Albany County, New York
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Albany County ( ) is a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the
Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk ...
, at its confluence with the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 314,848. The county seat and largest city is Albany, which is also the state capital of New York. As originally established by the English government in the colonial era, Albany County had an indefinite amount of land, but has had an area of since March 3, 1888. The county is named for the Duke of York and of Albany, who became
James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
(James VII of Scotland). Albany County constitutes the central core of the
Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...
of New York State, which comprises the Albany-
Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
-
Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
, NY
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
.


History


Colonial

After
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
took control of the
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
of
New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...
from the Dutch, Albany County was created on November 1, 1683, by
New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, (pronounced "Dungan") 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715), was a member of the Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and Governor of the Province of New York. He is noted for ...
, and confirmed on October 1, 1691. The act creating the county vaguely defined its territory "to containe the Towns of Albany, the Collony Rensselaerwyck, Schonecteda, and all the villages, neighborhoods, and Christian Plantaçons on the east side of Hudson River from Roelef's Creek, and on the west side from Sawyer's Creek ( Saugerties) to the Sarraghtoga." The confirmation declared in 1691 was similar but omitted the Town of Albany, substituted "Mannor of Ranselaerswyck" for "Collony Rensselaerwyck", and stated "to the uttermost end of Sarraghtoga" instead of just "to Sarraghtoga". Livingston Manor was annexed to Albany County from Dutchess County in 1717. Albany's boundaries were defined more closely as state statutes would add land to the county, or more commonly subtract land for the formation of new counties. In 1772 with the creation of Tryon and
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
counties, Albany gained definitive boundaries and included what are now Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady counties; large parts of Greene and Washington counties; and the disputed southwest corner of Vermont. The city of Albany was the first municipality within this large county, founded as the village (dorp in Dutch) of Beverwyck by the Director-General of New Amsterdam, Pieter Stuyvesant, who also established the first court in Albany. Albany was established as a city in 1686 by Governor Dongan through the Dongan Charter after the English took over the colony.
Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
to the west was given a patent with some municipal rights in 1684 and became a borough in 1765. The Manor of Rensselaerswyck was created as a district within the county in 1772, and later divided into two districts, one on each side of the Hudson River in 1779. The west district included all of what is now Albany County other than lands were in the city of Albany at the time. Though the Manor of Rensselaerswyck was the only district (along with the city of Albany) in what is today Albany County, it was not the only district in what was Albany County at the time. Pittstown in 1761, and Duanesburgh in 1764, were created as townships. But when districts were created in 1772, those townships were incorporated into new districts, Pittstown in Schaghticoke and Duanesburgh into the United Districts of Duanesburgh and Schoharie. Schenectady was also made from a borough to a district in 1772. Other districts established in 1772 were Hoosick, Coxsackie,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, Saratoga,
Halfmoon The halfmoon (''Medialuna californiensis''), also known as the blue perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the subfamily Scorpidinae, part of the family Kyphosidae. It is native to the coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean ...
, Kinderhook,
Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...
, Claverack, Great Imboght, and the Manor of Livingston. In a census of 1697, there were 1,452 individuals living in Albany County; two years later it would be counted as 2,016 at the beginning of
King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Alli ...
. By the end of the war in 1698, the population had dropped to 1,482, but rebounded quickly and was at 2,273 by 1703. By 1723, it had increased to 6,501 and in 1731 to 8,573, which was slightly less than the population of the city of New York in the same year. In 1737, the inhabitants of Albany County would outnumber those of New York County by 17 people. In 1774, Albany County, with 42,706 people, was the largest county in colonial New York. According to the first Federal Census in 1790, Albany County reached 75,921 inhabitants and was still the state's largest county.


Formation of towns

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.


