The New Student's Reference Work/Albany
Albany (al′ ba-nĭ), the capital of the state of New York, is situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, 142 miles above New York City. It was settled by the Dutch in 1614, and was the first settlement, after Jamestown, within the thirteen colonies. In 1624 a Fort Orange was built, and the village which grew up around it was named Beaverwyck. This was changed in 1646 to Willemstedt. When captured by the British in 1664, the name was changed to Albany. The city was chartered in 1686. It is an important distributing point for trade from the west. It has a large trade in fruit, lumber, grain and wool, and extensive manufactures of iron, stoves; shoes and other products. It has many fine public buildings, of which the most notable is the state capitol, a magnificent structure, built of granite, at a cost of over $24,000,000. It is the seat of the State Normal College, Albany Institute, the medical and law schools of Union College at Schenectady and other educational institutions. Fine residences and public buildings, a beautiful park and excellent drainage combine to make it an attractive as well as a healthy city. Population 100,253.