| Introduction | Historical Background | Chronology | Geography | Biography | Technology | Ownership and Financing | General Bibliography |
| Middle Atlantic States | New York | Troy |
Troy became a village in 1796 and a city in 1816.
The first water works were operating by August, 1798, when local attorney and future congressman John Bird advertised his home for sale that included "a supply of water by conduits."
The source of this water may have been a spring on land owned by Stephen J. Schuyler, who in November, 1799 conveyed the water rights to Israel Clarke, a physician in West Windsor, New Jersey, who was the brother-in-law of Mahlon Taylor, a local entrepreneur who died on April 26, 1799. In return for the water rights, Clarke was to support and educate Taylor's son Mahlon Clarke Taylor. In July of 1806 the Troy village trustees passed an ordinance "for the preservation of the aqueducts." These "Aqueduct Water Works" were offered for sale in December, 1812 by Benjamin Smith and in March, 1813 by Mahlon Taylor.
James Ramsey (1778-1860) of Burke, Vermont received a patent on October 4, 1810 for "clay tubes for aqueducts," also known as earthen conduits or aqueduct pipes. Ramsey's partner, Willard Carleton (1769-?), and Roman Fyler (1769-1828) secured the patent rights for New York state and in 1811 built a factory in Troy to manufacture the conduits, which had been used in Vermont and Connecticut. They installed some conduits at a local brewery, and persuaded local residents to form a company to build a system using their product, which had the very appropriate name of The Earthen Conduit Company of Troy. One 1873 book states that Fyler "installed the first aqueduct in Troy," but no other information has been found about this system or its fate. The same pipes used in an 1813 system at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, failed after about two years, so it is unlikely that the Troy project fared any better.
The Earthen Conduit Company of Troy was incorporated on June 16, 1812 by Abraham Ten Eyck, Derick Lane, Daniel Merritt, with the first directors being Abraham Ten Eyck, Derick Lane, Platt Titus, Nathan Warren and Daniel Merritt.
The Conduit Company of Troy was incorporated on April 13, 1814 by Richard P. Hart, Nathan Warren, and Daniel Merrit, with the first directors being Daniel Merritt, Richard P. Hart, Nathan Warren, Townsend McCoun and Derick Y. Van Derheyden. The charter of the 1812 company does not specify the type of pipe that can be installed, but the 1814 charter includes this note: "On the 16th June 1812—Sess. 35. ch. 172, a company was incorporated in Troy, by the name of " The Trustees of the Earthen Conduit Company of Troy," With privileges and immunities similar to those in the present act, except that the present corporation are not limited to earthen conduits.—The late improvements introduced in the manufacture of cast-iron pipes, at Salisbury in Connecticut, for the purpose of conducting water, promise to be more durable than any yet invented." The Salisbury firm had supplied cast iron pipes to the Albany Water Works in 1813. No further information on this company has been found.
The Troy Water-Works Company was incorporated on April 18, 1829 by Stephen Warren, Le Grand Cannon and Philander Wells. This company intended to supply water for domestic purposes only, but the City of Troy negotiated to purchase the company so that it could also provide fire protection. This sale was concluded on March 26, 1832 for $174.34 and the city installed a water system as described in the references below.
The City of Troy annexed the village of Lansingburgh in 1900, which had its own water system.
Water is currently provided by the City of Troy.
References
1798 Lansingburgh Gazette,
September 18, 1798, Page 4.
For sale or lease. That handsome and commodious stand where the
subscriber now lives, the situation is excellent for a tavern or boarding
house, the premises are in complete repair; There is a fine soil for a
garden, and a good stable with a supply of water from conduits along with
other conveniences. John Bird, Troy, August 16, 1798.
A New Ferry at Troy. The subscriber informs his friends and the public in
general, that he has established, a ferry, at the lower end of Troy.
Mahlon Taylor, Troy, May 15, 1798.
1811 Albany Balance
& State Journal, February 5, 1811, Page 48.
Improvement. [From the Connecticut Courant.] Aqueduct Pipes. We are
happy to announce, that a valuable improvement has been made in conveying
water, by means of subterranean pipes, by James Ramsay. The pipes to which
we allude are constructed of earthen, by a machine, for which a patent has
been obtained. The durability of these pipes, and the pure state in which
water may be conveyed, must be obvious to every person. From
respectable authority, we hesitate not to pronounce, that this discovery
promises to be of great public utility. The machine in question is in
pssession of Mr. Seth Goodwin of this town, who can furnish any number of
the pipes that may be wanted. They are also made in the state of Vermont,
by the patentee.
