AREA HISTORY

Lansingburgh – A Pre-Revolutionary Neighborhood Older than Troy

New Urbanists take note. Lansingburgh is the real thing, the precedent for much of today’s cutting-edge urban planning. Laid out in 1771 along the Hudson River by Abraham Jacob Lansing, it featured pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined city blocks intersected by alleys. Public parks, municipal buildings, churches, schools and commercial districts were conveniently located to promote a cohesive, sociable neighborhood.

Already a thriving village by the time the City of Troy was incorporated in 1798, Lansingburgh’s internationally recognized industrial products during the 19 th and early 20 th centuries included valves, brushes, carriages, beer, knit goods, oil cloth and, of course, shirts and collars. Among the famous people who called Lansingburgh home were Herman Melville, who wrote two of his novels there in his family’s home near the river, and Chester Arthur, the 21 st President of the United States. In 1900, the “Burgh” (as it is affectionately called) was annexed to Troy, known as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, and one of the nation’s most prosperous cities in the mid-1800s.

Fortunately, Lansingburgh has retained much of its historic layout along with a remarkable inventory of fine architecture, an indomitable community spirit and its own public school system.