USA > New York > Albany County > Cohoes > The history of Cohoes, New York, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 12
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On March 5th an act introduced by Hon. C. H. Adams, as- semblyman from this district, was passed by the legislature, "enabling the electors of the town of Watervliet to vote by districts for the election of town officers." The third district constituted by this law embraced Cohoes, and the citizens were no longer compelled to go out to Van Vran- ken's Corners to vote-a change which gave great satis- faction, for the country roads were generally in an almost impassable condition at the time of holding town elections,
On the 19th of April, a fire broke out in the picking room of the Harmony Mills which for a time threatened the de- struction of the entire establishment, but was fortunately kept under control by the exertions of the firemen, who were assisted by Nos. 4 and 5 of Lansingburg. The damage to machinery and building amounted to $10,000. The Lansingburg firemen were hospitably entertained by the village department, and their services were handsomely rewarded by the Harmony Company.
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1858. HISTORY OF COHOES.
Another fire, on the night of May 8th, destroyed the " Wilkinson machine shop" with several small outbuildings which had been used in connection with the axe factory. The building had played an important part in the early his- tory of Cohoes manufactures, having been the location at different times, of a dozen business enterprises. The occu- pants at this date were: Charles M. Carleton, silk weaver, John Baker, bobbin turner, G. R. Archer, picker manufac- turer, Mr. O'Hare, wagon maker and Porter & Hall, file cutters. The total loss was $7,000, of which $4,000 were in- sured. The property was owned by Mrs. C. A. Olmsted of New York. The Cataract in describing the fire said: " Our firemen were promptly on hand and did most efficient service in subduing and preventing the flames from communicating to the adjoining buildings. They are a body of men of whom we may be justly proud. Although many excellent companies were here from abroad, our noble firemen proved themselves equal to any on the ground."
Another loser by this fire was A. J. Griffin, who had ma- chinery and stock stored in the building to the value of $500 or 8600, and intended soon to commence the manu- facture of sashes and blinds. After the fire his establish- Inent was located in the mill on Ontario street (now Brockway's) which had been recently vacated by Barber & Leckie. Another concern occupying the same building at this time was the bedstead factory established by Scott & Miner, the firm soon afterward being changed to Scott & Hildreth. 1
The Cataract for June 5th, contained the following : " Our Sprinkler. Any one who contemplates writing up the rise and progress of Cohoes, will please bear in mind that on Monday, May 31st, 1858, Thos. Van Dercar, an
1 Soon after the death of Mr. Scott in 1863, the business was sold by Mr. Hil- dreth to L. Greenman. The latter had for some time as his superintendent, Wm. Foote, who had been connected formerly with the bedstead factory established by Jeremiah Clute. In 1865, P. S. Holeapple, the present proprietor, became interested in the business and assumed sole control February 1809.
18
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enterprising citizen, introduced the first street sprinkler, to the infinite delight and satisfaction of the citizens, who could hardly be restrained from manifesting their gratifica- tion by forming a procession and marching in the rear of the perambulating shower."
The block on the corner of Remsen and White streets, which had been commenced by Mr. Egberts in April of the previous year, was completed this spring. The hall in the third story was formally opened on the evening of July 8th, by a concert given by "the choir of St. Paul's church, Troy, and other eminent artists," under the direction of the ladies of St. John's church of this place. The programme of the evening, which was described as the most attractive ever presented to a Cohoes audience, was prefaced by the reading of some dedicatory verses, by Mr. Dunham of West Troy. The erection of the building, which was then one of the finest in the place, was a source of great satisfaction to the community, who had long suffered from the lack of a proper hall for entertainments. The room in the second story, now occupied by the common council chamber, was leased in May by the trustees for village purposes, according to a recommendation made by President Landon in his annual report, in which he stated that, "the trustees will be under the necessity of asking at the annual meeting for an appro- priation to rent a suitable room in some convenient locality for the purpose of meeting, the present room being entirely too small for the ordinary transaction of business, it being used as a trustees' room, and a room for the board of edu- cation, as also for a village library room, and as a place for the board of health to meet. Adding the tables, desks and book cases of these several departments, renders it totally inadequate for the necessities required. The room adjoin- ing, occupied by engine company No. 1, is altogether too contracted for the use of that company."
