NYCOLUMB-L Archives

Archiver > NYCOLUMB > 2000-11 > 0975551833


From: "Lee Sharp" <>
Subject: RE: [NYCOL] Valatie - important Mill Town
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 21:37:13 -0500


For those who are interested, the Valatie Library is accumulating a fair
amount of historical information on its web site at:

http://capital.net/~vfl/index.html

Anyone who has info, photos, etc., they'd be willing to share is cordially
invited to contact the library's webmaster (me) at . With
support from the library, Village historian Dominick Lizzi is also working
on a book about the village's "forgotten" history.

The surviving mill that Cliff mentioned does indeed still stand, though it
is now occupied by a company that makes electronic gear (Energy Onix).

The library does not, alas, have any genealogical info to share at this
time, though we do have a local history study group that has expressed
interest in moving in that direction. Here's hoping.

- Lee Sharp


-----Original Message-----
From: Cliff Lamere [mailto:]
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2000 9:51 PM
To:
Subject: [NYCOL] Valatie - important Mill Town


Miki,

You asked, "It rather looks like the men worked in the mills in that area.
Does anyone know where there is information about the mills? Do the mills
still stand?"

"The History of the Village of Valatie" (1976) indicates that the original
Dutch name of the village was Vaaltje, which means Little Falls. This name
referred to a 15' waterfall and was named in comparison to Stuyvesant Falls
which had a larger drop. There is also a water fall about ten miles from
Valatie, just south of the Castleton village border (Rensselaer Co.) where
Jacob Janse Gardenier, my 8th great grandfather had a lumber mill and grist
mill.

>From about 1828 to 1832, Valatie was renamed as Millville. Then, it became
Valatie again. In 1829 there was a cotton mill, two cotton mills were in
the process of being built, a grist mill, a flour mill, two saw mills, and a
plaster mill It was estimated that they had enough water to support three
times that much.

In the 1950s, there were five mills in the village, but they were not all in
operation. Three had been built in a location to take advantage of the
water power, and one of those was still in partial operation at the time,
although possibly based entirely on electricity by then. Two mills were
nearby, but must have always been powered by electricity. Of the three
water-powered mills, all are gone today, a medical center having been built
in place of the largest of them. One of the other mills (Reilly's) is still
there on River St., perhaps still making clothing.

This thread: