McKownville, New York
Encyclopedia
McKownville is a hamlet in the town of Guilderland
, Albany County, New York
. It lies along the eastern border of the town with the city of Albany
. McKownville is a heavily developed suburb of Albany and is home to many strip malls, shopping centers, and a portion of the University at Albany, SUNY
and is bisected by US Route 20 (Western Avenue). McKownville is named for John McKown and family, early settlers from the late 18th century.
from Albany to Schenectady
passed through what would later become McKownville. In the late 1740s John McKown, originally from Scotland, moved his family to the United States of America from County Londonderry
, Ireland
. He leased the Five Mile Tavern along the King's Highway, near the present-day Indian Quad of the University at Albany, SUNY
. In 1790 his son William built a tavern at the corners of what would later be Fuller Road and Western Avenue. The first post office
(1884) was in this tavern, today the site of a Burger King
. The family would over time buy the majority of the land in what is now the hamlet named for them. They would donate land for the construction of the Great Western Turnpike
built in 1799 (today Western Avenue), land for a local church (McKownville Methodist Church), and the original one room school house. The McKownville School District No. 11 was built around 1877, with a second one room house (McKownville Annex School No. 11-A) built in 1887. Both were closed in 1953 and replaced by the Westmere Elementary School when the district was consolidated into the Guilderland Central School District
Being along Albany's city line McKownville has long been a center of suburban development including residential, commercial/office, retail, and educational. Strip malls, fast food, hotels, and other retail line Western Avenue, including Stuyvesant Plaza
which was the first suburban shopping plaza built outside the city border. In 1924 residents formed the McKownville Improvement Association to lobby the town to build sidewalks and a create a water district for the neighborhood. It continued to fight for smart-growth and opposed the building of Crossgates Mall
and its subsequent additions. In 2004 the association's push for sidewalks finally came to fruition. One of the additions to Crossgates that the association was worried about was a 1998 proposal by owner Pyramid Companies that would have included a 12 story tall hotel, ice skating rink, miniature golf course, and an additional 2000000 square feet (185,806.1 m²) of retail space to its already 1 million square feet. The expansion was dealt a serious blow when the McKownville United Methodist Church, which was an important piece of real estate for the expansion, refused to sell. The expansion would have made Crossgates the largest mall in the nation, but due to opposition from Guilderland the plan was dropped and later retooled for Syracuse
's Carousel Center
.
In 1896 the Albany Country Club and Golf Course was built straddling the Albany-Guilderland border which demolished remnants of the old King's Highway. The country club would be replaced by the University at Albany, SUNY
(SUNYA) Uptown Campus in the 1960s. Though the university is a part of the identity of McKownsville the relationship has at times been strained regarding the growth of the campus which has often grown on land in Albany that impacts McKownville residents but to which they have no say over.
In 2002 it was found that in the 2000 Census 1,357 students at the Indian Quad dorms of SUNYA counted as part of Albany were actually in the town of Guilderland. Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings
then refused to allow EMS and fire response from the city to cover Indian Quad and the Recreation and Convocation Center (today the SEFCU Arena), both in Guilderland. This caused a dispute between Mayor Jennings, who demanded payment from the town for $37,600 in past calls that the city responded to since 1999, and Ken Runion (Guilderland town supervisor
) who claimed that Albany owed $363,000 that the city received from county sales taxes in 2001 that are based on population and included the Indian Quad.
) and Fuller Road Alternate (unsigned NY Route 910F) to the west, the town of Bethlehem
to the south, and the city of Albany to the east and north. Once a part of the Albany Pine Bush it is mostly flat or very gently rolling hills. The Krum Kill
marks the eastern border with Albany.
(GCSD) and the children attend Westmere Elementary School for kindergarten through 5th grade; and Farnsworth Middle School for 6th through 9th grade; and Guilderland High School
for 9th through 12th.
Guilderland, New York
Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2010 census, the town had a population of 35,303. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands....
, Albany County, New York
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...
. It lies along the eastern border of the town with the city of Albany
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...
. McKownville is a heavily developed suburb of Albany and is home to many strip malls, shopping centers, and a portion of the University at Albany, SUNY
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
and is bisected by US Route 20 (Western Avenue). McKownville is named for John McKown and family, early settlers from the late 18th century.
History
In the 18th century the King's Highway, a series of paths through the Pine Bush pine barrensPine barrens
Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pinelands occur throughout the northeastern U.S. from New Jersey to Maine as well as the Midwest and Canada....
from Albany to Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
passed through what would later become McKownville. In the late 1740s John McKown, originally from Scotland, moved his family to the United States of America from County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
. He leased the Five Mile Tavern along the King's Highway, near the present-day Indian Quad of the University at Albany, SUNY
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
. In 1790 his son William built a tavern at the corners of what would later be Fuller Road and Western Avenue. The first post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
(1884) was in this tavern, today the site of a Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
. The family would over time buy the majority of the land in what is now the hamlet named for them. They would donate land for the construction of the Great Western Turnpike
Great Western Turnpike
The Great Western Turnpike was a series of east–west toll roads that crossed part of New York in the United States. The toll roads that carried this name were:...
built in 1799 (today Western Avenue), land for a local church (McKownville Methodist Church), and the original one room school house. The McKownville School District No. 11 was built around 1877, with a second one room house (McKownville Annex School No. 11-A) built in 1887. Both were closed in 1953 and replaced by the Westmere Elementary School when the district was consolidated into the Guilderland Central School District
Guilderland Central School District
The Guilderland Central School District serves approximately 5,700 students and encompasses most of the Town of Guilderland and part of the town of Bethlehem in Albany County, of New York’s Capital District....