On the evening of Sept. 10th, a meeting was called at the Methodist church for the purpose of organizing a Young
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Men's Christian Association, of which H. B. Silliman was chosen chairman and W. T. Dodge, secretary. The follow- ing were appointed as a committee to draft a constitution: Herbert Hastings, Peter LeBoeuf, II. B. Silliman, A. Peck, D. H. Van Auken, D. J. Johnston, Jas. H. Masten, Wm. Nut- tall, Wmn. Williams, Joseph Chadwick. The first officers of the association, who were elected Sept. 27, were as follows: president, H. B. Silliman; vice presidents, Jno. V. S. Lan- sing, I. Quackenbush, C. N. Gregory, H. Hastings and Wm. Nuttall; corresponding secretary, C. F. Ingraham; recording secretary, W. T. Dodge ; treasurer, D. J. Johnston; mana- gers, Wm. Benedict, F. Thompson, Silas Whitney, J. H. Masten.
The completion of the water works received the follow- ing comment in the Cutaract of Dec. 4. " On Wednesday last, December 1st, the water from the new reservoir was, for the first time, let into the pipes, and with the most grati- fying results. A trial being had for the purpose of deter- mining the pressure of the water in the pipes, a stream was thrown completely over Root's knitting mill without difficulty, and a stream was also thrown in a horizontal di- rection one hundred feet. There was but one break in the whole length of the pipes laid down and that was not a serious one. We consider this an event of local importance second to none in the history of our village, and its citizens may justly pride themselves on so valuable an acquisition as the Cohoes Water Works." The reservoir, which has a capacity of 3,000,000 gallons, covers two acres of ground. Under the arrangements then made the water was raised one hundred feet from the upper level of the Cohoes Com- pany's Canal to the reservoir at the rate of 35,000 gallons per hour, passing through 1200 feet of ten inch pipe. A large number of pipes were laid, so that including those which had belonged to the Cohoes Company, there were then five miles of pipes of sheet-iron and cement, from two to
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ten inches in diameter laid throughout the village ; additional fire hydrants were also placed at various points at an aver- age distance of four hundred feet apart. The pump house, containing accommodations for a hose company, was built by P. B. Ferguson and John Mc Enerny, under direction of Joshua R. Clarke. Wm. Dickey had the contract for street excavations, and Robert Safely that for hydrants and gates. The pump was driven by a forty-five horse power wheel, designed by E. Geyelin of Philadelphia, and constructed by Fuller & Safely of Cohoes who were builders of all the pumping machinery. It was put in place under superin- tendence of D. H. Van Auken, engineer. The entire cost of the works was $60,000.
In February, 1859, measures were taken for the establish- ment of a bank, an institution much needed, and one which had been talked of ever since the incorporation of the village. The stock, $100,000, was taken almost entirely by citizens of the place. The first officers, who were elected in March, were as follows: president, Egbert Egberts ; cashier, James M. Sill, of Albany; directors, Egbert Egberts, Daniel Simmons, T. G. Younglove, Wm. Orelup, Jr., Wm. G. Caw, W. F. Carter, J. G. Root, John Sill and C. II. Adams.
The death of Dr. Henry L. Landon, March 11th, made vacant the office of president of the village. An election was accordingly held by the trustees, which resulted in the choice of Jenks Brown to fill the vacancy.
In April the Reformed Dutch church was torn down to give place to the one now standing on the site. In demol- ishing the building, the tin box was found which had been placed there at the laying of the corner stone in Sept. 1838. Among the documents it was found to contain was a copy of the Bible, of the constitution of the United States and of the different states in the union, the catechisms, constitution and articles of faith of the Reformed Dutch church, a list of those who formed the first consistory and the first build-
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ing committee - a copy of the Albany Argus and the Christian Intelligencer, and a record of the exercises which took place at the time.
The corner stone of the new church was laid on June 22d, with the following ceremonies: "The stone was laid by Rev. O. H. Gregory, D.D., of West Troy. The script- ures were read by Rev. Dr. Pohlman of Albany, and ad- dresses were made by Rev. R. Van Brunt of Waterford, Rev. Dr. Gregory, and by the pastor Rev. C. N. Waldron. The choir of the church, under the direction of Mr. Alden, sang several appropriate hymns, and the sabbath school children of the church sang one of their favorite pieces."
The corner stone of the present Methodist church was laid June 21st, with appropriate ceremonies.
