Troy

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Mohican Indians had a number of settlements along the Hudson River near its confluence with the Mohawk River. The land comprising the Poesten Kill and Wynants Kill areas—"kill" being the Dutch word for "creek" or small stream—were owned by two Mohican groups. The land around the Poesten Kill was owned by Skiwias and was called Panhooseck. The area around the Wynants Kill, known as Paanpack, was owned by Peyhaunet. The land between the creeks, which makes up most of today's downtown and South Troy neighborhood along the Hudson River, was owned by Annape. South of the Wynants Kill and into present-day Town of North Greenbush, the land was owned by Pachquolapiet. These parcels of land were sold to the Dutch between 1630 and 1657, and each purchase was overseen and signed by Skiwias, the sachem—the political leader of the Indigenous people—at the time. In total, more than 75 individual Mohicans were involved in deed signings in the 17th century. The site of the city was a part of Rensselaerswyck, a patroonship created by Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Dirck Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers. In 1707, he purchased a farm of , which in 1787 was laid out as a village. The name Troy, after the legendary Greek city of Troy made famous in Homer's Iliad, was adopted in 1789, before which the tiny community had been known as Ashley's Ferry. The area was formed into the Town of Troy in 1791 from part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck. The township included today's towns of Brunswick and Grafton. Troy became a village in 1801 then was chartered as a city in 1816. In the post–Revolutionary War years, as Central New York was first settled, a strong trend to classical names existed, and Troy's naming fits the same pattern as the New York…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (5.44%) is covered by water. Troy is located several miles north of Albany near the junction 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. The city is on the central part of the western border of Rensselaer County. The Hudson River makes up the western border of the city and the county's border with Albany County. The city borders within Rensselaer County, Schaghticoke to the north, Brunswick to the east, and North Greenbush to the south; to the west, the city borders the Albany County town of Colonie, the villages of Menands and Green Island, and the cities of Watervliet and Cohoes. To the northwest, Troy borders the Saratoga County village of Waterford within the town of Waterford. The western edge of the city is flat along the river, and then steeply slopes to higher terrain to the east. The average elevation is 50 feet, with the highest elevation being 500 feet in the eastern part of the city. The city is longer than it is wide, with the southern part wider than the northern section of the city (the formerly separate city of Lansingburgh). Several kills (Dutch for creek) pass through Troy and empty into the Hudson. The Poesten Kill and Wynants Kill are the two largest, and both have several small lakes and waterfalls along their routes in the city. Several lakes and reservoirs are within the city, including Ida Lake, Burden Pond, Lansingburgh Reservoir, Bradley Lake, Smarts Pond, and Wright Lake. Troy has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). The average temperature throughout the year is , with the highest average temperature in July being , and January being the…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,772
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,365
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  28,800
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  27,178
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,335
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  24,104
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  23,331
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,872

Largest nearby schools

• COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL
  High · EAST GREENBUSH · 1,252 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• TROY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TROY · 1,153 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• AVERILL PARK HIGH SCHOOL
  High · AVERILL PARK · 897 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• TROY MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · TROY · 786 students · 9.8:1 ratio
• KIPP TROY PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL
  Other · TROY · 741 students · 46.3:1 ratio
• LANSINGBURGH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · TROY · 638 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• TAMARAC MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL
  Other · TROY · 602 students · 10.9:1 ratio
• ALGONQUIN MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · AVERILL PARK · 585 students · 11:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-03-11
  0 km SSW of South Glens Falls, New York
• M 2.79 — 2015-09-27
  New York
• M 2.76 — 2011-08-27
  5 km WSW of Altamont, New York
• M 2.69 — 2011-08-25
  5 km WSW of Altamont, New York
• M 3.15 — 2009-12-13
  15 km N of Medusa, New York
• M 2.56 — 2009-12-13
  14 km N of Medusa, New York