Waterford is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in Saratoga County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. The population was 8,423 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. The town is located in the southeast corner of Saratoga County and north-northwest of

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 ...

at the junction of 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 ...

and 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 ...

History

The village of Waterford is the oldest incorporated village in the United States, having been incorporated in 1794 before the town was formed. Waterford has been host to "Canal Fest" and "Tugboat Roundup" celebrations for many years. The town of Waterford was formed from the town of

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 ...

in 1816. The Northside Historic District, Ormsby-Laughlin Textile Companies Mill,

Peebles (Peobles) Island Peebles Island State Park is a state park located at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers in New York. A majority of the park is located in Saratoga County, with a smaller portion located in Albany County. Description Peebles Island ...

, and Waterford Village Historic District are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

The Village of Waterford is located at , in the southeastern corner of the Town. According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the town has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), of which 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²) is land and 0.9 square mile (2.2 km²) (11.59%) is water. The eastern town line, defined by the

, is the border with

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

, and the southern town line, defined 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 ...

, is the border with Albany County. The easternmost section and locks of the

pass through the town and connect with the

. The

Waterford Flight The Waterford Flight is a set of locks on the Erie Canal in upstate New York. Erie Canal Locks E-2 through E-6 make up the combined flight at Waterford which lifts vessels from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River, bypassing Cohoes Falls. Built in ...

series of locks is one of the steepest in the world.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 8,423 residents of the Town of Waterford. The racial makeup of the town was 94.8% White, 1.3% African-American, 0.1% Native American, and 1.5% Asian; in addition, 1.8% of residents were Hispanic or Latino.http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table

References

External links

Town of Waterford

Waterford Historical Museum

''Our county and its people: A descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York''. Boston: The Boston History Company, 1899, reproduced on Rays Place website
Waterford Public Library
{{authority control Towns in Saratoga County, New York Populated places on the Mohawk River

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links