Mechanicville, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mechanicville
City
City of Mechanicville
Seal
Location within Saratoga County
Mechanicville Location in New York
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Saratoga
First settled	1764
Incorporated (village)	1859
Incorporated (city)	1915
Government
• Type	City Commission
Area
• Total	0.92 sq mi (2.38 km2)
• Land	0.84 sq mi (2.17 km2)
• Water	0.08 sq mi (0.20 km2)
Elevation	104 ft (31.7 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,163
• Density	6,153.75/sq mi (2,376.54/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	12118
Area code(s)	518
FIPS code	36-46360
GNIS feature ID	0956897

Mechanicville is a small city in Saratoga County, New York. About 5,163 people lived there in 2020. It's the smallest city in New York by size. Its name comes from the jobs of the first people who lived there.

Mechanicville is in Saratoga County, north of Albany, the state capital. It shares borders with the towns of Stillwater, Halfmoon, and Schaghticoke.

History of Mechanicville

The first time a settlement was noted on Tenandeho Creek was in 1721. At that time, Cornelius Van Buren had a sawmill there. It was located where the creek met the Hudson River.

A map of Mechanicville and its important places from the late 1800s.

The name "Mechanicville" was first used in 1829. The name comes from the early settlers. They were skilled workers like millers, carpenters, and butchers. Their jobs were called "mechanical arts" back then.

Around 1823, the Champlain Canal reached the settlement. Later, in 1835, the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad built tracks through the area. These new transportation routes made Mechanicville an important place for trade.

The community became an official village in 1859. About 1,000 people lived there then. It grew quickly as textile mills, factories, and a linen thread company opened.

In 1861, Elmer E. Ellsworth, a famous person from the American Civil War, was buried in Mechanicville. His grave is in the Hudson View Cemetery. You can spot it by a large eagle on his memorial.

More railways came to the village in 1878. Mechanicville then became a key center for making paper.

In 1898, Robert Newton King built a hydroelectric power plant on the Hudson River. The Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant is still working today. It's the oldest continuously operating hydroelectric plant in the U.S. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

By 1900, Mechanicville was a major hub for railways. It had a large train yard and car repair center. In the 1920s, nearly 10,000 people lived in Mechanicville.

Mechanicville officially became a city in 1915. By 1932, it was home to the first experimental high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) power line in the U.S. This was the HVDC Mechanicville–Schenectady line.

As railroads became less important, Mechanicville faced challenges. The world's largest paper mill, which had been there since 1904, closed in 1971. Today, Mechanicville is a quiet residential city. Most people who live there work in nearby cities like Albany and Schenectady.

A typical residential street in Mechanicville.

On November 1, 2001, Mechanicville was featured on the Daily Show. The comedian Steve Carell visited the city. The Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant and Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth Monument and Grave are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 1998 Mechanicville-Stillwater Tornado

On May 31, 1998, a large tornado hit Mechanicville and the nearby town of Stillwater. It was part of a series of strong storms that afternoon. The tornado caused a lot of damage to the old industrial area. This area is along US Route 4 and NY-32, next to the Hudson River.

One of the two historic smokestacks, which could be seen from miles away, was knocked down. In 2005, the other smokestack and its building were removed. Houses on Viall Avenue in Mechanicville and Stillwater were completely destroyed. The tornado was rated F3 on the Fujita scale, meaning winds were estimated at 200 miles per hour.

Modern Rail Yard Operations

In January 2012, a new rail yard opened in Mechanicville. It was built on the site of an old Boston and Maine rail yard. This new facility is for moving intermodal containers and cars. It was built by Pan Am Southern, a company formed by Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern.

The $40 million facility helps move goods more easily. It can convert double-stack container trains to single-stack. This means the top layer of containers is removed. This allows the rest of the train to travel on tracks that don't have enough height clearance. A good example is the Hoosac Tunnel. The removed containers are then taken by truck to local places. The facility also does the reverse process. About 300 trucks visit the site each day. The part of the terminal for cars opened in 2014.

Geography of Mechanicville

Mechanicville is located at 42°54′14″N 73°41′26″W / 42.90389°N 73.69056°W / 42.90389; -73.69056.

The city covers about 0.9 square miles (2.3 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, and a small part is water. Mechanicville is on the west bank of the Hudson River. The Anthony Kill creek flows into the Hudson River here.

US Route 4 and New York State Route 32 are main roads that go through Mechanicville. New York State Route 67 also meets these roads in the city. Other county roads, like 75 and 1345, also lead into Mechanicville.

Places of Worship

St. Paul the Apostle Church (Parish of All Saints on the Hudson).

Mechanicville has had many churches throughout its history. Today, there are two active churches in the city. They are the Catholic parish of All Saints on the Hudson and the Mechanicville United Methodist Church.

Notable People from Mechanicville

Many interesting people have come from Mechanicville:

• Orie Amodeo, a musician in the Lawrence Welk orchestra.
• Aida Brewer, the first woman to be treasurer of New York State.
• Chad Brown, a famous horse trainer.
• Rita Chatterton, a professional wrestling referee.
• Joe Cocozzo, a professional football player. He played in Super Bowl XXIX.
• Bob Eberly and Ray Eberle, popular big band singers.
• Elmer E. Ellsworth, a friend of Abraham Lincoln and a colonel in the Union Army. He was one of the first important people to die in the American Civil War.
• John R. Fellows, a lawyer and politician.
• Ray Heindorf, a songwriter, composer, and conductor.
• Erika Holzer, a novelist and lawyer.
• Fred Isabella, a dentist and politician.
• John Gavin Nolan, a bishop in the Catholic Church.
• Margaret Bloodgood Peeke, a traveler, speaker, and author.
• Gordon A. Sheehan, an animator for Fleischer Studios.
• Harrison B. Tordoff, an ornithologist and fighter pilot.
• George Herbert Whitney, a New York state assemblyman and senator.

Population Changes Over Time

In 2000, there were 5,019 people living in Mechanicville. There were 2,219 households and 1,275 families. The city had about 6,028 people per square mile. Most of the people (97.95%) were White.

About 29.1% of households had children under 18. About 40.9% were married couples. The average household had 2.26 people. The average family had 2.97 people.

The median age in the city was 36 years old. About 24.4% of the population was under 18. About 18.7% were 65 or older.

The median income for a household was $34,509. For families, it was $42,143. About 8.0% of the population lived below the poverty line.

See also

In Spanish: Mechanicville para niños