Stillwater 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 ...

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, ...

, United States, with a population of 9,022 at the 2020 census. The town contains 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 ...

called Stillwater. The town is at the eastern border of the county, southeast of

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

and borders both Rensselaer and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

counties.

Saratoga National Historical Park Saratoga National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in the Town of Stillwater in eastern New York, 30 miles north of Albany. The park preserves the site of the Battles of Saratoga. In 2015, the United Stat ...

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 ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and Mahican natives when the colonial period began. In 1709, Peter Schuyler 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 U ...

. 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 (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 ...

residents participated in the war, and part of the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...

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 Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Stillwater incorporated as a village. In 1859, Mechanicville 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 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 2006.

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 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 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 ...

and Washington County, 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 ...

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed north–south to reflect ...

, 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 New York State Route 423 (NY 423) is an east–west state highway located within the Stillwater (town), New York, town of Stillwater in Saratoga County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with New ...

is an east-west highway in the northern part of Stillwater.

New York State Route 9P New York State Route 9P (NY 9P) is a state highway in central Saratoga County, New York, in the United States. It is an alternate route off U.S. Route 9 between Malta and Saratoga Springs that connects US 9 to the eastern sh ...

is a north-south highway in the northwestern part of the town by

Saratoga Lake Saratoga Lake is in the eastern part of Saratoga County, New York. The lake is approximately long, about wide at its widest point, and about deep. The lake is bordered by the city of Saratoga Springs on the northwest, the town of Malta on t ...

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 ...

runs along the southern town line.

Demographics

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 7,522 people, 2,786 households and 2,109 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,054 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.21%

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 ...

, 0.41%

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 ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.47% 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 ...

, 0.11% from other races, and 0.69% 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 0.62% 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 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, 10.0% 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 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 und ...

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 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 ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

legislator * Charles H. Baxter, Wisconsin State Senator *

Abigail Fillmore Abigail Fillmore (; March 13, 1798 – March 30, 1853) was the first lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853 as the wife of President Millard Fillmore. She began work as a schoolteacher at the age of 16, where she took on Millard Fillmore, w ...

(1798–1853),

First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by 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 been Code of law, codified or offici ...

, wife of

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

* Ebenezer O. Grosvenor (1820–1910), lieutenant governor and state treasurer of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Lemuel Roberts Lemuel Roberts was a soldier and historian of the 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 the armed conflict that ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

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. *

- 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 Public Library

The Arvin Hart Fire Company

{{authority control Towns in Saratoga County, New York Towns in New York (state)