Being along Albany's city line McKownville has long been a center of suburban development including residential, commercial/office, retail, and educational. Strip malls, fast food, hotels, and other retail line Western Avenue, including Stuyvesant Plaza
Stuyvesant Plaza
Stuyvesant Plaza is a major shopping plaza and office complex in the US state of New York's Capital District. It is located in the city of Albany, on Western Avenue , near the south end of the Adirondack Northway, I-87...
which was the first suburban shopping plaza built outside the city border. In 1924 residents formed the McKownville Improvement Association to lobby the town to build sidewalks and a create a water district for the neighborhood. It continued to fight for smart-growth and opposed the building of Crossgates Mall
Crossgates Mall
Crossgates Mall is a shopping mall located in Albany, New York, United States, not far from Schenectady. The mall opened on March 4, 1984, and in October 1994 underwent a large expansion that nearly doubled its size. It now has a gross leasable area of with two floors including 250 shops and...
and its subsequent additions. In 2004 the association's push for sidewalks finally came to fruition. One of the additions to Crossgates that the association was worried about was a 1998 proposal by owner Pyramid Companies that would have included a 12 story tall hotel, ice skating rink, miniature golf course, and an additional 2000000 square feet (185,806.1 m²) of retail space to its already 1 million square feet. The expansion was dealt a serious blow when the McKownville United Methodist Church, which was an important piece of real estate for the expansion, refused to sell. The expansion would have made Crossgates the largest mall in the nation, but due to opposition from Guilderland the plan was dropped and later retooled for Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
's Carousel Center
Carousel Center
Carousel Center is a , seven-story super-regional shopping and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York. It has eight anchor store slots - currently filled with Best Buy, Bon Ton, Forever 21 , JCPenney, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, and Sports Authority...
.
In 1896 the Albany Country Club and Golf Course was built straddling the Albany-Guilderland border which demolished remnants of the old King's Highway. The country club would be replaced by the University at Albany, SUNY
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
(SUNYA) Uptown Campus in the 1960s. Though the university is a part of the identity of McKownsville the relationship has at times been strained regarding the growth of the campus which has often grown on land in Albany that impacts McKownville residents but to which they have no say over.
In 2002 it was found that in the 2000 Census 1,357 students at the Indian Quad dorms of SUNYA counted as part of Albany were actually in the town of Guilderland. Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings
Gerald Jennings
Gerald David "Jerry" Jennings is the mayor of Albany, New York, United States. A Democrat, Jennings won a shocking upset in the 1993 mayoral primary over Harold Joyce, who had the Democratic Party’s formal endorsement and had only recently been its chairman. In 1993, he won the general election,...
then refused to allow EMS and fire response from the city to cover Indian Quad and the Recreation and Convocation Center (today the SEFCU Arena), both in Guilderland. This caused a dispute between Mayor Jennings, who demanded payment from the town for $37,600 in past calls that the city responded to since 1999, and Ken Runion (Guilderland town supervisor
Town supervisor
Town Supervisor is an elective legislative position in New York towns. Supervisors sit on the town board, where they preside over town board meetings and vote on all matters with no more legal weight than that of any other board member .Towns may adopt local laws that allow them to provide for an...
) who claimed that Albany owed $363,000 that the city received from county sales taxes in 2001 that are based on population and included the Indian Quad.
Geography
As a hamlet the boundaries of McKownville are ill-defined though generally considered to be the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway (Interstate 87Interstate 87
Interstate 87 is a Interstate Highway located entirely within New York State in the United States of America. I-87 is the longest intrastate Interstate highway in the Interstate Highway System. Its southern end is at the Bronx approaches of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in New York City...
) and Fuller Road Alternate (unsigned NY Route 910F) to the west, the 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...
to the south, and the city of Albany to the east and north. Once a part of the Albany Pine Bush it is mostly flat or very gently rolling hills. The Krum 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....
marks the eastern border with Albany.
Location
Demographics
As a hamlet McKownville has no definitive boundaries and therefore it is difficult to have statistics on the population. It was estimated by the Albany Times Union in 1993 that there are approximately 2,756 persons with 1,137 housing units in the hamlet.Education
McKownville is a part of the Guilderland Central School DistrictGuilderland Central School District
The Guilderland Central School District serves approximately 5,700 students and encompasses most of the Town of Guilderland and part of the town of Bethlehem in Albany County, of New York’s Capital District....
(GCSD) and the children attend Westmere Elementary School for kindergarten through 5th grade; and Farnsworth Middle School for 6th through 9th grade; and Guilderland High School
Guilderland High School
Guilderland High School is a public senior high school, located in Guilderland Center, New York. It is part of the Guilderland Central School District. Constructed in 1953, the high school has since undergone additions in 1955, 1960, 1997 and 2010...
for 9th through 12th.