TROY, a city of New York, and the county-seat of Rensselaer co. It is at the head of the navigation on the Hudson river, and is the terminus of the New York Barge Canal. It is on the Dela ware and Hudson, the New York Cen tral, the Rutland, and the Boston and Maine railroads. There is communica tion by river with New York and other cities. Troy is the distributing center for a large area. It is on the border of the Adirondack country and is placed in the center of a beautiful surrounding country. On the E. are the Berkshire Hills, S. is the valley of the Hudson, W. the valley of the Mohawk, and on the N. the Adirondack Mountains. All of this territory is easily accessible by trolley, steam roads, and improved State highways. Troy is connected by trolley lines with other cities, and is served by four interurban trolley sys tems. The suburbs of the city are un usually attractive. There are 8 public parks, which are well cared for. Troy is an important educational center. It is the seat of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Emma Willard School for Girls, the Russell Sage College of Prac tical Arts, the Troy Conservatory of Music, the Emma Willard Conservatory of Music, the Mary Warren Free Insti tute, the La Salle Institute, and the Troy Business College. There are three high schools, a vocational school, 18 trade schools, and 16 kindergartens. There are also 10 parochial schools. The public library contains over 50,000 volumes. There were in 1921 75 churches, repre senting practically every denomination, There are four hospitals equipped with modern appliances. There are also many homes and asylums which provide for the treatment of persons needing assist ance. The city maintains 7 public play grounds.
Troy is an important manufacturing city. There were in 1920 32 wholesale
houses and nearly 360 manufacturing concerns, employing more than 20,000 wage earners and producing annually products valued at over $60,000,000. More than 90 per cent. of the collars and cuffs made in the United States are man ufactured in this city. It ranks second in the manufacture of brushes and is one of the most important manufacturing centers for engineering instruments. Other manufactures include valves, fire hydrants, merchant iron, pig iron, rivets, stoves, laundry machinery, ventilators, knitting machines, paper, paint, knit goods, shirts, tinware, marine engines, and anchor chains. The Watervliet Ar senal, across the river from Troy, is one of the largest and most important government plants in the country. There are six National banks, two trust com panies, and three building and loan as sociations. The assessed valuation of real estate of the city, in 1920, was $55,700, 114, with a grand total of $61,194,631. The city has many large retail establish ments and is the shopping center for a district embracing more than 500,000 people.
History.—The site of the city was a part of the Van Rensselaer grant of 1629. Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers. He purchased a farm of 65 acres which in 1787 was laid out as a village. The name, Troy, was adopted in 1789, and the place was chartered as a city in 1816. It has been three times nearly destroyed by fire. In 1892 there were election riots there during which Robert Ross was murdered. One of his slayers, "Bat" Shea, was executed in 1896. Pop. (1910) 76,813; (1920) 72, 013, including the sections annexed in 1901.