USA > New York > Albany County > Cohoes > The history of Cohoes, New York, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 16
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Several theories were advanced to account for the burial of the bones in the peat bed in such a manner - the one sup- ported by the highest authority being that they were thus disposed by the action of moving water or ice. In the former case it may be supposed that the body of the animal had floated down the stream, gradually decomposing, while fragments were from time to time detached, and what re- mained was deposited in the hole where the bulk of the skeleton was found ; in the latter, the theory was, that the remains were imbedded in a glacier from the melting edge of which they were dropped, and preserved, first by a cover- ing of water in the depression, and afterward by an accumu- lation of mud, marl or peaty matter ; that there may have been similar remains deposited in the gravel, but that the percolating water had entirely or for the most part de- stroyed them. At a discussion of the matter held by the national academy of science at Hartford, it was stated that "the facts brought out in connection with the Cohoes mas- todon forever set at rest the commonly received opinion that the mastodon bones usually found in the marshes are the remains of those animals who visit these places for food and drink."
Several offers were received by the Harmony Co. from public institutions for the purchase of the remains, and it was thought at one time that they would be sold and the proceeds given to the Union Sunday School. It was finally decided, however, to present them to the state. The legis- lature voted an appropriation of $2,000 for completing the search for the bones, and mounting the skeleton, and passed a joint resolution tendering thanks to Mr. Wild and the Harmony Co. for their generosity. In the following year the skeleton was placed in position in the State Cabinet of Natural History, at Albany.
One of the amusing results of the discovery of the mas-
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todon was the publication at different times of letters in several newspapers from active correspondents who had ascertained by talking with old inhabitants, that the skeleton was a humbug. The following, published in the Rutland Herald, in April, 1870, is a specimen of these productions, though more circumstantial than most of them:
" There is another sell in Albany, quite equal to the cardiff giant - but not got up expressly for the occasion. I mean the Cohoes mastodon, so called, now on exhibition in the Geolo- gical rooms in this city. It will be recollected that in 1866, as a party at Cohoes were digging to secure a reliable place as a foundation for a factory, the workmen struek upon the bones of a large animal, which some of the savans declared to be those of a mastodon, but all were not agreed upon this name. Henry M. Gaine, a geologist of Saratoga, wrote two or three articles for the newspapers in which he asserted that the teeth of this fossil were not those of the extinct mastodon. But he was ridiculed for expressing such senti- ments and the term mastodon was applied to the skeleton of the animal when it was set up for exhibition. It seems a great pity to take away this name, for with it departs the great antiquity of these bones, and with it the finely wrought theory of their having been taken from that huge pot hole of peat by an immense glacier, that separated the different animal parts, and deposited them in many different places. But we will tell a story related to us by Mr. Wm. J. Brad- ley, of Ballston, N. Y., a respected and truthful citizen of that place, aged sixty-four years. He says he peddled tin for Wm. J. Benedict, of Schenectady, for two or three years, and for several years he followed a caravan -June, Titus, and Angevine's, It was his custom to travel from place to place in the night and sell his wares each day at auction near the tent of the caravan. In the fall of 1833, he was going from Schenectady to Troy, following the ele- phant, which in those days was taken from place to place in the night to escape observation -and when near what is now Cohoes, but which then had only a house or two, he found that the elephant had fallen dead in the road. The keeper had sawed off the tusks and was cutting the body into pieces that it might be drawn out of the road. This was no small job, for the elephant was one of the largest ever exhibited in this country. Mr. Bradley had a nice span of Canadian ponies on his peddler's cart. He took them off,
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and assisted by Aaron Ackley, then of Troy, who led one of the frightened horses while Mr. B. led the other, they drew the body off by piece meal, and dropped it into a bog hole some six or eight rods distant, the identical one, as Mr. B. thinks, in which this so called mastodon was found."
