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History of Troy -- In the beginning...
"In 1786, the site of the city of Troy was the seat of five or more farms, crossed by roads intersecting a highway running north and south, near the river. At that time Albany, named a city in 1686, Poughkeepsie, founded in 1735, Lansingburgh, laid out in 1771, and Hudson, incorporated in 1785, were all comparatively populous places. When three years later the small body of settlers at Troy publicly advertised their confidence of its becoming at no very distant period as famous for its trade and navigation as many of the first towns, this boldly advanced expectation may have been regarded by the inhabitants of the older settlements on the Hudson as highly presumptuous and improbabble of realization. However, in a short time creditable evidences of the enterprise and growth of the place began to be noted by observant travelers." (1) v. 
And so Troy officially begain its existence. It must be noted that establishing a new city as a trade center meant only somewhat less than a declaration of (trade) war on its neighbors. Albany on the Hudson's west bank was at a disadvantage with respect to trade from the east (i.e. Vermont, Massachusetts, etc.), and "New City" (aka Lansingburgh to the north) was on the border of the Hudson's navigable waters. Mere location alone did not effect Troy's early success sufficiently. Its people made the difference. What, it here may be questioned, was a distinctive characteristic of the founders of Troy? The answer may be clothed in the pertinent words of the Hon. John Woodworth, who began residing in the village in 1791. There was at that early day, and what distinguished Troy in all its progress, and was so conducive to its prosperity, a concert of action, a concentration of sentiment and united efforts on all questions relating to the interests of the village. (1) vi. Due in part to the competitive nature of inter-city trade rivalries, a certain cohesiveness was necessary to succeed. To a large extent, the intense rivalries have diminished of late, but none-the-less remain. Likewise, the single-mindedness of Troy has diminished but has not disappeared. To this day, Troy's size and geographic location predisposes its citizens to a certain amount of pride. Groups within Troy -- ethnic, religious, commercial, cultural, etc. -- capture this spirit and make Troy their own. There is something peculiar about the said city of Troy. From the day of its foundation until the present, Troy has been a pattern for all other places, in respect to its industry and enterprise. Albany, six miles below, had been in existence one hundred and eighty years. And yet Troy is now rapidly advancing on the latter. There is something remarkable in the character of the people also. No matter where they come from, or what have been their previous habits, the moment they become residents of this place they are Trojans. They not only look well to their own individual interests, but imbibe the same spirit of enterprise which they find prevailing, and unite as one in sustaining the interests, and advancing the prosperity of Troy, always minding the main chance for itself. (1) 134 NEXT
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