1987 Newsletter for the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway

This quarterly issue kicks off the second year of our revived newsletter. The newsletter – and the Gateway – have come a long way in our nearly 50 years of existence. For example, we just found in some archival material one of our first ever newsletters, a mere four pages. More recently, in December we welcomed new Executive Director Dr. Susan Ouellette, and in this issue, she introduces herself, gives her first impressions, and provides her preliminary thoughts on Gateway priorities going forward. Other topics in this newsletter include updates on projects at the Burden Iron Works Museum and on our endowment challenge, a description of a recently acquired letter signed by Henry Burden, and Board Member Suzanne Spellen’s article on South Troy’s “Fortress” building, former home of the United Waste Manufacturing Co. Why would anyone want to manufacture waste? Read on!

From the Executive Director

Sometimes life hands you exactly what you want – even before you know what it is. This past fall and going forward into 2022, I feel really grateful for one of those unexpected gifts of fate: my new position as executive director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway and its Burden Iron Works Museum. Some years ago, my son joined an engineering firm in Hudson, NY, and settled in Schodack Landing. My husband, Emile, and I visited often and fell in love with the area, especially southern Rensselaer County. When a little house with a beautiful piece of land right near our son’s home came on the market in 2020, we purchased it thinking of it as a “weekend” getaway with our family close by. Not long afterwards, I began to think about retiring from my teaching position at St. Michael’s College in Vermont and what the next chapter might be; that’s when fate stepped in. That fall, the Gateway began a search for a new executive director. The rest is history. Now, after relocating from Vermont in late 2021, we are full-time New Yorkers, and I am now the Gateway’s executive director!

While I am still finding my way around the building (and the area,) I have already developed a true affection for both. And I have become ambitious about the possibilities for the Gateway’s future. Going forward, I hope to bring some of the projects begun under the stewardship of my predecessors to fruition: the interior and exterior restorations of the museum building, an expansion of outreach via its web presence, collaborative projects with other cultural institutions in the area, well the list goes on! To be sure, the fallout from the pandemic has limited in-person activities and the tour schedules of the immediate past and will no doubt be an issue for the near future, but plans are in the works for some limited tour opportunities for summer 2022. Stay tuned!

Update on Burden Iron Works Museum Projects

The repair of the original plaster walls at the museum will start soon. The Gateway has signed a contract with local historic plaster experts Peter Poulin & Sons. Once they complete their work, Sage Brothers Painting, the firm that stripped the lead paint from the walls, will return to repaint the walls in their original color, this time with environmentally friendly paint.

Future site of steam engine, flywheel and electric generator at Burden Iron Works Museum

Our other major project is the relocation of the remains of a steam engine, flywheel, and electric generator located at the now City of Troy-owned site of the former Ludlow Valve Manufacturing Co. and the earlier Rensselaer Iron Works on the Hudson River near the Poestenkill. We signed a contract last fall with Troy construction firm Duncan & Cahill to pour the pad to display the engine on the grounds of the Burden Iron Works Museum, but unfortunately the ground froze before the site could be excavated and formed-up. Duncan & Cahill will be back in the spring to complete this part of the project.

We are still waiting to hear from the New York State Historic Preservation Office regarding the release of funds from our 2017 Environmental Preservation Fund grant to enable us to move ahead with additional interior and exterior renovation projects at the museum.

Gateway Acquires 1846 Letter Signed by Henry Burden

The Gateway is pleased to announce that we have acquired at auction our first original letter signed by Henry Burden, as well as a blank stock certificate for his venture to build a new type of steam ship. The short letter, dated December 30, 1846, is to Lawrence Hite Jr., a business associate in Glasgow. It refers to his desire to move forward to complete “my favorite project of constructing a large steamer suitable for the ferry between Europe & America,” but he then says, “the state of my health & press of business here admonishes me to forebear.” Burden then tells Hite that he is free to pursue the project.

In the 1830s Burden invested time and money to develop and build a new type of steamship. He proposed a ship consisting of two cigar-shaped hulls with a paddle wheel located between them and passenger and crew accommodations straddling the hulls. While the first such ships were intended for use on rivers such as the Hudson, he also believed that larger versions could cross the Atlantic in only eight days. He built a 300-foot prototype in 1833, which he named “Helen” in honor of his wife. The ship reached a speed of 18 miles per hour during testing, but it was damaged in an accident. The ship was repaired and re-launched in 1837, funded at least partially by the sale of stock. After 1837 the inventive Mr. Burden turned his attention to machines to build hook-headed railroad spikes and, most famously, horseshoes.

The letter also refers to a new type of iron for ship hull plates developed and patented by Burden. Since he mentions the Meneely West Troy bell foundry, we speculate that the new material may be a copper/iron alloy, which potentially could be a less expensive substitute for the copper sheathing then used below the waterline on wooden ships to deter the growth of barnacles and the like.

Endowment Challenge to Launch in Spring

As reported in our previous newsletter, our 2021 Gala honorees Tom and Nan Carroll surprised us by announcing that they were donating $5,000 to the Gateway’s Endowment Fund and challenged everyone else to step up as well. Our Finance Committee is looking to formally announce the Endowment Challenge – and its target – by the spring. Stay tuned for further details, but don’t hesitate to send your donation in now!

The United Waste Manufacturing Co. Building: Troy’s “Fortress of Shoddy”

Locally known as “the Fortress,” the castle-like United Waste Manufacturing Co. building dominates the skyline of South Troy a few blocks north of the Burden Iron Works Museum. The company made “shoddy” from recycled cotton and wool waste from local textile mills through the early 20th century. The building was subsequently used as a warehouse by several local firms. It currently houses the inventory of a high-end European antique furniture dealer. Learn more about the shoddy business and the Fortress building by linking HERE to this fascinating article by Gateway Board Member Suzanne Spellen. It was written for her website spellenoftroy.com and is used with her permission.

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Newsletter - Winter 2022