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Cohoes

Cohoes Chemical Incinerator Communities Being Tested For Pollution

October 2, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

DEC LogoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos and Cohoes Mayor William Keeler have announced the start of a State soil and water sampling initiative to help determine if contaminants are present in communities around the Norlite facility in the city of Cohoes.

The sampling is in response to long-standing community complaints and a recent lawsuit about chemicals being incinerated at the plant, including aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF fire-fighting foam) containing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), as well as other past practices of the facility. [Read more…] about Cohoes Chemical Incinerator Communities Being Tested For Pollution

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Nature Tagged With: Cohoes, DEC, environment, water quality

Progress Being Made At Historic Matton Shipyard in Cohoes

June 28, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Matton Shipyard Cohoes Photo ca 1949The historic Matton Shipyard is a rare surviving example of an early 20th century ship building and repair facility. From 1916 to 1983, Matton workers built more than 340 tug boats, police boats, WWII submarine chasers, and other vessels.

Matton Shipyard is located in Peebles Island State Park at the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. It is strategically linked to several land and water-based recreational trails. [Read more…] about Progress Being Made At Historic Matton Shipyard in Cohoes

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Architecture, Cohoes, empire state trail, Erie Canal, Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor, Historic Preservation, Maritime History

Je me souviens: Cohoes’s Franco-American Heritage Event

May 30, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

upstate NY Franco-AmericansOn June 24, 2018, faculty and students from Siena College and their partners from the Spindle City Historic Society are set to host an event to preserve and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Franco-Americans in Upstate New York.

Like many upstate communities, Cohoes drew French Canadians in search of financial security. Initially some 20 families made the city their home in the 1830s. By 1881 however, Cohoes was the adopted home of over 6,000 Québécois, a number that comprised over a third of the city’s population.

[Read more…] about Je me souviens: Cohoes’s Franco-American Heritage Event

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Cohoes, French History

Early Upper Hudson Valley Beer Event

March 3, 2016 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

upper hudson valley beerThe Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center presents the last of their Winter Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 8th from 7 pm – 8 pm. The featured speaker is Craig Gravina, co-author of the book Upper Hudson Valley Beer and co-founder of the Albany Ale Project.

Brewing in the Hudson Valley has a long and rich history dating back to the first Dutch settlers of 17th century Beverwyck – now present day Albany. An integral part of society, brewing was a major trade in Dutch New York. Since brewery equipment was expensive, many of the brewers were wealthy and many were appointed to positions of authority, becoming the city’s founding fathers. Many of the original Dutch brewer’s families continued beer making well into the 18th Century. Gravina will also be signing and selling his book Upper Hudson Valley Beer. [Read more…] about Early Upper Hudson Valley Beer Event

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Cohoes, Culinary History, Industrial History, New Netherland, Waterford Historical Museum

A Short Biography of Engineer Benjamin Prescott

June 25, 2015 by Kevin Franklin Leave a Comment

Pipes of the Albany Water Works excavated by Wolfert Roost CC circa late 1980s002The Wolfert’s Roost Country Club in Albany maintains a small dam, pond, and pump house to provide water for their golf course. In the 1980s workers excavating the pond, which is fed by the Maezlandtkill, discovered several sections of ancient wooden and very early cast iron pipe along with iron bands. The pipe and other artifacts were placed in the woods near the club’s tennis courts and forgotten.

Benjamin Prescott, engineer of Albany’s first municipal water system and the man responsible for those pipes, is all but equally forgotten, despite an illustrious career in engineering.  Prescott served as an Engineer in the American Revolution, Superintendent of the Springfield Armory, and was the designer of several notable projects, including one of this nation’s first inclined planes (on the Connecticut River). He also conducted a 1790s survey of Niagara Falls, consulted on the Erie Canal, designed the Troy Sloop Lock (the Federal Dam) and more. [Read more…] about A Short Biography of Engineer Benjamin Prescott

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Albany, American Revolution, Cohoes, Engineering History, Hudson River, Industrial History, Niagara River, Political History, Troy, War of 1812, Waterford, Watervliet

New Exhibit: The Edgar Holloway Art Collection

August 20, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Edgar Holloway's Narrowest HouseThe Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) will debut a new, rotating exhibit, Prospect of America: Selections from the Edgar Holloway Art Collection, on Monday, September 8th at 7pm at the 87th Annual Meeting. The exhibit series runs through December 20, 2014. The exhibit is sponsored in part by the McCarthy Charities.

