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Henry Burden
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It’s baffling that Henry Burden isn’t better remembered around here. His inventions improved the iron industry, advanced mechanization and helped build the railroads. His use of hydropower on the Wynantskill was world famous. His massive iron and steel works in South Troy employed thousands when the collar industry was growing on the north end…
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Mr. Burden’s Water Wheel
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We’ve been talking about the Troy Iron and Nail Factory Company, which was powered by the falls of the Wynantskill, below what is now Burden Pond in Troy. Water power began there in 1809, and its use expanded as the company grew. Arthur James Weise writes: “The five water-wheels of the works being insufficient…
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The Nail Factory
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It hardly seems fair to talk about the Nail Factory Cemetery without diving more into the history of the nail factory itself. As mentioned before, the Troy Iron and Nail Factory Company (which today would no doubt be shortened to “TINFCO”) was established on the Wynantskill, just a little way north of modern-day HVCC,…
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The Keenan Building
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Glad to see that The Keenan Building, one of the centerpieces of downtown Troy, has been rehabbed and is once again going to be a vital part of the urban core. James Keenan opened this lovely edifice in 1883. When Arthur Weise wrote “The City of Troy and Its Vicinity” in 1886, the building…
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The Nail Factory Cemetery
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Until I ran across it on the Troy Irish Genealogy Society’s website, I had never heard of the Nail Factory Cemetery, but apparently it was once a well-known feature at the top of the Wynantskill’s descent to the Hudson. Arthur James Weise’s “The City of Troy and Its Vicinity” reports that the Troy Iron…
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Button Engine Works, Waterford
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In 1872, when this ad ran in the Troy Times, the Button Engine Works was one of the best-known manufacturers of fire engines in the country. The works was founded by Lysander Button, a Connecticut native by way of Albany, who became a machinist in the Waterford shop of John Rogers, who made fire…
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Groceries, Provisions, Sarsaparilla
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1862’s Schenectady city directory informed us that B. Van Vranken’s grocery and provisions store was at the corner of State and Jay streets. He apparently was also agent for Kirby’s American Harvester. Meanwhile, over on College Street, Rodgers & Weller were making soda, sarsaparilla, porter, ale, and cider. Their root beer was very popular,…
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Furniture & Coffins
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It makes perfect sense that A. Brown & Son of Schenectady, back in 1864, were advertising their furniture and coffin warerooms. Most furniture or cabinet makers also made coffins at the time. So there’s nothing creepy about it. At all. On the other hand, buying a coffin in a place where they sell something…
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