Waterford 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 Saratoga 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 population was 8,208 at the 2020 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. The town is located in the southeast corner of Saratoga County and north-northwest of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

at the junction of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

and 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 ...

History

The village of Waterford is the oldest incorporated village in the United States, having been incorporated in 1794 before the town was formed. Waterford has been host to "Canal Fest" and "Tugboat Roundup" celebrations for many years. The town of Waterford was formed from the town of Halfmoon in 1816.

Industrial revolution

During the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, Waterford became a desirable location for manufacturing due to its position at the confluence of the

and

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 ...

, as well as the Champlain Canal and

and three railroad lines. Fortunes were made here by industrialists such as the brothers Hugh and Canvas White, the Knickerbocker, Kavanaugh, Button, Breslin, and King families. The Eddy family was a major influence on the area; Isaac Newton Eddy established the Franklin Ink Works, manufacturer of printing inks, in 1831. His son George Washington Eddy established the Hudson and Mohawk Foundry, which produced stoves, iron castings, and steam car wheels. Another son Oliver Tarbell Eddy was a painter and inventor of an early typewriter. The Northside Historic District, Ormsby-Laughlin Textile Companies Mill, Peebles (Peobles) Island, and Waterford Village Historic District are 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 ...

Geography

The Village of Waterford is located at , in the southeastern corner of 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 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), of which 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²) is land and 0.9 square mile (2.2 km²) (11.59%) is water. The eastern town line, defined by the

, is the border with Rensselaer County, and the southern town line, defined by the

, is the border with Albany County. The easternmost section and locks of the

pass through the town and connect with the

. The Waterford Flight series of locks is one of the steepest in the world.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 8,423 residents of the Town of Waterford. The racial makeup of the town was 94.8% White, 1.3% African-American, 0.1% Native American, and 1.5% Asian; in addition, 1.8% of residents were Hispanic or Latino.

Communities and locations in the town of Waterford

* Cohoes Falls – A waterfall on the

, and a source of

water power Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, 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 kin ...

to early industry *Peebles Island – An island at the south part of the town *Momentive Performance Materials Inc. (formerly General Electric Silicone Products) – Manufacturer of

silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...

products and

specialty chemicals Specialty chemicals (also called specialties or effect chemicals) are particular chemical products that provide a wide variety of effects on which many other industry sectors rely. Some of the categories of speciality chemicals are adhesives, agr ...

, may be largest employer in the town * Northside – Actually the ''south'' side of the town of Waterford. The name may be derived from its location on the north side of the Mohawk River. Northside may also derive its name from at one time being served by the "northside" part of the Cohoes Post Office (e.g. 123 Any Street, Northside, Cohoes, NY). After around 1960, all of Waterford was served by the Waterford Post Office. * Peebles Island State Park – A

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in the south part of the town *Prospect Hill – 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 ...

north of Waterford village, on County Road 96 * State Canal Park – A state park in the western part of Waterford *Sugarloaf Pond – A pond in the south part of the town * Waterford Village – The village of Waterford, located within the Town, and right at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers *St. Mary's of the Assumption Catholic Church *St. Mary's of the Assumption Catholic School

References

External links

Town of Waterford

Waterford Historical Museum

''Our county and its people: A descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York''. Boston: The Boston History Company, 1899, reproduced on Rays Place website
Waterford Public Library
{{authority control Towns in Saratoga County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places on the Mohawk River