[We understand that the above mentioned patentee intends to erect a
machine in this state, in the course of the ensuing spring, for the
purpose of manufacturing the earthen aqueduct pipes.]
1811 Albany Balance
& State Journal, September 11, 1811, Page 290.
Improvement. Aqueduct Pipes. It was announced some time since that Mr. James
Ramsey, of Vermont, had obtained a patent for a valuable improvement
in pipes for conveying water. These pipes are made of earthen, by a
machine invented for the purpose. In Connecticut, where works have
been erected for manufacturing them, they have been fully tried, and have
answered the most flattering expectations of the patentee; and they are
not getting into general use in that quarter. They were not in the
least degree injured by the late severe winter; and from my own
observation, and the certificates of some of the most respectable
gentlemen in Connecticut, I am convinced, that for strength, durability,
cheapness and cleanliness they are preferable to any pipes now in use.
Use this impression, it gives me pleasure to be enabled to state, that
Messrs. Fyler and Carlton, the proprietors of the patent
for this state, have erected works at Troy, for the purpose of
manufacturing these pipes. They are found the clay in that play
suitable for the object, and have already made a considerable quantity of
the ordinary size; and they are now preparing machines for making the
pipes of any size that may be required (even 6 inches bore.)
The proprietors are so well convinced of the utility and importance of the
invention, and they are so well satisfied that the pipes only require to
be proved to be universally adopted, that they are disposed to give every
facility to experiments either for private pipes or for public
aqueducts.-- They have made an arrangement with the Water Works Company of
this city, by which I understand that an experiment is to be tried on a
large scale; and which, I have no doubt, will satisfy all concerned.
Should due encouragement be given by the public, it is the intention of
the proprietors to extend their establishment in such a manner as to be
able to supply any demand at the shortest notice.-- They will make
experiments or undertake any thing relating to the business, on the most
liberal terms.
Individuals or companies, desirous of information on the subject, will do
well to make reasonable application to the proprietors at Troy.
Editor Balance.
1811 American
Watchman and Delaware Republican, October 9, 1811, Page 1.
We have seen the pipes above alluded to, which Messrs. Fyler &
Carlton are now making in this village, and do not hesitate to
pronounce them preferable to wood in every particular. The clay used
us the best kind of brick clay, but the mode used in manufacturing the
pipes render them firmer and much more impervious then the best burnt
brick, as the intended pipe is first made solid, then confined within a
strong frame, and perforated with an iron spindle which is forced through
the whole length of the pipe by a violent operation. The perforating
differs from what is generally understood by boring, as the cylinder is
formed by compressing the clay from the middle of the solid pipe into its
sides, and, as this is done without increasing the original bulk of the
pipe the side are thereby rendered very hard and firm even before burning,
which is done in a potter's oven in the same manner as stone ware.
The pipes are sufficiently strong to bear any pressure of head water
without bursting. The term of their duration is consequently
unlimited, whereas wood not only soon decays but is subject to another
great in convenience in places where the Lombardy Poplar is used as an
ornament to streets, as the roots of this tree soon penetrate into wooden
pipes, choak them up, and render them useless, not only obstructing the
passage of water but giving it a disagreeable taste - these two very
serious evils will be easily prevented by using the clay pipes - 1st,
because their hardness renders them perfectly impervious to the roots of
the poplar, or any other roots, or worms, and - 2nd because the inside of
them is well glazed and will consequently keep the water perfectly sweet
and wholesome.
The cement used by Messrs. Fyler & Carlton for the connecting
the clay pipes possesses two very essential properties, viz. hardness
& adhesion, and those qualities are increased by time. We have
seen several pieces of the clay aqueduct pipes cemented by this
composition which (while cold) resisted every attempt to separate them,
and the pipes would break either above or below the joint which remained
firm and uninjured, which shews that the cement not only renders the
joints of the pipes water tight, but also strengthens them - Yet by the
application of heat the cement because soft and perfectly malleable.
Messrs. F. & C. have certificates from a number of respectable
gentlemen in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, &c. attesting to the
durability and other valuable qualities of those pipes after having used
them upwards of five years, and they have recently laid some down for the
use of Messrs. Wandell, Eddy & Co.'s brewer in this village, which
have been examined by a number of gentlemen who highly approved of
them. We trust that an improvement so important wil be duly
appreciated and patronized by every citizen who has experienced the many
disadvantages and disappointments attendant on the present method of
supplying water for drinking and culinary uses in populous towns, and
particularly in this village, where the inadequacy of the wooden aqueduct
pipes and the heavy and useless tax which the use of them imposes on the
people has been too long suffered. Editor Farmers' Reg.
