There was a time when the Palisades riverfront bustled with diverse communities of rivermen and their families. Through images and narrative, historical interpreter Eric Nelsen sheds light on these forgotten people and places — and how, hidden in plain sight, the life of the river communities went on after the park’s creation.

Eric Nelsen was hired as a seasonal employee at the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey in 1992, where he developed a series of “history hikes” to help visitors explore the Palisades. He graduated from Montclair State University in 1997 and the next year became one of the park’s full-time historical interpreters.

In 2001 he directed a video documentary, A New Deal for the Palisades, and in 2007 he coauthored New Jersey’s Palisades Interstate Park, part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series. His current projects include oversight of the historic Kearney House, where he and his colleagues have developed a unique “living history” program based on the house’s role as a nineteenth century Hudson River tavern and homestead, and he supervises park publications, including brochures, interpretive signs, and the park’s website, njpalisades.org.