In 1624, French Walloons set up a colony named Fort Orange for the House of Orange, the royal family of The Netherlands. By 1629 the Dutch West India Company had established a trading post at Fort Orange, later proclaimed the Village of Beverwyck by the governor in 1652. The City of Albany received its charter on July 22, 1686. Because of its location along the Hudson, Albany became a military hotspot in the latter half of the 18th century during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Albany became the capital of New York State in 1797 and since then has been the home of numerous governors and others who would go on the become presidents of the United States. Learn more about the history of the City of Albany.
On March 17, 1795, a settlement known as Beaverdam separated from the Town of Rensselaerville and became the Town of Berne. Birthplace of Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Bradley, who in 1886 cast the deciding vote to elect Rutherford B. Hayes as president rather than Samuel J. Tilden. More about the history of Berne can be found on the Berne Historical Project website.
The Town of Bethlehem was incorporated in 1793 on the west bank of the Hudson River, just south of the City of Albany. Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, arrived in Bethlehem in mid-September of 1609. Learn more about Town of Bethlehem history.
The Town of Coeymans was named after Barent Pieteres Koijemans who arrived here from Holland in 1639 and purchased the land that was to become Coeymans in 1672. Learn more from the Town of Coeymans.
Located at the mouth of the Mohawk River where it joins the Hudson River, the City of Cohoes was developed on land bought in 1630 by Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, a director of the Dutch West India Company. In the mid-1800's, Cohoes leveraged its location by the powerful Cohoes Falls to fuel an industrial boom that led to a population expansion from 150 in 1840 to over four thousand only ten years later. Learn more about the history of Cohoes.
The Town of Colonie was formed in 1895 and received its name from the Dutch "Colonye" meaning the settlement outside the city. The name can be traced to maps used by the Dutch patroons in the 1600's. People unfamiliar with the area usually pronounce the name the same as the word "colony"; however, correct pronunciation puts the emphasis on the last syllable. Learn more about the history of the Town of Colonie.
The Village of Green Island is comprised of three islands, surrounded by the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. In the late 1600’s and early 1700’s, the land was owned by Colonel Kiliaen Van Rensselaer and called "Manor Rensselaerwycke." Findings of skeletons and arrowheads in the 1800’s have led historians to believe that part of the French and Indian War may have been fought where the Troy-Green Island Bridge is today. Learn more about the history of Green Island.
Incorporated in 1803, the Town of Guilderland dates back as a pioneer settlement in the 1700's. Guilderland's earliest industries included the Hamilton Glass Works established in 1785. By 1800, Guilderland also had a clothing factory, a button factory, a knitting mill and a grist mill that employed early pioneers in the settlement nearby. Learn more about Guilderland's history.
The Village of Menands was incorporated in 1924 and named for the French horticulturist Louis Menand, who had settled in the area with his wife in 1842. Menands lies within the Town of Colonie. Learn more from the Menands Village historian.
Originally called "Coeymans Junction" because of the meeting of the new railroad lines there, the Village of Ravena changed its name in 1894 because it was frequently confused with nearby Coeymans Landing. A mile west of the Hudson River, Ravena, which lies within the Town of Coeymans, was officially incorporated in 1914. Learn more about the Village of Ravena.
Located in the southwest corner of Albany County, the land that would become the Town of Rensselaerville was a part of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck dating back to 1629. However the land was so inaccessible it wasn't settled until after the Revolutionary War, when tracts of land were offered free - for the first seven years - to anyone willing to develop the land. When rent became due, it was perpetual and binding on all future purchasers of the property. These types of land transactions, where the sale was never completed, led to the Anti-Rent Rebellion of 1839-89 and influenced the wording of the federal Homestead Act that opened the west for settlement. Learn more about the history of Rensselaerville.
