Van Schaick Island

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Van Schaick Island
112th Street Bridge from Ontario Street in Cohoes, New York.jpg
A view of the 112th Bridge in the Albany County city of Cohoes, New York. The structure, renovated in the late 1990s, connects Van Schaick Island to the Lansingburgh neighborhood of Troy, New York.
Geography
Location Mohawk River delta with Hudson River
Coordinates 42°46′2″N73°41′30″W / 42.76722°N 73.69167°W / 42.76722; -73.69167
Highest elevation66 ft (20.1 m)
Administration
City Cohoes, New York
Demographics
Population1,400 (1992)

Van Schaick Island is an island in the city of Cohoes, New York. Van Schaick is a part of the delta of the Mohawk River at its mouth with the Hudson River. The island has been referred to by numerous names including Quehemesicos, Long, Anthony's, Isle of Cohoes, and Cohoes Island. [1] The island was home to US Revolutionary War fortifications in the 18th century, and to an important shipyard in the 20th century. The shipyard and the extreme northern end of the island is part of the Peebles Island State Park, and the only vehicular entrance to the state park is on the island. [2]

Contents

History

The Van Schaick Mansion, built between 1735 and 1755, was the home of Anthony Van Schaick. Van Schaick House - 03.jpg
The Van Schaick Mansion, built between 1735 and 1755, was the home of Anthony Van Schaick.

Henry Hudson was the first European explorer to have seen Van Schaick Island. Through his exploration the island and the entire watershed of the Hudson River became the domain of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Shortly after the English conquered New Netherland, Van Schaick Island was purchased in 1665 by Goosen Gerritse Van Schaick and Philip Piertse Schuyler under the authority of New York Governor Richard Nicolls from the Mohicans Itamonet, Ahemhameth, and Kishocama. Van Schaick was but one island in the larger Halve Maan patent which included the other islands of the Mohawk delta and a strip of land along the northern shore of the Mohawk River (present-day Waterford). The island was referred to by the Native Americans as Quehemesicos in the Mohican language while the Dutch called it Long Island. [1]

In 1674 Schuyler conveyed by deed his share of the patent to Van Schaick, who died soon afterwards in 1676, at which point the patent devolved to his wife and then his son Anthony in 1687, for whom the island was referred to as Anthony's Island. [1] [3] Goosen Gerritse Van Schaick appears to have never visited his patent though Anthony did move there. [1] It was Anthony van Schaick who built the Van Schaick Mansion sometime between 1735–55, though a previous smaller wooden structure may have been residence to the family before the mansion. In Anthony's will he left a stipulation for a cemetery to be built just north of the mansion. The last Van Schaick at the mansion was in the early 20th century, Mrs. William L. Adams whose first husband was Gerald Van Schaick. [4]

Van Schaick Island was an important piece of the Continental Trail, the route from New York City through Albany north to Montreal, with the river road traversing the many islands at the mouth of the Mohawk River: Green Island, Van Schaick, Peebles, and then going on to Halfmoon Point (today the village of Waterford). [5] Starting on August 8, 1777 the Continental Army with over 5,000 soldiers was camped on Van Schaick and Peebles islands, first under General Philip Schuyler and then General Horatio Gates. [4] [6] Governor George Clinton made the mansion the temporary state capitol from August 22–27. In September the army moved north to Bemis Heights and Stillwater where the Battle of Saratoga would be fought. [4]

In 1916 John E. Matton moved his ship building business south from Waterford to Van Schaick Island. The Matton Shipyard would continue to build canal boats, barges, tugboats, and police boats until closing in 1983. [7] [8] From December 1941 to July 1943 during World War II the shipyard produced five SC-497 class submarine chasers, SC-985 through SC-989 for the US Navy, and from February–June 1944 four tugs for the US Army. In 1945 four of the sub chasers went to service with the US Coast Guard while SC-986 went to the USSR. [9] At the time of closing it was one of the longest operating tug and barge shipbuilders in the United States. [8] The shipyard is currently owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) as part of the Peebles Island State Park, which is turning the shipyard into an educational center, museum, and home for historic vessels. [8] The motor ship Day Peckinpaugh is berthed here and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [7] [10]

Demographics

In 1992 Van Schaick Island had roughly 1,400 residents, mostly Italian, French, and Polish. [11]

Geography

Van Schaick Island is a part of the city of Cohoes, and is located in the Mohawk River delta, where that river branches into several different channels and flows into the Hudson River. These branches are often referred to locally as sprouts. The second and third sprouts flow on the north, west, and south; the Hudson River is along the eastern shore. [12] These sprouts separate the island from other islands in the delta, to the north is Peebles Island, Green Island is to the south, and to the west of the island is Simmons Island (also a part of Cohoes) and the mainland portion of the city of Cohoes. To the east the Hudson River separates the island from the Lansingburgh neighborhood of the city of Troy.

