History of Albany
West of the Hudson River, the city of Albany stands as New York’s proud capital. It was offically recognized as a city in 1686 and takes the prize as one of the oldest state capitals, whose age is surpassed only by New Mexico’s city of Santa Fe. Albany is also prized for being among the group of settlements that were existent after the New World was first colonized by the Europeans.
However, prior to that, what we now know today as Albany was first dominated by Algonquian Indian tribes. Once Europeans landed, this indigenous people were pushed out of their land so that colonies and settlements could be established.
In 1540, French traders built a castle fort upon Castle Island. Though it was primitive, given the limited resources of the settlers, they were still proud of their first European structure. Unfortunately, a flood in 1618 destroyed the fort, which was then rebuilt and renamed Fort Orange in 1624. Settlers of the area who lived and worked there founded a village that they named Beverwijck. In 1664, the English captured the area and as part of their resettlement, many villages were renamed, including Beverwijck, which from then on became known as Albany.
By the time it was officially promoted to become a municipality in 1686, Albany had about 500 residents.
In the mid-18th century, each of the British North American colonies sent their representatives, seven in total, to meet in the Albany Congress, which took place in city hall of Albany, named Stadt Huys. There, Benjamin Franklin presented his proposal, which was a document that would formally join the colonies under the Albany Plan of Union. In 1775, the city hall housed the Albany Committee of Correspondence. Eventually, the entirety of Albany County came under the control of this committee.
Albany County was able to maintain a booming real estate industry both before and after the Revolutionary War. Residents from other neighboring states, including Connecticut and Vermont, relocated themselves in Albany, which led to a great increase in Albany’s population, which increased almost 7 times by 1970 from the original count of 3,498 when the area just became chartered.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Albany housed the nation’s earliest railroad systems, including the well-known Delaware and Hudson Railway. Due to the fur trade and growing industry, Albany’s population continued to grow and the city became one of the country’s most populous cities by 1810.
It was also among the first cities to install electicity, sewer lines, public water mains, and natural gas lines. A turnpike was also developed during this time, and it operated alongside the already existent canals and railway systems, transforming Albany into the the center of transportation that all pioneers were familiar with, up to about 1850. Such development led to further population growth so that the city was recognized as the 10th largest urban center in 1810.
The large growth that Albany experienced during the 19th century was largely due to the city’s work with transportation, which led the Albany to become one of the most prosperous economies of its time. However, business and industry also lent their hands, including the city’s well known publishing houses, iron foundries, and banks, such as the Bank of Albany, Albank, KeyBank, and Norstar Bank.
Large exporters, Albany shipped off a variety of goods that included meat, lumber, wheat, and furs during the 1700s and 1800s.
Further, in 1850, American Express, known today as a multinational financial services corporation, was originally founded in Albany as an express mail business.
Statistical Overview Regarding Motor Vehicles
According the the census, Albany currently as a population of over 300,000 residents.
Within this large city, law enforcement officials report that there is an annual average of over 200 motor vehicle larceny or theft incident.
In addition, having numerous motor vehicles on the roads inevitably leads to unfortunate traffic collisions. In fact, the state department cited traffic injuries as the second leading cause of injury-related deaths in the whole state of New York. Car accidents have therefore grown to become an economic burden. In particular, they have cost Albany County up to $13 million in hospitalization and emergency department charges. Those who were admitted to the hospital with serious injuries following collisions cited the reasons of the crashes to speeding, distracted driving, and failure to yield the right of way.
Within a single year, the city of Albany experiences an annual average of 25 traffic-related deaths, 222 traffic-related hospitalizations, and 3,111 emergency department visits in Albany. These numbers are not to be taken lightly, especially as Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs), which can result from traffic-related crashes, can have devastating long-term effects.
It is also reported by the state that there is an annual average of almost 8,000 motor vehicle crashes in Albany County. The types of crashes include both alcohol-related crashes and speed-related crashes. Within a single year, almost 20,000 individuals become involved in car collisions, with:
- 8% of individuals involved over age 65
- 24% of individuals involved aged 45-64
- 32% of individuals involved aged 35-44
- 14% ofindividuals involved aged 20-24
- 11% of individuals involved aged 15-19
- 2% of individuals involved aged 10-14
- 2% of individuals involved aged 5-9
- 2% of individuals involved aged 1-4
- 5% of individuals involved of unknown or unreported age
In addition, of the 20,000 people involved in vehicle collisions annually, about 45% are female, 51% are male, and 4% are of unknown or unreported gender.
Don’t become another statistic. It’s important that you have car insurance active whenever you drive in Albany in order to ensure that you and your vehicle are covered in the event of an accident. Don’t risk driving without insurance; select the perfect policy for yourself today by using our rate finder at the top of the page that begins with your Albany zip code.