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Watervliet (town), New York
Encyclopedia
For the Shaker village, see Watervliet Shaker Historic District
.
The town of Watervliet ( "water-vleet") was a town that at its height encompassed most of present-day Albany County
and the majority of the current town of Niskayuna in neighboring Schenectady County
, in the state of New York
, United States
. Just prior to its dissolution the town encompassed the current towns of Colonie and Green Island
and the city of Watervliet
.
On March 7, 1788 the state of New York divided the entire state into towns eliminating districts as administrative units by passing New York Laws of 1788, Chapters 63 and 64. This transformed the Western District of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck into the town of Watervliet. In the census of 1790 the town had a population of 7,419, which made it twice as populous as the city of Albany
. Over the next 20 years several towns would be broken off from this town, often called the "Mother of Towns
". Rensselaerville
in 1790 would be the first town separated, Coeymans would separate in 1791, while Colonie
would be incorporated as a municipality but would stay within Watervliet. Bethlehem
would be created in 1793 from Watervliet. Colonie would become incorporated again, this time as a district in 1801. Guilderland
would separate in 1803, and Colonie would become a village in 1804 and then a separate town in 1808. Niskayuna would separate in 1809, when Schenectady County was broken off from Albany County. In 1815 Colonie would be split between the city of Albany and the town of Watervliet. In 1836 West Troy would incorporate as a village, Cohoes
in 1848, and then Green Island in 1853 also as a village. Cohoes would be set off from the town as a city in 1869. In 1870 the portion of the former town of Colonie that Watervliet received in 1815 was annexed by the city of Albany. In 1870-71 the city of Albany west of Magazine Street (the so-called "Liberty" of Albany) was given by the state to the town of Watervliet. The town however was unwilling to accept the territory and subsequently ceded the territory to the neighboring town of Guilderland. At this same time the city of Albany annexed from Watervliet the hamlet of North Albany.
In the 1890s the rural residents of the majority of the town of Watervliet became dissatisfied with being under the political control of the urban residents of the village of West Troy, and when talk began of the creation of a city of Watervliet, they petitioned the state to be set apart as a separate town. In 1895 the state legislature passed laws of 1895 chapter 975, which erected the town of Colonie out of the majority of the town of Watervliet, leaving behind only the villages of Green Island and West Troy within the town of Watervliet. The next year would see the final dissolution of the town. The laws of 1896 chapter 811, which went into effect on May 21 created the town of Green Island to cover the village of the same name, leaving only the village of West Troy in the town of Watervliet. Then on August 1, 1896 the village of West Troy along with some land from the town of Colonie was incorporated as the city of Watervliet, dissolving the town of Watervliet.
was begun by the town of Watervliet against the new town of Colonie to enforce the state law's division of debt payments between the two towns. Before Town of Watervliet v. Town of Colonie could go to trial the town of Watervliet was dissolved. Chapter 905 of the laws of 1896 creating the city of Watervliet stated that any land in the town of Watervliet not incorporated into the new city would form a "distinct and separate town" and after a boundary survey there were uninhabited strips of land comprising less than 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) combined, therefore the town of Watervliet argued that it still existed and could continue the lawsuit. The Supreme Court of Albany County, Appellate Division, 3rd Department on March 2, 1898 ruled that the town of Watervliet ceased to exist on August 1, 1896 with the formation of the city since the legislature could not have had the intention to have a town made of uninhabited shreds of discontinuous territory. Furthermore the court declared that when the state dissolves a town and replaces it with a new city the new municipality succeeds to the property of the old town and the former offices of the town do not exist for "winding up its affairs", the court declared these strips of land to be of the city of Watervliet. Also, the court ruled that the officeholders of the town of Watervliet can not be officeholders of the town anymore anyways since they no longer live within the town of Watervliet and therefore have no legal standing to sue in the name of the town. Since the court ruled that the town no longer existed the case was dismissed.
Watervliet Shaker Historic District
Watervliet Shaker Historic District, in Colonie, New York, is the site of the first Shaker community. It was established in 1776. The primary Shaker community, the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, was started a bit later...
.
The town of Watervliet ( "water-vleet") was a town that at its height encompassed most of present-day 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...
and the majority of the current town of Niskayuna in neighboring Schenectady County
Schenectady County, New York
Schenectady County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 154,727. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk Indian word meaning "on the other side of the...
, in the state of 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Just prior to its dissolution the town encompassed the current towns of Colonie and Green Island
Green Island, New York
Green Island is a coterminous town and village in Albany County, New York, USA some 8 miles north of Albany, New York. Green Island is one of only five such town-village amalgams in New York. The population was 2,620 at the 2010 census...
and the city of Watervliet
Watervliet, New York
Watervliet is a city in Albany County in the US state of New York. The population was 10,254 as of the 2010 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town of Colonie. The city is also known as "the Arsenal City".- History...
.
History
On March 7, 1788 the state of New York divided the entire state into towns eliminating districts as administrative units by passing New York Laws of 1788, Chapters 63 and 64. This transformed the Western District of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck into the town of Watervliet. In the census of 1790 the town had a population of 7,419, which made it twice as populous as 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...
