19cohoes.waterford

A Little History of Cohoes and Waterford
COHOES

It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century.
The city's factories processed cotton from the Deep South, produced on plantations in the slave states

1730s The Van Schaick Mansion on Van Schaick Island was built
It was one of the sites used as a military headquarters during the Revolution by the Americans under Major Generals Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates.

In 1811 the Cohoes Manufacturing Company, owned entirely by men from Lansingburg, was incorporated and began a factory for making screws.
This was the first large industry in Cohoes to use the power of the Mohawk River and Cohoes Falls.

1820s, the first cotton mill in Albany County was built in Cohoes. Egberts and Bailey was the first factory to use knitting machinery run by power, based on the Cohoes Company's power canals.

1836 The community became a center of textile manufacturing; the Harmony Manufacturing Company was founded, later famous as Harmony Mills. Cohoes became a mill town, and to an extent a company town.

During the 1870s the mills were enormously profitable because of the Erie Canal, which flowed past them at that time. Mill #3, at over 1,000 feet (300 m) long, has been considered the longest continuous textile mill in the country at the time. Cotton textiles were shipped to New York City, England and Europe, where demand was high

1848, Cohoes was incorporated as a village & in1869 it was chartered as a city

1866, during excavation work for construction the Harmony Mills, the bones of a MASTODON were unearthed over a period of several weeks. This mammal ranged in this territory when humans were first settling here
The Cohoes Mastodon skeleton is on display in the New York State Museum in Albany

1872, the Harmony Mills were the largest cotton mill complex in the world.

Built in 1874 Cohoes Music Hall is the fourth-oldest music hall currently in use in the country, and also serves as the city's visitor center

WATERFORD
The Flight of Locks is the first five (Lock E2-Lock E6) locks along the Erie Canal.
This sequence of locks is the largest lift in the shortest distance, only 1.5 miles, of any system in the world.

1687 The first settlement took place at the site of the current Waterford village, then called "Half Moon Point".

The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. It is located at the junction of the Erie Canal and the Hudson River.

Peebles Island State Park includes hiking and cross-country ski trails, as well as earthworks dating from the Revolutionary War and a visitors' center detailing the island's industrial history.
The park also offers picnic tables with pavilions, river views, and fishing access

1794 The village of Waterford is the oldest incorporated village in the US,

Waterford has been host to "Canal Fest" and "Tugboat Roundup" celebrations for many years.

Ethelda Bleibtrey was born in Waterford, NY, 1920, she became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal for swimming at the games in Antwerp, Belgium.
That gold medal was followed by two more at the same competition, earning her the distinction of being the first woman ever to win three gold medals in the sport.

What to see on the WALK

There are different options for this walk:

1. 7k or 11k Round Trip walk for DRIVERS ONLY
2. 6k, 8, or 11k - One-way linear walk for those riding Convention Buses from Convention Center on Wolf Road
All walks start from same Start Point!

2 magnificent views of Cohoes Falls as well as a sample turbine “sculpture “ and a Veterans Memorial Park and a placard designating the spot where the Cohoes Mastodon was discovered.
Views of Goat Island, The Cohoes Falls, a Railroad Bridge, a hydro spillway, Peebles Island and the Mohawk River.
Old Champlain Canal Trail which is a tributary of the old Erie Canal,
Enter the Waterford Lock #2 to observe the operation of the lock system on the Erie Canal.
Point of confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers.
Cross restored, steel Peebles Island Bridge to Peebles Island State Park where Revolutionary War battles were fought and remnants of Revolutionary War earthworks.
Read placards on the island describing the roles of Generals John Burgoyne and Thaddeus Kosciusko
Only BUS 11k’s will do the outer loop (perimeter trail) of Peebles Island. After going to the Finish Point at the park Pavilion, they will walk the short distance out of the park entrance, over the green bridge to the Matton Canalboat Yard where they can board buses back to the Convention hotel.
ALL Bus Walkers will have an opportunity to view Cohoes Falls up close and personal BY BUS for a photo opportunity after exiting the park and before going back to the Convention hotel!!!
All drivers will be encouraged to drive to Cohoes Falls View Park to see it from another angle and to enjoy a sandwich at LePage’s Sandwich Shop from their balcony.