An important addition to the public buildings of the place was the new St. Bernard's church, which had been in pro- gress since 1863, and was this fall completed. The church, the style of which is Romanesque, is 160 by 80 feet. It has nine rows of aisles and a transept with eight rows of pews, and will seat 1,400 persons on the floor. There is an end gallery capable of accommodating 500 children, and a gal- lery for the choir. The sanctuary is semi-circular, forty feet wide by twenty-six deep. The altar is of white and gold, the white being composed of marble and scagliola ; under the altar is the entombment, full size, in alto reliero. Around the base of the sanctuary is an arcade, twelve feet in height, the space above which is occupied by handsome frescoes, done by John Hild, a native of Munich ; among them are copies of Vandyke's Descent from the Cross, Raphael's Assumption, and other well known paintings. The windows, which are of stained glass, are each memorial gifts and were contributed by the following : Jno. W. Har- rington, Richard Powers and children, Patrick Gugerty, Cornelius O'Leary, Michael Ivory, Wm. Healey, Dr. W. F. Carter, Mrs. Peter Manton ; iron works, cotton mills, woolen mills and citizens of Cohoes, one each. The cost of the church with the lot was about $106,000. It was opened Oct. 14th, with a grand saered concert, under direction of Dr. Guy of Troy, and was dedicated on Sunday Nov. 3. The ceremonies of consecration were performed by Bishop John J. Conroy of Albany who afterwards celebrated high mass. The sermon was preached by Rev. Jno. Loughlin, Bishop of Brooklyn. Some twenty clergymen from differ- ent points were also present who assisted in the exercises. The services, which commenced at 10 A.M. and lasted four hours, were attended by about three thousand people.
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Several new firms commenced business during the year. The Riverside Mill, a brick building 50 by 100 feet and five stories high, owned by Bogue & Wager, was completed early in the season. The capacity of the mill is eight sets but only six were at first run. About the same time the Eric Mill, which had been built the preceding year, commenced operations. In August the Hurst property, consisting of the mill and adjoining tenements, was sold to Lyman Ben- nett of Troy, for $27,000, and the Star Knitting Co., with a capital of 850,000, was organized. The first officers were: R. H. Thurman, president, Lyman Bennett, O. G. Clark, Harvey Smith,. R. H. Thurman, trustees. The Mohawk Mill, Samuel Bilbrough proprietor, which had before man- ufactured cotton yarns and cloths, was during this year fitted up in part with knitting machinery.
The failure of Alden, Frink & Weston with liabilities of nearly $500,000, in the latter part of October, caused great excitement in business circles. The firm was one of the most prominent in the place, being largely interested in two knitting mills, the Ten Eyck Axe M'f'g Co., and other con- cerns. Though most of the indebtedness was out of town a number of citizens lost heavily, and the failure was severely felt throughout the village. Aside from this, the year was one of fair prosperity for Cohoes business men, and the gene- ral activity of the place was increased. A number of build- ings were erected, among them many residences. The Harmony Co. made preparations for the erection of a hun- dred tenements, made necessary by the number of opera- tives who were expected to arrive when work was com- menced in the new mill. In the published statistics of the company for 1866, it was stated that their mills had during the year consumed 7,427 bales of cotton, manufacturing therefrom 23,135,652 yards of cloth, equal to 13, 145} miles.
The close of the year was marked by a storm of wind and snow, of greater severity than any with which Cohoes had
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been visited, it was said, since 1836. Travel by rail road and street car was interrupted for three days, and there was no means of communication with the outside world from Thursday until Saturday night, when the mail was brought in a sleigh from near West Troy, where the train from Albany was snowed in.
In the early part of 1867 the iron bridge across the Erie Canal near White street, the contracts for which had been let in 1865, was completed. It was a very desirable improve- ment, affording access to the lands west of the Erie Canal, which the owners, Daniel McElwain and Judge Mann of Troy, improved and laid out in building lots, and this locality is now one of the most creditable portions of the city. The construction of the bridge had long been desired by our citizens, and was authorized by the legislature as early as 1859, but had been delayed from time to time by the state authorities, and it was finally procured mainly through the efforts of Mr. McElwain. The opening of Ontario street from its present western terminus to the Erie Canal, which would make the approach to that portion of the city much more convenient, was soon afterward pro- posed and the matter has been subsequently agitated seve- ral times. 1
A number of business changes occurred in 1867, occa- sioned by the failure of Alden, Frink & Weston. The machinery which had belonged to them was sold : that in the Watervliet Mill to A. J. Root for $42,000 and that in the Halcyon Mill to Hugh Ranken of Troy for $16,500. The latter gentleman organized the Ranken Knitting Co., with a capital of $50,000, which commenced business Jan. 16th, the officers being as follows: Hugh Ranken, president ;
' This improvement was talked of by the common council in 1873, and the cost was reported at $20,000. It was deemed inexpedient to take action. in the matter at the time, and little has been done concerning it until the present year. A peti- tion from property owners on the street urging its opening, was presented to the common council, Dec. 4.
