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103-459: The Stockade Historic District is located in the northwest corner of Schenectady , New York, United States, on the banks of the Mohawk River . It is the oldest neighborhood in the city, continuously inhabited for over 300 years. Union College first held classes in a building within the district, and later it would be one of the termini of an early suspension bridge that was, at the time,

206-643: A circular plaza is built around a statue of Lawrence the Indian, a Mohawk who helped restore the settlement after an early catastrophe. For the colonial period and afterwards, the history of the Stockade District is synonymous with the history of Schenectady. Later, as the city industrialized and grew far beyond it, the district retained a distinct identity and sense of community within itself. A group of Dutch settlers , mostly merchants and fur traders looking to do business with Native Americans , settled

309-468: A compact that generally benefitted the parties and ultimately was disastrous for France. France recognized the independence of the Indigenous tribes while claiming sovereignty over their territory at the same time, as well as the right to plead the cause of their Indigenous allies in the face of other European powers. The French allies accepted this protectorate since it permitted self-government and

412-613: A cotton mill that processed cotton from the Deep South . In the 19th century, nationally influential companies and industries developed in Schenectady, including General Electric and American Locomotive Company (ALCO), which were powers into the mid-20th century. Schenectady was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy. When first encountered by Europeans,

515-608: A few more years. The Mohawk River at Schenectady is crossed by the Western Gateway Bridge, originally built in 1923-25, and replaced in 1971. From 1874 to 1925 the Mohawk River had been crossed by a bridge running from the foot of Washington Ave., Schenectady to Washington Ave., Scotia, a steel bridge built upon the seven piers of a former wooden bridge, built in 1808, called the Burr Bridge. The city

618-402: A household in the city in 2000 was $ 29,378 (2010–$ 37,436), and the median income for a family was $ 41,158. Males had a median income of $ 32,929 versus $ 26,856 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 17,076. About 20.2% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.5% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over. The largest religious body

721-542: A major industrial and economic force and helped establish the city and region as a national manufacturing center. GE became important nationally as a creative company, expanding into many different fields. American Locomotive Company also developed here, from a Schenectady company, and merging several smaller companies in 1901; it was second in the United States in the manufacture of steam locomotives before developing diesel technology. Like other industrial cities in

824-553: A number of buildings have been renovated for new uses. Numerous small businesses, retail stores and restaurants have developed on State Street downtown. Price Chopper Supermarkets and the New York Lottery are based in Schenectady. In December 2014, the state announced that the city was one of three sites selected for development of off-reservation casino gambling, under terms of a 2013 state constitutional amendment. The project would redevelop an ALCO brownfield site in

927-418: A period into their early 20s. Union College established a school for black children in 1805, but discontinued it two years later. Methodists helped educate the children for a time but public schools did not accept them. In the 1830s, the abolitionist movement grew in Schenectady. In 1836, Rev. Isaac Groot Duryee (also recorded as Duryea) co-founded the interracial Anti-Slavery Society at Union College and

1030-478: A prosperous glove and leather industry, as well as legacy tourism traffic to Lake Sacandaga north of Gloversville. Instead, roads were improved, automobiles became cheaper and were purchased more widely, tourists traveled greater distances by car, and the Great Depression decreased business overall. FJ&G ridership continued to decline and in 1938 the state of New York condemned the line's bridge over

1133-554: A single term and returned to medicine, retiring in 1960. Theodore Burr's bridge burned down in 1909 and was replaced with the first of the current bridges nearby that carry Route 5 to Scotia. One of the original stone abutments can be seen where Washington Street reaches the river. When the Erie Canal was finally replaced by the New York State Barge Canal , portions were reused for the railroad bridge. By

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1236-980: A traditional lifestyle. The Mi'kmaq and the Abenaki accepted Catholicism as it confirmed their alliance with the French against British colonists in Nova Scotia. Alongside the Mi'kmaq and the Abenaki, France's chief allies were the indiens domiciliés (resident Indians) who lived at the Catholic missions in New France. Many of these were Mohawk from their earlier territory in central New York, but there were also members of other tribes from New England. Fleeing attacks by New England colonists during and after King Philip's War motivated their displacement to French territory. At

1339-664: A variety of fields across the country. Schenectady is home to WGY , the second commercial radio station in the United States, (after WBZ in Springfield, Massachusetts , named for Westinghouse ). WGY was named for its owner, General Electric (the G), and the city of Schenectady (the Y). In 1928, General Electric produced the first regular television broadcasts in the United States, when the experimental station W2XB began regular broadcasts on Thursday and Friday afternoons. This television station

