NEB&W Guide to Cohoes, NY - Not Modeled

Last Update: 2009-10-09

Cohoes Table of Contents
Layout Photo Gallery Table of Contents

---

• A bird's eye view of Cohoes c. 1859, showing the falls, the Erie Canal and the early mills.
  • [Picture.]

• Aerial view of the falls and the Harmony Mills complex, post-steam.
  • [Photo in our collection.]

• The Cohoes Rolling Mill was right opposite Star Woolen Mills and on the bank of the Mohawk River. On our layout, we had to eliminate one block, and in the process eliminated the rolling mill.
  • [Engraving, as seen from the Mohawk River bridge.]
  • [Photo c. 1931, from our NEB&W D&H Collection.]
  • [View from the bridge, with Harmony Mills and the falls in the background.]

• The Harmony Mills complex contained the world's largest cotton mill building. (It was over 1,100 feet long, roughly 12 feet long in HO.) It was built c. 1899-'68. Note the power canal along the front of the building.
  • [Scaled engraving of the front and floor plan c. 1873.]
  • [Cross-section elevation c. 1873.]
  • [Bird's eye engraving c. 1879.]
  • [Broadside engraving showing the fancier tower, too.]
  • [Postcard view c. WWI.]
  • [Postcard view c. WWI.]
  • [Postcard view c. WWI.]
  • [Photo c. 1931]
  • [Panoramic view c. 1970's.]

• There were other mills, too, in Cohoes.
  • [Engraving c. 1876 of the Tivoli Hosiery mill.]
  • [Interior view of the rotary knitting machines, c. 1876.]
  • [Postcard of the Victor Knitting Mill.]
  • [Postcard of the Corliss Coon Collar factory.]
  • [Corliss Coon Collar c. 2004.]
  • [Another view c. 2004.]
  • [Close-up on the foundation stones c. 2004 (because we are debating the color of stonework of Cohoes as we are in the process of modeling this section).]
  • [Close-up on the stringer course c. 2004.]
  • [Close-up on a stone window sill c. 2004.]

• The mills were located up near the Cohoes falls, which was the largest water fall east of the Mississippi, second only to Niagara Falls. (And early in the 19th century, a popular honeymoon site.)
  • [Engraving depicting it as a romantic spot.]
  • [Postcard view.]
  • [Another postcard.]
  • [Photo c. 1931.]
  • [Photo c. 1980's.]

• Cohoes was a classic example of a "mill town", where the mill (Harmony Mills) owned the houses where the workers lived, the stores, even the churches. If you were to lose your job, you also would be kicked out of your house, your church and would have to immediately settle your debt with the company store. This threat tended to keep the workers in line.
  • [Mill housing, contemporary 2002 view.]
  • [Mill housing, c. 2002 view.]
  • [More housing, c. 2004 view.]
  • [Bigger.]

• Spring Street was the next grade crossing south of Mohawk Street.
  • [Photo looking south c. 1926.]
  • [Photo looking north c. 1926. Note the steeple of St. Bernard's in the distance.]
  • [Close-up.]

• A couple of ornate little railroad buildings as seen in the 1919 Valuation photos, from our NEB&W D&H Collection.
  The crossing shanty at Bridge Street had an odd little diamond window on the side, as well as a grand mix of Queen Anne wood siding, including fishscale shingles.
  • [Photo of the crossing shanty.]

• A waiting room (for the trolleys?) at Main Street.
  • [Photo c. 1919.]
• The Erie Canal ran through Cohoes.
  • [Postcard view.]
  • [Postcard view.]
  • [Postcard view of Bunker Hill.]
  • [Postcard view of locks Nos. 13 and 14. (Older type locks.)]
  • [Postcard view of the new lock No. 1. (The older locks are to the right.)]

• Cohoes Music Hall, 1938.
  • [Photo.]

• The shopping district was on Remsen Street.
  • [View down Remsen from the National Bank of Cohoes c. 1900.]
  • [Postcard c. 1900.]
  • [Postcard c. 1940's.]
  • [Postcard c. mid-1950's. (In 1955, mail boxes went from olive drab to red, white, and blue, as seen in this photo.]
  • [Postcard of Cohoes Saving. (What is a top that pole?)]
  • [Another postcard of Cohoes Saving.]
  • [Postcard of Manufacturer's Bank.]

• Looking east on Ontario from Remsen. (City hall is in the background.)
  • [Postcard before the bank was built. (I think Manufacturer's.)]
  • [Postcard afterwards. The Presbyterian church is right behind the bank).]
• Other buildings of note.
  • [Postcard of City Hospital.]
  • [Postcard of Egbert's High School.]
  • [Postcard of the regular High School.]

• We are modeling the D&H's line through Cohoes. The Troy & Schenectady, owned by the New York Central, also served Cohoes, at a higher elevation as it climbed to swing around the hill and follow the Mohawk River to Schenectady.
  • [Postcard c. 1907.]
  • [Postcard view, closer.]

Van Schaick Island

• Van Schaick Island was just east of the Cohoes depot, an extension of Ontario Street, but Van Schaick was still considered part of Cohoes. In the 1930's, they built a bridge across the Hudson, connecting Ontario Street to 112th St. in Troy. The D&H's Waterford branch crossed just before the bridge, and a number of industries arose around the grade crossing.
  • [Topographic map.]
  • [Postcard of the bridge.]
  • [Looking east c. 1930's.]
  • [Looking east, closer to the bridge, c. 1930's.]
  • [Looking west c. 1930's.]
  • [Looking north c. 1930's.]
  • [Close-up of the building in the background.]

• Rensselaer Valve was just north of the grade crossing.
  • [Photo c. 1931.]
  • [Photo c. 1978.]
  • [Another view.]
  • [Another view.]
  • [Another view.]
  • [Our plan which was going to be modeled using the Lionel depot.]

• One of the major structures here was the Corliss Coon Collar Factory.
  • [Postcard of the Corliss Coon Collar factory.]
  • [Corliss Coon Collar c. 2004.]
  • [Another view c. 2004.]
  • [Close-up on the foundation stones c. 2004 (because we are debating the color of stonework of Cohoes as we are in the process of modeling this section).]
  • [Close-up on the stringer course c. 2004.]
  • [Close-up on a stone window sill c. 2004.]

See our Layout Guide for Cohoes.

For information on individual stores and businesses within the area being modeled, see the NEB&W City Directory.

Also, check out the Spindle City Historic Society of Cohoes.

---