Troy

 

City (1990 pop. 54,269), seat of Rensselaer co., E N.Y., on the east bank of the Hudson River; inc. 1816. Once known especially for its manufacture of collars and shirts, it now produces motor vehicle parts, garden tillers, instruments, and railroad supplies. Henry Hudson explored (1609) the area near Troy, and the site was included in the patroonship given to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer by the Dutch West India Company. The town was laid out in 1786. From 1812 to 1920 it was industrially prosperous and many inventions were made there. In the second half of the 20th cent. Troy suffered from the urban blight of many river towns and lost a large number of its industries. It is the seat of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Russell Sage College, and the Emma Willard School. Samuel Wilson of Troy, who was concerned with army beef supply in the War of 1812, is said to have been the original “Uncle Sam.” Many buildings of architectural and historic interest are preserved.

City of Troy, New York
Looking west down Broadway at downtown Troy
Nickname: "The Collar City"
Location in Rensselaer County and the State of New York
Coordinates: 42°44′18″N 73°40′51″W / 42.73833, -73.68083
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Rensselaer
Founded	1791
Incorporated	1816
Government
- Mayor	Harry Tutunjian
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
- Metro
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	12179-12182
Area code(s)	518
FIPS code	36-75484
GNIS feature ID	0967902
Website: http://www.troyny.gov/

Troy is a city in New York, U.S., and the county seat of Rensselaer County. As of the 2000 census, the population was 49,170; in 1910, the population was 76,813. The city's motto is Ilium fuit, Troja est, which means "Troy was, Troy is."

Troy is located on the western edge of the county and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy is home to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Russell Sage College, Hudson Valley Community College and the Emma Willard School, and was the hometown of Uncle Sam.

History

The site of the city was a part of the Van Rensselaer grant of 1629. Dirck Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers. A local legend that a Dutch girl had been kidnapped by an Indian male who did not want her to marry someone else gained some credence when two skeletons were found in a cave under Poestenkill Falls in the 1950's. One skeleton was female and caucasian with an iron ring. The other was native american and male. In 1707, he purchased a farm of 65 acres (26 hectares) which in 1787 was laid out as a village.

The name Troy (after the legendary city of Troy, made famous in Homer's Iliad) was adopted in 1789, and the region was formed into the "Town of Troy" in 1791 from part of the Rensselaerwyck Manor. Troy became a village in 1801 and was chartered as a city in 1816.

In the post-Revolutionary War years, as central New York was first settled, there was a strong trend to classical names, and Troy's naming fits the same pattern as the New York cities of Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Ithaca, or the towns of Sempronius, Manlius, or dozens of other classically named towns to the west of Troy.

Northern and Western New York was a theater of the War of 1812, and militia and regular army forces were led by Stephen Van Rensselaer of Troy. Quartermaster supplies were shipped through Troy. A local butcher and meat-packer named Samuel Wilson supplied the military, and, according to an unprovable legend, barrels stamped "U.S." were jokingly taken by the troops to stand for "Uncle Sam" meaning Wilson. Troy has since claimed to be the historical home of Uncle Sam.

Through much of the 19th and into the early 20th century, Troy was not only one of the most prosperous cities in New York State, but one of the most prosperous cities in the entire country. Prior to its rise as an industrial center, Troy was the transshipment point for meat and vegetables from Vermont which were sent by the Hudson River to New York City. The Federal Dam at Troy is the head of the tide in the Hudson River and Hudson River sloops and steamboats plied the river on a regular basis.

Troy's one-time great wealth was produced in the steel industry, with the first American Bessemer converter erected on the small Postenkill river in a small valley near the middle of the city. The industry first used charcoal and iron ore from the Adirondacks. Later on, ore and coal from the Midwest was shipped on the Erie Canal to Troy, and there processed before being sent on down the Hudson to New York City. The iron and steel was also used by the extensive federal arsenal across the Hudson at Watervliet, then called West Troy. After the American Civil War, the steel production industry moved west to be closer to raw materials. The presence of iron and steel also made it possible for Troy to be an early site in the development of iron storefronts and steel structural supports in architecture, and there are some significant early examples still in the city.

The initial emphasis on heavier industry later spawned a wide variety of highly engineered mechanical and scientific equipment. Troy was the home of W. & L. E. Gurley, Co., makers of precision instruments. Gurley's theodolites were used to survey much of the American West after the Civil War and were highly regarded until laser and digital technology eclipsed the telescope and compass technology in the 1970's. Bells manufactured by Troy's Meneely Bell Company ring all over the world. And Troy was also home to a manufacturer of racing shells who used impregnated paper in a process that presaged the later use of fiberglass, kevlar and carbon fiber composites.