In the early 1970s, Rev. Thomas Phelan was inspired to raise awareness of Troy and the surrounding area’s amazing architectural and industrial heritage. Valuing the power art has to move people to action, Rev. Phelan commissioned English artist Edgar Holloway to spend three summers, from 1973 to 1975, in Troy to document the historic buildings and street scenes. His three years in New York resulted in over 80 watercolors and 15 etchings that have become a historical record themselves of the way Troy, Cohoes, and other outlying areas looked in the mid-1970s. Through Holloway’s art, people began to see the inherent beauty in these often neglected buildings. Advocacy groups formed and several buildings were preserved through the actions of individuals inspired by art. [Read more…] about New Exhibit: The Edgar Holloway Art Collection

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Albany County, Art History, Cohoes, Industrial History, Rensselaer County, Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy

New Netherland Institute News And Events

May 8, 2014 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

NNI Quilt RaffleThe New Netherland Institute (NNI), which is currently commemorating the 1614 establishment of Fort Nassau in Albany, has announced their Annual General Meeting (featuring a tour of the Van Schaick Mansion and a short talk by Russell Shorto); the line-up for the 37th New Netherland Seminar; and an opportunity to win a commemorative quilt. [Read more…] about New Netherland Institute News And Events

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Albany, Cohoes, Conferences, Fort Nassau, New Netherland, New Netherland Institue, Rensselaerswijck Seminar, Van Schaick Mansion

Cohoes in Vintage Images and Postcards

March 15, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

9781467121293Using vintage images and postcards to highlight history is Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series book Cohoes. The new book by the Spindle City Historic Society is releasing on March 24, 2014. It displays more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

This new pictorial history is a tour of landmarks of Cohoes through postcard images, taking readers through distinctive sections of the city including downtown, the mill district, the island and the hill. The book also features notable residents of Cohoes who impacted the city, including vaudeville performers, Revolutionary War officers, explores, industrialists, entrepreneurs, sports figures and daredevils. [Read more…] about Cohoes in Vintage Images and Postcards

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Albany County, Cohoes, Hudson River, Mohawk River, Urban History

The Fenian Brotherhood in Troy, Cohoes, and Waterford

March 4, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fenian meeting coverThe Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center will present a program entitled “Irish Revolutionaries: The Fenian Brotherhood in Troy, Cohoes, and Waterford” with local historian Aaron Robinson.

In the mid-19th century, Irish revolutionaries could be found on the streets of Troy, Waterford, and Cohoes. The lecture talk will consider the Fenian Brotherhood in that area.

This event will be held at 7pm, on March 11, 2014, at McGreivey’s restaurant at 91 Broad St, Waterford, NY. Food and drink available are available for purchase; suggested donation is $6 per person ($5 members).

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Cohoes, Irish History, Troy, Waterford, Waterford Historical Museum

Canal Life: Near Tragedy on the George W. Lee

March 13, 2012 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

In November 1886, Captain John Frawley of the canal boat George W. Lee reached the eastern terminus of the Mohawk River at Cohoes. Before him was the Hudson River intersection: south led to Albany and New York City, and north was the path of the Champlain Canal, which ran from Waterford to Whitehall, at Lake Champlain’s southern tip. Access to the Champlain Canal was on the north bank at the Mohawk’s mouth, opposite Peeble’s Island.

At the mouth of the river was a dam, maintaining calm water so the boats could cross the river, and about 500 feet upstream from the dam was a bridge. Canal boats were pulled by tow ropes linked to teams of mules or horses. To cross from the south bank of the Mohawk to the north, towing teams used the bridge, which is what Frawley did.