1442-464: A variety of spellings). In 1661, Arendt van Corlaer , (later Van Curler), a Dutch immigrant, bought a large piece of land on the Mohawk River's south side. The Colonial government gave other colonists grants of land in this portion of the flat fertile river valley, as part of New Netherland . The settlers recognized the Mohawk had cultivated these bottomlands for maize for centuries. Van Curler took

1545-412: A wooden suspension bridge , using planks of local timber as the cables. A triple span across the 800 feet (240 m) of river between Washington Street and Scotia was completed in early 1808 but then washed away. Burr added a fourth span, and this time the bridge stood up to the river. The Revolution had led citizens to demand services a nation could provide, among them higher education . Union College

1648-504: Is a growing Guyanese population in the area. The top ancestries self-identified by people on the census are Italian (13.6%), Guyanese (12.3%), Irish (12.1%), Puerto Rican (10.1%), German (8.7%), English (6.0%), Polish (5.4%), French (4.4%). These reflect historic and early 20th-century immigration, as well as that since the late 20th century. The Schenectady City School District is very diverse; (71%- 2011)(80%–2013) of district students receive free or reduced lunch. The student population of

1751-462: Is a roughly wedge-shaped area at Schenectady's northwest corner, 82 acres (33 ha) in area. It is bounded by the Mohawk on the north, the Binne Kill on the west and the former New York Central Railroad tracks, now used by Amtrak and CSX , on the east. Its southern boundary is mostly defined by the rear line of properties on the south side of Union Street, except for Washington Street, where

1854-533: Is now WRGB ; for many years it was the Capital District's NBC affiliate. It has been the area's CBS affiliate since 1981. The city reached its peak of population in 1930, approximately 95,000. The Great Depression caused a loss of jobs and population in its wake. In the postwar period after World War II, some residents moved to newer housing in suburban locations outside the city . In addition, General Electric established some high-tech facilities in

1957-540: Is served by the Schenectady City School District , which operates 16 elementary schools, three middle schools and the main high school Schenectady High School . Brown School is a private, nonsectarian kindergarten-through-8th grade school. Catholic schools are administered by the Diocese of Albany . French and Indian Wars In Quebec , the various wars are generally referred to as

2060-717: Is the Catholic church, with 44,000 adherents, followed by Islam, with 6,000 followers. The third largest religious body is the Reformed Church in America, with 3,600 members. The fourth is the United Methodist denomination, with 2,800 members. Notable congregations are the First Presbyterian Church (Schenectady, New York) , which is affiliated with the PCA. First Reformed Church RCA is formed in

2163-693: The Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville Railroad . The nearly 200 leather and glove companies in the Gloversville region generated considerable traffic for the line. Sales representatives carrying product sample cases began their sales campaigns throughout the rest of the country by taking the interurban to reach Schenectady's New York Central Railroad station, where they connected to trains to New York City, Chicago and points between. The bright orange FJ&G interurbans were scheduled to meet every daylight New York Central train that stopped at Schenectady. Through

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2266-809: The Mohawk Valley was the territory of the Mohawk nation , one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy , or Haudenosaunee. They had occupied territory in the region since at least 1100 AD. Starting in the early 1600s the Mohawk moved their settlements closer to the river and by 1629, they had also taken over territories on the Hudson River's west bank that were formerly held by the Algonquian -speaking Mahican people. In

2369-721: The Proclamation of 1763 , in an effort to relieve encroachment on Indigenous territory. These pressures contributed to the American Revolutionary War . The first three of the French and Indian Wars followed the same basic pattern: they all started in Europe and then moved to North America. Once the conflict broke out in North America, it was mostly fought by colonial militias. The final conflict broke this pattern by beginning in North America. In addition,

2472-519: The Revolutionary War Schenectady served as headquarters for several of the local Committees of Safety . George Washington visited the area at least three times, due to its strategic importance. After independence , the stockade, which had begun to deteriorate from neglect during the war, was dismantled. Only some of the footings remain, mostly buried. The village continued to grow as the main point of departure for travel to

2575-655: The Schenectady massacre . A total of 27 persons were taken captive, including five enslaved Africans; the raiders took their captives overland about 200 miles to Montreal and its associated Mohawk mission village of Kahnawake . Typically the younger captives were adopted by Mohawk families to replace people who had died. Through the early 18th century in the raiding between Quebec and the northern British colonies, some captives were ransomed by their communities. Colonial governments got involved only for high-ranking officers or other officials. In 1748, during King George's War ,