This scientific and technical proficiency was supported by the presence of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or R.P.I., one of the highest-ranked engineering schools in the country. R.P.I. was originally sponsored by Stephen Van Rensselaer, one of the most prominent members of that family. R.P.I. was founded in 1825, and eventually absorbed the campus of the liberal arts Troy University, (which closed in 1848). R.P.I. was founded in 1825 by Stephen Van Rensselaer for the "application of science to the common purposes of life", and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. [1] The institute is known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Troy was an early home of professional baseball, and was the host of two major league teams. The first team to call Troy home was the Troy Haymakers, a National Association team in 1871 and 1872. One of their major players was Williams H. "Bill" Craver, a noted catcher and Civil War veteran, who also managed the team. Their last manager was Jimmy Wood, reckoned the first Canadian in professional baseball. The Troy Haymakers folded, and Troy had no team for seven seasons. Then, for four seasons, 1879 to 1882, Troy was home to the National League Troy Trojans. The Trojans were not competitive in the league, but they did have the biggest hitter in professional baseball, Dan Brouthers.[2] For the 1883 season, the Trojans were not 'moved' to the New York Gothams, (later the New York, then San Francisco Giants), but as the Trojans team was disbanded, most of the players went to the new New York team intended to replace the Trojans. Troy was also the birthplace of the famous player Michael Joseph "King" Kelly.

Troy has been nearly destroyed by fire three times. In 1892, there were election riots there during which Robert Ross was murdered. One of his alleged slayers, "Bat" Shea, was executed in 1896.

In 1900 Troy annexed Lansingburgh, a former town and village in Rensselaer County. Lansingburgh is thus often referred to as "North Troy". However, prior to the annexation, that portion of Troy north of Division Street was called North Troy and the neigborhood south of Washington Park is referred to as South Troy. To avoid confusion with streets in Troy following the annexation, Lansingburgh's numbered streets were renamed: its 1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, etc., became North Troy's 101st Street, 102nd Street, 103rd Street, etc. Lansingburgh was home to the Lansingburgh Academy.

In addition to the strong presence of the early American steel industry, Troy was also a manufacturing center for shirts, shirtwaists, collars and cuffs. In 1825, a local resident Hannah Lord Montague, was tired of cleaning her blacksmith husband's shirts. She cut off the collars of her husband's shirts, since only the collar was soiled, bound the edges and attached strings to hold them in place. (This also allowed the collars and cuffs to be starched separately.) Hannah Montague's idea caught on, and changed the fashion for American men's dress for a century. Her patented collars and cuffs were first manufactured by Maullin & Blanchard, which eventually was absorbed by Cluett, Peabody & Company. Cluett's "Arrow shirts" are still worn by men across the country.[3] The large labor force required by the shirt manufacturing industry also, in 1864, produced the nation's first female Labor Union, the Collar Laundry Union, founded in Troy by Kate Mullaney. On February 23, 1864, 300 members of the union went on strike. After six days, the laundry owners gave in to their demands and raised wages 25 percent. There were further developments in the industry, when, in 1933, Sanford Cluett invented a process he called Sanforization, a process which shrinks cotton fabrics thoroughly and permanently. Cluett, Peabody's last main plant in Troy was closed in the 1980's, but the industrial output of the plant had long been transferred to facilities in the South.

One of the downtown landmarks of troy was Frear's Troy Cash Bazaar, also known as Frear's Department Store, which was one of the largest in the state.

When the iron & steel industry moved to Pennsylvania and beyond, and with a similar downturn in the collar industry, Troy's prosperity began to fade. After the passage of Prohibition, and given the strict control of Albany by the O'Connell political machiene, Troy became a way station for an illegal alcohol trade from Canada to New York City. Likewise, the stricter control of morality laws in the neighboring New England states, left Troy with openly operating speakeasys and brothels. Gangsters such as Legs Diamond conducted business in Troy. This gave Troy a somewhat colorful reputation through World War II. A few of the finer houses have since been converted to fine restaurants, such as the former Old Daly Inn.

