In 1834, the Cohoes Hydraulic Company built a dam above Cohoes Falls to harness the abundant flow of the Mohawk River for industrial use, then gradually developed a series of canals that provided low-cost waterpower to local textile manufactories and pushed Cohoes to the forefront of the American Industrial Revolution. The last unfilled section of that original power canal system was originally part of Clinton's Ditch. Harmony Mills became the largest and most complete cotton manufacturing establishment in the United States from the late 1860s through the 1880s and the nation's largest producer of cotton fabrics for printed calicos and fine cotton muslins, spun and woven from raw cotton in the mills. Inside Mill #3, built in 1866-1872, some of the largest vertical turbines in the United States converted flowing water into mechanical power that turned belts running the mill's machinery. Two Boyden turbines produced 800 horsepower each, and in Mill #3, 13 miles of belts powered 2,700 looms and 130,000 spindles that could produce 100,000 yards of cloth every 60 hours. The Boyden turbine design was the first manufactured in quantity in the U.S. and became the textile industry's standard for a time, with those at Harmony Mills the largest built. Power from the main axle, turned by water flowing through the turbines, was transmitted to driveshafts on each floor by a system of leather belts. The site is now a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