Among the subjects which received frequent attention in the local columns of the Cataract was base-ball, a game then just coming into favor, and one which awakened considerable interest among the young men here. The Vanguard Base Ball Club, followed in later years by the Joe Leggett Club, was for some time a flourishing insti- tution of Cohoes. Among the most prominent members of the Vanguard were A. T. Becker, Dr. G. H. Billings, P. D. Niver, John MeDermott, Isaac V. Fletcher, Joseph Almy, Jr., Daniel McElwain, Joseph Chadwick, Wm. Arthur, Jr., and Joseph Damond. A number of match games were played with neighboring clubs, in which the Vanguards had their share of victory. The ground for a number of years was on the hill north of Columbia street beyond the Central Rail Road.
During the summer D. Simmons & Co. commenced the building of the dyke across the sprout of the river from their lower forge to Simmons's (formerly called Demilt's) Island. It was constructed for the purpose of relieving their wheel from backwater and also with a view to opening the island to the public. The Cutaruet said, " Mr. Simmons could
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not have engaged in an enterprise that promises better, as it only needs the improvement contemplated to make the island lots eagerly sought after, and greatly increase the value of his water lots in that vicinity." Other improve- ments during this year were thus spoken of in the Cataract of July 30 : " Good walks are now laid nearly all the way on both sides of Remsen street from Factory to Columbia streets ; on Mohawk street, from its junction with Remsen near Hurst's Mill to A. Ferguson's residence in the lower ward (corner of Howard street) and also on White street from its intersection with Mohawk to the Erie Canal, to- gether with many others on the less important thorough- fares. The most of these improvements have been made during the past year, and are a commendable evidence of local pride and thrift. Besides the above, many places of business have been changed, enlarged and greatly improved, and many new ones erected."
The principal new factories of the year were those built by T. G. Younglove, on the site of Miles White's axe fac- tory. The larger one, which has since been remodelled and is now known as the Empire Mill, was commenced early in the season. It was of brick, 100 by 40 feet and five stories high, and was built by Henry Howarth. It was occupied soon after its completion by the Albany Pin Com- pany. The building near the river now occupied by A. J. Griffin was completed in July. The first story was occu- pied by Griffin & Co. (B. A. Glines having been admitted as partner), the second story by Scott & Hildreth's bed- stead factory, and the third story by North's and Ten Eyck's bobbin shop, which had been moved from Park- hurst's bedstead factory.' In the building vacated by Scott & Hildreth, and Griffin & Co., a knitting mill was
1 This firm had bought of John Baker. It was succeeded by North & Chesebro. January, 1860 ; North & Bogue, July, 1860 ; Bogue & Clark, 1866, and Asa Clark & Son, the last proprietors.
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established by Henry Brockway, who has since made large additions to the original structure. 1
Among the new firms of the year was Wild & Young- love, who bought the mill belonging to Isaac D. F. Lansing near the Cohoes Company's dam, and established the straw board manufactory with which Mr. Younglove has ever since been connected. The mill had been for some time occupied for a similar purpose. In 1830 coarse wrapping paper was manufactured there by a man named Bryce, and some years later Gerret R. Lansing (who was succeeded by I. D. F. Lansing) commenced making straw board, but neither of these establishments were on an extensive scale.2
The proper line of Mohawk street had from the earliest days of the village been a subject of controversy, and as in the case of Saratoga street, encroachments by various par- ties were numerous. Before 1833 the Cohoes Company owned only the land on the west of the old highway, but when in that year they purchased the Demilt tract or Factory lot, they proceeded to straighten the line of the street in several places. Near Cataract alley the old road ran so far to the west that it passed close by the front of the present residence of H. S. Bogue, and between Seneca and Oneida streets it made a deep bend toward the east. Mr. Olmsted, who occupied at one time the present residence of M. S. Younglove, extended his wooden sidewalk to the corrected line of the Cohoes Company, and it made such a prominent object in the street that it was known as Olmsted's dock, and Olmsted's raft. The efforts of the company were of little avail, however, and nearly all the houses on the west
1 Mr. Brockway sold out in 1863, but rebought the property in the fall of '64, com- mencing operations the following spring.
