Colonie is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Albany County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. It is the most-populous

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Albany, and is the third-largest town in area in Albany County, occupying approximately 11% of the county. Several

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

exist within the town. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 85,590. The name is derived from the Dutch ''Colonye'' or "Colonie", derived from the Colonie of

Rensselaerswyck Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch colonial patroonship and later an English manor owned by the van Rensselaer family located in the present-day Capital District of New York in the United States. The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West In ...

. All the land outside the Village of Beverwyck (now Albany) was referred to as the "Colonie". The town of Colonie is north of Albany and is at the northern border of the county. Within the town of Colonie are two villages, one also known as Colonie and the other known as Menands.

History

This area was once part of the Rensselaerwyck manor. The town of Colonie was formed in 1895 after the rural residents of the town of Watervliet opposed the state's proposal to transform the entire town into the city of Watervliet. The town and village of Green Island was also split off as a town from the town of Watervliet a year later and the village of West Troy that remained became the current city of Watervliet. All debts from the original town were divided proportionally between Green Island, Watervliet, and Colonie. Several lawsuits worked their way through the court system from the results of division. The original town of Watervliet was the " mother of towns" in Albany County, having once been all the land outside of the city of Albany within the county. All current towns either were formed directly or indirectly from a town formed from Watervliet. The central part of the town was once the location of the extensive Shaker community farms. The

Watervliet Shaker Historic District Watervliet Shaker Historic District, in Colonie, New York, is the site of the first Shaker community, established in 1776. The primary Shaker community, the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, was started a bit later. Watervliet's historic 1848 S ...

is located in Colonie. Much of that land is now occupied by the

Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an airport of entry in the town of Colonie. It was built on the ...

. Through to the 1930s, Colonie was a simple series of extensive farms and a few hamlets. However, in the post-war years, there was intensive suburban development, originally on the corridor that connected Albany and

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, but quickly following throughout the entire township. By 1980, suburban development had saturated the community. At the same time, there were large highways (I-87, I-787, US Rt. 9 and NY Rt. 7) constructed which drastically changed the nature of the town and life there. The Colonie of the 1990s and beyond has become an entirely-different community from the town of the 1930s and 1940s. The Casparus F. Pruyn House at Newtonville is open to the public as the historical and cultural arts center for the Town of Colonie.

Historic sites

A number of sites in Colonie are included on the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, including - *

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Menands, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical ...

* Bacon-Stickney House * Senator William T. Byrne House * Frederick Cramer House * Martin Dunsbach House * Royal K. Fuller House *

Goodrich School Goodrich School is a historic school building located in Colonie, New York, Colonie in Albany County, New York. It consists of a one-story, gable roofed rectangular brick building built about 1922 with a one-story, rectangular hipped roof wing d ...

* Isaac M. Haswell House *

Hedge Lawn Hedge Lawn is a historic home located at Colonie in Albany County, New York. It was built in 1870 and is an unusual -story mansion designed in a composite style with Greek Revival and Second Empire style elements. It features a Mansard roof ...

* Henry-Remsen House * Ebenezer Hills Jr. Farmhouse * Friend Humphrey House * John Wolf Kemp House * John V. A. Lansing Farmhouse and Billsen Cemetery and Archeological Site * George H. Lawton House * Louis Menand House * Menands Manor * Reformed Dutch Church of Rensselaer in Watervliet * Alfred H. Renshaw House * Simmons Stone House * Jedediah Strong House * Treemont Manor * George Trimble House * Van Denbergh-Simmons House *

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 57.9 square miles (149.9 km²), of which 56.1 square miles (145.2 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (3.11%) is water. The northern town line borders Schenectady County, and Saratoga County, marked by the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

. The eastern town boundary is the border of

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

, marked by the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. The town lies near the junction of the Hudson and the Mohawk rivers. Interstate 87,

Interstate 787 Interstate 787 (I-787) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is, per New York traffic data, at New York State ...

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, and U.S. Route 9 pass through the town. State routes 2, 5, 7, 32, and

155 Year 155 ( CLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 908 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 155 for this year ...

are also important arterials within the town.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 79,258 people, 30,980 households, and 20,539 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 32,280 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 90.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.96%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.15% Native American, 3.59% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.61% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population. There were 30,980 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. Of all households, 28.1% were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.00. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $51,817, and the median income for a family was $62,649. Males had a median income of $41,453 versus $30,763 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $25,231. About 3.0% of families and 4.7% 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 4.5% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

The current

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

is Peter G. Crummey, a Republican who was sworn in as the 18th Supervisor of the Town of Colonie on January 1, 2022. Crummey received 55 percent of the vote while his opponent, Democrat Kelly Mateja, received 45 percent, a difference of 2,407 votes. Crummey ran unopposed in the 2023 election, being reelected with 14,295 votes. Crummey's election marked a change in political power at the Supervisor's position from Democrat to Republican. The outgoing

