The Burden Iron Company was an early and hugely successful iron company in the US, but now its iconic riverside foundry lies in shambles. Henry Burden, a Scottish-born inventor and entrepreneur, built this Iron Works in Troy, NY in the 1820s. In 1851 he constructed a 60-foot (18m) water wheel to power it – the strongest, if not the largest water wheel ever built. It weighed 250 tons and , fittingly enough, was made almost entirely of iron. Unfortunately the wheel is lost to history.
The Iron Works sits on the Hudson River, just a short walk from where I attended University. The ghost of Mr. Burden and I became well-acquainted over those four years. The foundry is a special place for me, a symbol of Troy’s glory days, when as an industrial powerhouse it had earned its historic name. The combination of soaring brick and iron architecture, historical intrigue, and industrial might at Burden Iron Works captured my imagination as a student – and still does today.
