Place:Schaghticoke (town), Rensselaer, New York, United States

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Schaghticoke is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 7,679 at the 2010 census. It was named for the Schaghticoke, a Native American tribe formed in the seventeenth century from an amalgamation of remnant peoples of eastern New York and New England. The tribe has one of the oldest reservations in the United States, located in what is now Litchfield County, Connecticut. It has been recognized by the state of Connecticut but has not yet achieved federal recognition.

The town is on the northern border of the county, north of Troy. The town contains a village, also called Schaghticoke, and part of the village of Valley Falls.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

This area was historically occupied by the Mohican tribe, and later by a mixed group of Mohicans, and remnants of numerous New England tribes who had migrated west seeking to escape European encroachment.

In 1675, Governor Andros, governor of the colony of New York, planted a tree of Welfare near the junction of the Hoosic River and Tomhannock Creek, an area already known as Schaghticoke, "the place where the waters mingle." This tree symbolized the friendship between the English and the Dutch, and the Schaghticoke Indians. The Native Inhabitants were Mohican refugees from New England welcomed to Schaghticoke because they agreed to help protect the English from the French and the Iroquois. They stayed until 1754.

Prior to the proclamation of colonial independence, Schaghticoke was part of the colony of New York with most of its citizens governed by the city of Albany, which owned the land they rented.

Originally, Schaghticoke was a dangerous place to live because they were frequently raided by the Indians and Tories. This led to the slow settlement of the Schaghticoke land. Once the land was fully settled it was a part of Albany County, until 1791 when Rensselaer County was formed.

After the revolution many immigrants came from England and Ireland to settle in Schaghticoke. The town flourished near the water powered mills created in the town on the Hoosic River. The town was mainly agricultural. There were many farmers residing in Schaghticoke who made crops for local industries.

The Knickerbocker Mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

As of the early decades of the 21st century, Schaghticoke still has a strong agricultural presence but is also characterized by increasing residential development, and contends with related political, social, and economic issues.

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