Education

Van Schaick Island is a part of the Cohoes City School District and the children attend Van Schaick Elementary School, which is on the island, for kindergarten through fifth grade; Cohoes Middle for sixth through eighth, and Cohoes High School for ninth through twelfth. [11]

Transportation

Van Schaick Island is crossed east/west by Ontario Street (NYS Route 470), the main street of the island. The east end of Ontario Street crosses the 112th Street Bridge over the Hudson River and connects the island to Rensselaer County. This is the primary connection between northern Albany and northern Renssselaer counties. At the western gateway Ontario crosses a bridge over one of the Mohawk branches to Simmons Island and from there to NYS Route 787 and Downtown Cohoes. The rest of Van Schaick Island is in a traditional north-south/east-west street grid. [13] The eastern side of the island was home to a Delaware and Hudson Railway line along Delaware Avenue that ran from Green Island north through the Island to Peebles Island and Saratoga County. The Black Bridge to Green Island was built in the 1890s and the rail line was still used into the 1960s. The Open Space Institute purchased the railway for the purpose of a rails to trails project and once the conversion to a bike-hike trail (the Delaware Avenue Trail) is complete the Institute will turn the deed over to the city of Cohoes. The Delaware Avenue Trail will connect the Mohawk Hudson Hike/Bike Trail and the Champlain Canal Bike Trail. [14]

Recreation

On Van Schaick Island is a city park with a pond which is used for ice skating; a private golf course; walking and biking trails; and a baseball field. [13] Van Schaick Island Country Club was founded in 1895 with only two holes. The current nine holes were designed in 1915 and the name was changed to Van Schaick Island Country Club the following year. [15] Two marinas on the island allow access to the Hudson River. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cohoes, New York</span> City in New York, United States

Cohoes is an incorporated city located in the northeast corner of Albany County in the U.S. state of New York. It is called the "Spindle City" because of the importance of textile manufacturing to its growth in the 19th century. The city's factories processed cotton from the Deep South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Island, New York</span> Town and village in New York, United States

Green Island is a coterminous town-village in Albany County, New York, United States, some 8 miles (13 km) north of Albany. Green Island is one of only five such town-village amalgamations in New York. The population was 2,620 at the 2010 census, and the ZIP code is 12183. While the town of Green Island was once an island, it was connected to the mainland on the west side of the Hudson River in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterford (village), New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Waterford is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,990 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the ford between the mainland and Peebles Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterford, New York</span>

Waterford is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 8,423 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. The town is located in the southeast corner of Saratoga County and north-northwest of Troy at the junction of the Erie Canal and the Hudson River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Gansevoort</span> American army officer (1749–1812)

Peter Gansevoort was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also the maternal grandfather of Moby-Dick author Herman Melville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohawk River</span> River in the U.S. state of New York

The Mohawk River is a 149-mile-long (240 km) river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in Cohoes, New York, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. It is a major waterway in north-central New York. In the early 19th century, the river's east-west valley provided the setting and water for development of the Erie Canal, as a key to developing New York. The largest tributary, the Schoharie Creek, accounts for over one quarter (26.83%) of the Mohawk River's watershed. Another main tributary is the West Canada Creek, which makes up for 16.33% of the Mohawk's watershed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peebles Island State Park</span> State park in New York, United States

Peebles Island State Park is a 190-acre (0.77 km2) state park located at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers in New York. A majority of the park is located in Saratoga County, with a smaller portion located in Albany County.

Boght Corners is a hamlet in the town of Colonie in northern Albany County, New York, United States, that straddles U.S. Route 9. The corners that give the hamlet its name are found at the intersection of Route 9 and Boght Road, near the Boght Community Fire District's station. The community is served by the North Colonie Central School District. Boght Hills Elementary School is located within the hamlet.

Crescent Station is a hamlet of the town of Colonie in Albany County, New York, United States that straddles US Route 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 470</span> State highway in the Capital District of New York, US

New York State Route 470 (NY 470) is an east–west state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It extends for 2.91 miles (4.68 km) from an intersection with NY 9R in the town of Colonie to a junction with U.S. Route 4 (US 4) in the city of Troy. Along the way, NY 470 intersects NY 787 in Cohoes and traverses the Hudson River via the 112th Street Bridge. NY 470 was assigned in February–March 1973 and is maintained by the cities of Cohoes and Troy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 787</span> State highway in Albany County, New York, US

New York State Route 787 (NY 787) is a state highway in Albany County, New York, in the United States. It is a northern extension of Interstate 787 (I-787), continuing northward from the underpass at exit 9 for NY 7 near Green Island to downtown Cohoes at NY 32. NY 787 is a four-lane divided boulevard named Cohoes Boulevard. For its entire length, NY 787 runs parallel to, and between, NY 32 and the Hudson River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Schaick House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

Van Schaick House is a historic home located on Van Schaick Island at Cohoes in Albany County, New York. It was built about 1735 and is a 1+1⁄2-story, brick dwelling with a gambrel roof. Plans were made at the mansion for the Battle of Saratoga and the house was used by Governor Clinton as the New York State Capitol from August 22 to 25, 1777.