Paula Mahan, a Democrat, chose not to seek an eighth two-year term. Mahan was elected to her first term in November 2007, defeating long-time Republican incumbent Mary Brizzell. In November 2009, Mahan was re-elected to a second term, defeating former Republican Albany County Executive/former New York State Senator Michael J. Hoblock. In November 2011, Mahan was re-elected to a third term, defeating former New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner and the former Director of the town's Planning and Economic Development Committee, Denise Sheehan, by less than 400 votes. She was re-elected in 2013 to a fourth term by defeating political newcomer Todd A. Drake. The town board has six members, with four-year terms; three members are elected every odd-numbered year. The Town Supervisor also serves as a member of the town board. According to the April 1, 2018, NYS Board of Elections Party Affiliation and Status of active and inactive registered voters in the Town of Colonie, there are approximately 21,000 registered Democrats and 16,000 registered Republicans out of a total of 56,500 registered voters in the 61 election districts within the town. The seat of Colonie's government is Colonie Memorial Town Hall, located on U.S. Route 9 in Newtonville, near

Siena College Siena College is a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...

. The town courts, police department, and emergency medical services department are located at the Public Safety Building on Wolf Road near

Public safety

Law enforcement in the town is primarily provided by the Town of Colonie Police Department; within the village of Menands, which occupies the southeastern corner of the town, there is the Village of Menands Police Department as well. However, that law enforcement is supplemented by the New York State Police Troop G (the headquarters of which lies within the town of Colonie) and the Albany County Sheriff's Office, which patrols the Albany International Airport and operates the Albany County Correctional Facilities (which also lie within the town of Colonie). In November 2007, the town of Colonie was ranked the sixth safest place to live in a Morgan Quitno Publishing study of crime rates across the United States. By November 2009 CQ Press (formerly known as Morgan Quitno Publishing) ranked the town of Colonie with the lowest crime rate of all communities in the United States with a population of at least 75,000 residents. The town held the top spot again in 2010 and has since continuously ranked at the top 10 or better for having the lowest crime rate of all communities in the United States with a population of at least 75,000 residents. Emergency Medical Service (advanced, basic, and transport) in the town is primarily provided by the Town of Colonie Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department. The EMS Department operates out of six ambulance stations scattered throughout the town of Colonie to facilitate the most rapid response. The EMS Department also serves as an integral part of any heavy or light technical rescue operations in the town. In 1999, the town of Colonie Emergency Medical Services Department was awarded the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians' National Paramedic Service of the Year Award. The award is given to one service of high distinction that has demonstrated excellence, innovation and community service. On May 4, 2010, the town of Colonie was awarded the 2010 International Association of Fire Chiefs' "Heartsafe Community" award for making significant advances in emergency cardiac care. On August 28, 2010, the New York State EMS Council awarded the town of Colonie Emergency Medical Services Department the New York State "EMS Agency of the Year" award. Firefighting service in the town is primarily provided by one of twelve (mostly volunteer) firefighting agencies and one paid fire brigade. (''See also

Administrative divisions of New York The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local government, local services in the American New York (state), state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs of New York City, boroughs, co ...

.'') *Five Fire Districts (Boght Community, Midway, Schuyler Heights, Verdoy, and West Albany). *One Joint Fire District (Stanford Heights iskayuna & Colonie. *Four Fire Protection Districts (Fuller Road, Latham, Maplewood, and Shaker Road-Loudonville). *Two Village Fire Departments (Colonie and Menands). These agencies encompass seventeen fire stations, two small rescue boats (Boght & Verdoy), seven ladder trucks (Fuller Road, Latham, Menands, Midway, Schuyler Heights, Shaker Road-Loudonville, Stanford Heights, and Verdoy), one Hazardous Materials Specialty Rescue (West Albany), one Trench/Structural Collapse Specialty Rescue (Village of Colonie), one Confined Space Specialty Rescue (Latham), eight General/Light Rescue apparatus, 23 full-size pumpers, a small number of attack pumpers, and a small number of EMS First-Response vehicles. *One Paid Fire Brigade The Albany International Airport Fire Brigade consists of a full-time paid crash/fire/rescue staff, three crash/rescue vehicles, a mini pumper, hazmat truck, foam re-supply truck, and a full-size pumper. However, the airport's fire units stay on Airport Authority property most of the time, and are housed in yet another fire station that is on the Airport Authority's property. Occasionally, the Airport Fire Brigade responds to mutual aid requests with the bordering Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department, as well as other fire agencies within the town of Colonie and Albany County. *Also located in the town of Colonie is a New York sponsored Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team, New York Task Force 2 (NY-TF2). NY-TF2 (then known as the New York Regional Response Team-1 ) was the first USAR team on site immediately following the attacks on, and collapse of, the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, since many members of NY-TF1 (based in New York City) were members of the FDNY that perished in the collapse. Those same members provided much of the initial training to NY-TF2.

