Stillwater is a

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

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 pop ...

, United States, with a population of 8,287 at the 2010 census. The town contains a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

called Stillwater. The town is at the eastern border of the county, southeast of Saratoga Springs and borders both Rensselaer and Washington counties. Saratoga National Historical Park is located within the town's limits. There is a hamlet in Minerva, Essex County, New York, with the same name which has nothing to do with this town.

History

The area was occupied by

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

and Mohican natives when the colonial period began. In 1709,

Peter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

built Fort Ingoldsby in town because of its location on the frontier of the

French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the ...

. A replica of Schuyler's fort currently serves as the Stillwater Blockhouse Museum. Settlers began arriving after 1730. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

residents participated in the war, and part of the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

was fought in the town so that the town now refers to itself as the turning point of the American Revolution. Stillwater was established as a town in 1791, when Saratoga County was formed. In 1816, the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

of Stillwater incorporated as a village. In 1859,

Mechanicville Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,196 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents. The city is lo ...

became the town's second village. The Stillwater Free Library was established in 1949 by Barbara Alexik and Elizabeth Beiter in the building formerly home to the St. John's Episcopal Church. The Stillwater United Church was 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 artist ...

in 2006.

Geography

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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the town has a total area of 43.6 square miles (112.8 km²), of which 41.4 square miles (107.1 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) (5.07%) is water. The eastern town line is the border of Rensselaer County and Washington County, marked by 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 ...

. U.S. Route 4, partly conjoined with

New York State Route 32 New York State Route 32 (NY 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, wit ...

follows the Hudson River through the town. New York State Route 423 is an east-west highway in the northern part of Stillwater. New York State Route 9P is a north-south highway in the northwestern part of the town by Saratoga Lake.

New York State Route 67 New York State Route 67 (NY 67) is an east–west state highway in eastern New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 5 in the town of St. Johnsville. Its eastern terminus is at ...

runs along the southern town line.

Demographics

At the 2000

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, there were 7,522 people, 2,786 households and 2,109 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 181.9 per square mile (70.2/km²). There were 3,054 housing units at an average density of 73.8 per square mile (28.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.21%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.41%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.11% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population. There were 2,786 households, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.10. 27.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $47,579 and the median family income was $53,023. Males had a median income of $37,428 and females $27,257. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $19,291. About 5.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Students attend school at Stillwater High School. The school is located in the village of Stillwater and serves grades K to 12 in two buildings.

Notable people

* Winchel Bacon,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

legislator *

Charles H. Baxter Charles Henry Baxter (November 15, 1841December 23, 1923) was an American businessman, banker, and progressive Republican politician. He served eight years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Grant County and neighboring municipalities, ...

, Wisconsin State Senator * Abigail Fillmore (1798–1853),

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

, wife of

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

Ebenezer O. Grosvenor Ebenezer Oliver Grosvenor, Jr. (January 26, 1820 – March 10, 1910) was an American politician from the U. S. state of Michigan. Early life Grosvenor was born in Stillwater, New York and received a common school and academic education. From ...

(1820–1910), lieutenant governor and state treasurer of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

* Lemuel Roberts,

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

soldier and historian lived in Stillwater as a boy in the 1760s.

Communities and locations in the Town of Stillwater

*Bemis Heights – A

by the Hudson River, north of Stillwater village on US-4. *Brown's Beach – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town, by the south end of Saratoga Lake on NY-9P. *East Saratoga Junction – A location in the southern section of the town. *Ketchums Corners – A historic location in the northwestern part of the town, near Saratoga Lake. * Saratoga National Historical Park - A historic park in the northeastern part of the town. *Snake Hill – A hamlet in the northern part of the town near Saratoga Lake on NY-9P. * Stillwater – A village located by the Hudson River and US-4. *Stillwater Junction – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town on County Road 75. *Wayville – A hamlet by the northern town line on County Road 70. *Willow Glen – A hamlet by the southern town boundary on NY-67.

References

External links

Town of Stillwater

Village of Stillwater

Stillwater Free Library

The Arvin Hart Fire Company

Saratoga National Historic Park
{{authority control Towns in Saratoga County, New York