AMSTERDAM — The following event is for the Fulton-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, according to a news release.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday the New York State Canal Corp. will have a celebration as they name the newest tugboat in their fleet, The Port Jackson, named in honor of Samuel Jackson, a farmer and merchant.
Port Jackson was a thriving canal town directly south of, and across the Mohawk River from, Amsterdam. Port Jackson was a quintessential canal community, complete with locks, canal stores, boat facilities, low bridges and a dry dock. It was even home to an aqueduct, built to carry the canal over the South Chuctanunda Creek.
A village separate from the city of Amsterdam until 1888, it was annexed and now lives on as Amsterdam’s “South Side.” Several stores and eateries in this area still identify as being in “Port Jackson” and the public gathering area is named Port Jackson Square. Buildings original to Port Jackson still stand in this neighborhood, some of which (including the building that housed Samuel Sweet’s Canal Store) are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Immediately following the ceremony, the celebration will continue with a reception at the Amsterdam Castle.