Timeline of boundary changes

Albany County was one of the original twelve counties created by the
Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...
on November 1, 1683. At the time, it included all of New York state north of Dutchess and Ulster counties, all of what is now Bennington County in
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
, and theoretically west to the Pacific Ocean.Thorne, Kathryn Ford, Compiler & Long, John H., Editor: ''New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries''; The Newbury Library; 1993. On May 27, 1717, Albany County was adjusted to gain an indefinite amount of land from Dutchess County and other non-county lands. On October 7, 1763,
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
, as part of his Proclamation of 1763, created the new
province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
, implicitly setting the northern limit of New York at the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude from the Atlantic-St. Lawrence watershed westward to the St. Lawrence River, implicitly setting the northern limit of Albany County, but it was never mapped. On July 20, 1764, King George III established the boundary between
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
and New York along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and south of the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude. Albany County implicitly gained present-day
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
. Although disputes occasionally broke out later, this line became the boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont, and has remained unchanged to the present. When New York refused to recognize land titles through the New Hampshire Grants (towns created earlier by New Hampshire in present Vermont), dissatisfied colonists organized in opposition, which led to the creation of independent Vermont in 1777. On July 3, 1766,
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...
was partitioned from Albany County to cover all territory to the northern and eastern limits of the colony, including Windsor County, most of Windham County, and parts of Bennington and Rutland counties in present-day
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
. On June 26, 1767, Albany County regained all of Cumberland County. On March 19, 1768, Albany County was re-partitioned, and Cumberland County restored. On March 16, 1770, Albany County was again partitioned. Gloucester County was created to include all of Orange,
Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...
and
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
counties, most of Washington County, and parts of Orleans, Lamoille, Addison and Chittenden counties in present-day Vermont. On March 12, 1772, Albany County was partitioned again, this time into the counties of Albany, Tryon (now Montgomery), and
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
(now
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
). This established a definite area for Albany County of . On March 24, 1772, Albany County was partitioned again, with an additional handed over to Cumberland County. On March 9, 1774, Albany County was partitioned again, this time passing to Ulster County. On April 1, 1775, Albany was again partitioned, this time giving up to Charlotte County, who then exchanged this land with a like parcel in Cumberland County. On January 15, 1777, Albany County was again partitioned, this time on account of the independence of
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
from New York, reducing Albany County by an additional . On June 26, 1781, Bennington County, Vermont, attempted to annex a portion of Albany County that today includes portions of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and Rensselaer counties to form what they called "The West Union". The fledgling United States – under the Articles of Confederation – arbitrated this annexation, and condemned it, resulting in Vermont ceasing the annexation on 1782-02-23. On April 4, 1786, Columbia County was created from of Albany County land. On March 7, 1788, New York, refusing to recognize the independence of
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
, and the attendant elimination of Cumberland County, attempted to adjust the line that separated Cumberland from Albany County in present-day Vermont, but to no effect. On February 7, 1791, Albany County was partitioned again, this time to form Rensselaer and Saratoga counties. Rensselaer received , while Saratoga received . Also the town of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
was transferred to Washington County. A total of changed hands. On June 1, 1795, Albany County was once again partitioned, this time losing to
Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county ...
. On April 5, 1798, another partition took place, with passing to Ulster County. On March 25, 1800, once again Albany County was partitioned, with being used to create Greene County. On April 3, 1801, all New York counties were redefined, with Albany County gaining . On March 7, 1809,
Schenectady County Schenectady County () is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk language word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands," a ter ...
was created from of Albany County land, reducing Albany County to its current size. On March 3, 1888, Albany County ceded Havre Island to Saratoga County.


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water. Albany County is in the east central part of New York, extending southward and westward from the point where the
Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk ...
joins the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
. Its eastern boundary is the Hudson; a portion of its northern boundary is the Mohawk. The terrain of the county ranges from flat near the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers to high and hilly to the southwest, of the
Helderberg Escarpment The Helderberg Escarpment, also known as the Helderberg Mountains, is an escarpment in eastern New York, United States, roughly west of the city of Albany. The escarpment is the northeastern extremity of the Allegheny Plateau. It rises steep ...
and the Helderberg Mountains. The highest point is one of several summits near Henry Hill at approximately 2,160 feet (658 m) above sea level; The lowest point is above sea level at the Hudson River's southernmost extent in the county.