2678-819: The Sun Belt and abroad. Corporate headquarters for GE Vernova are now in Cambridge, Massachusetts . ALCO produced steam locomotives for railroads for years. Later it became renowned for its "Superpower" line of high-pressure locomotives, such as those for the Union Pacific Railroad in the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II , it converted to support the war, making tanks for the US Army. As diesel locomotives began to be manufactured, ALCO joined with GE to develop diesel locomotives to compete with GM's EMD division . But corporate restructuring to cope with

2781-581: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 11.0 square miles (28.49 km ), of which 10.9 square miles (28.23 km ) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) of it (1.27%) is water. It is part of the Capital District , the metropolitan area surrounding Albany , the state of New York's capital. Along with Albany and Troy , it is one of the three principal population and industrial centers in

2884-536: The fur trade . The North American wars, and their associated European wars, in sequence, are: King William's War 1st Intercolonial War (in French ) Queen Anne's War 2nd Intercolonial War Dummer's War King George's War 3rd Intercolonial War War of Jenkins' Ear The French and Indian War (in the U.S.) Seven Years' War (in Canada) 4th Intercolonial War or War of

2987-471: The 1640s, the Mohawk had three major villages, all on the Mohawk River's south side. The easternmost one was Ossernenon, about 9 miles west of present-day Auriesville, New York . When Dutch settlers developed Fort Orange (present-day Albany, New York ) in the Hudson Valley beginning in 1614, the Mohawk called their settlement skahnéhtati, , also transiliterated to ‘’Sche-negh-ta-da”, meaning "beyond

3090-784: The 17th century, one of the oldest churches in the town. St George's Episcopal Church dates back to 1735; it shared facilities with the Presbyterians for more than 30 years. Amtrak , the national passenger rail system, provides regular service to Schenectady, with Schenectady station at 322 Erie Boulevard. Trains include the Ethan Allen , Adirondack , Lake Shore Limited , Maple Leaf , and Empire Service . Schenectady also has freight rail service from Canadian Pacific Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway . The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides bus service throughout Schenectady along with connections to

3193-529: The 1900s and into the early 1930s, the line was quite prosperous. In 1932 the FJ&;G purchased five lightweight "bullet cars" (#125 through 129) from the J. G. Brill Company . These interurbans represented state-of-the-art design: the "bullet" description referred to the unusual front roof that was designed to slope down to the windshield in an aerodynamically sleek way. FJ&G bought the cars believing that there would be continuing strong passenger business from

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3296-892: The Anti-Slavery Society of Schenectady in 1837. Freedom seekers were supported via the Underground Railroad route that ran through the area, passing to the west and north to Canada, which had abolished slavery. In 1837 Duryee, together with others who were free people of color , co-founded the First Free Church of Schenectady (now the Duryee Memorial AME Zion Church). He also started a school for students of color. The abolitionist Theodore S. Wright , an African-American minister based in New York City, spoke at

3399-526: The British used more regular troops alongside colonial militia. They returned almost none of the French territory seized during the war. France was forced to cede its extensive territory in present-day Canada and Louisiane . The British victory in the French and Indian Wars reduced France's New World empire to St. Pierre and Miquelon (two islands off Newfoundland ), a few West Indian islands, and French Guiana . The belligerents strove in general to control

3502-684: The Conquest (in Quebec) Father Le Loutre's War Naming conflicts after the British monarch of the day is a convention in United States history related to its early European settlement as majority-English colonies. Canadian convention uses the name of the larger European conflict (e.g., the "War of the Grand Alliance" rather than "King William's War") or refers to the wars as the Intercolonial Wars. As

3605-585: The Deep South. It was one of many such mills in upstate whose products were part of the exports shipped out of New York City. The city and state had many economic ties to the South at the same time that some residents became active in the abolitionist movement. Schenectady benefited by increased traffic connecting the Hudson River to the Mohawk Valley and the Great Lakes to the west and New York City to

3708-695: The Dutch in New Netherland , came under British control as part of the Province of New York . The small frontier settlement was almost wiped out in 1690 during King William's War , the first in the series of conflicts known as the French and Indian Wars . French troops and their Algonquin and Sault allies, retaliating for a series of British-backed Iroquois raids on their territory, were on their way to an assault on Fort Orange at present-day Albany when their scouts found that Schenectady's stockade

3811-486: The Dutch to rebuild. By 1692 the community had been rebuilt and repopulated with a mixture of English, Scottish and Dutch settlers. The stockade was rebuilt and by 1704 took in College Street on the east and Cowhorn Creek on the south. The French and Indian Wars continued into the next century, ending in 1763, by which time the stockade had been extended to the river on the north. The costs of retaining control over