Sounds simple, and usually, it was. But the Mohawk was badly swollen from several days of rain. Traveling at night, Frawley was perhaps unaware that the normally strong current had intensified. Water was fairly leaping over the nine-foot-high dam.

Accompanying the captain were his mother, around 60 years old; his ten-year-old son; and the boat’s steersman, Dennis Clancy. To help ensure that things went okay, Frawley left the boat to assist the team driver during the crossing of the 700-foot-long bridge. They moved slowly—the rope extended sideways from the bridge downstream towards the boat, an angle much more difficult than pulling a load forward along the canal.

Below them, the George W. Lee lay heavy in the current, straining against the rope. All went well until the bridge’s midpoint was reached, when, with a sound like a gunshot, the rope snapped. Horrified, they watched as the boat swung around, slammed sideways into the dam, and plunged over the edge. Nothing was left but darkness.

Shock and grief enveloped them at such a sudden, terrible loss. Within minutes, though, a light appeared on the boat’s deck. It had held together! At least one person had survived, but no one knew how many, or if any were injured. The roar of the river drowned out any attempt at yelling back and forth. With the boat aground, there was nothing to do but sit and wait until morning.

With daylight came great news. All were okay! But, as had happened the previous evening, great elation was followed by great uncertainty. How could they be saved? The river remained high and dangerous. The boat, resting on the rocks below the dam, could not be reached. And the November chill, heightened by cold water pouring over the dam all around them, threatened the stranded passengers with hypothermia.

A rescue plan was devised, and by late afternoon, the effort began. The state scow (a large, flat-bottomed boat), manned by a volunteer crew of seven brave men, set out on a dangerous mission. Connected to the bridge by a winch system using two ropes, the scow was slowly guided to the dam, just above the stranded boat.

The men began talking with the passengers to discuss their evacuation. Then, without warning, disaster struck. Something within the winch mechanism failed, and again, with a loud cracking sound, the rope snapped. Over the dam went the scow, fortunately missing the canal boat. Had they hit, the results would have been catastrophic.

Briefly submerged, the scow burst to the surface. A safe passage lay ahead, but the drifting scow was instead driven towards nearby Buttermilk Falls by the swift current. Two men leaped overboard and swam for shore in the icy water. The rest decided to ride it out.

In one reporter’s words, “The scow sped like an arrow toward Buttermilk Falls. It seemed to hang an instant at the brink, and then shot over the falls. It landed right side up and soon drifted ashore.” Incredibly, everyone survived intact. Chilled, wet, and shaken, but intact.

Meanwhile, still stuck at the base of the dam was a canal boat with cold, hungry, and frightened passengers. A new plan was needed, but darkness was descending. The stranded victims would have to spend another night on the rocks.

On the following day, Plan B was tried. According to reports, “A stout rope was stretched from the Waterford bridge, over the dam, to a small row boat at Peeble’s Island [a distance of about 1800 feet.] Two men stood on the bridge and pulled the skiff upstream until it came alongside the canal boat Lee. The party embarked and the boat was allowed to drift back to the island.”

What an amazing, fortuitous outcome. Two boats (one at night) over a dam; three people trapped for more than 36 hours in a raging river; two men swimming for their lives in icy water; and five men and a boat over a waterfall. All that potential for tragedy, and yet all survived unscathed.

Photos: The dam at Cohoes, looking west from Peeble’s Island; A canal boat scene at Cohoes.

Lawrence Gooley has authored ten books and dozens of articles on the North Country’s past. He and his partner, Jill McKee, founded Bloated Toe Enterprises in 2004. Expanding their services in 2008, they have produced 19 titles to date, and are now offering web design. For information on book publishing, visit Bloated Toe Publishing.

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga Tagged With: Albany County, Champlain Canal, Cohoes, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Lawrence Gooley, Maritime History, Mohawk River, Transportation

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