1812 An act to incorporate the proprietors of the Earthen Conduit Company of Troy. June 16, 1812
1812 Troy
Post, December 22, 1812
Water Works. The Aqueduct Water Works, by which the village of Troy has
been supplied, are offered for sale. Persons disposed to purchase
will apply to BENJAMIN SMITH Dec 22, 1812
1813 Albany
Gazette, March 18, 1813, Page 2
NOTICE. THE CONDUITS by which the village of Troy is supplied with
water are offered for sale; persons wishing to purchase may apply to
George Merchant, Esq. or to the subscriber in said village, MAHLON C.
TAYLOR Troy, March 18, 1813
1814 An act to incorporate the proprietors of the Conduit Company of Troy. April 13, 1814.
1829 An act to incorporate the Troy Water Works Company. April 18, 1829.
1832 An act in relation to the "Troy Water-Works Company" and for insuring to the City of Troy a supply of Water for the extinguishment of Fires, and other purposes. March 20, 1832
1838 Sketch of the civil engineering of North
America: comprising remarks on the harbours, river and lake
navigation, lighthouses, steam-navigation, water-works, canals, roads,
railways, bridges, and other works in that country, by
David Stevenson
Pages 291-292: Troy, on the eastern or left bank of the Hudson,
about fourteen miles above Albany, is also abundantly supplied with good
water collected in the high ground in the neighbourhood. The reservoir
stands about one-third of a mile from the town, and is seventy feet above
the level of the streets. It is capable of containing 1,900,000 gallons,
and the water is conveyed from it to the town in a main twelve inches in
diameter. The works are said to have cost £.23,000. The annual expense of
conducting them is £.160.
1841 An act authorizing the corporation of the city of Troy to create a sinking fund. May 25, 1841. For water works and other purposes.
1855 An act in relation to the Troy water works. March 9, 1855.
1861 "Water-Works of the United States," The American Gas Light Journal, 2:203 (January 1, 1861) Troy is number 84 on this list.
1861 "The Water-Works of America. Troy, N. Y.," The American Gas Light Journal, 2:239-240 (February 1, 1861)
1861 "Troy Water Works," The American Gas Light Journal, 3:68-69 (September 2, 1861)
1862 "Troy, N. Y. Water-Works Account for 1861," The American Gas Light Journal, 3:375 (June 16, 1862)
1871 Annual Report of the Water Commissioners to the Common Council of the City of Troy | Volumes 16-23 | Volumes 24-27 | Volume 28 | Volumes 31-35 | Volumes 36-39 | Volumes 40-44 |
1873 "The Efficacy of the Flanders' Pumps," The South Bend Tribune, October 20, 1873, Page 2.
1873 Annals
and Family Records of Winchester, Conn., by John Boyd
Pages 188-189: Roman Fyler. About 1800 he removed to Burke,
Caledonia Co., Vt, where he resided during his remaining life.
During his residence there he laid down the first aqueduct in Troy, N. Y.
1876 Map of Troy, also West Troy, and Green Island
1880 "Water Supply," from History of Rensselaer Co., New York, by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester
1881 Troy, Engineering News, 8:283,285 (July 16, 1881)
1882 Troy, from "The Water-Supply of Certain Cities and Towns of the United States," by Walter G. Elliot, C. E., Ph. D.
1888 "Troy," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 1.
1886 The City of Troy and Its Vicinity
by Arthur James Weise
Page 309: The Bessemer Steel Works. When in England, in 186i,
Alexander L. Holley, of Troy, heard so much said respecting Henry
Bessemer's discovery of a process by which pig-iron was decarbonized to
convert it into steel, that on his return to Troy he induced John A.
Griswold and John F. Winslow to become his partners in purchasing the
American patents of the distinguished English engineer, bearing dates of
February 12 and of August 25, 1856. In the summer of 1863, A. L. Holley
went again to England, where in the following spring he obtained the right
of making Bessemer steel in America. The site selected by Winslow,
Griswold & Holley to erect a suitable building for a 2½ ton plant was
that of the flour-mill built on the bank of the Hudson, south of the
Wynants Kill, by Thomas L. Witbeck, in 1796, and to which he conducted
water from the Defreest fulling mill by a "trunk made of juice boards and
plank." When this raceway was washed away by a freshet, Elisha Putnam
constructed in its place a conduit of headless barrels joined end to end,
for which improved flume he obtained a patent December 31, 1816.
Pages 335-337: "Water Works, Troy"
1890 "Troy," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.
