Troy New York NY Warrant Search

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital District. The city is one of the three major centers for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which has a population of 850,957. At the 2000 census, the population of Troy was 49,170. Troy's motto is Ilium fuit, Troja est, which means 'Ilium was, Troy is'.Before European arrival, the area was settled by the Mohican Indian tribe. There were at least two settlements within today's city limits, Panhooseck and Paanpack. The Dutch began settling in the mid 17th century; the patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer called the area Pafraets Dael, after his mother. Control of New York passed to the English in 1664 and in 1707 Derick Van der Heyden purchased a farm near today's downtown area. In 1771 Abraham Lansing had his farm in today's Lansingburgh laid out into lots. Responding to Lansing's success to the north, in 1787, Van der Heyden's grandson Jacob had his extensive holdings surveyed and laid out into lots as well, calling the new village Vanderheyden.In 1789, Troy got its current name, after a vote of the people; Lansingburgh was still a separate village, the first to have ever been incorporated in the State. In 1791, Troy was incorporated as a town and extended as far east as Petersburgh. In 1796 Troy became a village and in 1816 it became a city. Lansingburgh became part of Troy in 1900, though it maintained a very separate identity and still does to this day.Troy is known as the Collar City due to its history in shirt, collar, and other textile production. At one point Troy was also the second largest producer of iron in the country, surpassed only by the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Rensselaer School, which later became Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was founded in 1824 with funding from Stephen Van Rensselaer, a descendant of the founding patroon, Kiliaen. In 1821, Emma Willard founded the Troy Female Seminary on 2nd Street, which moved to its current location on Pawling Avenue in 1910. It was renamed Emma Willard School in 1895. The former Female Seminary was later reopened (1916) as Russell Sage College, thanks to funding from Olivia Slocum Sage, the widow of financier and Congressman Russell Sage. All of these institutions still exist today.The city operates under a mayor-council government; Harry Tutunjian is the current mayor and Clement Campana is the council president. History Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Mohican Indians had a number of settlements along the Hudson River near the confluence with the Mohawk River. The land comprising the Poesten Kill and Wynants Kill areas were owned by two Mohican. The land around the Poesten Kill was owned by Skiwias and was called Panhooseck. The area around the Wynants Kill, the land known as Paanpack, was owned by Peyhaunet. The land between the creeks, which makes up most of downtown and South Troy, was owned by Annape. South of the Wynants Kill and into present-day North Greenbush, the land was owned by Pachquolapiet. These parcels of land were sold to the Dutch between 1630 and 1657 and each purchase was overseen and signed by Skiwias, the sachem at the time. In total, more than 75 individual Mohican were involved in deed signings in the 17th century.The site of the city was a part of the Rensselaerswyck, a patroonship created by Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Dirck Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers. In 1707, he purchased a farm of 65 acres (26 ha) which in 1787 was laid out as a village.A local legend that a Dutch girl had been kidnapped by an Indian male who did not want her to marry someone else gained some credence when two skeletons were found in a cave under Poestenkill Falls in the 1950s. One skeleton was female and Caucasian with an iron ring. The other was Native-American and male.The name Troy (after the legendary city of Troy, made famous in Homer's Iliad) was adopted in 1789, and the region was formed into the Town of Troy in 1791 from part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck. The township included the current city and the towns of Brunswick and Grafton. Troy became a village in 1801 and was chartered as a city in 1816. In 1900, the city of Lansingburgh was merged into Troy.In the post-Revolutionary War years, as central New York was first settled, there was a strong trend to classical names, and Troy's naming fits the same pattern as the New York cities of Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Ithaca, or the towns of Sempronius, Manlius, or dozens of other classically named towns to the west of Troy.Northern and Western New York was a theater of the War of 1812, and militia and regular army forces were led by Stephen Van Rensselaer of Troy. Quartermaster supplies were shipped through Troy. A local butcher and meat-packer named Samuel Wilson supplied the military, and, according to an unprovable legend, barrels stamped 'U.S.' were jokingly taken by the troops to stand for 'Uncle Sam' meaning Wilson. Troy has since claimed to be the historical home of Uncle Sam.Through much of the 19th and into