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November 16, 1999
7:30 |
Ross French - "Tools as an Extension of the Hand", Sand Lake Baptist Church |
November 14, 2000 7:30 PM |
Oral history from veterans of World War II. |
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Historical Highlights -- Volume 26, Number 2, Winter 1999-2000
Sand Lake A Mill Town? It is
hard to imagine, when driving through
this quiet hamlet, that Averill
Park was at one time a bustling mill
town employing over 200 workers.
Looking back, Averill Park in
the 1800s was called the Hamlet of
Sand Lake. Burden Lake Road was named
Mill Road, and State Route 43
was the Albany-Sand Lake Plank Road.
So lets start dreaming! --
We have rented a horse-drawn
carriage from the local livery. We
start out on our carriage tour by
turning onto Mill Road from the
Albany-Sand Lake Plank Road. Our
first point of interest is the
beautiful Victorian home of the Kane
Family (#1 on the map below and the
map on page 1). This house was built
in the late 1850s by James Akin and
acquired by Nicholas and Pierce Kane
about 1870. The two Kane brothers,
born in Ireland, came to this country
and settled in West Troy. Both had an
early introduction to the textile
trade at the mills of Roy & Co.
and became experts in knitting.
Pierce Kane was a
superintendent of James Akin's mill
in Sand Lake, and, about 1880,
Nicholas T. Kane bought the Mill. At
his brother's death in 1887, Pierce
Kane became the owner.
Continuing along the road and looking
to the left you can see the Hosiery
Mill (#2) A a twostory wood frame
building on the bank of the
Wynantskill. The factory manufactured
a medium grade of general hosiery,
furnished employment to 85 persons,
and used 360,000 pounds of raw
material to produce 30,000 dozen pair
of hosiery per year. The mill's five
knitting machines were operated by
waterpower from the Wynantskill.
Continuing down Mill Road we
come to the A.B. Knowlson Beverwyck
Factory (#3), on the site of the
former John VanHoesen 1829 mill. In
1866, Knowlson had purchased the
property and constructed a hosiery
factory. This mill was de- stroyed by
fire in 1874. A new mill was built by
Andrew Knowlson and became known as
the Beverwyck Hosiery Mill. The new
mill was a large three-story wood
frame building. The factory
manufactured Gents, Ladies and
Children's Beverwyck Hosiery, and
knit shirts and drawers. A 16-foot
fall of water was used to run its
knitting machinery. The
Beverwyck Mill ran into financial
trouble and closed its doors in 1896.
(Today, some 100 years later, the
upper Faith Mill building is at this
location. If you look closely, you
will see a small stone building Ä a
remaining part of the boiler house of
Andrew Knowlsons Beverwyck Mill.
Before passing the mill, look
up to the right and see the George
Arnold home, built when Arnold owned
the Sand Lake Cotton Factory.
Proceeding a short distance
further along Mill Road, you come to
the Sand Lake Cotton Factory (#4),
operated as Arnolds, Hunt & Co.
It was operated by The Arnold family
until about 1875 when it failed. It
was sold at auction in 1876 to Isaac
McConihe. The Averill Park
factory manufactured cotton warp,
both white and colored. It was a
rather large operation housed in a
120' x 40' foot threestory wood frame
building. The factory contained 2500
spindles using 7200 pounds of raw
material a week. Its monthly payroll
of $600 paid 40 employees. The
factory failed in 1886; the machinery
was removed and the mill abandoned.
Isaac McConihe, the last owner
of the mill, was born in Troy, March
31, 1830, the son of Judge Isaac
McConihe. He earned a degree from
Hamilton Collage in 1849. McConihe
was also president of the Troy
Hosiery Co in Albia. As well as his
involvement in manufacturing he was
active in the City of Troy. He was an
Alderman in 1853, Mayor in 1860-61
and Police Commissioner in 1880.
Isaac McConihe died January 10, 1903.
