Located in Orange County, on the borders of New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, the quaint town of Port Jervis, New York figured quite
prominently in the works of the great American novelist, Stephen Crane.
He and his family moved to Port Jervis around the year 1878. At that time,
Crane's father, the Reverend Jonathan Townley Crane, became the minister at
the Drew Centennial Episcopal Methodist church, located on Sussex Street. The
elder Crane remained the church's minister until his death in 1880.
During Crane's residence, Port Jervis was in the midst of its Gilded
Age.
The town was both a major stop along the route of the Delaware and Hudson
Canal and the division center for the mighty Erie Railroad.
The town, and its occupants, served as models for several of Crane's works,
such as The Black Riders, The Monster, The Lynx Hunting, The Third Violet,
Whilomville Stories, and The Red Badge Of Courage.
It has been said that Crane used to sit at the base of the town's Soldiers
And Sailors Monument, listening to the soldiers from the 124th NY
Regiment,
also known as the Orange Blossoms.
Crane was to later weave the stories of these war torn soldiers into the
fabric of his classic, The Red Badge Of Courage. The novel's title was born
from the history surrounding the infamous crimson diamond insignia of the
Kearny Division.
Crane was a mere 23 years old when the novel was published.
As a matter of fact, many details of Crane's life in Port Jervis have
served as fodder for his novels.
Port Jervis resident Levi Hume became the model for the main character in
Crane's novel The Monster, a story about a black man who must face the
ridicule of the townspeople.
In real life, Hume was a physically challenged man who was employed as an
ash man. Hume's physical imperfections, coupled with the layers of black soot
he wore as a result of his labors, caused the townspeople to be less than
kind.
Furthermore, The Monster is said to have parallels to one of the town's
most shameful historic events, the only public lynching in New York State.
Interestingly enough, the lynching is said to have occurred in Orange Square(1)
--the very same square in which Crane use to sit with the Orange Blossoms.
Reminiscences of his earlier years are found in The Lynx Hunting, in which
Crane retells the story of his attempt to shoot a cow with a toy gun after one
of his father's sermons.
In addition, The Black Riders, Crane's collection of free verse, was
entirely written in a southeastern New York setting, giving the reader
glimpses of a small town life.
Long known as a region rich in history, the tri-state area can lay claim to
connections to many other celebrities: western novelist, Zane Grey; the father
of silent films, D.W. Griffith; and darlings of the early Hollywood era
Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.