Matton Shipyard is a historic shipyard and canal boat service yard located on Van Schaick Island at Cohoes in Albany County, New York. It consists of eight extant buildings, various surviving features, and archaeological remains dating to the period 1916 to 1983 when the site functioned as a shipyard, repair facility, and towboat operation on the New York State Barge Canal and Champlain Canal. Extant buildings include the office / stores, watchman's building, sheet metal shop, carpenter shop, stores building, pipeshop, pitch building (pre-1936), garage, and electric building. Also on the property are a flagpole, dock, steel launching ramps, fence, and camels. Numerous ruins also occupy the property. The motor ship Day Peckinpaugh is berthed here.

Van Schaick or Schaick is a Dutch toponymic surname. It primarily occurs in the United States and most are descendants of Goosen Gerritse van Schaick (1633–1676), born in Westbroek and a brewer in Beverwijck/Albany, New York, who bought the island eventually known as Van Schaick Island. People with this name include:

Matton may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprouts of the Mohawk River</span>

The Sprouts of the Mohawk River are the multiple channels of the Mohawk River as it flows into the Hudson River creating a delta in the US state of New York. Most of the sprouts lie within Albany County, with the northern ones in Saratoga County, and the sprouts enter the Hudson at the boundary with Rensselaer County. The islands formed by the sprouts are, from north to south–Peebles Island, Polrump Island, Bock Island, Goat Island, Second Island, Van Schaick Island, Simmons Island. and formerly Green Island. The sprout separating Green Island from the rest of Albany County was filled in with the creation of Interstate 787 and NY Route 787.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayaderossera patent</span>

The Kayaderossera Patent was a grant of land made by Anne, Queen of Great Britain in 1701 to thirteen subjects. The patent included 406,000 acres (164,000 ha) comprising most of what is now Saratoga County and parts of Montgomery, Schenectady, and Fulton Counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empire State Trail</span>

The Empire State Trail is a multi-use trail in New York State that was proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in January 2017 and completed in December 2020. The trail runs from Manhattan north to the Canadian border in Rouses Point near the northern tip of Lake Champlain, and also from Buffalo to Albany. At 750 miles (1,210 km), it is the longest multi-use trail in the United States. The trail includes pre-existing trail segments, which retain their existing identity but are now co-signed as a segment of the Empire State Trail. The trail also links to other regional bicycling and hiking trails such as the Appalachian Trail, the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, the Great Lakes Seaway Trail, the Genesee Valley Greenway, and others. A segment near its southernmost part, on the Hudson River Greenway in Manhattan, is concurrent with the East Coast Greenway. The trail is used for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and in some areas snowmobiling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterford Flight</span>

The Waterford Flight is a set of locks on the Erie Canal in upstate New York. Erie Canal Locks E-2 through E-6 make up the combined flight at Waterford which lifts vessels from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River, bypassing Cohoes Falls. Built in 1915, the Waterford Flight is still in use today as part of the New York State Canal System, which is open to public and commercial traffic. The Waterford Flight is the series of locks with the highest elevation gain relative to its length for any canal lock system in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Reynolds, Cuyler, ed. (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs. Vol. III. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 992–4. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  2. ↑ "2009 Peebles Island Open House Schedule" (PDF). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  3. ↑ Smith, Edwin Burritt and Ernest Hitchcock (1884). Reports of Cases Adjudged and Determined in the Supreme Court of Judicature and Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors of the State of New York. Vol. VII. The Lawyers' Co-operative Publishing Company. p. 402. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  4. 1 2 3 "History of the Van Schaick Mansion". The Van Schaick Mansion Project. January 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  5. ↑ "Local History". Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  6. ↑ Weise, Arthur James (1886). The City of Troy and its Vicinity. Edward Green. pp.  323–4. Retrieved 2010-06-14. van schaick island.
  7. 1 2 "Grants Announced to Preserve Historic Shipyard and Canal Boat". New York State Education Department Office of Cultural Education (New York State Museum). May 18, 2007. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "Matton Shipyard". Waterford Maritime Historical Society. Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  9. ↑ Tim Colton. "Matton Shipyard, Cohoes NY". Archived from the original on 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  10. ↑ "Ongoing Exhibitions: The Day Peckingpaugh". New York State Education Department Office of Cultural Education (New York State Museum). Archived from the original on 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  11. 1 2 Ingraham, Frances (1992-12-20). "Van Schaick, Cohoes Family-Oriented Island". Times Union (Albany). Hearst Corporation. p. G1.
  12. ↑ Spafford, Horatio Gates (1813). A Gazetteer of the State of New York. H.C. Southwick. p.  322 . Retrieved 2010-06-14. mohawk river sprouts.
  13. 1 2 Creighton Manning Engineering, LLP and Kise Straw & Kolodner Inc. (May 2008). "Van Schaick Island Transportation and Revitalization Plan, Final Report" (PDF). City of Cohoes. p. 7. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  14. ↑ "Cohoes to Begin Rail-to-Trail Bridge Restoration for the Delaware Avenue "Black Bridge"". City of Cohoes, NY. May 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  15. ↑ "Historic Van Schaick Island (adapted from A History of Golf in New York's Capital Region)". Van Schaick Island Country Club. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  16. ↑ "Erie Canal Marinas, Boat Launch Sites and More". Crowder Associates. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
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