Matton Shipyard is a historic

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

and canal boat service yard located on

Van Schaick Island Van Schaick Island is an island in the city of Cohoes, New York. Van Schaick is a part of the delta of the Mohawk River at its mouth with the Hudson River. The island has been referred to by numerous names including Quehemesicos, Long, Anthony' ...

at Cohoes in

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

. It consists of eight extant buildings, various surviving features, and archaeological remains dating to the period 1916 to 1983 when the site functioned as a shipyard, repair facility, and towboat operation on the

New York State Barge Canal New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and

Champlain Canal The Champlain Canal is a canal in New York that connects the Hudson River to the south end of Lake Champlain. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal for use by commercial vessels, fully opening in 1823. Today, it is mostly used by ...

. Extant buildings include the office / stores (c. 1916-1917), watchman's building (c. 1936-1943), sheet metal shop (c. 1937-1938), carpenter shop (c. 1916 and 1936-1943), stores building (c. 1941-1943), pipeshop (c. 1936-1943), pitch building (pre-1936), garage (c. 1916), and electric building. Also on the property are a

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

(c. 1916), dock, steel launching ramps, fence, and camels. Numerous ruins also occupy the property. ''See also:'' The motor ship ''Day Peckinpaugh'' is berthed here. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2010.

History

In 1916 John E. Matton moved his ship building business south from Waterford to Van Schaick Island, and the shipyard would continue to build canal boats, barges, tugboats, and police boats until closing in 1983. From December 1941 to July 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the shipyard produced five

SC-497 class submarine chaser __NOTOC__ The ''SC-497''-class submarine chasers were a class of 438 submarine chasers built primarily for the United States Navy from 1941–1944. The ''SC-497''s were based on the experimental submarine chaser, USS ''SC-453''. Submarine chasers ...

s, SC-985 through SC-989 for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

, and from February–June 1944 four tugs for the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. In 1945 four of the sub chasers went to service with the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

while SC-986 went to the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. At the time of closing it was one of the longest operating tug and barge shipbuilders in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The shipyard is currently owned by the

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive Department Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation a ...

(OPRHP) as part of the

Peebles Island State Park Peebles Island State Park is a state park located at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers in New York. A majority of the park is located in Saratoga County, with a smaller portion located in Albany County. Description Peebles Island ...

, which is turning the shipyard into an educational center, museum, and home for historic vessels. The

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by t ...

Day Peckinpaugh ''Day Peckinpaugh'' is a historic canal motorship berthed at the Matton Shipyard on Peebles Island, Cohoes in Albany County, New York, United States. Early years ''Day Peckinpaugh'' was built in 1921 by the McDougall-Duluth Shipyard in Dul ...

'' is berthed here and is listed on the

References

External links

Matton Shipyard, Cohoes NY ship list
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Transport infrastructure completed in 1916 National Register of Historic Places in Albany County, New York Shipyards on the National Register of Historic Places