Climate

The Capital District has a humid continental
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
, with cold, snowy winters, and hot, wet summers. Albany receives around of rain per year, with 135 days of at least of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. Snowfall is significant, totaling about annually, but with less accumulation than the lake-effect areas to the north and west, being far enough from
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
. Albany County is however, close enough to the coast to receive heavy snow from
Nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...
s, and the region gets the bulk of its yearly snowfall from these types of storms. The county also occasionally receives
Alberta clipper An Alberta clipper, also known as an Alberta low, Alberta cyclone, Alberta lee cyclone, Canadian clipper, or simply clipper, is a fast-moving low-pressure system that originates in or near the Canadian province of Alberta just east of the Rocky ...
s. Winters are often very cold with fluctuating conditions, temperatures often drop to below 0 °F (−18 °C) at night. Summers in the Albany can contain stretches of excessive heat and humidity, with temperatures above  and dew points near 70. Severe thunderstorms are common but tornadoes are rare. Albany receives on average per year 69 sunny days, 111 partly cloudy days, and 185 cloudy days; and an average, over the course of a year, of less than four hours of sunshine per day, with just over an average of 2.5 hours per day over the course of the winter. The chance during daylight hours of sunshine is 53%, with the highest percentage of sunny daylight hours being in July with 64%, and the lowest month is November with 37%.


Adjacent counties

Albany County is bordered by six counties. Listed
clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
, they are: *
Schenectady County Schenectady County () is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk language word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands," a ter ...
– northwest * Saratoga County – north * Rensselaer County – east * Columbia County – southeast * Greene County – south *
Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county ...
– west


Cityscape


Architecture

Albany County has a myriad of different architectural styles spanning centuries of development. Within the city of Albany alone there is Dutch Colonial (the
Quackenbush House Quackenbush House is a historic building in Albany, New York. It is a house with a double-pitched gable roof that was built in about 1736. an''Accompanying five photos, exterior and interior, from c. 1886, c. 1920, 1969, and undated''/ref> It was ...
), French Renaissance (the New York State Capitol), Federal style (the original Albany Academy in Academy Park), Romanesque Revival (
Albany City Hall Albany City Hall is the seat of government of the city of Albany, New York, United States. It houses the office of the mayor, the Common Council chamber, the city and traffic courts, as well as other city services. The present building was desi ...
), Art deco (the Alfred E. Smith Building), and Modern (Empire State Plaza). The cities of Albany, Cohoes, and Watervliet and the village of Green Island are more urban in architecture; while the towns of Colonie, Guilderland, New Scotland, and Bethlehem more suburban and the remaining Hilltowns (Berne, Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville) very rural.


Parks

Albany County is home to the Emma Treadwell Thacher Nature Center, which opened in July 2001 and is near the shore of Thompson's Lake between the two state parks that are in Albany County- Thompson's Lake State Park and
John Boyd Thacher State Park John Boyd Thacher State Park is a state park located 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Albany, New York, near Voorheesville, in Albany County, New York, Albany County on State New York State Route 157, Route 157. Located mostly atop the Helderber ...
. There are also state-owned nature preserves with interactive educational programs such as the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and the Albany Pine Bush. The cities, towns, and villages of Albany County have many municipal parks, playgrounds, and protected green areas. Washington Park in the city of Albany and The Crossing in the town of Colonie are two of the largest. There are many small hiking and biking trails and longer distance bike-hike trails such the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail which goes from the city of Albany north to Cohoes and then west along the Mohawk River to Schenectady County.


Festivals

One of the largest events in Albany County is the Tulip Fest held in the city of Albany every spring at Washington Park. The tradition stems from when
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Erastus Corning 2nd Erastus Corning 2nd (October 7, 1909 – May 28, 1983) was an American politician. A Democrat, Corning served as the 72nd mayor of Albany, New York from 1942 to 1983, when Albany County was controlled by one of the last classic urban political ...
had a city ordinance passed declaring the tulip as Albany's official flower on July 1, 1948. The
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
tradition of Pinksterfest, whose origins are traced back even further to Dutch festivities, was later incorporated into the Tulip Fest. The Albany LatinFest has been held since 1996 and drew 10,000 to Washington Park in 2008. PolishFest is a three-day celebration of Polish culture in the Capital District, held in the town of Colonie for the past eight years.


Amusement

Albany County has two shopping malls classified as super-regional malls (malls with over 800,000 sq ft),International Council of Shopping Centers
Shopping Center Definitions for the U.S. Information accurate as of 2004. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
Crossgates Mall in
Guilderland Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Guilderland is on the central-northwest border ...
and Colonie Center in Colonie with over one million square feet of rentable space in each. Huck Finn's Playland is a children's amusement park open during the summer, which started operations in the Summer of 2015—after purchasing the rides from the former Hoffman's Playland in Newtonville, which was in operation from 1951 to the Fall of 2014. During the winter there are over of official trails for snowshoeing at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, in the city of Albany and towns of Colonie and Guilderland.