Other Notable Historical Events in Troy

• 1823: First known appearance of the world-famous Holiday poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "Twas the Night Before Christmas") is made in the now-defunct newspaper The Troy Sentinel on December 23. The poem was published anonymously. Traditionally, its author was believed to have been Clement Clarke Moore, but its author is now regarded by many to have been Henry Livingston, Jr.
• 1952: Kurt Vonnegut wrote Player Piano, which is set in Ilium, New York, and is based on his experiences working as a public relations writer at General Electric.
• 1963: The novel Cat's Cradle was written by Kurt Vonnegut in the city, and mentions being in Ilium. (In the ancient Mediterranean, "Ilium" was an alternate name for Troy.)
• 1983: The restaurant chain Bruegger's is founded in downtown Troy.

Notable Troy Residents

• Samuel Wilson, a butcher and meatpacker during the time of the War of 1812, who is believed to have been the inspiration for the personification of the United States known as Uncle Sam.
• William Marcy, a notable politician of his era, who resided in Troy. Marcy was an associate justice of the New York State Supreme Court, was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat to the United States Senate, serving from 1831 until 1833 and later became Governor of New York, a position he held from 1833 until 1839. Marcy served as United States Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President James K. Polk and United States Secretary of State under President Franklin Pierce. Mount Marcy, the highest peak in New York, and the Town of Marcy in Oneida County are named after him.
• John Morrissey, "undefeated boxing champion" (According to the Troy Record) Irish mobster, founder of Saratoga Race Course, U.S. Representative from New York and later State Senator, emigrated to Troy from Tipperary, Ireland in 1834 at the age of 3. He died in 1878 and was buried in St. Peter's Cemetery.
• Maureen Stapleton, an Academy Award-winning American actress in film, theater and television, who also won an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards and was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame. The theatre at Hudson Valley Community College was named for her.
• John Alfred Kimberly, Founder of Kimberly-Clark Corporation, was born in Troy, July 18, 1838. His father John, and grandfather Hazard Kimberly, were in the construction business in Troy. His father moved west to Neenah, Wisconsin, in 1849. K-C was founded there in 1871.
• Yvar Mikhashoff, classical pianist.

Geography

Troy is located at 42°44′18″N 73°40′51″W / 42.73833, -73.68083Coordinates: 42°44′18″N 73°40′51″W / 42.73833, -73.68083 ¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.5 km² (11.0 mi²). 27.0 km² (10.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (5.44%) is water.

Troy is located several miles north of Albany near the juncture of the Erie and Champlain canals, via the Hudson River and is the terminus of the New York Barge Canal. It is the distributing center for a large area.^[1]

The city is south of Washington County and is situated in the center of surrounding countryside. On the east are the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, south is the valley of the Hudson, west the valley of the Mohawk, and on the north the Adirondack Mountains.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 49,170 people, 19,996 households, and 10,737 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,823.7/km² (4,721.8/mi²). There were 23,093 housing units at an average density of 856.5/km² (2,217.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.22% White, 11.41% African American, 0.28% Native American, 3.49% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.20% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.33% of the population.

According the Census Bureau, the largest self-reported ethnic groups in Troy are: Irish (23%), Italian (13%), German (11%), French (8%), English (7%), and Polish (5%).

There were 19,996 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 17.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median household income was $29,844, and the median income for a family was $38,631. Males had a median income of $30,495 versus $25,724 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,796. About 14.3% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Troy is home to many samples of Victorian architecture and iron work. The city has a large number of intact Tiffany stained-glass windows in original architectural settings.^[1] With much 19th century architecture, several major movie have filmed in Troy, including Ironweed, Age of Innocence, Scent of a Woman, The Bostonians, The Emperor’s Club, and The Time Machine. There are many buildings in a state of disrepair, but community groups and investors are restoring many of them.

As with many American cities, some buildings in downtown Troy were razed during the 1970s as part of so-called urban renewal. Today, however, many have moved to save the most historic of the remaining downtown structures.

Part of this effort has been the arrival of the "Antique District" on River Street downtown. Cafes and art galleries are calling the area home. As home to many art, literature, and music lovers, the city hosts many free shows during the summer, on River Street, in parks, and in cafes and coffee shops. The Troy Farmer's Market is a popular event since 2000 that occurs every Saturday on River Street during the summer, or in the Atrium of downtown Troy during the winter.

Many notable artists were born or grew up in Troy, including actress Maureen Stapleton and authors Alice Fulton, Don Rittner and Richard Selzer. Past notable residents include Herman Melville, Emma Willard, Russell Sage, and Jane Fonda. Several books by noted author Kurt Vonnegut are set in the fictional city of "Illium", which is modeled after Troy.

