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Cohoes (C)




Cohoes is a city located at the northeast corner of Albany County, New York, USA. It is called the Spindle City because of the importance of textile production to its growth. At the time of the 2000 census, the city population was 15,521. The name is believed to arise from a Mohawk expression, Ga-ha-oose, which refers to the Cohoes Falls and means Place of the Falling Canoe.
 
The city is on land purchased from the local natives in 1630. In 1836, during excavation work for construction of Mill of the Harmony Mills, the bones of a mastodon were unearthed over a period of several weeks. The Cohoes Mastodon skeleton is currently on display at the entrance of the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. A furry replica can be seen at the Cohoes Public Library. The 19th century saw an influx of immigrants to Cohoes to work in the mills, particularly French Canadians from Quebec, and Irish.
 
President Chester A. Arthur was a schoolmaster in Cohoes in the mid-1800s. Arthur was the uncle of Cohoes historian, Arthur R. Masten. Arthur Masten was the son of James Masten, once the Cohoes Postmaster, who published the weekly newspaper. The Cohoes Cataract in the mid to late 1800s.
 
The city is home to the historic Cohoes Music Hall, a Victorian opera house. Built in 1874, the theatre hosted such personalities as Buffalo Bill Cody, Jimmy Durante, Eva Tanguay, and John Phillip Sousa. Several professional regional theaters have made their home at the Cohoes Music Hall, and the house draws theatergoers from around the Capital District.
 
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.0 square kilometers, out of which 9.7 square kilometers of its area is covered by land and 1.3 square kilometers is covered by water. The city includes Van Schaick Island, where the historic Van Schaick Mansion is located, and Simmons Island. The city borders Saratoga and Rensselaer counties.
 
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,521 people, 6,932 households, and 3,861 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,602.3 per square kilometers. There were 7,689 housing units at an average density of 793.8 per square kilometers. Cohoes is also said to be as the town of best geographical environment and can trace its origins back to prehistoric times.

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