Mechanicville, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 5,019 at the 2000 census.
The City of Mechanicville is located on the eastern border of Saratoga County. Mechanicville borders the Towns of Stillwater and Halfmoon in the county.
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[edit] History
The first European settlers on the Tenendeho Creek in the area of today's Mechanicville arrived in 1764.Actually the first listing for a settlement on Thenendehowa Creek is in 1721. At that time Cornelius Van Buren had a sawmill at the mouth of the creek as it emptied into the Hudson. About 35 years later, small flour mills were already established. When the Champlain Canal reached the settlement in 1823, and especially when the Saratoga and Renselaer Railway laid a track through the area in 1835, Mechanicville became an important commerce interchange.
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. The first conspicuous casualty of the American Civil War, Elmer E. Ellsworth, was buried in Mechanicville in 1861.
The village was incorporated in 1859; it had about 1000 inhabitants at that time. It grew rapidly as textile mills, factories and a linen thread company came to Mechanicville. In 1878, additional railways came to the village, and it became an important center of papermaking. By 1900, it was a major transfer yard and car repair center for the railways. In the 1920s, it had a population of nearly 10000.
The village became a city in 1915.
With the decline of the railroads, Mechanicville also suffered. The papermaking industry—Mechanicville had hosted once (in 1904) the largest paper mill in the world—ceased operations. The once thriving industry town is today a quiet residential town, with most inhabitants working in Albany, Schenectady, and elsewhere.
[edit] Mechanicville Tornado Outbreak
On May 31, 1998, a large tornado tore through Mechanicville and the adjacent town of Stillwater, New York. It spawned by a series of severe storms in the late afternoon, causing major damage to the town's old industrial section located on Route 4 and 32 along the Hudson River. One of the two historic smokestacks (visible from 2 miles away) was knocked down by the tornado. In 2005, the other smokestack and the conjoined building were bulldozed. The tornado was rated F3 on the Fujita scale.
[edit] Geography
Mechanicville is located at (42.903922, -73.690458)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²). 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (8.79%) is water.
Mechanicville is located next to the Hudson River.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,019 people, 2,219 households, and 1,275 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,334.8/km² (6,028.4/mi²). There were 2,386 housing units at an average density of 1,109.9/km² (2,865.8/mi²). 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.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Municipalities and Communities of Saratoga County, New York (County seat: Ballston Spa) |
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|---|---|
| Cities | Mechanicville | Saratoga Springs |
| Villages | Ballston Spa | Corinth | Galway | Round Lake | Schuylerville | South Glens Falls | Stillwater | Victory | Waterford |
| Towns | Ballston | Charlton | Clifton Park | Corinth | Day | Edinburg | Galway | Greenfield | Hadley | Halfmoon Malta | Moreau | Northumberland | Providence | Saratoga | Stillwater | Waterford | Wilton |
| Hamlets | Ballston Lake | Burnt Hills | Country Knolls | Crescent | Gansevoort | Rexford |