Troy has produced at least three Medal of Honor recipients, including Lt. Colonel William J. O'Brien and Sergeant Thomas A. Baker, both from U.S. Army, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division in World War II, and Specialist Fourth Class Peter C. Guenette from U.S. Army, Company D, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), in Vietnam.

Notable Cultural Events

• The Troy Flag Day Parade, one of the nation's largest. The parade is held in early June.
• River Street Festival, an annual, family-oriented arts/crafts and music festival held in June.
• The Uncle Sam Parade, held on or in proximity to Samuel Wilson's birthday (mid-September).
• The Classics Project, a classical theatre festival produced by Bakerloo Theatre Project. Between fifteen and twenty emerging theatre artists are provided residency with Bakerloo to develop their craft while performing a repertory season of plays by Shakespeare and other great playwrights. The festival occurs during the months of July and August.
• The Victorian Stroll, an annual holiday event held in December.
• The Tri-City Valley Cats, a minor-league Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The team is a part of the New York-Penn League.
• Troy Night Out, a monthly event in downtown Troy where shops stay open late, restaurants bring in live entertainment, galleries have openings, and the streets fill up with people and events.

Political structure

The Executive Branch consists of Mayor Harry Tutunjian (Rep.), who defeated Frank LaPosta for the position in November 2003 and began his term January 2004.

Troy's Legislative Branch consists of a City Council. The Council contains nine elected members, 3 City Council At-Large Representatives and six Council District Representatives, with each Representative serving a two-year term. The City Council At-Large Representative who receives the greatest number of votes in the election is designated the City Council President (currently Henry Bauer). The Council meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7:00pm in City Hall, in the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor. All meetings are open to the public, and include a public forum period held before official business where citizens can address the Council on all matters directly pertaining to city government.

Current Troy City Council members for period of January 1st 2006 - December 31st 2007: Henry Bauer (At Large; Council President), Carolin Collier (District #6; President ProTem), Marjorie Mahar DerGurahian (At Large), Clement Campana (At Large), Mark Wojcik (District #1), Mark McGrath (District #2), Peter Ryan (District #3), William Dunne (District #4), and Robert Krogh (District #5).

The city is represented in the House of Representatives by Michael R. McNulty (D-NY).

Landmarks

Some famous and interesting portions of Troy include:

• Oakwood Cemetery - Located in North Troy, or Lansingburgh, it is the final resting place of many famous Americans; among them, Civil War Major General George Henry Thomas, known as "The Rock of Chickamauga", and Samuel Wilson, better known as Uncle Sam.
• Forest Park Cemetery - A famed haunted cemetery out Pinewoods Avenue in the nearby town of Brunswick.
• W.H. Frear Department Store
• Burden Iron Works
• Country Club of Troy
• The Paine Mansion (known as "The Castle") at 49 2nd Street
• Russell Sage College - liberal arts women's college
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Oldest technological institute in the English-speaking world.
• Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center - a state of the art performing arts center on the RPI campus
• [[Chapel + Cultural Center at Rensselaer]] - Unique multipurpose performing arts and religious center.
• Hudson Valley Community College - Ranked as one of the Top 100 two-year colleges in the nation by Community College Week in 2004.
• Houston Field House - Hosts various concert events and RPI Hockey.
• Emma Willard School - Oldest secondary school for girls in the United States.

• Frear Park
• Prospect Park
• Troy Savings Bank Music Hall - World renowned for being "an acoustic marvel."
• Washington Street
• Troy Public Library
• St. Peter's Church
• Kennedy Towers, at 19 stories, is the tallest building in Troy. Part of the Troy Public Housing Authority, the plan originally called for two towers but only one was built. The name still remains towers despite this.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Robert Breuer, Troy's RiverSpark Visitor Center. Retrieved 1 August 2007.

External links

• City of Troy Website
• A review of Troy by the New York Times
• Troy Visitor Center
• Rensselaer County Online
• Rensselaer County Travel and Tourism
• Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Rensselaer County Economic Development
• Rensselaer County Historical Society
• Oakwood Cemetery
• Early history of Troy, NY
• Heritage on the Hudson, Don Rittner's Columns about Troy
• Movies with Location Filming in Troy, NY
• New York State Heritage Areas
• Hudson River Level at Troy, NY

Capital District, New York
Central Communities	Albany • Schenectady • Troy
Largest communities (over 20,000 in 2000)	Bethlehem • Clifton Park • Town of Colonie • Glenville • Guilderland • Niskayuna • Rotterdam • Saratoga Springs
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