. Over the next 20 years several towns would be broken off from this town, often called the "Mother of Towns
Timeline of town creation in New York's Capital District
The towns and cities of New York's Capital District were created by the US state of New York as municipalities in order to give residents more direct say over local government. The Capital District is an 11 county area, which consists of the counties of Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Saratoga,...
". Rensselaerville
Rensselaerville, New York
Rensselaerville is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,843 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer...
in 1790 would be the first town separated, Coeymans would separate in 1791, while Colonie
Arbor Hill, Albany
Arbor Hill is a neighborhood in Albany, New York, generally defined as the area from Clinton Avenue north to Tivoli Hollow and the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge and from Broadway west to Henry Johnson Boulevard. It was outside Albany's first boundaries as set up in the Dongan Charter of 1686...
would be incorporated as a municipality but would stay within Watervliet. 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...
would be created in 1793 from Watervliet. Colonie would become incorporated again, this time as a district in 1801. Guilderland
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....
would separate in 1803, and Colonie would become a village in 1804 and then a separate town in 1808. Niskayuna would separate in 1809, when Schenectady County was broken off from Albany County. In 1815 Colonie would be split between the city of Albany and the town of Watervliet. In 1836 West Troy would incorporate as a village, Cohoes
Cohoes, New York
Cohoes is an incorporated city located at the northeast corner of Albany County in the US state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile production to its growth. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 16,168...
in 1848, and then Green Island in 1853 also as a village. Cohoes would be set off from the town as a city in 1869. In 1870 the portion of the former town of Colonie that Watervliet received in 1815 was annexed by the city of Albany. In 1870-71 the city of Albany west of Magazine Street (the so-called "Liberty" of Albany) was given by the state to the town of Watervliet. The town however was unwilling to accept the territory and subsequently ceded the territory to the neighboring town of Guilderland. At this same time the city of Albany annexed from Watervliet the hamlet of North Albany.
In the 1890s the rural residents of the majority of the town of Watervliet became dissatisfied with being under the political control of the urban residents of the village of West Troy, and when talk began of the creation of a city of Watervliet, they petitioned the state to be set apart as a separate town. In 1895 the state legislature passed laws of 1895 chapter 975, which erected the town of Colonie out of the majority of the town of Watervliet, leaving behind only the villages of Green Island and West Troy within the town of Watervliet. The next year would see the final dissolution of the town. The laws of 1896 chapter 811, which went into effect on May 21 created the town of Green Island to cover the village of the same name, leaving only the village of West Troy in the town of Watervliet. Then on August 1, 1896 the village of West Troy along with some land from the town of Colonie was incorporated as the city of Watervliet, dissolving the town of Watervliet.
Watervliet v Colonie
After the town of Colonie was created but prior to the final dissolution of the town of Watervliet into the city of Watervliet and town of Green Island a lawsuitLawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
was begun by the town of Watervliet against the new town of Colonie to enforce the state law's division of debt payments between the two towns. Before Town of Watervliet v. Town of Colonie could go to trial the town of Watervliet was dissolved. Chapter 905 of the laws of 1896 creating the city of Watervliet stated that any land in the town of Watervliet not incorporated into the new city would form a "distinct and separate town" and after a boundary survey there were uninhabited strips of land comprising less than 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) combined, therefore the town of Watervliet argued that it still existed and could continue the lawsuit. The Supreme Court of Albany County, Appellate Division, 3rd Department on March 2, 1898 ruled that the town of Watervliet ceased to exist on August 1, 1896 with the formation of the city since the legislature could not have had the intention to have a town made of uninhabited shreds of discontinuous territory. Furthermore the court declared that when the state dissolves a town and replaces it with a new city the new municipality succeeds to the property of the old town and the former offices of the town do not exist for "winding up its affairs", the court declared these strips of land to be of the city of Watervliet. Also, the court ruled that the officeholders of the town of Watervliet can not be officeholders of the town anymore anyways since they no longer live within the town of Watervliet and therefore have no legal standing to sue in the name of the town. Since the court ruled that the town no longer existed the case was dismissed.
Notable locations founded in the town
- The Watervliet ArsenalWatervliet ArsenalThe Watervliet Arsenal is an arsenal of the United States Army located in Watervliet, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River. It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, and today produces much of the artillery for the army, as well as gun tubes for cannons, mortars,...
, founded in 1813, is the oldest Federal arsenal in the country; it is the sole manufacturing facility for large caliber cannon.
- The route of the original Erie CanalErie CanalThe Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
from the town's border with the city of Albany (today in the neighborhood of North Albany within the city) north to modern-day Cohoes and then northwest to the Lower Aqueduct, today the US Route 9 Crescent Bridge over the Mohawk RiverMohawk RiverThe Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
. The junction of the Erie with the Champlain CanalChamplain CanalThe Champlain Canal is a canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
was also in the town.
Notable residents
- Leland StanfordLeland StanfordAmasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
- governor of CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Ann LeeAnn LeeMother Ann Lee was the leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, or Shakers....
- leader of Niskayuna Shaker settlement - Dr. William Arthur, father of PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Chester A. ArthurChester A. ArthurChester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...