A few rods down the road
and across a wood bridge, note the
sound of the horses hooves on the
wood planking as we come to the site
of the 1820 Albertson cloth dressing
factory (#5). On Albertson's death it
became Rubin Chapman, then Clark and
Hopkins. In 1846, Cornelius
Schermerhorn had a wool mill on this
site. Schermerhorn operated the mill
until 1868, when it was sold at
auction. William H. Cary
bought the mill and operated it as a
knitting mill until his death in
1875. It was then auctioned on the
steps of the Rensselaer Court House.
The mill was equipped with three sets
of knitting and other machinery,
shafting, hangers, pulleys, steam
boiler and pipes, tools and
implements used in operating the
mill, soaps, oils about 10 cords of
wood, paper boxes, box board, etc.
The mill never operated again after
that 1875 auction. No sign of the
mill can be found today, but across
the road is the home that Albertson
built in the early 1800s. Today, only
parts of the foundation of the paper
mill remain. But Staats Thompson's
home still remains the present home
of author William Kennedy.
By this time our horse is ready
to return to the barn. But in our
carriage ride of about 3/4 mile we
have passed four water-powered
factories that employed many people
and produced knit cotton and woolen
goods, warp yarn and paper. That was
Averill Park in the late 1880s!
Picture credits. The map is from the
F. W. Beers map of 1876, with ".
. .the mills dams and mill ponds
along the Wynantkskill. .
.shown." The Artist's
Conception' of the Staats
Tompkins/Andrew J. Smart mill was
drawn by Grace Patterson in 1981 and
featured in a SLHS House Tour
booklet. Finally traveling
along Mill Road we approach Garner
Road. On the right is the large house
that was the home of Staats T.
Thompson (#6). Thompson built a paper
mill on the Wynantskill across Garner
Road about 1855. It produced 40,000
reams of wrapping paper using 500
tons of straw, employing 12 men and
21 women. In 1865 it became the E.
& J. Merwin Paper company. It was
sold again in 1875 to Andrew
Smart. Andrew Smart was from
Troy but moved into the Tompkins
home. In Troy, he and his brother
Robert had two other paper mills on
the Wynantskill. Andrew Smart was
involved in local politics and served
as Supervisor of the Town of Sand
Lake in 1884. In 1891 the mill
bulkhead and part of the dam were
washed away in a flood. All the paper
stock was destroyed with a loss of
$1500. The paper mill was never to
reopen. |
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Historical Highlights -- Volume 26, Number 1, Fall 1999
A Library for the Town of Sand Lake
With the moving of the Sand
Lake Town Library to new and enlarged
quarters in the newly acquired
Municipal Building, it seems timely
to review the Library history.
First, it is a surprise to discover
that the history of a Town Library
predates the Town itself. In 1808,
the "Sand Lake Library
Society" was organized. At that
time, Thomas Thompson called together
a group of citizens who lived in the
Sand Lake area (read: Averill Park)
to meet at his home to discuss the
establishment of a library. Ten men
responded to the call and, after a
discussion, agreed to each contribute
$10 to the cause. With this $100 the
first library society in Sand Lake
and the second library in Rensselaer
County was established.
The first
directors were William Van Tress as
chairman, Uriah M Gregory, Stephen
Gregory (the Gregory House), Aretus
Lyman (a local mill owner), Joel
Bristol and Nathan Crandall. Thomas
Thompson, in whose home the meeting
was held, was a brother of Calvin
Thompson, who became the first
Supervisor of the Town of Sand Lake
in 1813.
How long this library
operated is lost in time, and what
other efforts transpired between that
time and the 1950s is not known. To
obtain information on the many
efforts to establish a library, a
number of telephone calls have been
made to search people's memories. The
following is a result of that search.
Perhaps you could add or correct some
of the information obtained.
Sometime in the early 1950s, Mrs.
Beyrl Moul worked hard to establish a
library in the Methodist Church in
West Sand Lake. It started as a bible
school project but soon included
adult material and was opened to the
public.
Some time later, Mrs.
Paula Dunn headed a group to form a
Town Library. Fundraising events such
as card parties and teas were held.
As a result of this effort, a Town
Library Demonstration Project,
sponsored by the State, was held at
the High School during the summer of
1962. School librarian Ms. Audna Clum
agreed to staff the project for the
summer.
