Located on the western shore of the Hudson River, the town of Esopus is known as "place of the small river, wellspring of creation." Here, Amerindians made wampum belts and forged treaties with rogue ambassador and pioneer Kit Davits; former slave Sojourner Truth began her freedom trail; Judge Parker wrote speeches for his presidential campaign; and on nearby riverbanks, John Burroughs pondered nature and composed his essays. Esopus, with its collection of more than two hundred images, tells not only of these historic figures but also of the immigrants who plied their trades among the ice,...