Waterford (village), New York
Encyclopedia
Waterford is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in Saratoga County
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, USA. The population was 2,204 at the 2000 census. The name derives from the ford between the mainland and Peebles Island
Peebles Island State Park
Peebles Island State Park is a park located in New York State at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. With 191 acres , the park includes hiking and cross-country ski trails, as well as earthworks dating from the Revolutionary War and a Visitors' Center detailing the island's industrial...

.

The Village of Waterford is located in the southeast part of the Town of Waterford
Waterford (town), New York
Waterford is a town in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 8,515 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. The town and village are in the southeast corner of Saratoga County, and north-northwest of Troy, New York.-...

, north-northwest of Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

. The Village is located just north of the falls where the eastbound Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...

 flows into the southbound Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

.

History

The site of the village was occupied as "Half Moon Point" in the 17th Century. It was then in the territory of Mahican
Mahican
The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...

 natives. This early village was at the ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...

 between Peebles Island and the mainland. The approximate location of this ford is in the area of the Second Avenue Bridge. Though the construction of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

 destroyed much of the ford for which the village is named, remnants of an unnamed and often submerged island can still be seen southwest of the entrance to the canal.

The village claims to be the oldest continuously incorporated village in the US. It was the first village incorporated by the state legislature in 1794, while part of the Town of Halfmoon
Halfmoon, New York
Halfmoon is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 18,474 at the 2000 census. The town is named for the crescent shape of the land between the Hudson River and Mohawk River....

, and was an established political entity before the formation of the Town of Waterford. Waterford Village is one of only twelve villages in New York still incorporated under a charter
Municipal charter
A city charter or town charter is a legal document establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the middle ages....

, the other villages having incorporated or re-incorporated under the provisions of Village Law.

Geography

The Village of Waterford is located at 42°47′28"N 73°40′47"W (42.791127, -73.679758).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²), of which, 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (22.22%) is water.

Waterford is on the west bank of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

 and north of Peebles Island State Park
Peebles Island State Park
Peebles Island State Park is a park located in New York State at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. With 191 acres , the park includes hiking and cross-country ski trails, as well as earthworks dating from the Revolutionary War and a Visitors' Center detailing the island's industrial...

. The village was at the northern extreme of navigation on the Hudson River, and later became the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

 and the southern terminus of the Champlain Canal
Champlain Canal
The Champlain Canal is a canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....

. Although the right-of-way of the Champlain Canal through Waterford has largely been abandoned, the New York State Canal System
New York State Canal System
The New York State Canal System is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York...

 (formerly called the New York State Barge Canal) continues to operate the modern successor to the Erie Canal. The historic Waterford Flight, comprising locks 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Erie Canal is located here, along with defunct former locks of the Champlain Canal. The Waterford Flight locks were constructed in the 1800s to allow boat traffic to bypass nearby Cohoes Falls
Cohoes Falls
Cohoes Falls is a waterfall on the Mohawk River shared by the city of Cohoes and the town of Waterford, New York, United States. Discovered by the indigenous Mohawk tribe, the falls were originally called Ga-ha-oose, which is believed to mean "The Place of the Falling Canoe." Cohoes historian...

, which had previously blocked all river traffic between the Mohawk and the Hudson Rivers.

While much of the surrounding town has a high elevation, the Village of Waterford is very low relative to the two major rivers forming its borders. Its position at the convergence of both the Erie and Champlain Canals as well as the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers, has contributed to many floods. While major floods have been rare through the last half of the 20th century to the present, the most recent flood of significance was in late June and early July 2006. The flood forced the closing of the Erie Canal, stranding several boats in the locks.

Entering from the north, conjoined US Route 4 and New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with few divided and no limited-access sections. From Harriman to Albany,...

 diverge in Waterford Village, with US-4 (as Broad Street) crossing the Hudson River eastbound into Rensselaer County
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...

 and NY-32 crossing the Mohawk River southbound into Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...

. County Roads 96 (6th Street) and 97 (Washington Avenue) lead into the village from the northwest.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 2,204 people, 951 households, and 543 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 7,731.2 people per square mile (2,934.4/km²). There were 1,062 housing units at an average density of 3,725.3 per square mile (1,413.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.05% White, 0.77% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.18% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.09% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population.

There were 951 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,135, and the median income for a family was $45,375. Males had a median income of $35,543 versus $25,912 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $18,141. About 11.4% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

See also

  • New York State Canal System
    New York State Canal System
    The New York State Canal System is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York...

  • Northside Historic District (Waterford, New York)
    Northside Historic District (Waterford, New York)
    Northside Historic District is a national historic district located at Waterford in Saratoga County, New York. The listing included 125 contributing buildings and one other contributing structure...

  • Troy–Waterford Bridge
  • Waterford Village Historic District (Waterford, New York)
    Waterford Village Historic District (Waterford, New York)
    Waterford Village Historic District is a historic district in Waterford, New York that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.The district dates to 1799 and includes Greek Revival, Late Victorian and Federal architecture....


External links

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