{"nrhp_refnum":"82003353","name":"Wild's Mill Complex","other_names":["Valatie Mill Complex"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"U.S. 9 and NY 203","address_restricted":false,"city":"Valatie","county":"Columbia County","state":"NY","lat":42.41307344200004,"lon":-73.68069982499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mill complex of about 5.5 acres at the junction of U.S. Route 9 and NY Route 203 in the Village of Valatie, Columbia County, New York. It includes a five-story brick cotton mill built in 1846 with a c1890 addition, the ruins of an earlier 1828 mill, a dam and penstock, and a frame mill office.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is the last surviving example of large-scale commercial mill architecture and hydropower technology in a community once thriving on cotton manufacture. It was one of Columbia County's earliest textile mill complexes, and the place where power looms were first introduced in New York State. It is also tied to Nathan Wild, a prominent figure in American cotton manufacture.","narrative":"Rising five stories above Kinderhook Creek at the junction of Routes 9 and 203, this brick mill dominates the center of Valatie, New York. Nathan Wild, an English-born cotton manufacturer, built the surviving lower mill in 1846 after a visit to England, equipping it with 10,000 spindles and two hundred power looms. A southern addition followed around 1890 under William Harder, who also rebuilt the dam. The site also holds the ruins of Wild's earlier 1828 brick mill, where the first power looms in New York State were introduced, along with a buried penstock, a stone dam on Valatie Creek, and a Federal-style frame office now used as a residence. Together the mills once held 12,800 spindles and 250 looms, producing 75,000 yards of printing cloth weekly and employing 175 workers. The lower mill made cotton knitted goods until 1956. It is listed as the last large survivor of Valatie's cotton industry.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal (mill office); 19th-century brick mill","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Mill building in good condition though altered; the upper mill is in ruins; the mill office has been converted to a residence. Form marks the property occupied.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.261266-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82003353.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317123","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild%27s_Mill_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8000428"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/columbia-county/wilds-mill-complex-82003353/"}