LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION congratulating the Burden Iron Works Museum upon
the occasion of receiving its newest exhibit entitled Men in Progress

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that the quality of
life of the citizens of the State of New York is greatly enriched by its
exceptional cultural, educational and recreational institutions; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to congratu-
late the Burden Iron Works Museum upon the occasion of receiving its
newest exhibit entitled Men in Progress; and
WHEREAS, Founded by Henry Burden, the Burden Iron Works was an iron
works and industrial complex located on the Hudson River and Wynantskill
Creek in Troy, New York, that once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the
most powerful vertical water wheel in history; and
WHEREAS, An inventive genius, Henry Burden's horseshoe machine (1835)
was capable of making 60 horseshoes a minute and was a technological
wonder; his rotary concentric squeezer, a machine for working wrought
iron, was adopted by iron industries world wide; and
WHEREAS, Moreover, Henry Burden's hook-headed spike machine helped
fuel the rapid expansion of railroads in the United States, supplying
all the railroad spikes for the Long Island Railroad and the Baltimore-
Ohio Railroad; and
WHEREAS, Bought by Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway in 1974, the
Burden Iron Works Museum educates visitors not only about the history of
iron working in South Troy, but also about the transformation of the
region around the confluence of the Hudson and the Mohawk Rivers into
the Silicon Valley of the nineteenth century, which continues to make
important technological contributions to the nation; and
WHEREAS, The mission of the Burden Iron Works Museum is to help the
communities in the Capital District of New York to celebrate, to
preserve, and to profit from their historic industrial legacy; and
WHEREAS, The Burden Iron Works Museum's newest exhibit, Men in
Progress, is a gift from the lineal descendant of inventor Henry Burden,
Henry Burden Chapin and his wife Betsy Dunham Chapin; and
WHEREAS, The painting, Men in Progress, is an 1863 Mezzotint composi-
tion depicting a fictional meeting of famous inventors sitting at a
table with their inventions under a picture of Benjamin Franklin; some
of the inventors include Samuel Colt, Cyrus McCormick, and Elias Howe;
and
WHEREAS, Men in Progress also showcases a few inventors with New York
connections including: Henry Burden, who is depicted with a model of his
horseshoe-making machine; Joseph Henry of Albany, who discovered the
principle of electromagnetic induction, was head of Albany Academy,
professor at Princeton, and head of Smithsonian National Academy of
Sciences; Eliphalet Nott, who was the former president of Union College
and inventor of a new stove design; and John Ericsson who designed the
U.S.S. Monitor; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commend the
efforts of those illustrious organizations which seek to bring recogni-
tion to historical places within the State of New York, and in doing so,
help to ensure that the complete history of our State and Nation is
preserved and shared with present generations of citizens; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have this opportunity to
express its highest admiration for the Burden Iron Works Museum, and for
all of the individuals who have worked to bring proper attention to a
place and time which merits recognition in the grand panorama of the
history of our State and Nation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate the Burden Iron Works Museum upon the occasion of receiving
its newest exhibit entitled Men in Progress; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Burden Iron Works Museum.