the early 20th century, Troy was not only one of the most prosperous cities in New York State, but one of the most prosperous cities in the entire country. Prior to its rise as an industrial center, Troy was the transshipment point for meat and vegetables from Vermont which were sent by the Hudson River to New York City. The Federal Dam at Troy is the head of the tides in the Hudson River and Hudson River sloops and steamboats plied the river on a regular basis. This trade was vastly increased after the construction of the Erie Canal, with its eastern terminus directly across the Hudson from Troy at Cohoes in 1825.Troy's one-time great wealth was produced in the steel industry, with the first American Bessemer converter erected on the Wyantskill, a stream with a falls in a small valley at the south end of the city. The industry first used charcoal and iron ore from the Adirondacks. Later on, ore and coal from the Midwest was shipped on the Erie Canal to Troy, and there processed before being sent on down the Hudson to New York City. The iron and steel was also used by the extensive federal arsenal across the Hudson at Watervliet, New York, then called West Troy. After the American Civil War, the steel production industry moved west to be closer to raw materials. The presence of iron and steel also made it possible for Troy to be an early site in the development of iron storefronts and steel structural supports in architecture, and there are some significant early examples still in the city.The initial emphasis on heavier industry later spawned a wide variety of highly engineered mechanical and scientific equipment. Troy was the home of W. & L. E. Gurley, Co., makers of precision instruments. Gurley's theodolites were used to survey much of the American West after the Civil War and were highly regarded until laser and digital technology eclipsed the telescope and compass technology in the 1970s. Bells manufactured by Troy's Meneely Bell Company ring all over the world. And Troy was also home to a manufacturer of racing shells that used impregnated paper in a process that presaged the later use of fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber composites.This scientific and technical proficiency was supported by the presence of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, one of the highest-ranked engineering schools in the country. RPI was originally sponsored by Stephen Van Rensselaer, one of the most prominent members of that family. RPI was founded in 1824, and eventually absorbed the campus of the short-lived, liberal arts based Troy University, which closed in 1862 during the Civil War. Rensselaer founded RPI for the 'application of science to the common purposes of life', and it is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. The institute is known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace.On December 23, 1823, The Troy Sentinel was the first publisher of the world-famous Christmas poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (also known as 'The Night Before Christmas' or 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'). The poem was published anonymously. Its author has long been believed to have been Clement Clarke Moore, but its author is now regarded by a few to have been Henry Livingston, Jr.Troy was an early home of professional baseball, and was the host of two major league teams. The first team to call Troy home was the Troy Haymakers, a National Association team in 1871 and 1872. One of their major players was Williams H. 'Bill' Craver, a noted catcher and Civil War veteran, who also managed the team. Their last manager was Jimmy Wood, reckoned the first Canadian in professional baseball. The Troy Haymakers folded, and Troy had no team for seven seasons. Then, for four seasons, 1879 to 1882, Troy was home to the National League Troy Trojans. The Trojans were not competitive in the league, but they did have the biggest hitter in professional baseball, Dan Brouthers. For the 1883 season, the Trojans were moved to New York City where they became the New York Gothams, better know later as the Giants. The Gothams had the same ownership as the New York Metropolitans of the rival American Association. As a result classic Met players became Giants, including Hall of Fame Pitcher Tim Keefe. Troy was also the birthplace of the famous player Michael Joseph 'King' Kelly.Troy has been nearly destroyed by fire three times. The Great Troy fire of 1862 burnt the W. & L. E. Gurley, Co. factory, which was later that year replaced by the new W. & L. E. Gurley Building, now a National Historic Landmark.In 1892, there were election riots there during which Robert Ross was murdered. One of his alleged slayers, 'Bat' Shea, was executed in 1896.In 1900 Troy annexed Lansingburgh, a former town and village in Rensselaer County. Lansingburgh is thus often referred to as 'North Troy'. However, prior to the annexation, that portion of Troy north of Division Street was called North Troy and the neighborhood south of Washington Park is referred to as South Troy. To avoid confusion with streets in Troy following the annexation, Lansingburgh's numbered streets were renamed: its 