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The B eauerkiLlA History Walk through Lincoln Park

The Beaaerkill in 1794

The TOAST of ,h. To*" E"rrh F.t, hit is sponsored by the

NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM

The Albany County Penitentiary had a L05 cells for prisoners.Carrtesy of the New York State Library

The Penitentiary can be seen on this 1857 map.

sroP ltThe BeaverkillAlbany County PenitentiaryWilliam James HouseProfessor Hall's Study

I The creek that once flowed through Lincoln Park was called the Beaverkill byEuropean settlers as early as t642. The Beaverkill emerged in the Pine Hillsatea, snaked through the city, and emptied into the Hudson River. It flowedover an embankment at Delaware and Park avenues creating a waterfallcalled Buttermilk Falls. Near the Hudson, sturgeon and other fish swam inthe Beaverkill, and wild strawberries, blueberries, weeping willow trees, and

red clover grew on its banks. At one time, the area around the Beaverkill inLincoln Park was mostly rock and brush and was difficult to travel through.Today the area has high grassy hills, a variety of trees, a swimming pool,sports fields, and many roads.

I The Albany County Penitentiary was build near the Beaverkill 1-848. It faced

today's Delaware Avenue and was set behind Hackett Middle School at theend of Leonard Place. Prisoners kept there were disciplined by labor andsilence. By 1930, it was called the Albany County ]ail.

I4lhenmerchant WilliamJames died in 183?his large estate included several buildingsnear Delaware and Morton avenues, andland bounded between Swan Street andNew Scotland and Morton avenues.

In the early 1850s, state geologist James Hallbuilt his study near Delaware and Mortonavenues. He used the rocks and fossils hekept there to teach students about geologyand paleontology. In the 1880s he built ahome near his study.

In 1930 city workers built the Arch Street storm sewer.Courtesy of the Albany County Hall of Reards

STOP2Buttermilk FallsStorm SewerWarren Street TreesHinckel Brewery

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tn Iuly of 1800, a traveler described the Buttermilk Falls as clear and cool and

took a moment to swim in the pool that formed below it. He described the

Beaverkill as a shallow, rocky channel.

In 1.834, the common council voted to build a stone arch over the entire length

of the Beaverkill in |ohnson Street below Grand Street. By L857 Johnson Street

was renamed Arch Street.

City workers dug up the arch in the early 1930s, and built a brick pipe around

the Beaverkill changing it into a storm sewer. The sewer now carries rainwater and sewage to a treatment plant in the port of Albany. The sewage is

stored and treated with disinfectant chemicals for several months and thenit's discharged into the Hudson River.

Philip Schuyler, the wealthiest man in colonial Albany, owned land south ofthe Beaverkill and north of the city's southern boundary. This included some

of the land we now call Lincoln Park. After his death in 1804 the land was

divided into lots and sold. O.ly a few lots were occupied by the late 1850s

and streets were mapped out in the area during the 1860s. Some trees remain

that once lined Warren Street.

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,lThis 1856 map shows streets in the Lincoln Park area.

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The Beaverkill cannot be seenbelow Grand Street

on this mipmade in 1852 because a brick culvert was built over it'

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I In 1855 Frederick Hinckel, a German immigrant, built a brewery on Park Avenue

overlooking Buttermilk Falls and the Beaverkill. The five-story structure that

remains today was built in 1880 as a malt house. Frederick died in L88L and his heirs

continued to produce Hinckel's Sparking Lager untiI7922, and added an ice-making

plant and two beer storage buildings. The brewery is now Hinckel Apartments.

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South Swan, 'Myrtle ancl Park Avenlres'

This advertisement for Hinckel Brewery appeared in the 1-8!2 gity directoty.'

The Hinckel's had th"i. b""r bottled at the amany Sleam Bottling Works near their brewery'

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Abraham Wendell and his mill on the BeaverkillcL750.Courtesy of the Albany Institute of History and Art

STOP 3Vanderpoel and Visscher SawmillWendell's MillsMartinvilleRocky LedgeLincoln Park Pool and Bath House

I By 'J.698, there were two sawmills on the south side of the Beaverkill. One was

owned by Melgert Vanderpoel and the other by brothers Nanning andFrederick Visscher. In 7699 a conflict arose between the millers and the

Visschers rebuilt their mill to the north side of the Beaverkill. Both millers had

a millpond, bridge, and dam, and used water from the Beaverkill and a

waterwheel to power their mills. They cut wood which was used to buildhomes, small bridges, fences, boats, and furniture. After Melgert Vanderpoeldied in t706, his six children had his property assessed so it could be dividedevenly. The sawmill and dam on the Beaverkill was valued at 60 pounds.

One of the Wendell Mills on the Beaverkill c1750.Courtesy of the Albany Institute of History anil Art

T By the late 1730s, Evert Wendell built a grist mill on the Beaverkill. He died in1750 and left his sawmills, gristrnills, and brewhouse on the Beaverkill to his

sons Abraham and Philip. The Wendells used water from the Beaverkill topower their mill so they could grind wheat, oats, and corn into meal. Evert

built a wagon road near his gristmill so his workers could bring meal to the

city. Some of the meal went to a bolthouse to be sifted through cloth to make

flour. And some of it was brought to stores in the city to be sold.