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Giles B. Kellogg, secretary ; Heury S. Ranken, treasurer. The other principal stockholders were Gen. John E. Wool, Win. Barton, G. P. Cozzens, Geo. B. Smith, D. M. Ranken, Wm. J. Ranken, all from Troy. The Atlantic Mill was purchased by Geo. Warhurst, who retired from his partner- ship with Jos. Chadwick. Messrs. J. H. Parsons & Co. moved into the Watervliet Mill, and their old quarters in the Egberts & Bailey or Fowler Mill were occupied by L. Greenman, who moved from the building in which A. J. Griffin is located. Among the new buildings of the year was the iron foundery and machine shop on Canvass, Court- land and Van Rensselaer streets, erected by Fuller & Safely, whose old foundery on Mohawk street had been purchased the previous year by the Harmony Co. The machine shop is 100 by 50 feet and five stories high and the foundery 120 by 60 feet, one story high, both buildings being of brick.1 Several other concerns were located in the building -the nut manufactory of Geo. & Thomas Brooks, the knitting needle factory of Henry Dawson -both of which had been established in the old foundery, and the Magnolia Tape Mill, owned by Thos. Duncan .?
Considerable discussion arose during the winter and spring concerning one or two projects relating to the town of Watervliet. In March, 1866, notice had been given in the legislature of a bill " to create the city and county of Water- vliet, embracing the town of Watervliet, and constituting the villages of Cohoes, West Troy and Green Island, a city under the name of Watervliet." This plan was again re- vived and received some slight attention, but was soon for- gotten. In April, an act was passed providing for the erection of a new town hall to cost $6,000. The commis- sioners named were W. J. Wheeler, supervisor, Henry D. Fuller and Geo. II. Wager of Cohoes, Francis Phelps and L.
! The business was sold to Win. T. Horrobin, Nov. 1, 1872.
2 Afterward by Clancy & Co.
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D. Collins of West Troy, and T. E. Kirkpatrick of Green Island. Several meetings of the board were held both in Cohoes and in West Troy, to take preliminary action. A proposition was made from Messrs. E. W. Fuller and Wm. Manning to present the town with an acre of land on Lin- coln avenue in Cohoes, as a site for the hall, and a lot in West Troy was offered by Hon. O. F. Potter. Little was accomplished beyond the consideration of these proposals. The commissioners from each village were naturally desir- ous of having the hall located in their village, and as no amicable conclusion could be reached, the matter rested.'
The first directory of Cohoes was published in this spring by Wm. H. Young, of Troy, in connection with the directory of that city, and has since been issued by him in the same manner.2
The question of purchasing a steamer, the agitation of which in 1865 has been spoken of, had been of late vigor- ously renewed, and at the tax payers' meeting held for the purpose of voting upon the sums to be raised by tax during the ensuing year the item of $5,000 for a steamer was in- cluded in the estimate. When in reading the list this was reached, a letter was handed the clerk from Hon. C. II. Adams, in which he proposed to present such an engine to the village - " as an expression of my personal interest in the welfare of this community, where I have resided for nearly a score of years." At the same time a statement was made, on behalf of the Harmony Co., to the effect that they had ordered a steamer, which, though it would of course remain in possession of the company, would always
1 In the following year, the West Trojans, foreseeing that if the hall ever was built it must be in Cohoes, introduced a bill to repeal the above act.
" The following table shows the number of names in each years' issue since Cohoes became a city :
1870, .... 3120. 1873, .... 4766.
1871, .... 4146. 1875, .... 5124.
1876, .... 5376.
