HRMM Announces Performance Lecture – Crime on the Hudson: Gilded Age Pirates and River Thieves
Date & Time: Thursday, February 12, 2026 6:30pm
Location: Hudson River Maritime Museum – 50 Rondout Landing, Kingston, NY
Pricing: $20/non member – $10/ HRMM members / Sliding scale ticket option available. Please email srussell@hrmm.org for more information and to secure a discounted ticket.
Presentation Topic: Do you ever wonder if there were actual pirates on the Hudson River? Come and learn about a wild chapter in Hudson River history when mercenary sloops prowled the waterway, raiding mansions and plundering merchant ships. Who were these river outlaws stirring up chaos…and how did local communities and the law fight back?
The evening will begin with a brief lecture on the real and sometimes legendary criminal activity along the Hudson in the 1860s and 1870s, followed by an immersive performance starring the era’s most infamous characters in the flesh, including the mysterious young woman rumored to have led a notorious Lower Manhattan gang. Watch as she is put on trial for her alleged crimes. Is she guilty? How does her story end? Who decides her fate?
This special event weaves scholarship and storytelling, created and presented by HRMM’s Education Department in collaboration with Siren Theatre Company.
Find more information and registration details at hrmm.org or here.
Siren Theatre Company is a small group of performing artists local to the Hudson Valley founded by Caitlin Connelly, Tricia Anderson, and Maclain Maier. They specialize in writing original, immersive productions that bring history to life. The company’s mission is to produce fearless and inspiring work that can create dialogue, play with perspective, and inspire introspection. Visit them on Facebook.
About HRMM: Located along the historic Rondout Creek waterfront in downtown Kingston, NY, the Hudson River Maritime Museum is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries, and related industries. Learn more at hrmm.org.