Cohoes historian Arthur Masten incorrectly wrote in his 1880 history that the phrase might mean "Potholes in the River," referring to the
potholes that appear in the riverbed when it is dry. However,
Kanatsiohareke (Kanatsiohareke) and
Kanatsio'háre (Canojahare) bear names with reference to this meaning in ''Kanien'ké:ha'' (Kanyenkeha). In the oral and written tradition of the
Iroquois (Haudenosaunee),
Kahón:ios is where the
Great Peacemaker performed a feat of supernatural strength, convincing the Kanyenkehaka (Mohawks) to become the founding nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Some historians believe the Kanyenkehaka (Mohawks) launched the Confederacy as early as 1142
CE, though other experts report dates ranging from 1450–1650. . Celebrated by 18th-century travelers in letters and journals, Cohoes Falls, also called The Great Falls of the Mohawk, were regarded as the second-most beautiful cataract in New York State after
Niagara Falls. In 1804, the national poet of Ireland,
Thomas Moore, visited Cohoes and wrote a
paean to the waterfall's beauty: "Lines Written at the Cohos, or Falls of the Mohawk River." In 1831, town leaders built a
dam across the Mohawk River to harness the power of the falls to fuel the turbines of the city's burgeoning
textile industry. Over the next several decades, the predominant company, Harmony Mills, became the largest manufacturer of cotton in the United States, thanks to its control of local water rights. When all the mills closed in the wake of the
Great Depression, city leaders leased the flow rights to a series of power companies, including
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and
Orion Power. The
Erie Canal was planned to overcome the navigational barrier of the Cohoes Falls. The original "Clinton's Ditch", the Erie Canal of 1825, was built through the city of Cohoes. The later Enlarged Canal was realigned, yet still went through the City of Cohoes. The Barge Canal, which opened in 1918, bypasses Cohoes and runs through the
Village of Waterford via the
Waterford Flight of Locks. ==Description==