A library committee
petitioned the Sand Lake Town Board
to allocate funds for the
establishment of a Town Library. A
referendum was placed before the
people of the town two successive
years; each time the proposal was
voted down. The supporters of the
library proposition were discouraged,
and the effort was temporarily
abandoned.
From 1964-75, St.
Henry's School Library was offered as
a community library. Many volunteers
offered their time and effort to
staff the desk and cataloged books.
It was soon affiliated with the then
Upper Hudson Library Federation, thus
offering a better selection of
material. Mrs. Mary O'Donnell,
representing the community library
committee of St. Henry's School,
reported 800-1000 books were borrowed
by school children and 4385 books
were borrowed by the public. The
library ended with the closing of the
school in 1975. Mary O'Donnell later
became librarian of Algonquin Middle
School.
Early in 1986, the Town
Board appointed a committee to
investigate the possibility of
establishing a Town Library. By
September of the same year, the
committee presented their report. The
objectives of the proposed library, a
tentative budget and many letters of
support resulted in the Town Board
officially approving the
establishment of a library and
appropriating $45,000 in support.
Other financial support came from
many contributors, including $4,000
from the Kiwanis. Sharon Bonk, Meg
Distell, Ann Evancoe, Charles Graber,
Bob Katz, Stuart Lipschutz and
Barbara Martinage were appointed as
trustees, working with Elizabeth
Heller as liaison to the Town Board.
The Library received a
provisional charter from the New York
State Board of Regents on April 24,
1987. The new Library rented a space
in 43 Mall and opened its door on
August 15, 1987, with a formal
dedication on October 28. Nola Reis
(director) and Ruth Bordt were the
first paid staff. Official full
approval by the Town Board came at a
meeting on December 10, 1987.
The
Library started with books
contributed by people, mostly from
cellars, attics etc. As the Howe
Branch of the Troy Public library had
recently closed, 2700 books were
purchased from them at $1/book. Some
620 volumes were purchased new and
1157 were donated. At first it was
not a very large collection, but it
grew gradually to what we have today.
In 1989, Maria Lyman and Marilyn
Oestreich founded the Friends of the
Library. This organization is still
active, generating additional support
for the library.
The Library
received its absolute charter from
the Board of Regents on June 26,
1992. But a year earlier, it was
evident that the Library would soon
outgrow its 1500 square foot space at
the 43 Mall. A long-range planning
committee was appointed to study
expansion options. One option was the
building a new separate library
building. To find a permanent
solution to the space problem, the
committee worked with the Town Board,
who at that time was studying the
possibility of building a new town
hall. A plan to include the Town
Library in a new municipal building
was worked out. In 1996, a referendum
to build a municipal building to
house town offices and include a
library was presented to and passed
by the voters.
Conditions soon
changed, a new administration was
elected and the vacant Capital Mutual
Insurance Company building became
available. A study was made to
determine the practicality of
converting that building to Town
Offices. After much study and
discussion, the Town Board passed a
resolution to purchase the building
and convert it into Town Offices,
including an enlarged space for the
Town Library. A contract for the
renovations was let, work started,
and the building was ready for
occupancy in June 1999.
On June
19, 1999, a great number of
volunteers began the week-long
process of moving books, shelving and
equipment to the new location. On
June 28, the Library reopened its
doors in the new and improved
location. The Library still awaits
additional shelving (being donated by
Siena College) and furnishings. When
completed, a local history display of
books and material from the
Historical Society's collection will
be a feature.
At the present time
10 staff people (paid) and several
volunteers are active in operation of
the Library. The new facilities are a
great improvement over the 43 Mall
location. Town citizens can be well
proud of our Sand Lake Town Library.
We've come a long way!!!
The
Municipal Building was dedicated on
August 21, 1999. The Town Library
rededication will be in the fall
after the additional shelving and
furnishings are in place.