3914-583: The English colonists designed new combat techniques, inspired by the Indigenous combat methods. These techniques, which included cover and stressed ambushes , is supposed to have been the reason why the colonists finally defeated the French, and then the British army during the American Revolutionary War . In reality, however, the French and Indian wars were finally won by Britain through the application of traditional European tactics. The Fortress of Louisbourg surrendered twice after sieges conducted according to

4017-570: The Fort Orange area, they may have anticipated working as fur traders, but the Beverwijck (later Albany) traders kept a monopoly of legal control. The settlers here turned to farming. Their 50-acre lots were unique for the colony, "laid out in strips along the Mohawk River", with the narrow edges fronting the river, as in French colonial style . They relied on rearing livestock and wheat. The proprietors and their descendants controlled all

4120-695: The French and Indian War British numerical superiority became overwhelming, in spite of almost the whole male population of Canada being mobilized, and standard European tactics won the day and the war. The British military forces consisted of the British Army 's regular regiments and independent companies; the provincial regiments raised by the several colonies in British America , and the colonial militia . The British Army had two types of units in North America: regular regiments serving in

4223-511: The French and Indian War, naval gunner-bombardier companies were also stationed in North America. The other ranks of the marines were enlisted in France, but the officer corps became increasingly Canadian through recruitment of officers' sons. All promotions were by merit; purchase of commissions was prohibited. The British rangers were an attempt to replicate the tactics of the French colonial marines. The Swiss regiment de Karrer also operated under

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4326-611: The French and Indians attacked Schenectady again, killing 70 residents. In 1765, Schenectady was incorporated as a borough. During the American Revolutionary War the local militia unit, the 2nd Albany County Militia Regiment , fought in the Battle of Saratoga and against Loyalist troops. Most of the wars in the Mohawk Valley were fought further west on the frontier in the areas of the German Palatine settlement which

4429-465: The French to a large extent made use of indigenous allies (see below). The small French population; New France's dependence on the fur trade , mutually profitable for both French and indigenous peoples; and the common threat from the British colonies, made the indigenous peoples willing allies. The Battle of the Monongahela was the largest achievement of the petty warfare tactics. But at the end of

4532-513: The Intercolonial Wars. Some conflicts involved Spanish and Dutch forces, but all pitted the Kingdom of Great Britain , its colonies , and their Indigenous allies on one side against France , its colonies , and its Indigenous allies on the other. A driving cause behind the wars was the desire of each country to take control of the interior territories of America, as well as the region around Hudson Bay ; both were deemed essential to domination of

4635-424: The Mohawk River at Schenectady. The bridge had once carried cars, pedestrians, and the interurban, but ice flow damage in 1928 prompted the state to restrict its use to the interurban. When the state condemned the bridge for interurban use, the line abandoned passenger service, and the bullet cars were sold. Freight business had also been important to the FJ&G, and it continued over the risky bridge into Schenectady

4738-472: The Mohawk Valley, in the early 20th century, Schenectady attracted many new immigrants from eastern and southern Europe, as they could fill many of the new industrial jobs. It also attracted African Americans as part of the Great Migration out of the rural South to northern cities for work. General Electric and American Locomotive Company (ALCO) were industrial powerhouses, influencing innovation in

4841-716: The North American colonies eventually led Parliament to consider different taxes on the colonial economy to pay the mounting costs. These, in turn, led to discontent in the colonies, and one of the first "Liberty!" protest flags over the Stamp Act 1765 was raised over the Dutch Reformed Church then at the corner of Church and Union streets. The flag now in the Schenectady Historical Society building on Washington Street. During

4944-606: The Royal French Navy. Its depot was in Rochefort , but its companies served in North American and the Caribbean. In 1754 six battalions from the regiments Artois , Béarn , Bourgogne , Guyenne , Languedoc , and La Reine were transferred to New France. In 1757 two additional battalions arrived from Royal Roussilon and La Sarre , followed the next year by two battalions from de Berry . An artillery company

5047-450: The Schenectady settlement. They were among the few métis who seemed to move from Mohawk to Dutch society, as they were described as "former Indians", although they did not always have an easy time of it. In 1661 Jacques inherited what became known as Van Slyck's Island from his brother Marten, who had been given it by the Mohawk. Van Slyck family descendants retained ownership through the 19th century. In 1664, an English fleet conquered

5150-610: The ZIP code every year. Schenectady has a humid continental climate that is hot-summer ( Dfa ) bordering upon warm-summer ( Dfb .) Average monthly temperatures range from 22.9 °F (−5.1 °C) in January to 71.8 °F (22.1 °C) in July. These are estimates made by local amateur observers and aren't official as Schenectady does not have a weather station of its own (its "official" temperatures come from nearby Albany). Schenectady

