Federal Dam

The Ecological Impacts of 200 Years of Hudson River Dredging

November 13, 2025 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

The navigable portion of Hudson River provides a unique ecosystem with highly diverse habitats, despite being dramatically impacted by 200 years of dredging, retaining walls, and industrial development.

More than 85% of the river’s islands have been eliminated and most of the river’s side channels have been filled in. About half of the river shoreline between Troy and the Mario Cuomo Bridge (formally Tappan Zee) has been engineered. [Read more…] about The Ecological Impacts of 200 Years of Hudson River Dredging

Troy’s Port and Harbor Facilities in the 1940s

July 24, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The following description is from 1941.

The city of Troy is situated on the Hudson River, approximately 151 miles north of the Battery, New York City. It is the eastern and southern termini of the Erie and Champlain branches, respectively, of the New York State Barge Canal System.

The harbor [in 1941] embraces the entire waterfront of the city of Troy from the southerly limits of the city to the Federal lock and dam, the controlling channel depths being 11 feet with widths varying from 170 to 400 feet up to the Delaware & Hudson Railroad bridge, and from 90 to 300 feet to the Lock. [Read more…] about Troy’s Port and Harbor Facilities in the 1940s

Navigating the Port of Albany in 1941

July 13, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The following description is from 1941.

The Port of Albany is situated in the eastern part of New York State about six miles below the head of tidewater on the Hudson River and about 143 miles north of the Battery New York City. The port district as legally established embraces the city of Albany and the lands belonging to the city of Albany within the town of Bethlehem, the city of Rensselaer, and all lands and waters in the Hudson River contiguous thereto.

The district is an important rail center from which railroad lines radiate in all directions. It is only a short distance approximately six miles south of the eastern and southern termini of the Erie and Champlain branches of the New York State Barge Canal system. [Read more…] about Navigating the Port of Albany in 1941

A Short Biography of Engineer Benjamin Prescott

June 25, 2015 by Kevin Franklin 1 Comment

The 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

Federal Dam

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