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Industrial History

The Gasholder House: A Troy Landmark

December 30, 2020 by Suzanne Spellen Leave a Comment

Troy gasholder houseThere are only eleven gasholder houses left in the United States. Troy has the largest, and one of the finest examples of this type of 19th century utility storage facility. [Read more…] about The Gasholder House: A Troy Landmark

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, energy, Industrial History, Menands, Troy

Sullivan County D&H Canal History Highlighted With ‘Kate Project’

December 23, 2020 by John Conway Leave a Comment

OntheTowpathDuring the month of December in 1824, brothers William and Maurice Wurts were diligently planning a presentation to potential investors in their ambitious project to build a canal connecting their coal fields in northeastern Pennsylvania to the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Sullivan County D&H Canal History Highlighted With ‘Kate Project’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: D&H Canal, Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Hudson River, Industrial History, New York City, Sullivan County, Transportation History

A Tannery Fire Transformed Kaydeross Valley Communities

December 20, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Bulls Head Tannery Employees in Ballston SpaToday the crossing of Middle Line Road and Geyser Road in Saratoga County contains a few houses and a small parking lot to access the Kayaderosseras Creek. But in the mid-1800s, it was the site of a thriving hamlet of several hundred inhabitants called Milton Center.

Locally renowned Revolutionary War Lt. Colonel James Gordon became an early entrepreneur after the war. He built one of Milton’s earliest gristmills on the creek by 1800 as well as other small mills to the south in the Town of Ballston. [Read more…] about A Tannery Fire Transformed Kaydeross Valley Communities

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Fires, Industrial History, Milton, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs

Ballston Spa’s Abandoned 1814 Factory Awaits Rediscovery

November 26, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Ballston Spa in 1815In November, 1813, nine men met in the city of New York to sign an agreement, handwritten by Nicholas Low, to form the Ballston Spa Company for the manufacture of cotton, wool and linen fabrics. They pledged an initial capital of $100,000 in shares of $100 each. A month later the Company announced it would “extend the capital stock” to $800,000, a staggering sum for those days.

Low was a businessman and friend of the rich and powerful of the nation. One was his late colleague Alexander Hamilton. During the 1790s, Low helped midwife the birth of the village of Ballston Spa, in Saratoga County.  He owned most of the land upon which it was laid out and spent a fortune developing the village, including the famous Sans Souci Hotel. [Read more…] about Ballston Spa’s Abandoned 1814 Factory Awaits Rediscovery

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Industrial History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, War of 1812

The Hudson River’s Fortress of Shoddy in Troy

November 16, 2020 by Suzanne Spellen 4 Comments

1 Jackson Street by by Suzanne SpellenDriving north on I-787 approaching Troy you can see an iconic building – a tall red brick building with turrets that looks like a fortress.

It’s at 1 Jackson Street. What I like to call the Fortress of Shoddy. [Read more…] about The Hudson River’s Fortress of Shoddy in Troy

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Hudson River, Industrial History, Labor History, Troy

The 1869 Shooting of Thomas Brown in Corinth

November 13, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Brown Woolen Mill as seen from Palmer Falls circa 1865A fatal mistake on Sunday evening, November 7th, 1869 resulted in the death of Thomas Brown, agent and superintendent of the Palmer Falls Water Power Company and Woolen Factory in Corinth.

Brown, a Scottish immigrant, had come to the area from Niagara Falls as a speculator with plans to improve the water flow on the Hudson River at Palmer Falls. He hoped to sell or lease rights to the abundant waterpower with property along the Hudson to manufacturers. A canal was added to provide hydropower to an edge tool factory operated by Brown in 1860. [Read more…] about The 1869 Shooting of Thomas Brown in Corinth

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Corinth, Crime and Justice, Industrial History, International Paper, Saratoga, Saratoga County

Ben Stickney’s Press: A New York Inventor’s Piece of World Postal History

October 1, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Stickney Presses US Treasury DepartmentAppeals from officials in the Adirondacks of Upstate New York to President Calvin Coolidge in 1924 resulted in the reappointment to federal government service of “undoubtedly the greatest inventive genius that Essex County has ever produced.”

Benjamin R. Stickney, a Moriah Center native, was a chief engineer at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing when President Warren Harding dismissed Stickney and 27 other federal bureaucrats, without notice, on March 27, 1922. [Read more…] about Ben Stickney’s Press: A New York Inventor’s Piece of World Postal History

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Engineering History, Essex County, Industrial History, Port Henry, Postal Service, Ticonderoga

Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’

September 27, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Union Mill (left), West Bag Factory and George West Office Building from Prospect Street in 2008 (courtesy Wikipedia User Daniel Case)One of the most prosperous residents in the history of Ballston Spa, NY, was a “Paper Bag King” who once laid claim to the largest manila paper bag operation in the world, also located in Saratoga County.

George West, was born in the English village of Kentisbeare in 1822. He was the sixth of nine children, and as soon as he was old enough West followed in his father’s footsteps and began working at a local paper mill. [Read more…] about Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Industrial History, Labor History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

The Burden Iron Works of Troy: A Short History

September 10, 2020 by Suzanne Spellen Leave a Comment

Burden Iron Works FurnacesH. Burden & Sons, also known as the Burden Iron Works, was a marvel of nineteenth century industrial ingenuity. From its foundries and assembly lines in South Troy, the company produced horseshoes that shod the Union Army, railroad spikes for tracks that crossed the continental United States, and rivets, for, well, just about everything.

The inventor of the Ferris Wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., was an 1881 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).  He was no doubt influenced by one of Troy’s most impressive industrial monuments – the Burden Water Wheel. [Read more…] about The Burden Iron Works of Troy: A Short History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Industrial History, Labor History, Troy

DEC Plans To Shore-Up Saranac River’s Imperial Mills Dam

July 31, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Imperial DamNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of final plans for the Imperial Mills Dam on the Saranac River in Plattsburgh.

The plan shores-up the dam to bring it into compliance with dam safety regulations and adds a carry for paddlers and a fish ladder to provide for passage of landlocked Atlantic salmon. There have been calls to remove the dam entirely, including by Lake Champlain Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the City of Plattsburgh and return the river to a more natural state and reduce the threat of flooding in the city.  DEC’s announcement said they met with Clinton County officials before finalizing the plan. [Read more…] about DEC Plans To Shore-Up Saranac River’s Imperial Mills Dam

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Adirondack Dams, DEC, development, fish, Fisheries, fishing, Industrial History, nature, Plattsburgh, Salmon, Saranac River, Wildlife

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