5253-400: The banks of the Mohawk in an area between the present Ferry, Front and State streets and Washington Avenue in 1661. This group of twelve houses surrounded by a wooden stockade , 200 Dutch feet (about 187 feet, or 56.6 m) on a side is considered the founding of the city of Schenectady. After the 1674 Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War the settlement, like all established by

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5356-638: The census of 2010, there were 66,135 people, 26,265 (2000 data) households, and 14,051 (2000 data) families residing in the city. The population density was 6,096.7 inhabitants per square mile (2,353.9/km ). There were 30,272 (2000 data) housing units at an average density of 2,790.6 units per square mile (1,077.5 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 59.38% (52.31% Non-Hispanic) (7.07 White-Hispanic) White , 24.19% African American , 14.47% Hispanic or Latin of any race, 8.24% from other races , 5.74% from two or more races, 2.62% Asian American , 0.69% Native American , and 0.14% Pacific Islander . There

5459-419: The central part of the state. New settlers were predominantly of English and Scotch-Irish descent. In 1819, Schenectady suffered a fire that destroyed more than 170 buildings and most of its historic, distinctive Dutch-style architecture. New York had passed a law for gradual abolition of slavery in 1799, however in 1824 there were still a total of 102 slaves in Schenectady County with nearly half residing in

5562-500: The changing locomotive procurement environment led to ALCO's slow downward spiral. Its operations fizzled as it went through acquisitions and restructuring in the late 1960s. Its Schenectady plant closed in 1969. In the late 20th century, due to industrial restructuring, the city lost many jobs and suffered difficult financial times, as did many former manufacturing cities in upstate New York. The loss of employment caused Schenectady's population to decline by nearly one-third from 1950 into

5665-451: The church's dedication and praised the school. Through the late 19th century, new industries were established in the Mohawk Valley and powered by the river. Industrial jobs attracted many new immigrants, first from Ireland, and later in the century from Italy and Poland. In 1887, Thomas Edison moved his Edison Machine Works to Schenectady. In 1892, Schenectady became the headquarters of the General Electric Company . This business became

5768-462: The city along the waterfront, with hotels, housing and a marina in addition to the casino. In February 2017, the Rivers Casino & Resort opened with 66 table games and 1,150 slot machines on a 50,000-square-foot gambling floor with a steakhouse and a restaurant lounge. The $ 480 million (~$ 587 million in 2023) residential-retail project on 60 acres includes a marina, two hotels, condos, apartments and retail and office space for tech firms. In

5871-439: The city. That year the city of Schenectady had a total population of 3939, which included 240 free blacks, 47 slaves, and 91 foreigners. In the 19th century, after completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, Schenectady became an important transportation, manufacturing and trade center. By 1824 more of its population worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade. Among the industries was a cotton mill, which processed cotton from

5974-499: The colonial marines, contained the core of the military forces of New France . It was only during the French and Indian War that units from the French Royal Army were transferred to Canada. The colonial militia was more important than its counterpart in British America. The French colonies were administered through the secretary of state for the navy, and naval troops garrisoned New France. The French marines were organized into independent companies called Compagnies franches. During

6077-562: The colonies for a longer or shorter period of time, normally sent there only after the war had begun, and independent companies , permanently based in the colonies as garrisons of forts and fortresses. The British Army was largely recruited among the poor and the criminal classes; yet, the independent companies had lower status. Their ranks were often filled with people who had left the regular service – former soldiers mainly, but also deserters . The officers were often promoted non-commissioned officers . The independent companies became rooted in

6180-731: The colony of New Netherland and renamed it New York . They confirmed the monopoly on the fur trade by Albany, and issued orders to prohibit Schenectady from the trade through 1670 and later. Settlers purchased additional land from the Mohawk in 1670 and 1672. (Jacques and Hilletie Van Slyck each received portions of land in the Mohawk 1672 deed for Schenectady.) Twenty years later (1684) Governor Thomas Dongan granted letters patent for Schenectady to five additional trustees. On February 8, 1690, during King William's War , French forces and their Indian allies, mostly Ojibwe and Algonquin warriors, attacked Schenectady by surprise, leaving 62 dead, 11 of them enslaved Africans. American history notes it as

6283-402: The confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. It is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany , which is about 15 miles (24 km) southeast. Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom came from the Albany area. The name "Schenectady" is derived from the Mohawk word skahnéhtati , meaning "beyond

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6386-430: The country," with over 40 older than 200 years. The Stockade was New York's first local historic district, when it was recognized by the city council in 1962. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and its boundaries were increased slightly in 1984. The city and an active neighborhood association , the first founded in Schenectady, work to protect its historic character. The Stockade District

