Newsletter - Summer 2022
We are pleased to report that the major projects to repair and repaint the plaster walls at the Burden Iron Works Museum have been completed, and the work looks fabulous! Currently we are aiming for a soft opening in August. The steam engine, flywheel and dynamo from the old Ludlow Valve site in Troy were moved to the museum grounds, and they make quite an impressive sight. Two important Henry Burden patents sent out for conservation last year have been returned. Both patents date from the 1830s, and one is signed by President Andrew Jackson. We are close to finalizing a contract with the New York State Historic Preservation Office that will allow us to access our $500,000 grant from 2017, but realistically we will not be able begin any of the projects funded by the grant until 2023, and with the increases in construction prices in the interim we will probably not be able to realize the full scope of work we originally proposed. And looking ahead to the fall, we are pleased to announce the return of our Troy Tiffany Treasures tour on September 17. Our Facebook page and webpage will carry further details. Stay tuned!
Burden Iron Works Museum Rejuvenated with New Plaster and Paint
Exciting and very satisfying progress has been made in the restoration projects in the museum during the first half of 2022. With the worst of the Pandemic behind us, restoration and revitalization of the Burden building has begun in earnest. From the first week of March until early May, the plaster restoration was undertaken and completed by plaster experts Peter Poulin & Sons Inc. of Troy, N.Y. The loose plaster walls were stabilized, cracks repaired, and new plaster applied and finished. “Watching the work from the ground level, I was amazed at the process, which is part construction, part artistry, and all magic,” said Gateway Executive Director Dr. Susan Ouellette. “The care and pride of work that the Poulin crew exhibited was inspiring and their finished product beautiful to behold. We are appreciative of the hard work of Peter and Ricky and overwhelmed with the result.” She also noted that the restoration work could not have proceeded without the valiant efforts of stalwart board members Allen Cluett, Fred Alm, and Steve Muller, who volunteered their time and muscle to move the bulky collections out of the way of scaffolding and ladders -- multiple times.
A few weeks after the plaster cured, the painters arrived. Kevin and Conor of Sage Brothers Painting, also of Troy, N.Y., primed the newly prepared walls and then applied the color. As they worked, the museum began to come alive with the original color identified in the 1970s by Doug Bucher working for our architects Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker. The interior of the old Burden Iron Co. office building began to emerge wall by wall. In addition to their painting expertise, the Sage crew also made repairs to the sheetrock ceiling in the alcove and finished their work by cleaning the skylight glass. Now when the sun shines through, the ceiling in the main room sparkles!
At this point, we have accomplished the hard work of restoration for the moment; sadly, we will not be tackling the cherry wainscoting this year. We are now hard at work reorganizing and deploying the museum exhibits. We are not resting on our laurels! The museum will reopen with beautiful newly painted plaster walls and a bright inviting look to the space. We hope to be ready to receive visitors soon!
Steam Engine Finds New Home at Burden Iron Works Museum
The Burden Iron Works Museum now has another large artifact to rival our ladle car! John Mullins Rigging & Hauling of Green Island, N.Y., disassembled the steam engine, flywheel and dynamo at the old Ludlow Valve site near the Poestenkill, put all the pieces on flatbed trucks, transported them to the museum grounds, and reassembled them on the concrete pad that had been previously prepared. The move required a large crane and a skilled crew. We estimate that the total weight of the move was around 70 tons — which hardly stressed the large Demag crane. The immediate next step is to erect a temporary fence around the pad. Later we will develop signage to provide background on the new exhibit, and we also plan to surround the steam engine and ladle car with historic wrought iron fence dating from the days of the Burden Iron Co. The steam engine and dynamo were built by General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y. We wish to thank John Mullins Rigging & Hauling, Duncan & Cahill for constructing the concrete display pad, Albany Engineering for preparing the plans for the pad, and of course we wish to especially thank our 2022 Gala honoree Peter A. Grimm, whose donation made this project possible.
(click on any of the images below to see these images in gallery view)
Two Important Henry Burden Patents Conserved
Henry Burden, and to a lesser extent his sons James A., I. Townsend and William F., were prolific inventors. Two of Henry Burden’s most important patents, the 1834 patent for a machine to make hook-headed railroad spikes and the 1835 patent for a three-machine system to make horseshoes, were recently returned to the Burden Iron Works Museum following conservation at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Below: Drawings accompanying the horseshoe patent were also conserved.
The Gateway acquired a collection of some 80 Burden patents in 2010 through a donation from Burden descendant Bradford Walker and his wife Nancy. Brad Walker is the great-grandson of Henry Burden. The Walkers also generously provided some funding for the conservation of the patents. The collection includes U.S. and foreign patents and related documents. When they were acquired, the documents were tightly folded and stored in a small metal box. We transferred the documents to archival quality storage, and later we had an archivist document them. This was challenging, as we were reluctant to fully open the fragile documents.
In 2021, we took the collection to CCAHA for a condition assessment and conservation plan. CCAHA concluded that a number of the patents were severely deteriorated. In addition, some are on vellum, a material which requires special conservation techniques. The estimate for conserving the entire collection exceeded the funding we had available, so we made the decision to proceed with only two patents.
Executive Director Dr. Susan Ouellette displays the first Burden horseshoe patent
The most impressive patent is Henry Buren’s first patent for machinery to make horseshoes. This patent, for a new and useful improvement “In the Machine for Making Horse shoes,” was issued November 23, 1835. As was required at the time, it was signed by President Andrew Jackson, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Patents, and the inventor. The document comprises 13 pages on vellum, including drawings, bound by a red ribbon.
The other document is an 1839 copy of Henry Burden’s 1834 patent for a machine to make hook-headed railroad spikes, described as “improved Machinary [sic] for Heading Spikes & Nails.” This document is endorsed by the Commissioner of Patents.
In addition to conserving the patents, CCAHA provided digital images of all the pages and a custom archival storage box. It is our intention to display digital copies of the patents at the museum. Conservation of the remaining patents is on hold as we devote our time and resources to other priority projects.
Progress Made on Accessing $500,000 New York State Grant
We continue with efforts to comply with the New York State Historic Preservation Office requirements for our $500,000 2017 Environmental Protection Fund grant. We have successfully achieved “prequalified” status with SHPO and are now waiting to sign the state grant contract. However, due to the rapidly rising costs of materials, labor, and equipment, the grant will not provide the funding for the entire initial scope of work, which includes restoration of the stone steps to the main doors and Paymaster entrances, the restoration of the doors and windows, upgrading the HVAC system, and completing interior renovations. However, the grant will move us forward towards achieving the finished interior and exterior as well as a professionally developed museum interior space. We will need to pursue additional funding to finish many of the original projects. We have made significant progress and with the help of generous volunteers and donors we will succeed.
Tiffany Tour Returns for 2022
Our famous tour of Tiffany windows in Troy will return this year after a pandemic-induced hiatus. Scheduled for Saturday, September 17, participants will visit several sites, some not generally open to the public, including St. Paul's Episcopal Church with its magnificent Tiffany interior. This tour usually sells out, so check our Facebook page and webpage for further details and information on how to register.