1872, .... 4630. 25
Heute
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be ready to protect all the property of the village. An appro- priation of $6,000 was at once voted for the erection of a suitable house for the Adams steamer, and with this slight expense to the citizens in general, the place was provided by the liberality of private individuals with means of pro- tection against fire second to none in the state. The engine made its first appearance on the afternoon of July 6th, and was then formally presented by Mr. Adams to the trustees. Murray Hubbard, president of the village, responded on behalf of the board. Henry Brockway then presented the captain and his assistants with silver trumpets of elaborate workmanship. The speeches of acceptance were made by H. B. Silliman, representing the company. The C. H. Adams Steamer Co., which had effected an organization June 17th, contained 36 members, and elected the following as its first officers : president, H. B. Silliman; vice pres't, Jno. V. S. Lansing ; captain, Laban Vredenberg; ass't capt., Edwin Hitchcock; secretary, W. Frank Jones; treasurer, Geo. Campbell; chief engineer, S. G. Root; Ist ass't, John Clute; 2d ass't, Samuel Nuttall; 3d ass't, Joseph Delehanty.
The steamer purchased by the Harmony Mills, named the Robert Johnston, made its appearance here in December. It is of the same size and power as the C. II. Adams and finished like it, with the exception of the silver mountings. The Steamer Company, composed of operatives of the Har- mony Mills, was organized Feb. 25th, 1868, and the follow- ing officers elected: president, Robert Johnston; vice pres't, A. C. Spencer ; captain, Dan'l Simpson; ass't, Jas. Johnson; secretary, Ransom Stone; treasurer, Wm. S. Smith; chief engineer, Jolin A. Link; Ist ass't, A. S. Stebbins; 2d ass't, John Ballard; 3d ass't, Edwd. McCready; board of trustees, D. J. Johnston, Wm. E. Thorn, A. T. Becker, Edward Foley, Duncan Munro.
The necessity of securing an increased supply of water had been felt for some time, and early in 1868 a movement
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was made towards the construction of a new reservoir. 1 bill was introduced in the legislature directing the water commissioners to make estimates of the cost of obtaining water from the Spring creek at Crescent and also of pro- curing an increased supply from the Cohoes Co. A vote was to be taken at the spring election; if the result was in favor of the Crescent project the bonds of the village were to be issued for an amount not exceeding $200,000 to defray the expense; and if for the other plan for an amount not ex- ceeding $70,000. A citizens' meeting was held Feb. 11th, of which Murray Hubbard was chairman and Malachi Ball secretary. A communication was read from the Cohoes Co. offering to furnish such additional power as might be necessary for enlarged works at the same rates as were then being paid. A series of resolutions in regard to the matter was read by H. B. Silliman, and adopted by the meeting, to the effect that the citizens disapproved, as impracticable, all plans of bringing water from Crescent, and were in favor of immediately increasing the supply of water from the source then used, and of the construction of a new reservoir or the enlargement of the old one to the necessary size. A committee was appointed to draft a bill in accordance with the spirit of the resolutions, and the act providing for the construction of the new reservoir was passed May 8.
The Harmony Mill No. 3, or Mastodon Mill, begun in 1866, commenced operations this year, the first cotton being taken into the pickers February 1. The building, to which an extension was afterward built, is 565 by 77 feet and five stories high with a fire proof wing of the same height and 50 by 150 feet, in which the pickers are placed. The fol- lowing figures concerning this mill were published at the time of its completion :
" In its erection the following material was used: 1,000 yards of stone, 3,000,000 brick, 4500 yards of sand, 30,000 bushels of lime, 1,000,000 lbs. cast and wrought iron, 800,000 feet hemlock plank, 500,000 feet pine timber, 450,000 feet
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southern pine flooring, 400,000 feet pine ceiling, and 1,000 kegs nails. It is lighted by 1,000 gas lights supplied by four miles of gas pipes. The machinery, which is of the most approved kind that could be found in England and America, includes 70,000 yarn spindles and 1,500 looms. When all running it will produce 60,000 yards of cloth per day."
A new enterprise of the year was the cider and vinegar factory of Messrs. Oliver Bros., for which they erected a brick building 35 by 100 feet, and three stories high on the corner of Remsen and Schuyler streets. A new knitting factory was established by Messrs. Wm. Nuttall & Co. who took the Empire Mill, once occupied by L. W. Mansfield, and at a later date by Moore & Hiller.