The mills were abandoned by 1800. In 1802, Philip sold all of the Wendell

land near the Beaverkill to Abraham Lansing and David Watters.

By L8l7,builder David Orr, arelative of David Watters, owned a large portionof land around the Beaverkill. He built a number of tenement homes in the

area and they were rented to immigrants. The area became known as

Martinville.

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David Orr's tenements, knownas Martinville, in 1892.Courtesy of the Nant York State Library

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In the early twentieth century, the tenements were demolished and the area

was obtained by the city to be used as a park. Rocky Ledge, a man-made,

muddy swimming hole, was built in the area. It was replaced by a pool in1930, and a bath house and comfort station in 1931. The comfort station was

demolished, the pool has been remolded, and the bath house remains.

Two athletic fields were built in the early twentieth century and they were

flooded during the winter for ice skating events. One large field remains

today. Bleachers were constructed for fans in the 1930s, but they have been

removed. Recently a small playground was built near Park Avenue.

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Winter sports on the Lincoln Park athletic field during the 1930s.Courtesy of the Albany Cunty Ilall of Rearils

Cows being ferried across the Hudson River.Courtesy of theNew York State Ubrary

STOP4Fort Nassau and Fort OrangeThe FerryPastures and GardensCharles Slaughter House

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Fort Nassau, the original trading post, a was built on Castle Island. It wasreplaced inL624 by Fort Orange, the first permanent settlement at Albany. Itwas built near the site of today's Ramada Inn on Broadway.

A ferry site was established at the mouth of the Beaverkill as early as L642 andcarried people across the Hudson River. By the L760s people, animals, andfarm goods were ferried across the river in small boats for a fee. In 1-785, theconunon council voted to have two boats in tow 24 hours-a-duy. They agreed

that two men should operate each boat and decided to double the fare after

sunset. During the 1840s, larger fercy boats carried teams of horses andcarriages to East Greenbush. The f.ercy closed December through Marchbecause the Hudson was frozen.

During the L700s, the Dutch Reformed Church and other Albany residents,

had fenced-in pasture areas around the Beaverkill. They nourished grazinganimals and irrigated gardens with water from the Beaverkill.

By the late 1770s, William Charles established a butcher shop on Pearl Street

near the Beaverkill. By L800, it became a large slaughter house and tannery. Itwas operated by William's son George, the cif's leather inspector. More thanten workers butchered animals there and threw the blood and scraps into the

Beaverkill. Many pigs congregated around the Beaverkill to eat what scraps

they could.

Many businesses were established near the Beaverkill by 1850. Th"y include alinseed oil and cotton factory and breweries near the river; a gas works, so?pz

tile, iron, and stove factory above Pearl Stree| a nursery and florist and a

brewery above Delaware Avenue, and a glue factory in the northern part ofthe city. By the early L920s, many factories and breweries lined Arch Street.

Ooly a few vacant buildings remain on Arch Street today.

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Iames Hall's studY in the 1930s'tourtrsy of the Albany Ciunty Hall of Records

STOP 5Philip Schuyler's PropertyLincoln and Beaver ParkThe Martin Luther King, Jr. MemorialJames Hall's Study and House

I Philip Schuyler owned land south of the Beaverkill to the southern boundary

of the city, between Delaware Avenue and South Pearl Street. When he died

his children divided up the land and offered it for sale.

f The Martin Luther King, ]r. Memorial was built in 1993 to teach people Dr.

King's ideas on civil rights and peace. Dr. King was clergymary a civil-rights

leader, and was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in1964. He was killed by

an assassin in 1968.

I Professor Hall used his large collection of rocks and fossils in his study to

teach students about geology and paleontology. His collections are now in the

New York State Library. In the early 1930s, his study was called The Fresh AirSchool and now it is a school for disabled children called the Sunshine School.

I The Lincoln Park area started to evolve as a public park in the early twentieth

century. It was first called Beaver Park and was renamed Lincoln Park in1915. Today the area serves as a recreational and educational area for Albany

residents.

3 Alarms Sound;Princifal Leaps'From Window

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School 24 hre in 1953 was reported in theTimes Union and Kniclcerboker N eus.

STOP 6TOAST

I The Thomas O'Brien Academy for Science and Technology (TOAST) was

formerly called School 24.The original School 24was located at Delaware and

Dana avenues and burned during school hours in 1953. The TOAST buildingwas built in 1955 and was dedicated to the teachers who saved 391 students

from perishing in the fire.

I In L990, School 24became a magnet school and was renamed TOAST. The

Albany City School District established specialized magnet schools to bringtogether students from different neighborhoods. TOASI along with other

magnet schools, is partially supported by federal funding.

I TOAST teachers incorporate science and technology themes into dailymathematics, reading, writing, history, and science lessons.lnt993, TOAST

and the New York State Museum developed the Outdoor Learning Center

program so that students could learn about the environment, and about,

history, geology, and biology in a natural setting.

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391'Pupils Escspe' frsFire Rozes School 24

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shooting fronr rhe buikllng. I lftlt of .snroke. Our reacher.

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arllnd6.trJ(9

Life AlongThe Beaperkill

A HistoryWalk through Lincoln Park

was prepared for The Outdoor Leaming Center byTricia Barbagallo, research associate at the

Colonial Albany S o cial History P roj ectNew York State Museum

Do ttot cite, qrmte or reprduce without permission

May20,1995

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