Education

There are six public school districts that serve the town of Colonie: the South Colonie Central School District, North Colonie Central Schools, Watervliet City School District, Menands Union Free School District, Niskayuna Central School District, and Mohonasen Central School District. South Colonie ( Colonie Central High School) serves much of the western part of the town, including West Albany, the village of Colonie, and a small part of the adjoining town of Niskayuna. North Colonie ( Shaker High School) serves Latham and the smaller, suburban and rural hamlets to the north of Latham, as well as most of Loudonville and Newtonville. The Watervliet City School District (Watervliet High School) serves some students from Menands and the Schuyler Heights area. Mohonasen's ( Mohonasen High School) schools serve the sliver of Colonie which lies south of the Amtrak tracks and east of its border with the Town of Rotterdam. Niskayuna Central School District's boundaries enter Colonie for the short segment of Vly Rd. east of Denison Rd., and the few streets along this stretch. The Menands Union Free School District is a single building school district serving the village of Menands and educates students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Upon completion of eighth grade, Menands Union Free School District students choose whether to attend Shaker High School, Colonie Central High School, Watervliet, Heatly Junior-Senior High School in Green Island, or

Tech Valley High School Tech Valley High School is a four-year regional public high school. It is located on the campus of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, New York, United States. The school opened in September ...

in Albany. In 2008, the Maplewood-Colonie Common School District merged with, and into the North Colonie School District. The town of Colonie is also home to the Christian Brothers Academy, as well as several private and/or religious elementary schools.

is located in the hamlet of Loudonville.

Bryant & Stratton College Bryant & Stratton College (informally Bryant & Stratton or simply BSC) is a private college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online education division. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree ...

, a

proprietary college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities generally operated by their owners, investors, or shareholders in a manner prioritizing shareholder primacy as opposed to education provided by non-profit institution (such as non-sec ...

, is in the town of Colonie. Colonie was formerly home to a campus of ITT Technical Institute,

Recreation

The Town of Colonie operates and maintains over 850 acres of property and facilities, including the 130-acre Crossings Park, the 160-acre Mohawk River Park and Pool, the 12-acre Mohawk Riverside Landing Park, the 36-hole Town of Colonie Golf Course, the 43-acre

Schuyler Flatts Schuyler Flatts is an important prehistoric and historic settlement site overlooking the Hudson River in Colonie, New York. The site includes evidence of prehistoric Native American, early Dutch colonial settlement, and 18th and 19th-century Ame ...

Cultural Park, a 5.5 mile section of the Mohawk Hudson Bike/Hike Trail, and other sports facilities and pocket parks.

Media

There are two dedicated weekly newspapers for parts of the town, the ''Colonie Spotlight'' and ''Loudonville Spotlight''. Also, Channel 9 on Spectrum News in the town is a

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

station devoted to town news, programming, and events. The studios are located inside the William K. Sanford town library on Albany Shaker Road. Although not entirely dedicated to the town of Colonie, the headquarters and distribution center for the Capital Region's major daily newspaper, the '' Times Union'' (owned by the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

), lies within the town.

Communities and locations

(ALB)—An airport servicing Albany and the

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 politic ...

. * Boght Corners—A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town. * Colonie—An incorporated village in the southern part of the town. * Crescent Station—A hamlet at the northernmost point of the town. * Karner—A hamlet southwest of the village of Colonie. * Dunsbach Ferry—A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town at the Mohawk River. * Latham—A hamlet near the center of the town. * Lisha Kill—A hamlet in the northwestern section of town, on Central Ave ( NY Route 5). * Loudonville—A suburban hamlet near the Albany city line. * Mannsville—Part of the Schuyler Heights Fire District and Watervliet City School District. *Maplewood—A hamlet adjacent to Cohoes, Watervliet and Green Island. *Maywood—A hamlet northwest of the Village of Colonie on Central Ave/ NY Route 5. * Menands—An incorporated village in the eastern part of the town. * Newtonville—A hamlet between Latham and Loudonville. *Schuyler Heights—A hamlet north of Menands; south and west of Watervliet; east of Loudonville; lying on the west bank of the

. Part of the Schuyler Heights Fire DistrictSchuyler Heights Fire District info
, schuylerheightsvfd.com; accessed December 7, 2014. and Watervliet City School District and North Colonie School District. * Roessleville—A suburban community near the city line of Albany. *

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

—A settlement southwest of Albany International Airport. *Stanford Heights—A hamlet on the western edge of town, along the Schenectady County line. * Verdoy—A hamlet north of Albany International Airport. * West Albany—A hamlet on the southern edge of the town, along the Albany city line.

Notable people

* Robert Prentiss, Massachusetts and New York (state) politician, lived in Colonie. *

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...

, born in Colonie in 1824, at which time it was known as Watervliet

References

External links

Town of Colonie, New York, webpage

Village of Colonie, New York, webpage
{{authority control Towns in Albany County, New York Towns in New York (state)