Mechanicville, New York

The first listing of a settlement on Thenendehowa Creek is in 1721. At that time, Cornelius Van Buren had a sawmill at the mouth of the creek where it emptied into the Hudson River.

Perspective map and of Mechanicville and list of landmarks from late 19th century by L.R. Burleigh

The first documented occurrence of the name "Mechanicville" dates back to 1829. The name comes from the early settlers, who were independent mastercraftsmen such as millers, carpenters, or butchers, whose professions were commonly known as the "mechanical arts" at the time.

About 35 years later, small flour mills were already established. When the Champlain Canal reached the settlement in 1823, and especially when the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad laid a track through the area in 1835, Mechanicville became an important commerce interchange.

The community became an incorporated village in 1859, when it had about 1000 inhabitants. It grew rapidly as textile mills, factories, and a linen thread company came to Mechanicville.

The first conspicuous casualty of the American Civil War, Elmer E. Ellsworth, was buried in Mechanicville in 1861.

In 1878, additional railways came to the village, and it became an important center of papermaking.

In 1898, Robert Newton King built a hydroelectric power plant on the Hudson River. The Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant is now the oldest continuously-operating hydroelectric plant in the United States and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[7]

By 1900, Mechanicville was a major transfer yard and car repair center for the railways. In the 1920s, Mechanicville had a population of nearly 10,000.

In both the 1900 and 1910 censuses, Mechanicville was enumerated with the town of Half Moon, just to the south of Stillwater.

Mechanicville became a city in 1915. By 1932, it became the terminal of the first experimental high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) scheme in the U.S.: the HVDC Mechanicville–Schenectady line.[8]

With the decline of the railroads, Mechanicville suffered. The largest paper mill in the world, which Mechanicville had hosted since 1904, ceased operations in 1971, and the once thriving industrial city is today a quiet residential city, with most inhabitants working in Albany, Schenectady, and other nearby communities.

A typical residential street in Mechanicville

On November 1, 2001, Mechanicville was featured on the Daily Show with then-rising comedian Steve Carell. The Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant and Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth Monument and Grave are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

Mechanicville is located at 42°54′14″N 73°41′26″W (42.903922, -73.690458).[15]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²), of which, 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (8.79%) is water. The city of Mechanicville is on the west bank of the Hudson River at the influx of the Anthony Kill. US Route 4, and conjoined New York State Route 32 are north-south highways through Mechanicville. New York State Route 67 intersects NY-32 and US-4 in the city. County Roads 75 and 1345 also lead into the city.

St. Paul the Apostle Church (Parish of All Saints on the Hudson)

While Mechanicville has historically had many religious institutions, there are currently two active churches in the city, the Catholic parish of All Saints on the Hudson, and the Mechanicville United Methodist Church.

• Aida Brewer - first female treasurer of the state of New York[16]
• Chad Brown - Thoroughbred horse racing trainer
• Elmer E. Ellsworth - friend and law clerk to Lincoln, colonel in the Union Army, leader of the Fire Zouaves, and first conspicuous Casualty of the American Civil War.
• Most Reverend John Gavin Nolan - Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of the United States.
• Orie Amodeo - musician in the Lawrence Welk orchestra
• Ray Heindorf - American songwriter, composer, conductor, and arranger
• Fred Isabella (1917-2007) - dentist and politician
• Bob Eberly and Ray Eberle (brothers) – big band singers
• John R. Fellows – American lawyer, politician, and Confederate soldier.
• Joe Cocozzo – American professional football player and Super Bowl XXIX participant.
• George Herbert Whitney - New York State Assemblyman and Senator.
• Harrison B. Tordoff - ornithologist, conservationist, author, and fighter pilot.
• Erika Holzer (1935 - 2019) - novelist, essayist and lawyer whose works focused on freedom, individual rights, and moral principles. Her novel “Eye for An Eye” (1993) was made into a film by Paramount Pictures and released in 1996.
• Gordon A. Sheehan, born Gordon Augustine Holland - Animator for Fleischer Studios.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 5,019 people, 2,219 households, and 1,275 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,028.4 people per square mile (2,334.8/km²). There were 2,386 housing units at an average density of 2,865.8 per square mile (1,109.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.95% White, 0.36% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.44% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 2,219 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,509, and the median income for a family was $42,143. Males had a median income of $32,825 versus $25,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,236. About 6.5% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

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  Bird's eye view.
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  Bird's eye view, 1898.
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  United States Post Office, South Main Street
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  Veteran's Memorial in Tallmadge Park
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  Veteran's Memorial in Tallmadge Park
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  Fountain in Tallmadge Park
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  Entrance Arch, Tallmadge Park
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  Hudson View Cemetery
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  Hudson View Cemetery
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  Hudson View Cemetery
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  Canon in Tallmadge Park
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  View from Hudson View Cemetery
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  Tallmadge Park
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  Hudson View Cemetery
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  Mechanicville High School, Athletic Field

• Mechanicville High School

• Mechanicville City Court