Fort Edward is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village population was 3,375 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the younger brother of King George III, Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany. The village is part of the

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 ...

of Fort Edward, which contains the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Washington County just north of the village limits.Washington County, New York
Retrieved January 14, 2015.

History

Early history

Fort Edward has been strategically important during its long and illustrious history, for it commands 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 ...

and Champlain River valleys. The

at this point north is no longer a navigable waterway because of waterfalls and rapids. Historically, travelers through this area would leave the Hudson at Fort Edward and carry their canoes overland to Lake George."Village History", Village of Fort Edward
/ref> The Indians called the area around Fort Edward ''Wahcoloosencoochaleva,'' which means "The Great Carrying Place." Fort Edward's location was the most northerly point on the Hudson River for the early Dutch, and was near the boundary between the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

and

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. As early as 1709 during

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...

, a stockade (Fort Nicholson) was erected in the area due to its strategic importance. Fort Nicholson was garrisoned by 450 men, including seven companies of “regulars in scarlet uniform from old England.” A crude stockade was built to protect storehouses and log huts. It was later abandoned and then re-constructed in 1731 as Fort Lydius, the

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

of John Lydius, a fur trader from Albany. In 1755, the fortification was reconstructed as Fort Lyman during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. However, Sir William Johnson that same year renamed it Fort Edward. Also at this time, a large military complex was constructed on nearby Roger's Island. Today this site is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP). Another smaller fort was constructed on the opposite shore of the Hudson River. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the area was taken by British forces under

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

in 1777.

Post Colonial history

The completion of the Champlain Canal, in 1823, linked the areas to the north and south, and replaced a smaller canal that bypassed local rapids. The village of Fort Edward incorporated in 1849, setting itself off from the town of Fort Edward.

The Old Fort House Museum

The Old Fort House Museum Campus on Lower Broadway in the village is home to the Fort Edward Historical Association. It houses: * The Old Fort House, built in 1772 from timbers salvaged from the abandoned Fort Edward, * An 1840s Plank Road Tollhouse, * The 1853 law office of a Washington County Judge who practiced law in Fort Edward, * The one-room Riverside Schoolhouse, * The Cronkhite Pavilion, which features Native American, military, and historic displays regarding the Fort Edward area, and * The Fort Edward Water Works Barn, which houses exhibits on early transportation and farming.Fort Edward Historical Association
/ref>

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 village has a total area of 1.9 square miles (5.0 km²), of which 1.8 square miles (4.6 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.4 km²) (7.25%) is water. New York Route 197 joins U.S. Route 4 at Fort Edward, and the Champlain Canal joins the

south of the village. Fort Edward is on the opposite shore of the

from the town of Moreau in Saratoga County.

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 3,141 people, 1,247 households, and 835 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,399 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.69%

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 ...

, 0.35%

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.38% Asian, and 0.38% 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 0.29% of the population. There were 1,247 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% 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, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.99. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,347, and the median income for a family was $39,550. Males had a median income of $35,380 versus $22,361 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 village was $17,555. About 7.9% of families and 11.2% 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 14.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Village of Fort Edward official siteFort Edward Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Glens Falls metropolitan area Villages in Washington County, New York New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River