Cohoes ( ) is an incorporated city located in the northeast corner of Albany County in the U.S. state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century. The city's factories processed cotton from the Deep South.

As of the 2020 census, the city population was 18,174. The name Cohoes is believed to be derived from a Mohawk term, Kahón:ios, referring to the Cohoes Falls and meaning "Place of the Falling Canoe," an interpretation noted by Horatio Gates Spafford in his 1823 publication "A Gazetteer of the State of New York". Later historians posited that the name is derived from the Algonquian Cohoes, a place name based on a word meaning 'pine tree'.

History

In the early years of Dutch colonial settlement, the majority of the city's territory was once part of the area of Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a feudal-style manor or patroonship. The land north of a line crossing the Cohoes Falls (today Manor Avenue) was outside the Manor and was owned by the Van Olohde family between 1725 and 1750. this area was the core of the future city of Cohoes. Starting in the 1690s the Patroon began to issue leases for the area of Cohoes, reserving for himself a strip below the Cohoes Falls for the future site of mills powered by water. In the early-to-mid 17th century, a whale swam upriver in the Hudson, becoming stranded in the Mohawk River on an island just below the Cohoes Falls. The Dutch settlers could not easily get to the large carcass to remove it. As it rotted, the river became slick for three weeks. A settler commented that "the air was infected with its stench... perceptible for two miles to leeward." Beginning about 1646, settlers called this land Whale Island.

Textile industry

thumb|right|Harmony Mill No. 3 was the largest individual cotton factory in the world when it opened in 1872

In the 1820s, the first cotton mill in Albany County was built in Cohoes. Egberts and Bailey was the first factory to use knitting machinery run by power, based on the Cohoes Company's power canals.

Upon their completion, in 1872, the Harmony Mills were the largest cotton mill complex in the world. The Harmony Mills are an excellent example of 19th-century mill architecture. During the 19th century, numerous immigrants came to Cohoes to work in the mills, particularly French Canadians from Quebec and Irish, who first arrived as refugees in the 1840s from the Great Famine. The Harmony Mills Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the late 20th century.

Around the start of the 20th century, daredevil Bobby Leach practiced going over the Cohoes Falls in a barrel before he performed the same stunt at Niagara. Cohoes residents watched this feat from the lawn or the porch of The Cataract House, the Victorian hotel at the corner of North Mohawk and School streets. This site was later developed as the present School Street Power Station.

21st Century

From 2005 to 2013, the Harmony Mills were redeveloped and restored by real estate developer Uri Kaufman. Kaufman converted the Mills to luxury loft apartments, sparking a revival in the heart of the city.

On November 30, 2017, there was a massive fire that destroyed and damaged 21 buildings that caught the attention of national media. An amateur blacksmith, attempting to mimic the show Forged in Fire, started a barrel fire to forge with before losing control of it. High winds stoked the flames which spread over the course of six hours. At one point smoke and fire collectively consumed three blocks of the downtown district, and a plume of smoke rose over the city large enough to be detected by weather radar. Twenty-one buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed, with two businesses and a garage being completely leveled.

Improvements

Starting around 2020 to 2023, Cohoes embarked on a citywide revitalization project focused on improving infrastructure, restoring historic buildings, and environmental sustainability.

In 2017, West End Park was redesigned to become a memorial park honoring veterans. In 2020, historic Canal Square Park in downtown Cohoes was redesigned to host Farmer’s Markets, outdoor concerts, and receptions and other events.

Geography

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Cohoes had a population of 18,147. The median age was 40.1 years. 17.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.4 males age 18 and over.

There were 8,739 households in Cohoes, of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 27.5% were married-couple households, 24.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 36.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 14,327 || 78.9%

|-

| Black or African American || 1,507 || 8.3%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 51 || 0.3%

|-

| Asian || 423 || 2.3%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 2 || 0.0%

|-

| Some other race || 379 || 2.1%

|-

| Two or more races || 1,458 || 8.0%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 1,093 || 6.0%

|}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 16,168 people (677 more than the 2000 census), 7,001 households, and 3,902 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,689 housing units at an average density of .

There were 6,932 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,856, and the median income for a family was $42,054. Males had a median income of $31,972 versus $25,845 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,416. About 11.2% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

thumb|[[Cohoes Falls, from Overlook Park]]

Historic sites

A number of sites in Cohoes are included on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, including -

  • Cohoes Music Hall
  • Delaware and Hudson Railroad Freight House
  • William J. Dickey House
  • Downtown Cohoes Historic District
  • Enlarged Erie Canal Historic District (Discontiguous)
  • Fonda House
  • Godfrey Farmhouse
  • Harmony Mill No. 3
  • Harmony Mills Historic District
  • J. Leonard Lackman House
  • Lock 18 of Enlarged Erie Canal
  • Matton Shipyard
  • Olmstead Street Historic District
  • Silliman Memorial Presbyterian Church
  • Van Schaick House

Infrastructure

Transportation

New York State Route 787 has its northern terminus in Cohoes. New York State Route 32 runs north–south through Cohoes. New York State Route 470 crosses east–west through the city and goes over the Hudson River to the northern parts of Troy.

Until the mid-1950s, the Delaware and Hudson Railroad ran the Laurentian train (New York - Montreal), making a stop at its station in Cohoes. Until the early 1960s, the D&H ran trains from Albany to Saratoga Springs that made stops in Cohoes.

Notable people

  • Charles H. Adams, U.S. representative for New York
  • Chester A. Arthur, president of the United States
  • Ben Beaury, soccer player
  • Ronald Canestrari, mayor of Cohoes and New York state politician
  • George Davis, Major League Baseball (MLB) player and coach and inductee to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
  • James Lafferty, Wisconsin state politician
  • Zach Remillard, MLB player
  • Harold E. Rosecrans, brigadier general in the Marines Corps

Author Kurt Vonnegut's character, writer Kilgore Trout, was said to have been a resident of Cohoes in his story, "Requiem for a Dreamer".

References

  • Cohoes official website
  • Cohoes Chamber of Commerce
  • Spindle City Historic Society