Wild's Mill Complex
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
Why it's listed
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.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Federal (mill office); 19th-century brick mill |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Acreage | 5.5 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | Wild's Mill Complex (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.