Culture and contemporary life

Albany is often derided as "Smallbany" (also spelled Smalbany) for its perceived lack of culture and as a backwater in tourism circles, even though it consistently ranks high on lists of top cities/metro areas for culture, such as being 23rd in the book ''Cities Ranked & Rated''. To locals the Smallbany title references the perceived notion residents are interconnected and know each other in some way. Albany is home to some of the oldest museums, historical sites, and places of worship in the state of New York and the United States; some of the finest collections of historical artifacts and art can be found in Albany County.


Museums

Albany County has many historical sites and museums covering a wide range of topics and time periods. The
Albany Institute of History and Art The Albany Institute of History & Art (AIHA) is a museum in Albany, New York, United States, "dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting interest in the history, art, and culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley region". ...
founded in 1791 is one of the oldest museums in the United States, and the New York State Museum is the oldest and largest state museum in the country. Many of the museums are historical sites themselves, such as Cherry Hill, the
Ten Broeck Mansion The Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany, New York was built in 1797. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. A decade later it was included as a contributing property to the Arbor Hill Historic District–Ten Broeck Triangle ...
, and the Schuyler Mansion in the city of Albany and the Pruyn House in Colonie. The
Quackenbush House Quackenbush House is a historic building in Albany, New York. It is a house with a double-pitched gable roof that was built in about 1736. an''Accompanying five photos, exterior and interior, from c. 1886, c. 1920, 1969, and undated''/ref> It was ...
is the second oldest house in the city of Albany and is part of the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, which includes a planetarium. The Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center in the city of Albany includes hands-on activities to learn about the unique Pine Bush Barrens of the city of Albany and towns of Guilderland and Colonie. Covering the history of pharmacy is the Throop Drug Store Museum at the
Albany College of Pharmacy Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (formerly Albany College of Pharmacy) is a private, independent college with campuses in Albany, New York and Colchester, Vermont. ACPHS was named the #1 Value-Added college or university in the cou ...
. The USS Slater, DE-766 is a World War II Destroyer Escort, the last floating Destroyer Escort, owned by the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum is moored from Spring to Fall at the foot of Quay Street in the Hudson River. The ship is open for tours each week and contains an excellent and well-maintained collection of World War II US Naval artifacts. There are several art museums in Albany County; including the Albany Center Gallery, in downtown Albany, which exhibits works by local artists within a radius of that city; the University Art Museum, at the
University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is on ...
; and the Opalka Gallery, at the
Sage College of Albany Sage College of Albany, SCA for short, was located at 140 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, New York, 12208. Along with Russell Sage College and the Sage Graduate School, it was one of the three colleges that made up The Sage Colleges. It was also ho ...
. The Empire State Plaza in Albany has one of the most important state collections of modern art in the U.S.


Performing arts

Albany County itself owns the largest venue for performing arts in the county, the
Times Union Center The MVP Arena (originally Knickerbocker Arena, and then the Pepsi Arena and Times Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacit ...
, which was originally built as the Knickerbocker Arena; it opened on January 30, 1990, with a performance by Frank Sinatra. In 1996, The Grateful Dead released a concert album from their March 1990 performances titled '' Dozin' at the Knick''.


Sports

Many athletes and coaches in major sports have begun their careers in Albany County.
Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 a ...
, former NBA head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers won his first championship ring as a coach when he guided the
Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...
to the 1984 CBA championship. Three years later, the Patroons completed a 50–6 regular season, including winning all 28 of their home games; at that time, Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl was the Patroons' head coach. Future NBA stars
Mario Elie is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his crea ...
and
Vincent Askew Vincent Jerome Askew (born February 28, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played for nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight different teams. A 6'6" guard-forward, Askew played college basket ...
were part of that season's squad. Mike Tyson received his early training in the Capital District and his first professional fight was in Albany in 1985 and Tyson's first televised fight was in Troy in 1986. He fought professionally four times in Albany and twice each in Troy and Glens Falls between 1985 and 1986. Since 1988, the Siena College men's basketball team (the
Siena Saints The Siena Saints (formerly the Siena Indians) are composed of 21 teams representing Siena College in collegiate sports. The Saints compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athl ...
) have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments (
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
,
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, 2002,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, 2009, and 2010).