1891 "Troy," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.
1891 A
History of the Putnam Family in England and America. Recording the
Ancestry and Descendants of John Putnam of Danvers, Mass., Jan Poutman
of Albany, N. Y., Thomas Putnam of Hartford, Conn, Volume
1, by Eben Putnam
Page 284: Elisha Putnam was tall and spare, of quick intelligence,
inventive genius, independent and positive opinions even to the extent of
voting for his own candidates for presidential electors. By occupation he
was a carpenter, builder, civil engineer, architect and contractor; he
built the first nail mills near Troy, N. Y., two or three churches in
Albany, one or more sections of the Erie canal, part of the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal, laid the first pipes of hollowed wood to supply Albany with
water, and was for many years superintendent of the water works there.
Before completing the first nail works at Troy for the Brinckerhoffs, he
got admission into the only other establishment in the country where a
certain secret process was carried on, disguised as an ignorant countryman
seeking work. In one day he mastered the special machinery, and was able
from memory to set up similar and improved machinery in the mills he was
building.
1891 Troy's One Hundred Years, 1789-1889
by Arthur James Weise
Page 54: As early as 1800, the small stream running along the Hollow
Road, later known as Spring Avenue, supplied the inhabitants of the
village with "pure and wholesome water for domestic purposes." The
privilege of using the water, rising from a spring on the farm of Stephen
J. Schuyler and filling the reservoir constructed to receive it, was
conveyed on November 15th, that year, to Israel Clark, a physician, of
West Windsor, New Jersey, by Stephen Van Rensselaer, on the express
condition that the former should support and educate the infant son of
Mahlon Taylor, deceased, during his minority, from the rent and profits of
the water supplied to people of Troy through the wooden pipes or
aqueducts, extending from the reservoir to the village. As described
in the deed, the reservoir was built on the stream at a point where the
same was "intersected by a right line running from the most southerly
point or corner of the southernmost grist mill" of the said Mahlon Taylor,
deceased, "standing in a direction about forty one degrees and thirty
minutes east at the distance of about nineteen chains from the said most
southernly point of said grist mill." For the water right, the
grantee paid annually "twenty bushels of clean merchantable wheat."
On July 1, 1806, the village trustees passed an ordinance "for the
preservation of the aqueducts" and to prevent the unnecessary waste of
water brought therein for the use of inhabitants." On December 22d,
1812, "The Aqueduct Water Works" were advertised for sale, by James Smith.
By the act of June 16th, 1812, incorporating " the proprietors of the
Earthen Conduit Company of Troy," Abraham Ten Eyck, Derick Lane, Platt
Titus, Nathan Warren, and Daniel Merritt, trustees, were permitted "to lay
and conduct any number of conduits" to supply the inhabitants with water.
The act "to incorporate the proprietors of the Conduit Company of Troy,"
passed April 13th, 1814, constituted Daniel Merritt, Richard P. Hart,
Nathan Warren, Townsend McCoun, and Derick Y. Van der Heyden, trustees,
and privileged the company to discontinue the use of earthen conduits and
to lay cast-iron pipes, manufactured at Salisbury, Connecticut, to conduct
water into the village. The earthen conduits were about two feet in
length, with a bore of an inch and a half in diameter.
Page 167: The proprietors of the Conduit Company of Troy, it seems,
supplied the inhabitants with water until the construction of a reservoir,
in 1833, on the Piscawen Kill. On the petition of Stephen Warren, Le Grand
Cannon, Philander Wells, and other citizens, the Legislature, on April
18th, 1829, passed the act incorporating the Troy Water Works Company,
with a capital of $250,000. On April 22d, 1830, the Common Council
appointed the mayor, George Tibbits, and three aldermen, Townsend McCoun,
Stephen Ross, and Jeremiah Dauchy, to explore "for a suitable supply of
good water for the use of the city, and cause the necessary surveys to be
made, and to devise a plan, and to make an estimate of the expense of
bringing the same into the city, and to report the same." William Roberts,
the city surveyor, having made surveys of the springs, on the farm of
Benjamin Gorton, east of the city, along the Hoosick Road, and of the
Piscawen Kill, north of it, the committee, in the following summer,
presented its report, with a map of the surveys, to the Common Council.
