provides an interesting insight into the history of Hudson City from the 19th century to the present day. This collection is an inexhaustible source of information thanks to an astonishing range of documents: maps, copyright documents, music partitions, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, memorabilia, ephemera, and, photographs.