1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, etc., became North Troy's 101st Street, 102nd Street, 103rd Street, etc. Lansingburgh was home to the Lansingburgh Academy.In addition to the strong presence of the early American steel industry, Troy was also a manufacturing center for shirts, shirtwaists, collars and cuffs. In 1825, a local resident Hannah Lord Montague, was tired of cleaning her blacksmith husband's shirts. She cut off the collars of her husband's shirts, since only the collar was soiled, bound the edges and attached strings to hold them in place. (This also allowed the collars and cuffs to be starched separately.) Hannah Montague's idea caught on, and changed the fashion for American men's dress for a century. Her patented collars and cuffs were first manufactured by Maullin & Blanchard, which eventually was absorbed by Cluett, Peabody & Company. Cluett's 'Arrow shirts' are still worn by men across the country. The large labor force required by the shirt manufacturing industry also, in 1864, produced the nation's first female Labor Union, the Collar Laundry Union, founded in Troy by Kate Mullany. On February 23, 1864, 300 members of the union went on strike. After six days, the laundry owners gave in to their demands and raised wages 25 percent. There were further developments in the industry, when, in 1933, Sanford Cluett invented a process he called Sanforization, a process which shrinks cotton fabrics thoroughly and permanently. Cluett, Peabody's last main plant in Troy was closed in the 1980s, but the industrial output of the plant had long been transferred to facilities in the South.One of the downtown landmarks of Troy was Frear's Troy Cash Bazaar, also known as Frear's Department Store, which was one of the largest in the state.When the iron & steel industry moved to Pennsylvania and beyond, and with a similar downturn in the collar industry, Troy's prosperity began to fade. After the passage of Prohibition, and given the strict control of Albany by the Daniel P. O'Connell political machine, Troy became a way station for an illegal alcohol trade from Canada to New York City. Likewise, the stricter control of morality laws in the neighboring New England states, left Troy with openly operating speakeasies and brothels. Gangsters such as Legs Diamond conducted business in Troy. This gave Troy a somewhat colorful reputation through World War II. A few of the finer houses have since been converted to fine restaurants, such as the former Old Daly Inn. Like many old industrial cities, Troy has had to deal with not only the loss of its manufacturing base, but a drainage of population and wealth to suburbs and other parts of the country. Troy's population in 1910 was over 75,000, more than 50% higher than it is today. These factors have led to a sizable degree of dilapidation and disinvestment, although numerous efforts have been made to preserve Troy's architectural and cultural past.Kurt Vonnegut lived in Troy and the area, and many of his novels include mentions of Ilium, (Troy), or surrounding local references. Vonnegut wrote Player Piano in 1952, which is set in Ilium, New York, and is based on his experiences working as a public relations writer at General Electric. His 1963 novel, Cat's Cradle, was written in the city, and mentions being in Ilium. His recurring main character, Kilgore Trout, is a resident of Cohoes, on the opposite side of the Hudson from Troy. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.0 square miles (28.5 km²), of which 10.4 square miles (27.0 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (5.44%) is water.Troy is located several miles north of Albany near the junction of the Erie and Champlain canals, via the Hudson River and is the terminus of the New York Barge Canal. It is the distributing center for a large area.The city is on the central part of the western border of Rensselaer County. The Hudson River makes up the western border of the city and the county's border with Albany County. The city borders within Rensselaer County, Schaghticoke to the north, Brunswick to the east, and North Greenbush to the south; to the west the city borders the Albany County town of Colonie, the villages of Menands and Green Island, and the cities of Watervliet and Cohoes. To the northwest Troy borders the Saratoga County village of Waterford within the town of WaterfordThe western edge of the city is flat along the river, and then steeply slopes to higher terrain to the east. The average elevation is 50 feet, with the highest elevation being 500 feet in the eastern part of the city. The city is longer than it is wide, with the southern half wider than the northern section of the city often referred to as Lansingburgh, or North Troy. Several kills (Dutch for creek) pass through Troy and empty into the Hudson. The Poesten Kill and Wynants Kill are the two largest and both have several small lakes and waterfalls along their routes in the city. There are several lakes and reservoirs within the city including Ida Lake, Burdens Pond, Lansingburgh Reservoir, Bradley Lake, Smarts Pond and Wright Lake. Demographics At the 2000 census, there were 49,170 people, 19,996 households and 10,737 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,721.8 per square mile (1,823.7/km²). There were 23,093 housing units at an average density of 2,217.6/sq mi (856.