2 A new mill was built in 1863, and in 1866 Mr. Wild retired. The present com- pany, with a capital of $85,000, was incorporated June 23, 1873, with the following officers : president. T. G. Younglove ; secretary and treasurer, D. H. Van Auken ; trustees, T. G. Younglove, Geo. Z. Collins, M. S. Younglove, D. T. Lamb, D. II. Van Auken, Geo. H. Stewart, Levi Dodge.
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side of Mohawk street between Seneca and Oneida, extend into the street as it was laid out. The following in regard to the matter is from the Cataract of April 7, 1860 : "It will be remembered that a short time since the village au- thorized the corporation counsel, Jas. F. Crawford, Esq., to commence legal proceedings against several property owners whose buildings projected several feet into Mohawk street near its intersection with Oneida. The first suit, that against II. Bortel, was tried before Squire Hubbard, on Wednesday last and resulted adversely to the village ; it being proved that Mohawk street was a highway under control of the town of Watervliet, and that therefore, the village bad nothing to do with its boundaries. This will probably settle the matter for the present, at least."
Another suit in which the village was interested, concern- ing the appointment of water commissioners, was decided in the following month. It had been pending since 1858, and had excited much local interest. It was necessary for the board of trustees of that year to appoint water com- missioners in place of Messrs. Wild and Carter, whose terms of office then expired. As the board was equally divided in politics it was evident that no appointments could be made unless a compromise could be effected. According to the water act, vacancies in the water board were to be filled by a two-thirds vote of the trustees ; but some of the trus- tees were advised by Judge Parker that a majority vote would suffice, and accordingly at a meeting held May 3, when one of the board was absent, a motion was carried that Messrs. J. F. Crawford and Jno. W. Frink be ap- pointed to fill the vacancies. This was vetoed the next day by President Landon, and at a meeting of the full board, held the same evening, Messrs. Wild and Carter were declared re-appointed. The matter was carried to the courts, where it remained for two years. The final decision of Judge Hogeboom was that Messrs. Crawford and Frink were rightfully appointed, and they served the remainder of their term.
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HISTORY OF COHOES. 145
A marked improvement of this year was the increase of church accommodations. In January, the alterations in St. John's church which had been for some weeks in progress, were completed, and were thus noticed in the Cataract : "An addition of thirty feet has been made to its length, the outside has been neatly painted and new blinds have been put up. In the interior a much needed change has taken place. The increased length of the house gives seve- ral additional seats and has much improved its general appearance, while the decorations of the ceilings together with the beautiful stained glass window in the rear pro- duce a fine effect."
The new Methodist church was dedicated on Feb. 22d. Rev. Dr. Haven, editor of Zion's Herald, preached the opening sermon in the morning, which was followed by the dedicatory services, participated in by the presiding elder, Rev. Mr. Seymour of Waterford, assisted by several emi- nent clergymen from abroad. In the evening a sermon was preached by Rev. Wm. P. Corbitt of New York. Subscriptions towards liquidating the debt of the church were taken after each service, amounting in the morning to $1,700, and in the evening to $800. The church, which has a seating capacity of 800, cost about $30,000.
The Reformed church was dedicated April 11th. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Rogers of Albany, and was followed by the prayer of dedication, offered by Rev. I. N. Wyckoff of the same place. Rev. Mr. Dickson, Rev. Dr. Gregory and Rev. Mr. Van Brunt of Albany were also present and took part in the services. Rev. Mr. Seelye of Schenectady occupied the pulpit in the evening. The building, which is 98 by 74 feet, and capable of seating 850 persons, was erected at a cost of $30,000. The architect was L. A. Gouch of Yonkers. The building com- mittee were Egbert Egberts, S. A. Becker and Jacob I. Lansing.
In June the Sisters of St. Joseph, an order established
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1859.
the preceding year in connection with the Catholic church, took possession of the dwelling on Mohawk street north of Cataract alley, now owned by Solomon Stimson, where they established the parish school. After the completion of the new parsonage of St. Bernard's they removed to the building next the old church, which they now occupy.
There were during this year several important business changes. The Ogden Mills property was purchased by the Harmony Company, who enlarged and improved the build- ings at a cost of $200,000, giving them a capacity of 30,000 spindles. '
The partnership between Root and Parsons was dissolved, Mr. Parsons, with J. H. Parsons as partner, retaining the old establishment,2 and Mr. Root commencing the erection of a new mill on Mohawk street which was one of the most complete in the place. The latter admitted his sons Messrs. A. J. and S. G. Root to partnership, and the business was conducted under the firm name of Root & Sons.3
A new enterprise was Blake & Son's saw works, which occu- pied the first, second and third stories of T. G. Younglove's new building on Mohawk street. The polishing and grind- ing machine in use was the joint invention of Messrs. Blake & Dodge of Cohoes. Between forty and fifty dozen wood saws were sent to market daily.
