Rotterdam, NY
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Rotterdam 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 Schenectady 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The population was 30,523 at the 2020 census. The town of Rotterdam is in the south-central part of the county. It was founded in 1661 by Dutch
settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s, who named it after the city of
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, where many immigrants last touched European grounds. The town borders the
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
of
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 ...
.


History

Situated near the eastern end of New York State's Heritage Corridor at what is known as the "Gateway to the West", the town of Rotterdam is closely linked with the early development of Schenectady. At that time the present town of Rotterdam served as the outlying farmlands and wood lots for the settlers. With few exceptions, these settlers made their homes in the stockade in Schenectady but went to their farmlands during the daytime. The lands now known as Rotterdam became Schenectady's third ward when that city was incorporated in 1798. Rotterdam retained that status when the county of Schenectady was chartered in 1809. During this period, a council of
aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...
and assistants from each of the four wards governed the city of Schenectady. In May 1819, the city council recommended that the third and fourth wards be separated out as towns, and on December 31, a petition to the state legislature was drafted. The legislation was passed on April 14, 1820, the final day of the legislative session, creating the town of Rotterdam. Founded as a 'first class town' in 1942, Rotterdam has since adopted the Old World
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
coat of arms along with the motto ''Sterker door Strijd'' (Stronger through Effort). By diligently applying this motto, Rotterdam faces the future with confidence. The Dellemont-Wemple Farm was added to 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 ...
in 1973, and the Enlarged Double Lock No. 23, Old Erie Canal in 2008. The
Mabee House The Mabee House, on the grounds of the Mabee Farm Historic Site, (part of the Schenectady County Historical Society), is the oldest house still standing in the Mohawk Valley. It is located in the town of Rotterdam, New York, in the hamlet of R ...
, at the Mabee Farm Historic Site, the oldest surviving house in the Mohawk Valley, was added to the National Register of Historic Places May 22, 1978. It is a property of the
Schenectady County Historical Society The Schenectady County Historical Society, located in Schenectady, New York, was established on July 14, 1905, under the Membership Corporation Laws of the State of New York. The Society is an independent not-for-profit corporation, not a unit of g ...
, being donated by a last descendant in his particular line, Mr. George Eugene Franchere, on January 29, 1993, the 287th anniversary of the original deed. It is currently being operated as a living history museum, conducts school programs, and events for the public. Rotterdam has historically been a good town for baseball. For many years they brought up teams that would do well in the little league tournaments and Babe Ruth tournaments. They would even have one team go on to win a national championship in the latter. In August 1977, the all star team Carman little league (one of the little league organizations within the town, now referred to as RC little league) would go on to qualify for the little league World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They would go on to finish 4th. 3 years later in 1980, the same boys from that Carman team, along with a few mixed in from Rotterdam little league (the other little league organization in the town at the time) would become Babe Ruth World Series champions. They clawed their way out of the losers bracket to defeat Hawaii in 2 games in one day for the title. The tournament took place in Williston, North Dakota. Years later in 2014, a team from the Rotterdam Babe Ruth League went on to go to the semifinals in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Baseball Tournament. Rotterdam is also the home of a large Net Zero housing complex.


Geography

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 ...
defines the northeast town line. The
New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...
passes through the town. 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 , of which is land and , or 2.11%, is water.


Government

The Rotterdam Town Board consists of five members, including the Supervisor who is a voting member. *Town Supervisor: Mollie Collins (C) *Councilmember: Charles "Jack" Dodson (R) lso serves as Deputy Supervisor*Councilmember: Joseph Mastroianni (C) *Councilmember: Ron Schlag (C) *Councilmember: Teri Gallucci (C)


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 28,316 people, 11,544 households, and 8,092 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 11,990 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.26%
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 ...
, 0.95%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.16% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01%
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 ...
, 0.21% from other races, and 0.83% 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 0.97% of the population. There were 11,544 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% 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, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.94. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $46,267, and the median income for a family was $54,542. Males had a median income of $37,536 versus $27,527 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 $21,457. About 2.8% of families and 4.5% 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 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.


Communities and locations in Rotterdam

*Antonia Hills – A small development off of Route 7; built by the Valentine Family. *Colonial Manor – A well-sized community between Cold Brook and South Schenectady, with housing developed in the 1950s by Charles Juracka. *Carman – A relatively small community anchored by Carman Park. *Cold Brook – A well-sized
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 ...
an community placed on the former Campbell Family estate. *Colonial Manor – A fairly large, middle-class suburban development covering an area of about .54 square miles. The development's school districts are mixed, with some streets attending Schalmont High School and others attending Mohonasen High School. *Eldorado Acres *Gallucci Gardens; A cul-de-sac with a handful of single-family detached homes, and 3-4 Tudor homes and a few colonial homes. *Lower Rotterdam Junction – A
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
south of Rotterdam Junction on Route 5S. * Pattersonville – A hamlet in the northern part of the town on the town line. *
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
– A large
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 ...
an community west of Schenectady. * Rotterdam Junction – A hamlet near the Mohawk River on Route 5S. *Schonowe *Serafini Gardens – A medium-sized development on the border of Guilderland and Rotterdam. Contains 50-75 homes. *South Schenectady *Skyline – Development sitting on a hill overlooking Rotterdam, with about 15-20 homes. *Sunrise Estates/Caroline Manor


See also

* Rotterdam (CDP), New York * Pattersonville-Rotterdam Junction, New York


References


External links


Town of Rotterdam official website

Mohonasen Central School District

Schalmont Central School

Schenectady County Historical Society
{{authority control Towns in Schenectady County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1661 establishments in the Dutch Empire Populated places on the Mohawk River