The number of French Canadians in Cohoes had greatly increased within the last few years, and as they are almost without exception Catholics, they formed an important part of St. Bernard's congregation. The constant growth of their ranks at length compelled a separation of the congre- gations, and in June arrangements were accordingly made for the establishment of a Canadian church. A census was taken of the number of French Catholics then in the village, under direction of Joseph LaBoeuf, chairman of the com- mittee, resulting as follows: "Heads of families, 387; com- municants, 1,470: total number of persons, 2,209." Applica- tion was made to Bishop Conroy for the appointment of a French priest, and provision was made for a room in which to hold service until a church could be erected. The pastor, Rev. L. H. Saugon, arrived in Cohoes in August, and at once commenced earnest efforts to raise the necessary build- ing fund. A lot was purchased on Congress street, between White and Hart streets, and on Nov. 22d the corner stone of St. Joseph's church was laid with appropriate ceremonies by Bishop Conroy.
In January, 1869, the project for incorporating Cohoes as a city, which had been under consideration at intervals for several years, assumed definite shape, and a charter was
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drawn up for presentation to the legislature. Some discussion on the subject arose, and the Cataract for several months was occupied with letters on both sides of the question. The principal grounds of opposition, as stated in these com- munications, was that under the city charter the government would fall into the hands of a political rabble, and that the better class of citizens would have little or no voice in the management of affairs ; it was also held that greater opportunity would be furnished for extravagant expenditure and that taxation would be largely increased. The friends of the bill of course denied that there was any more chance of such calamities befalling Cohoes as a city than there was if the village government continued, and claimed further- more that the rates of taxation would be in some particulars reduced, since Cohoes would no longer have to contribute to the support of a town government, in which it was allowed to have little share. The Cataract was strongly in favor of the bill, and contained a number of articles stating the reasons for advocating its passage, among which was the following :
" Thus far in the existence of Cohoes, there has seemed to be a lack of local pride on the part of its inhabitants. Our proximity to Troy and Albany has lead us, naturally, to depend upon them in a large degree for mercantile facil- ities, and as a consequence, Cohoes has been looked upon by the outside world more as a suburb of those two cities than as a live, independent municipality of itself. But the moment Cohoes assumes the proportions of a city, and fol- lows it up with a proper - but not overweening sense of its own importance, we shall feel the result favorably. Our citi- zens will be more self reliant, and pride in our growing city will keep at home hundreds of thousands of dollars which now go to enrich the mercantile trade of adjoining cities."
The bill, which had been considerably modified since the first draft, passed the assembly April 15th, but did not become a law until May 19th. This delay on the part of the senate, and the insertion in the act of a provision by which it was not to take effect until 1870, were due to the
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efforts of its opposers, as was stated at the time, and were accounted for by political reasons.
The velocipede excitement, prevalent throughout the country during this year, reached Cohoes in the winter, and furnished material for a number of paragraphs in the local paper. The appearance on the streets of the first velocipede was thus described :
" Velocipedism is becoming a mania about these days. On Thursday evening, Feb. 24, Mr. Chas. P. Craig showed himself astride of one on Remsen street, to the great delight of all the people. Shout after shout went up from the gaz- ing multitude, especially when the machine careened and dumped the rider. On Saturday morning he gave us a free exhibition, followed by scores of the gamins of Cohoes."
A rink was opened on Factory street, in the hall at the rear of the hotel, which remained in successful operation for some time. Comparatively few of the vehicles were seen on the street, however, and the furore in regard to them was much less than in adjoining cities, perhaps because Cohoes streets at the time were not adapted for that sort of travel.
There were during this year several important additions to the manufacturing interests of the place. Two new knit- ting mills were established, one by Himes & Vail, who leased the building on Mohawk street, which had formerly been occupied by Parsons & Co., and put in operation six sets of machinery ; the other by the Alaska Knitting Co., located in Fuller & Safely's new building. The officers were : Simeon Holroyd, secretary ; Robt. Safely, treasurer ; Horace Fisher, agent.1 On Courtland street, corner of Can- vass, a brick building, 50 by 100 feet and three stories high, was erected by John Land & Sons, for a sawing and planing mill. The foundery and machine shop on Van Rensselaer street near Courtland, was established in the latter part of
1 This establishment was removed to Waterford in the latter part of 1871.
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