6489-451: The country. In 1819 a fire destroyed two hundred buildings in this area. Six years later, during the rebuilding, the Erie Canal was completed, and most activity moved west to the vicinity of State Street, outside of the district, sparing the residential properties that make up the bulk of today's Stockade. As Schenectady began to grow due to industrialization , it grew eastward along Union Street (the main road to Troy and Watervliet at

6592-459: The early trustees and gained representative government. The settlement was chartered as a city in 1798. Long interested in supporting higher education and morals, the members of the city's three oldest churches—the Dutch First Reformed Church, St. Georges Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church—formed a "union" and founded Union College in 1795 under a charter from the state. The school had started in 1785 as Schenectady Academy. This founding

6695-440: The east across the tracks. To the south is the western section of downtown Schenectady. Riverside Park (parkland) is located at the shore of the river, (northwest side). The village of Scotia is located directly across the river. The district is largely flat, reflecting the nearby river. It is densely developed, mostly with small two-story attached houses, and is centered on the intersection of Ferry, Front and Green streets, where

6798-423: The end of the French and Indian wars, all resident Indigenous peoples were joined in the confederation of the Seven Nations of Canada . A pattern of warfare emerged during the clashes between the European colonial powers and the American Indigenous peoples which characterized the four major French and Indigenous wars. The complex network of relations was fundamental between some Indigenous tribes and some colonies,

6901-403: The entire street is included all the way to State Street ( NY 5 ), and a section of Church Street added by the boundary increase. On its southeast corner it borders the Union Street Historic District , providing a historic corridor which links it to Union College and the city's other two historic districts, the GE Realty Plot and Union Triangle. Residential and industrial areas are located to

7004-421: The fourth and last war. The overwhelming victory of the British played a role in the eventual loss of their thirteen American colonies. Without the threat of French invasion, the American colonies saw little need for British military protection. In addition, the American people resented British efforts to limit their colonization of the new French territories to the west of the Appalachian Mountains , as stated in

7107-417: The historic nature of the neighborhood but its sense of community. It publishes and distributes a newsletter, The Stockade Spy and organizes tours and other special events in the neighborhood. Some other special events in the neighborhood are informal, such as the sing-along to the pink flamingos that a person or persons unknown has been placing in front of the statue of Lawrence every Valentine's Day for

7210-488: The land of the town for generations, essentially acting as government until after the Revolutionary War, when representative government was established. Beginning from the first decades of European colonization , Dutch colonists formed relationships with Mohawk women, though these did not usually result in marriage. Their children were raised within Mohawk communities, as the tribe had a matrilineal kinship system, and these multiracial offspring were considered to be born into

7313-517: The largest piece of land; the remainder was divided into 50-acre plots for the other first fourteen proprietors; Alexander Lindsey Glen, Philip Hendrickse Brouwer, Simon Volkertse Veeder, Pieter Adrianne Van Wogglelum, Teunize Cornelise Swart, Bastia De Winter atty for Catalyn De Vos, Gerrit Bancker, William Teller, Pieter Jacobse Borsboom, Pieter Danielle Van Olinda, Jan Barentse Wemp(le), Jacques Cornelize Van Slyck, Marten Cornelize Van Esselstyn, and Harmen Albertse Vedder. As most early colonists were from

7416-486: The last decade. Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( / s k ə ˈ n ɛ k t ə d i / skə- NEK -tə-dee ) is a city in Schenectady County, New York , United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census , the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populous city and the twenty-fifth most-populous municipality. The city is in eastern New York, near

7519-406: The late 20th century. The early industries had left many sites contaminated with hazardous wastes. Such environmental brownfields have needed technical approaches for redevelopment. In the 21st century, Schenectady began revitalization. GE established a renewable energy center that brought hundreds of employees to the area. The city is part of a metropolitan area with improving economic health, and

7622-503: The local society, often transforming the military service into a sideline of a civilian occupation, and remaining in the colonies after expiration of the enlistment period. When war began, the several colonies organized their own military forces, provincial troops, through temporary enlistments. The soldiers came from the lower orders of society, which did not strengthen their reliability or efficiency. Massachusetts Bay , New York and Connecticut usually mobilized large contingents, while

7725-643: The longest in North America. Joseph C. Yates , the 7th Governor of New York and founding trustee of Union College , and Elizabeth V. Gillette , a physician and the first woman from upstate New York elected to the New York State Assembly , were residents of the Stockade. It contains a wide variety of Dutch and English 17th- and 18th-century buildings, many with later embellishments and additions. The National Park Service has described it as "the highest concentration of historic period homes in