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.22% White, 11.41% African American, 0.28% Native American, 3.49% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.20% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.33% of the population. According the Census Bureau, the largest self-reported ethnic groups in Troy are: Irish (23%), Italian (13%), German (11%), French (8%), English (7%), and Polish (5%).There were 19,996 households of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.97.Age distribution was 22.1% under the age of 18, 17.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.The median household income was $29,844, and the median family income was $38,631. Males had a median income of $30,495 versus $25,724 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,796. About 14.3% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over. Economy According to the Mayor Harry J. Tutunjian's State of the City Address dated February 6, 2009, Troy's economy is strong despite a recession affecting the United States: 'We have not been affected as other parts of the State or the Country. Homes are still selling and new projects are being announced and built.' Culture Troy is home to many samples of Victorian architecture and iron work. The city has a large number of intact Tiffany stained-glass windows in original architectural settings. With much 19th century architecture, particularly in the Central Troy Historic District, several major movies have filmed in Troy, including Ironweed, The Age of Innocence, Scent of a Woman, The Bostonians, The Emperor's Club, and The Time Machine. There are many buildings in a state of disrepair, but community groups and investors are restoring many of them.As with many American cities, several city blocks in downtown Troy were razed during the 1970s as a part of an attempted urban renewal plan which was never successfully executed, leaving still vacant areas in the vicinity of Federal Street. Today, however, there have since been much more successful efforts to save the remaining historic downtown structures.Part of this effort has been the arrival of the 'Antique District' on River Street downtown. Cafes and art galleries are calling the area home. As home to many art, literature, and music lovers, the city hosts many free shows during the summer, on River Street, in parks, and in cafes and coffee shops. The Troy Farmer's Market is a popular event since 2000 that occurs every Saturday on River Street during the summer, or in the Atrium of downtown Troy during the winter.Troy has been known to recognize the contributions of its residents to local music and arts community. Mayor Harry Tutunjian declared February 25, 2006 “Super 400 Day in Troy” in honor of the musical group's ten year anniversary.Many notable artists were born or grew up in Troy, including actress Maureen Stapleton and authors Alice Fulton, Don Rittner and Richard Selzer. Past notable residents include Herman Melville, Emma Willard, Russell Sage, and Jane Fonda. Several books by noted author Kurt Vonnegut are set in the fictional city of 'Illium', which is modeled after Troy.Troy has produced at least three Medal of Honor recipients, including Lt. Colonel William J. O'Brien and Sergeant Thomas A. Baker, both from U.S. Army, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division in World War II, and Specialist Four Peter C. Guenette from U.S. Army, Company D, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), in Vietnam. Notable cultural events The Troy Flag Day Parade, one of the nation's largest. The parade is held in early June. With resident school, Troy High, having the biggest participating marching band as of 2007. River Street Festival, an annual, family-oriented arts/crafts and music festival held in June. The Uncle Sam Parade, held on or in proximity toSamuel Wilson's birthday (mid-September). The Classics Project, a classical theatre festival produced by Bakerloo Theatre Project. Between fifteen and twenty emerging theatre artists are provided residency with Bakerloo to develop their craft while performing a repertory season of plays by Shakespeare and other great playwrights. The festival occurs during the months of July and August. The Victorian Stroll, an annual holiday event held in December. The Troy Turkey Trot, an annual Thanksgiving Day Run; the oldest race in the Capital District. From its humble beginning in 1916 (with only 6 runners entered) the Troy Turkey Trot has grown into one of the largest road races in upstate New York. Troy Night Out, a monthly (last Friday) event in downtown Troy where shops stay open late, restaurants bring in live entertainment, galleries have openings, and the streets fill up with people and events. Sports TheTri-City Valley Cats, a minor-league Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The team is a part of theNew York-Penn League. They play at theJoseph L. Bruno Stadiumin neighboringNorth Greenbush. Troy's Fighting Irish, a Minor League Semi-Pro Football