An axe factory was subsequently established by this firm in the rear of the saw works which did not, however, con- tinue long in operation.
In the latter part of the year the flour mill near the old
1 The stock company which had been organized in 1817 failed in 1851, and in the following year the business came under control of Brown Bros. & Co., who had been heavy creditors of the old firm. The buildings passed into the possession of the Cohoes Company. The agent under the new management was Waterman Smith who was succeeded in 1853, by Jenks Brown.
" After the death of Mr. L. S. Parsons in 1864, the present firm was organized.
" Mr. Root retired in 1869, and the firm became J. G. Root's Sons, and so remained until the formation of the present company, January 1st, 1875.
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junction, owned by G. M. Cropsey & Co., was completed. The building was 55 by 30 feet and three stories high.'
The manufacture of soap was commenced by Walter Campbell in the building on Oneida street east of the rail road, which had some time before been occupied for that purpose. "
The Cataract during the year contained a number of communications and articles on the water rents, concerning which dissatisfaction had arisen. In one of these, which gave some interesting figures in regard to mill property in Cohoes, it was shown that the total assessed valuation of such property for the preceding year was $476,000, and its owners paid a water tax of $780.25, and that during the preceding ten years twenty-one fires had occurred in mill property.
The census taken during the year showed an increase in population since 1855 of 2,694. The number of deaths re- ported for the last year was 183. The statistics of manufac- tures were as follows :
Am't capital employed in manf'g,. $2,078,500
Operatives employed in factories,. 3,728
Wages paid monthly to operatives, $53,862
The remarkable increase in the business activity of Cohoes and its material improvement in many particulars, which had been the chief characteristics of the period just de- scribed, became less noticeable after the outbreak of the rebellion in the spring of 1861. Instead of recording con- stant evidences of growth, the local columns of the village newspaper were devoted mainly to matters connected with the war, and items of this sort furnish the principal materials for the history of the place during the next few years.
! This property was bought by Bills and Sage of Troy, March 1864. In the follow- ing year it came into the possession of Mills and McMartin of Albany, and subse- quently Jas. McMartin, the present owner, became sole proprietor.
2 The subsequent proprietors have been ; M. M. Wilson & Co., 1868, P. D. Niver, 1874, F. W. Grant, 1875, Mrs. H. R. Grant.
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HISTORY OF COHOES.
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VIII. THE PART TAKEN BY COHOES IN THE WAR.
AT the opening of the war, Cohoes was not behind neighboring towns in manifestations of patriotism, and was prompt in the contribution of funds and recruits. The first public demonstration was a meeting held in Egberts Hall April 25, to raise money for the support of the families of volunteers. Egbert Egberts was called to the chair, and the following gentlemen were chosen vice presidents : Sid- ney Alden, C. H. Adams, Wm. Burton, Joshua Bailey,. . John Lyons, T. G. Younglove, H. D. Fuller, W. N. Chad- wick, Jas. Hayden, Robert Johnston, Abram Lansing, Henry Brockway, Wm. G. Caw. The secretaries were as follows : D. J. Johnston, Jas. H. Masten, Murray Hubbard, M. Mon- ahon, S. V. Trull, H. S. Bogue. After prayer by Rev. Mr. Spor, a series of patriotic resolutions was read and adopted. The president then stated the object of the meeting, after which stirring addresses were made by S. W. Lovejoy, Jacob W. Miller, Rev. Thos. Keveney, Rev. Dr. Reed, Rev. Mr. Spor, II. B. Silliman, T. G. Younglove and H. D. Fuller. Collectors were then appointed, and the following finance committee : S. A. Becker, J. R. Clarke, F. Henderson, Edward O'Reilly, I. Quackenbush and Wm. Burton; Edward W. Fuller was chosen treasurer and the books were opened, the subscriptions of those present amounting to $3,135. Further contributions were made until within a few weeks the fund amounted to nearly $5,000.
Another evidence of loyalty in a less substantial form was spoken of as follows in the Cataract of April 27 :
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