Troy, New York

Troy is a city in New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 49,170; in 1910, the population was 76,813.

History

The site of the city was a part of the Van Rensselaer grant of 1629. Dirck Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers. In 1707, he purchased a farm of 65 acres (26 hectares) which in 1787 was laid out as a village.

Related Topics:
Van Rensselaer - 1629 - 1707 - Acre - Hectare - 1787

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The name Troy (after the legendary city of Troy, made famous in Homer's Iliad) was adopted in 1789, and the region was formed into the "Town of Troy" in 1791 from part of the Rensselaerwyck Manor. Troy became a village in 1801 and was chartered as a city in 1816.

Related Topics:
Troy - Homer - Iliad - 1789 - 1801 - 1816

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It has been three times nearly destroyed by fire. In 1892, there were election riots there during which Robert Ross was murdered. One of his slayers, "Bat" Shea, was executed in 1896.

Related Topics:
1892 - 1896

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Through much of the 19th and into the early 20th century, Troy was not only one of the most prosperous cities in New York State, but also one of the most prosperous cities in the entire country, overshadowing nearby Albany, the state capital. It was one of the centers of the American iron industry, as well as of the "collar and cuff" industry, the latter exemplified by Cluett, Peabody & Company. Cluett's "Arrow shirts" are still worn by men across the country, although Cluett's itself is no more. People came from far and wide to shop at Frear's Department Store, which was one of the largest in the state.

Related Topics:
Albany - Cluett, Peabody & Company

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Some other notable historical events in Troy:

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• 1823: First known appearance of the world-famous holiday poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "Twas the Night Before Christmas") is made in the now-defunct newspaper The Troy Sentinel on December 23. The poem was published anonymously.
• 1827: Hannah Lord Montague invents the detachable collar in Troy.
• 1864: The nation's first female Labor Union, the Collar Laundry Union, founded in Troy by Kate Mullany.
• 1933: Sanford Cluett invents sanforization, a process which shrinks cotton fabrics thoroughly and permanently, in Troy.