club that was established in 2007. The team is a part of theNortheastern Football Allianceand they currently play at Troy High School. Hellions of TroyRoller Derby, a USARS-affiliated women's flat track roller derby was established in 2008. They currently play at Frear Park. Troy was once the home to The 2004–2005 Metropolitan Junior Hockey League (MJHL) Champions, the Hudson Valley Eagles Junior Hockey club who went on place 3rd at the National Tournament in Blaine, MN in 2005 their inaugural season. Executive Branch The Executive Branch consists of a Mayor who serves as the chief executive officer of the city. The Mayor is responsible for the proper administration of all city affairs placed in his/her charge as empowered by the City Charter. The Mayor enforces the laws of New York State as well as all local laws and ordinances passed by the City Council. S/he exercises control over all executive departments of the city government, including the Departments of Finance, Law, Public Safety, Public Works, Public Utilities, and Parks and Recreation.The Mayor's term of office is four years, and an incumbent is prohibited from serving for more than two consecutive terms (eight years).The current Mayor of Troy is Harry Tutunjian (R), who is serving his second term, having been re-elected on November 6, 2007. Electoral history Results from the last four Mayoral elections (an asterisk indicates the incumbent):November 6, 2007 - Harry Tutunjian *(R,I,C) defeated James Conroy (D), Elda Abate (TPP) November 4, 2003 - Harry Tutunjian (R,I,C) defeated Frank LaPosta (D) November 2, 1999 - Mark Pattison *(D,L,W) defeated Carmella Mantello (R,I,C) November 7, 1995 - Mark Pattison (D,C) defeated Kathleen Jimino (R,RtL,Fre), Michael Petruska (I,W), Michael Rourke (L) prior to the November 1995 election, acity-managerform of government was utilized Legislative Branch Troy's Legislative Branch consists of a City Council which is composed of nine elected members: three At-Large Representatives who represent the entire city, and six District Representatives who represent each of the six districts of Troy.Each Council member serves a two-year term, and an incumbent is prohibited from serving for more than four consecutive terms (eight years). The City Council At-Large Representative who receives the greatest number of votes in the election is designated the City Council President.The Council meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7:00pm in City Hall, in the Council Chambers on the second floor. All meetings are open to the public, and include a public forum period held before official business where citizens can address the Council on all matters directly pertaining to city government.The current Troy City Council took office on January 1, 2010, and will serve until December 31, 2011. The members are:Clem Campana (D - At-Large; President) John Brown (D - At-Large) Michael LoPorto (D - At-Large) Kevin McGrath (D - District 1) Mark McGrath (R - District 2) Dean Bodnar (R - District 3) Bill Dunne (D - District 4; President Pro Tempore) Ken Zalewski (D - District 5) Gary Galuski (D - District 6) Political Boundaries The City of Troy is divided into forty-four (44) Election Districts, also known as EDs. An ED is the finest granularity political district that can be used, from which all other political districts are formed.Other political districts that make use of these EDs include City Council Districts, County Legislative Districts, State Assembly Districts, State Senate Districts, and U.S. Congressional Districts. City Council Districts The 44 EDs are grouped into six Council Districts, as follows:Council District 1: ED1-ED8 Council District 2: ED9-ED16 Council District 3: ED17-ED23 Council District 4: ED24-ED29 Council District 5: ED30-ED37 Council District 6: ED38-ED44 New York State Assembly Districts Two New York State Assembly Districts, the 106th and the 108th, each share a portion of their total areas with groups of EDs in Troy as follows:Assembly District 106: ED6-ED7, ED10-ED17, ED19-ED21, ED24-ED34, ED36-ED44 Assembly District 108: ED1-ED5, ED8-ED9, ED18, ED22-ED23, ED35 Other Districts All other political districts that exist in Troy consist of the entire city—all 44 EDs:Rensselaer County Legislative District 1: ED1-ED44 New York State SenateDistrict 43: ED1-ED44 U.S. Congressional District 21: ED1-ED44 Civil Service Troy Uniformed Firefighters-Local 86 Today the Troy Fire Department numbers 119 uniformed personnel and operates 5 engine companies, a rescue engine company, 2 truck companies, three ambulances, a hazardous material response unit, 1 fire boat (Marine 1)located under the Green Island Bridge and 2 rescue boats, located in Lansingburgh (Boat 1)and a tow boat (Boat 2) for ponds. Approximately 10,000 calls are answered each year, about 500 for fire, about 250 of which occur in structures. The Troy Fire Department is also the hazardous material response unit for the County of Rensselaer.Anyone with a fire, rescue or medical emergency should dial 911. Routine requests for non-emergency services should be made by dialing (518) 270-5252.The Fire Chief's Office and administrative personnel are located at 2175 