Kenwood, Albany, New York
Encyclopedia
Kenwood is a neighborhood in the city of Albany
, New York
. Prior to annexation by the city in 1916 a hamlet in the neighboring town of Bethlehem
, also in Albany County
. The hamlet once spanned both sides of the Normans Kill
(Kill
is Dutch for creek) along the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike. The portion of Kenwood in Bethlehem has since been abandoned along with the turnpike, including the bridge over the Normans Kill.
) or Rensselaer's Mills, dates back to the earliest of Dutch
settlement in New York's Capital District
. It was here that in 1618 a fort was established along a creek that the native
inhabitants called Tawasentha. This fort replaced a 1614 fort on Castle Island
lost due to the annual freshet
that occurs along the Hudson River
. Twelve years later in 1630 Albert Bradt
built a mill here, being from Norway
he was nicknamed the Norman, from him the Tawasentha received its current name of Normans Kill
(kill being Dutch for creek).
This land, being part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, belonged to the Patroon
Van Rensselaer who had various mills built here after the US Revolutionary War. In 1804 the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike Company was organized by the state of New York to construct a turnpike
road from Albany at South Pearl Street through Lower Hollow after which it split with an upper fork to Babcocks Corners (today Bethlehem Center) and a lower fork to The Abbey
(today Glenmont). The one toll-gate on the road was situated in Lower Hollow, and Robert Van Rensselaer
lived in a house on the turnpike near the bridge that carried the road over the Normans Kill.
Joel Rathbone bought a 1200 acres (4.9 km²) densely wooded area from the Patroon and on a natural terrace he built in 1841 a grand Tudor
mansion for his retirement. He would bestow upon this estate and the area around it the name of Kenwood in honor of a place of the same name in Scotland
. In 1870 a portion of Kenwood (including the first mile of the turnpike, the toll-gate, and the Rathbone estate) was annexed to Albany and the city was involved in a lawsuit (Harriet M. Elmendorf v. The City of Albany) over its right to lay sidewalks along the turnpike (technically private property and not a city road) and to levy an assessment upon property in order to cover the cost of the sidewalk which was an improvement to the private property of the turnpike.
In 1863 the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad
opened from Albany through Kenwood on its way to Adams Station
(Delmar), Slingerlands
and New Scotland
, and eventually to Binghamton
. At Kenwood was the Kenwood Junction, the meeting place of the West Shore Railroad
and the Albany and Susquehanna. The later would be leased and then outright owned by the Delaware and Hudson Railway
, until bought out by the Canadian Pacific Railway
(CP) in 1990. In 2000 CP had concerns about the bridge at Kenwood and the entire line from Kenwood to Voorheesville
was soon abandoned.
In 1886 the hamlet (which included land on both sides of the Normans Kill) included 16 residences, a schoolhouse, a store, a blacksmith, a Baptist
church, and 36 families consisting of 150 individuals. In the early 1930s South Pearl Street would be built along a new path from that of the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike, this is its current location, and it would also be designated as New York State Route 32
. This would lead to the abandonment of much of the original route of the turnpike through Kenwood segmenting it and bring about the end of the roads on the Bethlehem side. Prior to this, Southern Boulevard (US Route 9W), to the northwest of Kenwood, had been authorized to be constructed by the state (Laws of 1913, Chapter 295) as a highway to connect Delaware Avenue in Albany to the turnpike at Corning Hill Road in Bethlehem, thereby bypassing Kenwood. Construction would be finished by 1916. That year would also see the end of Kenwood as a hamlet and the beginning of its time as part of Albany's South End. Albany annexed much of the land in Bethlehem north of the Normans Kill thereby making that creek a natural border between the two municipalities. Since the Bethlehem School District Number 12 school house was on the north bank and therefore annexed to Albany the land south of the creek still in Bethlehem became part of Bethlehem School District Number 7.
institution) would buy the Rathborne Mansion and other structures along with 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) of the estate. In 1867 the mansion was torn down but all the materials were reused in the construction of a new church on the property. President-elect Grover Cleveland
visited the campus in 1884. The school would change its name to the Kenwood Academy, and then merge with the Episcopal
St Agnes School and become the Doane Stuart School
. The school would sever its ties with the Catholic nuns of the Sacred Heart order; and then after an offer to buy the campus was rejected, the school moved across the Hudson River to Rensselaer
. The campus, today 74 acres (299,467.6 m²), is for sale for $9 million dollars. In 2010 the Preservation League of New York State declared the campus to be one of its "Seven to Save" endangered historic sites for that year.
