At the foot of Polk Street in South Troy lies an ornate 19th century building that is symbolic of both Troy's past and future.

The Burden Iron Works Museum, home of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, was originally built in 1882 for offices of the Burden Iron Company, one of Troy's premier 19th century industries.

It was here that workers picked up their pay checks from a long week of hard work producing horseshoes and other iron products. Whether this building represented a symbol of pride or disdain to the workers is not known as it was no ordinary office building.

Designed by well known architect Robert H. Robertson, the brick building had a price tag of more than $41, 000. In today's dollars that's close to a million dollars. It served its purpose well for more than 100 years.

Abandoned by Republic Steel, which owned it since the 1940's, the building was eventually sold (rescued) in 1974 to the newly formed Gateway, but what they received for $10 was a shell of its former opulence. Most of the paneling, brass fixtures, windows, and materials were plundered. Left opened and abandoned, the Northeast climate took its toll.

The Gateway quickly raised over a quarter million dollars to survey and stabilize the building with the hopes of someday turning it into a museum that would promote the great Industrial heritage that many Trojans are familiar with.

Today, it has been estimated that some 3 million dollars are needed to restore the building into a heritage destination that could draw people from around the world to Troy's South End.

More than twenty years after it was formed, a new board and Executive Director is bringing this dream of an industrial museum closer to reality. P. Thomas Carroll, former RPI History Professor, and now Executive Director, and a committed board made up of local movers and shakers, has been working hard on turning the office building into a museum. With the addition of a working Troy built Knowlson & Kelley steam engine this past year, the building is becoming filled with interesting artifacts from Troy's Industrial heyday: steam engines, cast iron stoves, plates for the ironclad Monitor, Garden Way roto-tillers, and even Native American stone tools.

The Gateway has recently received three major grants. In February, the Gateway received $125,000 from the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act. This has to be matched one for one from donations. A month later, the City of Troy received 1.6 million for a bike trail system from the Federal Government and the Gateway is getting $216,000 as they become the southern anchor for the Bike Trail. You will be able to park your car at the center and take your bike on the trail riding along the river up to Lansingburgh. From this grant, the Gateway also needs to match funds and have raised a considerable amount already.

Finally, as part of the Troy Economic Development Zone, the Gateway has $100,000 worth of State income tax credits it can give to donors. This is a unique program where basically for every $100 you donate it only costs you $29. You get a tax break of 25%!

As Director Carroll points out in his writings and lectures, the Hudson Mohawk region, and Troy in particular, was the "Silicon Valley of the 19th Century." What better place than the city of Troy to host a museum exclusively devoted to the industrial heritage of the Hudson Mohawk Region.

If Carroll and his Board get their way, it will become a reality in the not so distant future. But why wait? You can become a part history in the making by joining the Gateway, or by becoming a donor or even volunteering your services.

There are no more iron factories in South Troy, nor thousands of iron workers who work the "heat" anymore. However, when finished, the Burden Museum will pay homage to all of them. While Troy moves forward the Gateway intends to make sure that those who created our legacy are not forgotten.