Albany, New York, USA (Fort Orange)
1916

Albany, a city, capital of the state of New York (since 1797) and of Albany co., on the W. bank of the Hudson River, in lat, 42° W3" N., lon. 73° 45' W., 142 miles N. of Sew York, and at the junction of the New York Central and Hudson River, the Boston and Albany, the Delaware and Hudson and the West Shore Rs. This position, together with the fact that the river, which is crossed by 3 rail road and road bridges, connects here with the great lakes by the Erie Canal, and with Lake Champlain by the Champlain Canal, gives Albany great advantages as a receiving and distributing point, especially for grain and lumber, and makes it an important centre of the western trade. Several lines of steamers connect Albany with New fork and with points on the Hudson River. The city is well built, with some very fine streets and beautifully finished parks (Washington Park) and boulevards. Leading industries on a large scale, besides printing and book- making, are the manufacture of stoves and other metal goods, wagons, farming implements, clothing of every description, boots and shoes, beer and ale, pianos, cardboard, glased and colored papers, papermakers' felt, and some others. Prominent buildings are the state capitol, which was begun in 1871, and virtually completed in 1898, at a total cost of upward of $25,000,000 ; the state hall, state normal college, state armory, natural history museum, county prison, masonic temple, city buildings, the federal building, the new hospital (1899), and the All Saints' Cathedral. Among other institutions may be named the Dudley Observatory and the medical, pharmaceutical, and law schools, affiliated, since 1871, with Union College, Schenectady, under the title of Union University ; and Albany Institute. A public reading library of over 350,000 volumes is maintained by the state. Albany is the seat of a Roman Catholic and of a Protestant Episcopal bishop. Electric railways run to every part of the town and to Troy, West Troy, West Albany, Kenwood, Green- bush, and other suburbs. The place was formerly known as Fort Orange, Beverwyck, and Williamstadt. It was settled in 1540 by Frenchmen, who began building a castle, which was completed by Dutchmen in 1614 and called Fort Nassau. The city is the oldest existing European settlement in the thirteen original states. Walloons from Holland settled here in 1624 and erected Fort Orange. The place was surrendered to the English, Sept. 24, 1664, and named Albany, in honor of the Duke of York and Albany, afterwards James II. It was chartered a city in 1686. Pop. in 1800, 5289 ; in 1820, 12,630 ; in 1840, 33,721 ; in 1850, 50,703; in 1860, 62,367; in 1870, 69,422; in 1880, 90.758 ; in 1890, 94,923 ; in 1900, 94,151.

Lippincotts New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1 Angelo Heilprin Louis Heilprin - January 1, 1916 J.B. Lippincott - Publisher

Visit Albany, New York, USA (Fort Orange)
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.