Cohoes Falls
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Lifeblood of Cohoes
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Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

Cohoes Falls, also, Lifeblood of Cohoes, also, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. . , [ Side 1: ] , Cohoes Falls , Second only to Niagara - Cohoes Falls, also known as the Great Falls of the Mohawk, is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Rocky Mountains. The Mohawk River plunges nearly a hundred feet here, a navigation obstacle to early explorers, before emptying into the Hudson River. The falls have been regarded as a landmark, a sacred site, a scenic wonder, and a source of power for generations., Visiting Falls View Park , Cross the bridge for views of Cohoes Falls and paths to the Mohawk River. Pathways are open during daylight hours from May through October. Stairways and paths to the river's edge are steep. Paths in the floodplain are closed during high water., The Mohawk , Cohoes Falls is a pivotal landmark in the formation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy - a union of the Mohawk, Oncida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca Indian nations. Here, carly European explorers and settlers encountered the eastern territory of the most influential American Indian alliance on the continent., Barrier to Navigation , Early travelers trekked overland to bypass Cohoes Falls. By 1823 a closely spaced series of locks on the Erie Canal lifted and lowered boats around the falls and rapids, and Cohoes become a gateway to the interior of North America., Water Power , Cohoes Falls was harnessed for waterpower. By the mid-18oos a multilevel network of canals powered dozens of Cohoes factories, including Harmony Mills, once the largest textile manufacturing complex in the nation. Since 1915 the water has been used to generate electricity , [ Side 2: ] , Lifeblood of Cohoes , Canals and waterways laced through Cohoes by the 1870s. Sixteen locks of the Enlarged Erie Canal allowed boats to climb past Cohoes Falls. A network of power canals and tunnels delivered water to textile mills, paper makers, machine builders, and axe factories. The Harmony Manufacturing Company's mills, near the top of the power canal system, formed the largest cotton manufacturing establishment in North America. Rows of company-built worker housing filled blocks around the mills., Today most of the canals have been filled and Cohoes no longer produces cotton and knit goods, yet clues to the city's waterways and industrial vitality can still be seen., Water Power for Manufacturing , Turbines in the basement of each mill converted the energy of lowing water into mechanical power. A network of leather belts and spinning tron shafts carried that power to long rows of textile machines on the upper floors., [ Side 3: ] , Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor , The Erie Canal was America's most successful and influential public works project. Completed in 1825, the 363-mile-long waterway established the first all-water route for navigation between the Atlantic Ocean and the upper Great Lakes, opened the interior of the continent to settlement and trade, and helped make New York City an international center of commerce., By creating Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Congress recognized the Erie Canal's leading role in our nation's history. The Heritage Corridor Commission works through public and private partnerships to promote historic preservation, education, recreation, tourism, and economic revitalization in over 230 canal communities., Locking Around Cohoes Falls , The intersection of Saratoga and Main streets, at the southern end of Cohoes, marks "Juncta," a once lively neighborhood where the Erie and Champlain Canals came together. This 1834 view shows the first of a closely spaced series of 18 Erie Canal locks that lifted and lowered boats past Cohoes Falls., Constructed during the 182os and 'gos, the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals remain in service as America's oldest continuously operating canal system. The heritage corridor includes all of the cities, towns, and villages that line those historic waterways.,