Religious life

Albany County was originally settled primarily by Protestants from northern Europe: the Netherlands, British Isles, and Germany. In the 19th century it was a destination for many Catholic immigrants, first from Ireland – fleeing the Great Famine, and later from southern Germany, central and southern Europe. Late 19th and early 20th century immigrants included Jews from eastern Europe. In addition to other Jewish congregations, the county has one of the few Karaite Jewish communities outside Israel. This community is active and has its own synagogue. The Albany Metro Area has consistently been found to be among the highest ranking postchristian cities in the US.


Demographics

As of the 2020 US Census, there were 314,848 people in 126,540 households residing in the county. The population density was 563 people per square mile (217/km2). There were 134,072 housing units at an average density of 248 per square mile (96/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 78.2%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 12.7%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 0.0%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 1.6% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. 4.9% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race. 19.2% were of Irish, 16.0% Italian, 11.0% German, 6.1% English and 5.1% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.4% spoke English, 2.7% Spanish and 1.0% Italian as their first language. There were 124,682 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 22.6% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,935, and the median income for a family was $56,724. Males had a median income of $39,838 versus $30,127 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the county was $23,345. About 7.2% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.


2020 Census


Economy


Tech Valley

Since the 2000s, the economy of Albany County and the surrounding Capital District has been redirected toward high technology. Tech Valley is a marketing name for the eastern part of New York State, encompassing Albany County, the Capital District, and the
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. Originated in 1998 to promote the greater Albany area as a high-tech competitor to regions such as
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...
and
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, it has since grown to represent the counties in the Capital District and extending to IBM's Westchester County plants in the south and the Canada–US border to the north. The area's high technology ecosystem is supported by technologically focused academic institutions including
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
and the
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Polytechnic Institute or SUNY Poly) is a public university with campuses in Marcy and Albany, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1966 u ...
. Tech Valley encompasses 19 counties straddling both sides of the Adirondack Northway and the New York Thruway, and with heavy state taxpayer subsidy, has experienced significant growth in the computer hardware side of the high-technology industry, with great strides in the nanotechnology sector,
digital electronics Digital electronics is a field of electronics involving the study of digital signals and the engineering of devices that use or produce them. This is in contrast to analog electronics and analog signals. Digital electronic circuits are usu ...
design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing.


Government and politics

For most of its history, Albany County has predominantly backed Democratic Party presidential candidates. In only three elections since 1924 has a Republican Party candidate carried the county in a presidential election, the most recent being
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
in 1972. The Democratic Party dominance has become more pronounced in recent years, with George H. W. Bush in 1988 the most recent Republican candidate to win even forty percent of the county's vote. Albany County was governed by a board of supervisors until 1968. The board consisted of the
town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the State of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, townships called "towns", and villages. (The only borou ...
s of each town in the county, as well as county supervisors elected from the wards of each city in the county. In the later years of its existence, the board used a system of
weighted voting Weighted voting can exist in a policy or law making body in which each representative has a variable voting power (weighted vote) as determined by the number principals who have made that person their proxy, or the population or the electorate t ...
to comply with recently enacted federal and state
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
requirements. On January 1, 1976, Albany County government was changed by a new charter establishing a county executive elected
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
, in addition to the 39-seat county legislature. Each of the 39 legislators are elected from
single-member districts A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner v ...
. As of 2022, the county council has 30 Democrats, 9 Republicans. The County Executive is Daniel P. McCoy (D). Other officials elected countywide include District Attorney David Soares, Clerk Bruce A. Hidley, and Comptroller Michael F. Conners. Other elected officials with districts in the county include: * State Assembly ** Christopher Tague, Republican, 102nd District ** John McDonald, Democratic, 108th District ** Pat Fahy, Democratic, 109th District **
Phillip Steck Phillip G. Steck (born July 8, 1959) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly representing Assembly District 110, which comprises the eastern tip of Schenectady and northeastern tip of Albany County. Early life and career Steck i ...
, Democratic, 110th District ** Angelo Santabarbara, Democratic, 111th District * State Senate **
Neil Breslin Neil Breslin (born June 9, 1942) is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the New York State Senate. A Democrat, he represents parts of Albany and Rensselaer counties, including all of the cities of Albany and Rensselae ...
, Democratic, 44th District ** Michelle Hinchey, Democratic, 46th District * United States House of Representatives ** Paul Tonko, Democratic, 20th District