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Prior to annexation by the city in 1916 a hamlet in the neighboring town of Bethlehem
Bethlehem, New York
Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 33,656 at the 2010 census. The town is south of Albany. Bethlehem includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Slingerlands, Glenmont, Selkirk, South and North Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town...
, also in Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
. The hamlet once spanned both sides of the Normans Kill
Normans Kill
The Normans Kill is a creek in New York's Capital District located in Schenectady and Albany counties, which flows southeasterly from its source in the town of Duanesburg near Delanson to its mouth at the Hudson River in the town of Bethlehem. The stream creates the Watervliet Reservoir in the...
(Kill
Kill (body of water)
As a body of water, a kill is a creek. The word comes from the Middle Dutch kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel." The modern Dutch term is kil....
is Dutch for creek) along the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike. The portion of Kenwood in Bethlehem has since been abandoned along with the turnpike, including the bridge over the Normans Kill.
History
Kenwood, formerly known as Lower Hollow (Upper Hollow being upstream at NormansvilleNormansville, New York
Normansville is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem and a neighborhood in the city of Albany, Albany County, New York. The entire area was one hamlet in Bethlehem until the portion north of the Normans Kill was annexed by Albany in 1916...
) or Rensselaer's Mills, dates back to the earliest of Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
settlement in New York's Capital District
Capital District
New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...
. It was here that in 1618 a fort was established along a creek that the native
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
inhabitants called Tawasentha. This fort replaced a 1614 fort on Castle Island
Castle Island (New York)
Castle Island is in the city of Albany, Albany County, New York and has over the past 400 years been referred to as Martin Gerritse's Island, Patroon's Island, Van Rensselaer Island, and since the late 19th century has been referred to as Westerlo Island...
lost due to the annual freshet
Freshet
A freshet can refer to one of two things:* A flood resulting from heavy rain or a spring thaw. Whereas heavy rain often causes a flash flood, a spring thaw event is generally a more incremental process, depending upon local climate and topography...
that occurs along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. Twelve years later in 1630 Albert Bradt
Albert Andriessen Bradt
Albert Andriessen Bradt was one of the earliest Norwegian settlers in New Netherland. In the early records he is often referred to as Albert Noorman .-Biography:...
built a mill here, being from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
he was nicknamed the Norman, from him the Tawasentha received its current name of Normans Kill
Kill (body of water)
As a body of water, a kill is a creek. The word comes from the Middle Dutch kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel." The modern Dutch term is kil....
(kill being Dutch for creek).
This land, being part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, belonged to the Patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
Van Rensselaer who had various mills built here after the US Revolutionary War. In 1804 the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike Company was organized by the state of New York to construct a turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
road from Albany at South Pearl Street through Lower Hollow after which it split with an upper fork to Babcocks Corners (today Bethlehem Center) and a lower fork to The Abbey
Glenmont, New York
Glenmont is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. Glenmont is in the northeastern corner of the town and is a suburb of the neighboring city of Albany...
(today Glenmont). The one toll-gate on the road was situated in Lower Hollow, and Robert Van Rensselaer
Robert Van Rensselaer
Robert Van Rensselaer was a New York militia officer during the American Revolutionary War.-Life:He was born December 16, 1740, at Fort Crailo in Rensselaer, New York. His father was Johannes Van Rensselaer, and his mother was Angelica Livingston...
lived in a house on the turnpike near the bridge that carried the road over the Normans Kill.
Joel Rathbone bought a 1200 acres (4.9 km²) densely wooded area from the Patroon and on a natural terrace he built in 1841 a grand Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
mansion for his retirement. He would bestow upon this estate and the area around it the name of Kenwood in honor of a place of the same name in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In 1870 a portion of Kenwood (including the first mile of the turnpike, the toll-gate, and the Rathbone estate) was annexed to Albany and the city was involved in a lawsuit (Harriet M. Elmendorf v. The City of Albany) over its right to lay sidewalks along the turnpike (technically private property and not a city road) and to levy an assessment upon property in order to cover the cost of the sidewalk which was an improvement to the private property of the turnpike.
