Power Canal Park

Power Canal Park. . , In 1834, the Cohoes Hydraulic Company built a dam above the Cohoes Falls, harnessing the abundant flow of the Mohawk River for industrial use. The Cohoes Company gradually developed a series of canals that provided low-cost waterpower to local textile manufactories, thrusting Cohoes into the forefront of the American Industrial Revolution. Cohoes Company Canal Park (where you are standing now) is the last unfilled section of its original power canal system. This portion of the power canal was originally a section of "Clinton's Ditch.", Powering an Industry , The Harmony Mills was the largest and most complete cotton manufacturing establishment in the United States from the late 1860s through the 1880s. It was the largest American producer of cotton fabrics for printed calicos and fine cotton muslins, which were spun and woven from raw cotton right in the mills. Inside Mill #3, built in 1866-1872, are some of the largest vertical turbines in the United States., These Boyden turbines converted the energy of flowing water to mechanical power to turn a system of belts that ran various machines in the mill, Two of the turbines produced 800 horsepower each. In Mill #3, 13 miles of belts powered 2,700 looms and 130,000 spindles, which could produce 100,000 yards of cloth every 60 hours. The Boyden turbine design was the first to be manufactured in quantity in the U.S., and became the standard in the textile industry for the time. Those in the Harmony Mill were the largest built. This site is now a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark., Power from the main axle, turned by water flowing through the turbines, was transmitted to driveshafts on each floor by a system of leather belts., Today. , You are standing inside the former power canal, which can be seen in the image to the left., [ Small Photo Caption: ] One of the Boyden turbines in Harmony Mill #3., [ Illustration Caption: ] A cross-section of Harmony Mill #3, showing the system of turbines. shafts and belts that drove the machinery in the mill.