[Publisher's note: Yours truly was
privileged to be a small part of the
beginnings of the Sand Lake Town
Library. Working with the newly
formed Board of Trustees, I put
together a "potential library
user" survey form that was
distributed throughout the Town. The
form itself along with the tallying
of results and reporting on same
constituted a Seminar project for my
Master of Library Science degree as
well as helping the new Board to plan
library service to the community. -
Andrew Mace]
Family Memories
In the Fall
1998 issue of Historical Highlights
was an item entitled "Save your
Family Memories." The Circle
Theater Players and the Sand Lake
Historical Society were requesting
family memories on their ancestors
immigration. In this issue are some
of the many responses that were
received. After reading these
interesting accounts, we would be
pleased to receive stories you may
have about your ancestors.
The Henkel Family
Asmus Henkel was
born in 1800 in Germany; his wife
Marthe Ringler was also born in
Germany in 1801...Coming over on the
ship they met the Radz (Rhuts) family
migrating from Friedewald, Province
of Hassen...
Asmus and Martha had
two sons, one of whom was
accidentally killed in New Baltimore
while crossing the railroad track
with a farm wagon...
Martha died
in 1871 and Asmus spent his remaining
years with Catherine and Nicholas on
their large farm in Barbersville,
town of Poestenkill. He must have had
a good disposition as the
grandchildren spoke of him with great
affection. One of the things I
remember about him was that he had
charge of the beehives and that the
bees never stung him while swarming,
etc. He lived to be 92 years of age
and is buried with his wife in
Barbersville Cemetery.
The Henkels
from Detroit visited the Radz quite
often and it was during one of these
visits that Elizabeth married George
Acenour (said to be a distant
cousin). Thy lived in Berlin and had
three children.
I have a very
pleasant memory of visiting the
Lizzie Acenour family at their home
in Berlin one Sunday (probably 1914)
when Auntie HenkeL her son William
and his wife Augusta were here from
Detroit. Our family had driven over
Berlin Mt. that morning. Uncle
Philip, Aunt Mary, Carrie and Lew
came in the afternoon. We had a very
pleasant day.
The Radz Family
Nicholas Radz, Sr. was born June
26, 1826, in Friedewald, Germany,
Province of Hessen. Coming over on
the ship from Germany, Nicholas met
Catherine Henkel and her family. The
Henkels stopped in New York while the
Radz family continued north to
"Steam Mill, Town of Sand
Lake" in Rensselaer County.*
Later, Catherine and Nicholas were
married and settled in Steam Mill in
a log house, where at least seven of
their nine children were born.
Sand Lake Mt. joined Berlin Mt. to
the east, and the emigrants worked at
cutting down the virgin forests. The
area abounded in sawmills mostly
operated by water power from the area
streams, Steam Mill being the
exception. Naturally when the forests
were exhausted, the workers had to
look for a livelihood elsewhere.
Nicholas purchased a farm on Berlin
Mt. in the vicinity of Kendall Pound,
also quite close to where the Boston
Post Road ran at the time. There was
good soil on the mountain for
farming, but the market (Albany) was
too far away. After a few years,
Nicholas and Catherine bought the
Whyland Farm in Barberville, Town of
Poestenkill.
Nicholas, Sr. was a
hardworking farmer who raised nine
children and retired in his old age,
leaving the farm to his daughter
Libbie who had to remain at home to
"look after" her parents.
In summertime, the house was always
overcome with relatives and friends -
the Hessers and Ewers from New York,
the Henkels from Detroit. As one of
the younger grandchildren, I only
remember my grandparents in their
later years. Grandpa, sitting in the
large sitting room where the south
windows were filled with plants,
including one huge Calla Lily.
Grandma would be moving about the
kitchen, and her apron pocket always
held either a penny or a pink mint
candy for me.
When Nicholas Jr.
married, he and Amelia stayed with
the Radz family for one year and then
moved down the road to a new house
built by Andrew Radz, his brother.
This home is located across from the
Cemetery in Barberville. This is
where Nicholas and Amerilia brought
their family. He was a farmer and
later supplemented his livelihood
with mason work. He worked on
chimneys and such as he did not mind
climbing. -Helen Radz Ruether,
daughter of Amelia Taylor and
Nicholas Radz, Jr., and
great-granddaughter of Asmus And
Marther Henkel, June 1979.
*Steam Mill First steam mill in
Rensselaer County, east of Taborton.
built 1831 by Butts, Horton And
Knowlson.
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