Burden Iron Works facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Burden Iron Works Site
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Waterwheel at Burden Iron Works, Troy, NY
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| Nearest city | Troy, New York |
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| Area | 50 acres (20 ha) |
| Built | 1813 |
| Architect | Burden, Henry |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000977 |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1977 |
The Burden Iron Works was a huge factory complex in Troy, New York. It was located right by the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek. This place was once home to the amazing Burden Water Wheel. This wheel was the most powerful vertical water wheel ever built!
Many people believe that George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., who invented the famous Ferris wheel, saw the Burden Water Wheel when he was a student nearby. The site of the iron works was recognized as an important historical place in 1977. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Who Was Henry Burden?
The Man Behind the Machines
Henry Burden was born in Scotland in 1791. He grew up on a farm. He loved to learn and studied engineering at the University of Edinburgh. In 1819, he moved to America.
Henry Burden started working at a factory in Albany. They made tools for farming. The very next year, he invented a better plow. He also created a new kind of cultivator. People said it was the first one to really work well in America. He also made improvements to machines that threshed grain and ground flour.
Building an Iron Empire
In 1822, Henry Burden moved to Troy. He became the boss at the Troy Iron and Nail Factory. This factory was near the Wynantskill Creek. Henry's inventions changed everything. He created machines that did work much faster than people could by hand. This made the factory very successful.
Soon, Henry Burden owned the whole factory. He renamed it H. Burden and Sons. This place became known as the Burden Iron Works. They made all sorts of products from iron.
What Was the Burden Iron Works?
A Giant Factory by the River
Henry Burden knew that Troy was a great spot for a factory. It had good connections for trains and water transportation. This meant they could make and ship many goods. Burden replaced the small wooden factory with a much bigger one.
The river next to the factory was shallow. It often flooded. So, Burden spent a lot of money to fix it. He had the land filled in. He also had the river made deeper. This way, big ships could reach the factory's docks. The property had almost a mile of riverfront. A railroad track also ran right by it.
The Mighty Burden Water Wheel
To power his huge factory, Burden designed and built a giant water wheel in 1851. This wheel was 60 feet tall! It might not have been the tallest water wheel ever, but it was probably the most powerful.
The Burden Water Wheel was 62 feet across and 22 feet wide. It got its water from the Wynantskill Creek. Burden created a system of reservoirs along the creek. These held water to make sure the mills always had enough power.
The wheel itself was enormous. It weighed 250 tons! It could spin 2.5 times a minute. This produced 500 horsepower. The wheel was mostly made of iron. It worked day and night for almost 50 years. A local poet called it 'the Niagara of Water-wheels'.
Inside the Iron Works
The Burden Iron Works had two main parts. There were the 'upper works' by the Wynantskill Creek. Then there were the 'lower works' closer to the Hudson River.
The Upper Works had a rolling mill and a forge. It also had a horseshoe factory and a huge warehouse. This warehouse could store 7,000 tons of horseshoes! There was also a rivet factory and offices.
The Lower Works was even bigger. It had two massive blast furnaces. These furnaces were 65 feet tall! There were also casting houses, engine rooms, and more rolling mills. They had shops for making machines and fixing things. Coal dust and smoke from the furnaces often covered the area.
Making Iron Products
Together, the two sites had many machines. There were 60 puddling furnaces and 20 heating furnaces. They had 14 trains of rolls and nine horseshoe machines. There were also 12 rivet machines. Each rivet machine could make 80 rivets every minute!
Hundreds of men worked at the puddling furnaces. They were often covered in coal dust. Boys worked at other machines, moving hot horseshoes with tongs. The Burden works made many different kinds of horseshoes. They packed them in kegs weighing 100 pounds for shipping.
A network of railroad tracks moved iron ore and sand around the factory. The company even had its own train!
Moving Materials
Burden's son, William, designed special steam derricks. These were used to unload coal. A wire cable stretched 300 feet from the dock to the coal piles. An iron carriage traveled along it. It carried a self-dumping bucket that could hold a ton of coal. A steam engine lifted the bucket. Then it traveled along the cable and dumped its contents.
Next to the coal piles were huge amounts of iron ore. Most of this ore came from the Lake Champlain area. There were also piles of limestone. This came from the city of Hudson. Limestone was used to help melt the ores in the furnaces.
The company also owned 50 horses and many wagons. These moved ore, coal, sand, and finished goods. They also owned their own iron mines. These mines had very good quality ore. They also owned limestone quarries for the furnaces.
Burden Iron Works Today
Today, you can visit the former office building of the Burden Iron Works. This building was built in 1881-1882. It is a beautiful brick building. Inside, there is a museum about Troy's industrial history.
The museum shows examples of things made in Troy during the 1800s. The Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway runs the museum. You can visit the museum by making an appointment.
Images for kids
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Waterwheel at Burden Iron Works, Troy, NY
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Entrance to the old office
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The office building