6th Ave (Central Station) and can be reached at (518) 270-4471. The office is staffed from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. The Fire Inspector is also available through the Chief's Office during business hours.FIRE STATIONSStation #1Lansingburgh Station 115th & 5th Ave Engine 1 - Truck 1 - Medic 1 - Reserve Medic 6Station #2Bouton Road Station Bouton Road & 15th Street Engine 2 - Medic 2 - Reserve Engine 7Station #3Campbell Avenue Station and Fire Repair Shop 530 Campbell Avenue Engine 3 - Reserve Truck 3Station #4North Street Station North St. & River St. Engine 4Station #5Central Station 2175 6th Ave. Rescue Squad - Truck 2 - Medic 4 - Hazmat 50 - Car 4 - Administration - Reserve Engine 8 - Reserve Medic 5Station #6Canal Ave Station Canal Ave. & 3rd St. Engine 6 - Reserve Medic 3 - 2 1947 Mack PumpersOn January 5, 1789 a group of freeholders met at Ashley’s Tavern and changed the name of ‘Ashley’s Ferry’, their recently settled community on the banks of the Hudson River, to Troy. By 1791 Troy became a town, and in the same year the larger Village of Lansingburgh to Troy’s north purchased a ‘Philadelphia’ style hand engine.All was generally well in the small town called Troy until the afternoon of October 6, 1793 when fire destroyed 14 houses and stores. This loss stirred the citizens of Troy into action, Subael Gorham was appointed Superintendent of the settlement's fire hooks, axes and ladders, and an act of the New York State Legislature compelled the citizens to purchase buckets and firefighting tools.A second fire at the NW corner of State and River Streets in Asa Anthony’s Store, during the early hours of December 12, 1797, spread and destroyed the hardware store of Benjamin Heart. Early the next year Troy incorporated into a Village and purchased a Newsham style hand engine from a New York dealer. It arrived on a Hudson River sloop and was housed in a small wooden building to the south of the courthouse. In 1799 a narrow shed to house the village hooks and ladders was erected in the center of State Street.A second engine company, Neptune Engine No. 2 was organized in 1803 and housed on the NW corner of State and Third Streets. A large fire which started at midnight March 18, 1810 destroyed an entire block of business buildings on the east side of River St. from Congress St. to State St. Mutual aid was utilized for the first time with help from the villages of Lansingburgh and Waterford. In 1812 a third engine company, the Washington Volunteers, purchased an engine capable of taking ‘suction’ from a cistern or other standing water source through a hose, a great improvement on the earlier engines which had to be supplied by a bucket brigade in order to pump water through their deck mounted nozzle. Rapid growth of the Village resulted in Troy’s incorporation as a city on April 12, 1816, population at this time was 4,254.By 1820 Troy had grown to 5,623 and was the 35th largest city in the U.S. The same year, on June 20, a devastating fire destroyed 69 stores and dwellings and 21 outbuildings along River and First Streets. This small conflagration caused a new flurry of fire control effort resulting in the purchase of two new engines and the formation of Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. During the 1820s the new city suffered few fires but the 11 or 12 fires occurring during the decade did cause great loss.By 1830 Troy had grown to 11,556 residents, and was the 19th largest city in the U.S. Fast becoming an industrial city due to it’s iron production, Troy lost its first rolling mill, that of the Troy Iron and Nail Co., located on the Wynantskill to fire on January 10, 1831 when a fire being used to thaw out the company’s water wheel spread. The night of January 25, 1834 saw the first use of a fire hydrant on the City’s new system when the Franklin House Hotel at Fulton and Third Streets suffered heavy damage in a 2 AM fire. The City lost it’s first firefighter in the line of duty on January 10, 1835 when simultaneous fires destroyed the Read, Armstrong and Co. Brewery at Ferry and Fifth Sts. and Brittnell’s Soap and Candle Factory, 411- 421 River St. Clark W. Segmann and possibly some other firefighters died from cold exposure on this –18 degree night. The decade saw the formation of a number of engine companies, hose companies and two additional hook and ladder companies.Having long rung the church bells for alarms of fire, on December 7, 1843, an ordinance was enacted dividing the City into three fire districts with the number of the district with the fire to be rung. No. 1 was south of Congress St., No. 2 between Congress and Elbow (now Fulton) St. and No. 3 north of Elbow St. This was supposed to indicate an approximate location of the alarm for the firefighters, but in practice the policeman or sexton at the bell rope was not often able to ring a distinct 1, 2, or 3 possibly due to overexcitement.On August 25, 1854 at 1 PM Troy suffered its greatest fire to date when over 100 buildings in 8 city blocks south of Division St. along the riverfront burned. The destruction of a number of industries and lumberyards raised the loss from this fire to a total of $ 1,000,000, a gre