We are OPEN!
Our visitor hours are 12noon to 4:00PM Wednesdays to Fridays; special tours by appointment.
The Burden Iron Works Museum
The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., inventor of the Ferris wheel, had occasion to observe the wheel while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The iron works site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological site in 1977. The Burden Ironworks Office Building was previously listed in 1972. READ MORE HERE
The Burden Iron Works Museum, South Troy, NY
2024 Interior Museum Tour
by Lisa Martinese
Dr. Susan M. Ouellette, Executive Director
Museum Update:
The Museum reopened May 1st, 2025. We hoped to be working on our HVAC this spring and summer, but it was not to be. We are still waiting to finalize a contract that will not be acted upon until spring 2026. This work will be possible because of a generous grant by Peter and Susan Grimm.
The interior work funded by the EPF grant is finished for the time being. Our application to NYS for a grant to address the cherry paneling and the floors was not funded for 2025 and we have resubmited -fingers crossed- for 2026. Exterior renovations funded by the NYS grant are now finished, our new stone steps are installed, the decorative wrought iron bannisters and brass handrails are now in place! It is a beautiful entrance to our building. Our Grand Opening was held on August 14th and included a public talk by our own Ada Gates Patton!
Tours and Events
Overview: Traditionally the Gateway has offered an annual tour program including visits to historic sites broadly related to the region’s industrial history, visits to current industries, and our famous “Troy’s Tiffany Treasures” stained-glass window tour.
Despite our hopes to have a 2025 Tiffany tour, we have not been able to provide it for this year. We are still hopeful for spring 2026. However, we're pleased to be able to post a little history of the Tiffany window over the altar at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy. It was written by the late Jane Gale, a descendant of the man in whose memory the window was installed. We thank Miss Gale for allowing us to put this document on our website for the public to enjoy.
Our Guided & Lecture Troy’s Tiffany Treasure Tour