Law enforcement

The Albany County Sheriff's Department is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States, having been established in the 1660s. Sheriff Craig Apple was first elected in 2011. The sheriff is also responsible for the county jail, which was built in 1931, and renamed from the Albany County Correctional Facility to the Albany County Corrections and Rehabilitative Services Center in 2019. This jail has a contract with
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to accept prisoners from their facilities. The New York Times has reported that juveniles sent to Albany were beaten and placed in isolation, which is forbidden in New York City. The department investigated a criminal complaint against Governor Andrew Cuomo during the Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations, and filed a misdemeanor criminal complaint on its own authority to bring charges.


Education


Tertiary

*
Albany College of Pharmacy Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (formerly Albany College of Pharmacy) is a private, independent college with campuses in Albany, New York and Colchester, Vermont. ACPHS was named the #1 Value-Added college or university in the cou ...
* Albany Law School *
Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, whi ...
* Bryant & Stratton College * Excelsior College * The College of Saint Rose *
Sage College of Albany Sage College of Albany, SCA for short, was located at 140 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, New York, 12208. Along with Russell Sage College and the Sage Graduate School, it was one of the three colleges that made up The Sage Colleges. It was also ho ...
* Sage Graduate School * Siena College * State University of New York at Albany


K-12 education

Public school districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Albany City School District * Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District *
Bethlehem Central School District The Bethlehem Central School District is a public school district in New York State, serving approximately 4,100 students just south of Albany in the towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland in Albany County with a staff of 800+ and a budget of $1 ...
* Cairo-Durham Central School District * Cohoes City School District * Duanesburg Central School District * Green Island Union Free School District * Greenville Central School District *
Guilderland Central School District Guilderland Central School District (GCSD) is a school district encompassing most of the Town of Guilderland and parts of Bethlehem, New Scotland, and Knox. The district serves approximately 4,828 K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing p ...
*
Menands Union Free School District Menands is a Village (New York), village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the Town (New York), town of Colonie, New York, Col ...
* Middleburgh Central School District * Niskayuna Central School District * North Colonie Central School District * Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District * Rotterdam-Mohonasen Central School District * Schalmont Central School District * Schoharie Central School District *
South Colonie Central School District South Colonie Central School District is a public school district located mostly in the Town of Colonie, New York. It has enrollment of 4,847 students in grades PreK–12 in 8 schools and a student to teacher ratio of 13:1. Its graduation ...
*
Voorheesville Central School District Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is name ...
* Watervliet City School District


Transportation

Albany County has long been at the forefront of transportation technology from the days of turnpikes and plank roads to the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...
, from the first passenger railroad in the state to the oldest municipal
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
in the United States. Today,
Interstates The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
,
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
, and the Albany International Airport continue to make the Albany County a major crossroads of the Northeastern United States. The Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Every metropolitan area in the United States with a population of over 50,000 must have a MPO in order to get any federal transportation funding. The
US Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...
(USDOT) uses an MPO to make decisions on what projects are most important to a metro area for immediate versus long term funding. The USDOT will not approve federal funds for transportation projects unless they are on an MPO's list.