The Troy Water Works Company having consented to surrender its rights to
the city, an act was passed by the Legislature on March 20th, 1832,
permitting the sale of the property, which was shortly afterward purchased
for the small sum of $174.34. The "Water Works Committee, George Tibbits,
mayor, and Townsend McCoun, Stephen Ross, Calvin Warner, Jeremiah Dauchy,
Benjamin M. Wilson, and Ebenezer Wood, aldermen, having received the
property, proceeded to obtain the necessary land and the water privileges
of the Piscawen Kill, in order to construct a reservoir on the stream,
where now is the distributing reservoir, west of Oakwood Avenue. In the
spring of 1833, the construction of a dam and reservoir was begun, which,
on their completion in 1834, had a capacity of 448,838 gallons of water,
which was distributed through the city by about four miles of pipes. Not
long afterward, the second and third reservoirs were constructed, having
an aggregate capacity of 1,000,000 gallons. In 1843 and 1853, other
reservoirs were constructed on the Piscawen Kill, west and east of Oakwood
Avenue. The total cost of the Troy Water Works, on March 1st, 1848, was
$160,496.37. There were then 59,497 feet of pipes through which water was
supplied the inhabitants.
1897 Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York
by George Baker Anderson
Page 240: As the population of Troy increased the problem of an
adequate water supply became an important one. Early in the century most
of the inhabitants were supplied by a small stream running along Spring
avenue, then known as the Hollow road. The spring supplying it was on the
farm of Stephen J. Schuyler. November 15, 1800, Stephen Van Rensselaer
conveyed to Dr. Israel Clark of West Windsor, N. J., the right to use and
control the water, which was then retained in a small reservoir. For
several years Dr. Clark collected the rents for the use of the water. From
time to time the waterworks were improved according to the needs of the
growing village. June 16, 1812, Abraham Ten Eyck, Derick Lane, Platt
Titus, Nathan Warren and Daniel Merritt, trustees of the Earthen Conduit
company of Troy, were given a franchise by the village authorities
allowing them to pipe the streets to furnish a better supply to consumers.
Two years later another company was incorporated and granted the privilege
of substituting iron pipes for the conduits then in use. The trustees of
the new company were Daniel Merritt, Richard P. Hart, Nathan Warren,
Townsend McCoun and Derick Y. Vanderheyden. This company laid the
foundation for the present splendid system of waterworks in the city of
Troy.
Pages 362-364: "Water Department"
1897 "Troy,"
from Manual of American Water Works,
Volume 4.
1897 Report on an Additional Water Supply for the City of Troy: Made to the Water Commissioners by Elnathan Sweet and Wm. G. Raymond
1908 "The Troy Water Works Extension" by E. L. Grimes, Journal of the New England Water Works Association 22:164-183 (June, 1908)
1932 "The Troy Water Works" by James M. Caird, Journal of the American Water Works Association 24(1):49-56 (January, 1932)
1970 "Troy Water Supply Started in 1800," The Troy Record, August 6, 1970, Page B-20. | Page B-21 |
1970 History of Troy Water Works Troy, New York 170 Years of Public Service
1982 "Hoboken Hollow: A 19th Century Factory Workers' Housing Site," by Sherene Baugher, Northeast Industrial Archaeology 11:26-38 (1982)
[1990] Two Centuries of Public Service: History of Troy Water Works, Troy, New York.
1991 "History of Troy NY Water Supplies," From the M.S. Thesis of Chris Alonge, Rensselaer Polyechnic Institute.
2009 The
Poesten Kill: Waterfalls to Waterworks in the Capital District,
by John Warren
Page 22: Initially, most of those living near the lower Poesten Kill
got fresh drinking water from the spring on Hollow Road (now Spring
Avenue) on the farm of Stephen J. Schuyler. In 1800, the patroon (then
Stephen van Rensselaer, the eighth and second to last patroon of
Rensselaerswyck) conveyed the rights to the spring to Dr. Israel Clark of
West Windsor, New Jersey, who built a small reservoir and collected
payments for use of the water. In 1812, the Earthen Conduit Company of
Troy was given the rights to pipe the water into Troy, and two years later
it dropped the "earthen" and used new iron pipes. In 1833, the water
supply was shifted to the Piscawen Kill, where a series of reservoirs was
built.
Page 69: Initially, improvement of the water power on the Poesten
Kill was engineered and constructed by individual mill owners. Those at
the base of the gorge were probably similar to one built by Thomas
Whitbeck for his flouring mill on the Wynants Kill in 1796, described as a
"trunk made of juice boards and plank." After this was washed away in the
flooding of 1814, Elisha Putnam built in its place a conduit made of
headless barrels placed end to end. Later the millrace seems to have
dug into the ground, and in the late 1820s local mill owners began
organizing themselves to accomplish the improvement of local water power.
© 2015 Morris A. Pierce