In 1863 the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad
Albany and Susquehanna Railroad
The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad running from Albany to Binghamton, operating 1851 to 1870-History:Construction began on April 19, 1851 from Albany to Schoharie Junction, New York, a distance of 35 miles . This phase was completed in 1863...
opened from Albany through Kenwood on its way to Adams Station
Delmar, New York
Delmar is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. A census-designated place has been established since 1980 by the US Bureau of Census for tabulating the population of what the census has defined as the boundaries of the urbanized area in and around Delmar. The population was...
(Delmar), Slingerlands
Slingerlands, New York
Slingerlands is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. It is located immediately west of Delmar and near the New Scotland town-line and south of the Albany city-limits. It is a suburb of Albany...
and New Scotland
New Scotland, New York
New Scotland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 8,648 at the 2010 census.The town is southwest of Albany, New York, the state capital. New Scotland is centrally located in the county.-History:...
, and eventually to Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. At Kenwood was the Kenwood Junction, the meeting place of the West Shore Railroad
West Shore Railroad
The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad from Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, north along the west shore of the river to Albany, New York and then west to Buffalo...
and the Albany and Susquehanna. The later would be leased and then outright owned by the Delaware and Hudson Railway
Delaware and Hudson Railway
The Delaware and Hudson Railway is a railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, although CPR has assumed all operations and the D&H does not maintain any locomotives or rolling stock.It was formerly an important...
, until bought out by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CP) in 1990. In 2000 CP had concerns about the bridge at Kenwood and the entire line from Kenwood to Voorheesville
Voorheesville, New York
Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named after a railroad attorney, Alonzo B...
was soon abandoned.
In 1886 the hamlet (which included land on both sides of the Normans Kill) included 16 residences, a schoolhouse, a store, a blacksmith, a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church, and 36 families consisting of 150 individuals. In the early 1930s South Pearl Street would be built along a new path from that of the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike, this is its current location, and it would also be designated as New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...
. This would lead to the abandonment of much of the original route of the turnpike through Kenwood segmenting it and bring about the end of the roads on the Bethlehem side. Prior to this, Southern Boulevard (US Route 9W), to the northwest of Kenwood, had been authorized to be constructed by the state (Laws of 1913, Chapter 295) as a highway to connect Delaware Avenue in Albany to the turnpike at Corning Hill Road in Bethlehem, thereby bypassing Kenwood. Construction would be finished by 1916. That year would also see the end of Kenwood as a hamlet and the beginning of its time as part of Albany's South End. Albany annexed much of the land in Bethlehem north of the Normans Kill thereby making that creek a natural border between the two municipalities. Since the Bethlehem School District Number 12 school house was on the north bank and therefore annexed to Albany the land south of the creek still in Bethlehem became part of Bethlehem School District Number 7.
Kenwood Academy
In 1859 the Female Academy of the Sacred Heart (a CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
institution) would buy the Rathborne Mansion and other structures along with 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) of the estate. In 1867 the mansion was torn down but all the materials were reused in the construction of a new church on the property. President-elect Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
visited the campus in 1884. The school would change its name to the Kenwood Academy, and then merge with the Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
St Agnes School and become the Doane Stuart School
Doane Stuart School
The Doane Stuart School is an independent, coeducational school in Rensselaer, New York. The School claims a low student to teacher ratio and a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. The school also has emphases on community service and interfaith tolerance...
. The school would sever its ties with the Catholic nuns of the Sacred Heart order; and then after an offer to buy the campus was rejected, the school moved across the Hudson River to Rensselaer
Rensselaer, New York
Rensselaer is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the Hudson River directly opposite Albany. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,392; in 1920, it was 10,832. The name is from Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original landowner of the region in New...
. The campus, today 74 acres (299,467.6 m²), is for sale for $9 million dollars. In 2010 the Preservation League of New York State declared the campus to be one of its "Seven to Save" endangered historic sites for that year.