7828-543: The major transportation and trade routes, not just the sea routes that connected the colonies with the mother country, or the land routes that existed between the different colonies, but also the major fur trade routes leading to the interior of North America. These were normally along lakes and rivers and stretching from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Many indigenous Nations lived by these routes, and became involved in

7931-484: The mid-20th century, the neighborhood had gone into noticeable decline , and some of its buildings, such as the original Surrogate's Court building, were demolished . Residents who had become aware of its historic importance formed the Stockade Association in 1957 and, five years later, successfully lobbied the city to pass a zoning ordinance creating the historic district , the first one created in

8034-478: The militia was restricted to the more substantial members of society, since every militiaman had to provide himself with a musket, knapsack, powder, bullets, flints, and sword. Each local community organized its own militia. The officers were either appointed by the governor or elected by the men. The main task of the local militia was local defense, rarely serving in the field but acting as a more or less efficient home guard . The Compagnies Franches de la Marine ,

8137-510: The mother's clan. During the colonial era , the fur trade formed one of the important trading relationships between Indians and colonists. In response to labor shortages among Dutch colonists, enslaved Africans were imported to work on farmsteads in Schenectady. Some Euro-Indian descendants, such as Jacques Cornelissen Van Slyck and his sister Hilletie van Olinda , who were of Dutch, French and Mohawk ancestry, became interpreters and intermarried with Dutch colonists. They also gained land in

8240-555: The neighboring town of Niskayuna , which contributed to continuing population growth in the county. In the latter part of the 20th century, Schenectady suffered from the massive industrial and corporate restructuring that affected much of the US, including in the railroads. It lost many jobs and population to other locations, including offshore. Since the late 20th century, it has been shaping a new economy, based in part on renewable energy. Its population increased from 2000 to 2010. According to

8343-434: The pines" and used for the area around Albany, New York . Residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. Connected to the west by the Mohawk River and Erie Canal , Schenectady developed rapidly in the 19th century as part of the Mohawk Valley trade, manufacturing, and transportation corridor. By 1824, more people worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade; like many New York cities, it had

8446-475: The pines", referring to a large area of pine barrens between the Mohawk settlements and the Hudson River. About 3,200 acres of this unique ecosystem are now protected as the Albany Pine Bush . Eventually, this word entered the lexicon of the Dutch settlers. The settlers in Fort Orange used skahnéhtati to refer to the new village at the Mohawk flats (see below), which became known as Schenectady (with

8549-606: The region. Interstate 890 runs through Schenectady, and the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) is nearby. Amtrak has a station in Schenectady. The nearest airport is Schenectady County Airport ; the nearest commercial airport is Albany International Airport . ZIP code 12345, which is used by the GE plant in Schenectady, has attracted media attention on account of its simplicity. Thousands of letters and Christmas lists addressed to Santa Claus are mailed to

8652-527: The regular army; a provincial field officer ranked as a senior British captain, although these officers were members of the colonial elite, often members of colonial legislatures . Disputes concerning rank and precedent between regular and provincial officers were common. Junior provincial officers were often popular militia officers, who easily could recruit a company of men. Each colony had its own militia, which in principle contained all able-bodied men 16 to 60 years of age. In reality, however, membership in

8755-497: The rules of European warfare, and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham 1759 was a European battle fought in closed formations in the open. Although ultimately futile, the French fought according to the tactical doctrine contemporaries called la Petite guerre , or today's guerilla warfare . The numerical inferiority of the French forces in North America made it impossible to fight a war according to standard European tactics. Hence

8858-552: The school district is majority minority : 35% Black (48% Graduate), 32% White (71% Graduate), 18% Hispanic (51% Graduate), 15% Asian (68% Graduate). As of 2016, the graduation rate for the high school was 56%. Using 2010 data, there were 28,264 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.0% were married couples living together, 24.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who

8961-662: The south. The Albany and Schenectady Turnpike (now State Street) was constructed in 1797 to connect Albany to settlements in the Mohawk Valley. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad started operations in 1831 as one of the first railway lines in the United States, connecting the city and Albany by a route through the pine barrens between them. Developers in Schenectady quickly founded the Utica & Schenectady Railroad, chartered in 1833; Schenectady & Susquehanna Railroad, chartered May 5, 1836; and Schenectady & Troy Railroad, chartered in 1836, making Schenectady "the rail hub of America at

9064-407: The southern colonies always very reluctantly contributed to the imperial cause. The British Army did not have high opinions of the battleworthiness of the provincial troops, with the exception of the ranger units . During conjoint operations the provincial troops were subject to the very strict British Articles of War . The officers of the provincial troops had lower relative rank than the officers of