Interstate and other major highways

Albany County is situated at a major crossroads of the Northeastern United States, first formed by the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. Even before the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
and the U.S. Highway system, Albany County was the hub of many turnpikes and plank roads that connected the region, as well as the Erie Canal reaching the Great Lakes. Today, Interstate 87 and Interstate 90 meet in Albany County. The Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway is a
toll-road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
that from Exit 24 in the city of Albany is I-87 and travels south to connect the county with
downstate New York Downstate New York is a region that generally consists of the southeastern and more densely populated portion of the U.S. state of New York, in contrast to Upstate New York, which comprises a larger geographic area with much sparser population dis ...
. West from Exit 24, the Thruway is I-90 and connects the county with
Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. North of Exit 24, I-87 is the Adirondack Northway and connects the city and county of Albany with their suburbs in Saratoga County and provides long-distance travel to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. East of Exit 24, I-90 travels along the northern boundary of the city of Albany and exits the county on the
Patroon Island Bridge The Patroon Island Bridge is a multi-span deck truss bridge that spans the Hudson River in Albany, New York. A major crossing, it carries Interstate 90 in the east-west direction between Albany and Rensselaer Counties. It has been in service ...
into Rensselaer County to access Albany's eastern suburbs. Interstate 787 connects the Thruway (I-87) to
Downtown Albany The Downtown Albany Historic District is a 19-block, area of Albany, New York, United States, centered on the junction of State (New York State Route 5) and North and South Pearl streets (New York State Route 32). It is the oldest settled area o ...
, Menands, Watervliet, and Cohoes.
U.S. Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...
enters the county on the Dunn Memorial Bridge and travels through the city of Albany north, connecting it with the suburbs in the Colonie and Saratoga County. U.S. Route 20 also enters the county on the Dunn Memorial Bridge and travels west through Albany (city) and the Town of
Guilderland Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Guilderland is on the central-northwest border ...
.
New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syra ...
and New York State Route 7 are two important highways that bisect the county and are developed as important shopping strips.


Mass transit

Albany County is served by the Capital District Transportation Authority, a four-county bus service that also serves Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga counties.
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...
, Trailways, and Peter Pan/Bonanza buses all serve a downtown terminal. A
Chinatown bus Chinatown bus lines are discount intercity bus services, often operated by Chinese Americans. They have been established primarily in the Chinatown communities of the East Coast of the United States since 1998, and similar services operate on ...
service leaves from Central Avenue and provides service to Chinatown in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.


Airports

Albany International Airport is the only commercial airport in the county. Destinations for flights out of Albany include
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
;
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
; Chicago;
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...
; and
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
, among many others.


Rail

Since 1968 when Union Station in the city of Albany was abandoned for a new station across the Hudson in the city of Rensselaer, Albany County has been without a train station. Amtrak has several routes serving the Albany-Rensselaer Station. The Adirondack (north to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
and south to the city of New York), Empire Service (west to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, south to New York),
Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north-south route with a 7 hour 35 minu ...
(northeast to
Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont *Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...
and south to New York), Maple Leaf (west to Toronto and south to New York), and the Lake Shore Limited (at Albany-Rensselaer separate routes from Boston and New York merge to one train west to Chicago, on way east one train splits to two, one east to Boston and another south to New York).


Communities

Albany County is composed of three cities and 10 towns.


Cities

* Albany (county seat) * Cohoes * Watervliet


Towns

* Berne *
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...
* Coeymans * Colonie * Green Island *
Guilderland Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Guilderland is on the central-northwest border ...
* Knox * New Scotland * Rensselaerville * Westerlo


Villages

* Altamont * Colonie * Green Island * Menands * Ravena * Voorheesville


Census-designated places

* Latham * Loudonville * Preston-Potter Hollow * Roessleville * Siena College * Westmere


Hamlets

* Alcove * Boght Corners * Clarksville * Coeymans * Crescent Station * Delmar * Dunsbach Ferry * Elsmere * Feura Bush * Fort Hunter * Fullers * Glenmont *
Guilderland Guilderland is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Guilderland is on the central-northwest border ...
* Guilderland Center * Karner *
Lisha Kill Lisha Kill is a hamlet in the town of Colonie, Albany County, New York, United States. Lisha Kill lies on New York Route 5 (Central Avenue) in the western section of the town. The hamlet received its name from the creek of the same name, Lis ...
* Mannsville * McKownville * Medusa * New Salem * Newtonville * Normansville * Selkirk * Slingerlands * South Bethlehem * Verdoy * Wemple * West Albany


See also

* Albany Health and Human Services Corporation * Albany County Sheriff's Department *
List of counties in New York There are 62 counties in the state of New York. The first 12 were created immediately after the British took over the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam; two of these counties were later abolished, their land going to Massachusetts. The newes ...
* List of people associated with Albany County, New York * National Register of Historic Places listings in Albany County, New York


Notes


Sources


Further reading

* * * *


External links


Albany County official website




{{coord, 42, 36, N, 73, 58, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-NY, display=title 1683 establishments in the Province of New York Populated places established in 1683