The Normans Kill is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed October 3, 2011 creek in
New York's
Capital District
A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...
located in
Schenectady
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
and
Albany counties. It flows southeasterly from its source in the town of
Duanesburg near
Delanson to its mouth at 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 N ...
in the town of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
. In the town of
Guilderland, the stream is dammed to create the Watervliet Reservoir, a drinking water source for the city of
Watervliet and the Town of Guilderland. A one megawatt hydrolectric plant at the dam provides power to pump water to the filtration plant.
The Normans Kill has a drainage area of over , and includes portions of
Schoharie County
Schoharie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county ...
along with the counties in which the Normans Kill itself flows through.
The Normans Kill has been used historically as a source of
water power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...
during colonial times, during which many
mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
* Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places Uni ...
sprung up along its banks. Prior to the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, blocks of ice were cut out of the creek for shipment to the city of
New York as a form of early refrigeration. Its name is derived from the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
word for a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
, who the Dutch called "North Men or Normans", hence North Man's Stream/Creek" the ethnicity of
Albert Andriessen Bradt (originally spelled "Bratt"), an early settler who owned sawmills near the first waterfall of the creek in the early 17th century, and the word ''
kill
Kill often refers to:
*Homicide, one human killing another
*cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death
Kill may also refer to:
Media
*'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto
* ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006
* ...
'', Dutch for creek. Earlier names of the stream include
Godyns Kil, Norman's Kill, Normans Kil, and the indigenous place name Ta-wa-sen-tha, Ta-wal-sou-tha, or Tawalsontha. Locals call and spell it Normanskill (one word) Creek
Geography
The Normans Kill is over long
[ with a basin that is over .][ The last is tidal.
]
History
Originally called "Tawasentha" (a place of the many dead), the Normans Kill is named for Albert Andriessen Bradt, a Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
immigrant to Rensselaerswyck
The Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Manor Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer Manor, or just simply Rensselaerswyck ( nl, Rensselaerswijck ), was the name of a colonial estate—specifically, a Dutch patroonship and later an English manor—owned by the va ...
. The creek is named for his Norwegian (Norman) heritage. He was one of the first Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
ns to the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
colony of New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...
. He was a tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
planter and as such came to the area of the Normans Kill for that purpose. He proceeded to construct two sawmills along the Normans Kill.
Tributaries
* Vly Creek - ''Vlaie
In the Hudson Valley of eastern United States, a vlaie, vly or fly is a swamp or marsh. It also applies to creeks and areas in the vicinities. The term appears in place names in areas of Dutch influence, formerly New Netherland.
Etymology
The ...
'' meaning "swamp" in Dutch.
* Krum Kill
* Hunger Kill
** East Branch Hunger Kill
** Blockhouse Creek
*** Kaikout Kill
* Bozen Kill
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
** Wolf Creek
* Bonny Brook
* Indian House Creek
''I-os-co'' is the historical Native American name for a tributary of Normans Kill in Guilderland, but its current name is not known.
See also
* List of rivers of New York
References
External links
*
The Norman of the Normanskill
{{Hudson River
Rivers of Albany County, New York
Rivers of Schenectady County, New York
Rivers of New York (state)
Tributaries of the Hudson River