9167-572: The state. The neighborhood is one of four historic districts recognized by the city of Schenectady. It comes under the purview of its Historic Commission, a seven-member body that meets once a month. Under the city's zoning regulations, any change to a historic building in a district that is visible from a public right-of-way must be approved by the commission. Within the neighborhood, the Historic Stockade Association works to organize residents and help preserve not only

9270-475: The struggle between Britain and France over northeastern America because of its location east and south of Lake Ontario . The League's aggressive military and commercial policy gave the five Iroquois nations control over large parts of the country, forcing many smaller Indigenous nations into submission. The Iroquois used the Covenant Chain to join with the colony of New York and other British colonies in

9373-450: The surrounding cities of Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Troy. In the early 20th century, Schenectady had an extensive streetcar system that provided both local and interurban passenger service. The Schenectady Railway Co. had local lines and interurban lines serving Albany, Ballston Spa , Saratoga Springs and Troy . There was also a line from Gloversville , Johnstown , Amsterdam , and Scotia into Downtown Schenectady operated by

9476-586: The time" and competing with the Erie Canal. Commodities from the Great Lakes areas and commercial products were shipped to the East and New York City through the Mohawk Valley and Schenectady. The last slaves in New York and Schenectady gained freedom in 1827, under the state's gradual abolition law. The law first gave freedom to children born to slave mothers, but they were indentured to the mother's master for

9579-590: The time) and the canal, as the American Locomotive Company and General Electric made it "The City that Hauls and Lights the World". Connecticut native Elizabeth Gillette moved to Union Street to start her medical practice in 1900. Two decades later, she was elected to the state assembly , the first woman elected to the state legislature from upstate and the only Democrat ever elected to that body from Schenectady's second district. She served

9682-460: The wars between the great powers of Europe. The belligerents built fortified positions at major transportation hubs and requested the help of the local indigenous population to defend these, and to attack enemy positions. A common view is that European combat methods and military tactics were not adapted to the American forests and to the indigenous art of war. It is therefore conjectured that

9785-492: The wars proceeded, the military advantage moved toward the British side. This was chiefly the result of the greater population and productive capacity of the British colonies compared with those of France. In addition, the British had the greater ability to resupply their colonies and project military power by sea. In the first three conflicts, the French were able to offset these factors largely by more effective mobilization of Indigenous allies, but they were finally overwhelmed in

9888-481: The west. Buildings and wharves along the riverfront and the Binne Kill accommodated the travelers and cargo that came overland from Albany and boarded bateaux for the trip west to Lake Erie . In the early 19th century engineer Theodore Burr , cousin of Aaron , having built one of the first significant crossings of the Hudson River at Waterford , turned his attentions to the Mohawk. He decided to build

9991-453: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the year 2010 population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males. The median income for

10094-515: Was a manufacturing center known as "The City that Lights and Hauls the World"—a reference to two prominent businesses in the city, the Edison Electric Company (now known as General Electric ), and the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). GE retains its steam turbine manufacturing facilities in Schenectady and its Global Research facility in nearby Niskayuna . Thousands of manufacturing jobs have been relocated from Schenectady to

10197-401: Was almost minimally staffed, and changed their plans to attack this target of opportunity. In the course of the ensuing Schenectady massacre , many of the houses and barns were burned and most of the inhabitants of the village either killed or taken to Montreal as prisoners. Local members of the Mohawk tribe, in particular, one who had become known among the settlers as Lawrence, encouraged

10300-549: Was also sent over the Atlantic. The Canadian colonial militia enjoyed a substantially higher morale and battleworthiness than the British provincial troops and the militia of the British colonies. This was only true, however, when they were employed as home guard or as wilderness warriors. Besides a combat role, the Canadian militia also fulfilled important tasks behind the lines, such as transportation and road building. The Iroquois League played an important strategic role in

10403-416: Was established in 1779, before the war had even ended, but was not formally recognized with a state charter (the first issued by the state Board of Regents ) until 1795. Its first building was in the district, at the corner of Ferry and Union streets, later College and Union. It was America's first non-denominational college. In 1814 the college moved to its present location, the first planned college campus in

10506-417: Was part of the expansion of higher education in upstate New York in the postwar years. During this period, migrants poured into upstate and western New York from New England, but there were also new immigrants from England and Europe. Many traveled west along the Mohawk River, settling in the western part of the state, where they developed more agriculture on former Iroquois lands. A dairy industry developed in

10609-527: Was west of Little Falls . Because of their close business and other relationships with the British, some settlers from the city were Loyalists and moved to Canada in the late stages of the Revolution. The Crown granted them land in what became known as Upper Canada and later Ontario. It was not until after the Revolutionary War that the village residents reduced the power of the descendants of

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