The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Albany (counties)

'''ALBANY. I.''' An E. county of New York, bounded E. by the Hudson river and N. in part

by the Mohawk; area, 509 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 133,052. Normanskill and Catskill creeks furnish it with good water power. The land near the Hudson and some of the other streams is fertile; but in the N. and W., where the surface is mountainous, it is less productive, and in some places sterile. The E. part is covered with immense beds of clay, sand, and gravel, the sand in some places being 40 feet deep. Iron, hydraulic limestone, marl, and gypsum are found, though they are not abundant. The productions in 1870 were 14,859 bushels of wheat, 129,535 of rye, 165,350 of corn, 784,146 of oats, 37,205 of barley, 160,594 of buckwheat, 637,058 of potatoes, 115,655 tons of hay, 137,641 lbs. of wool, 1,142,783 of butter, and 133,964 of hops. In 1865 the value of farms was $16,951,183, of stock $1,820,376, and of tools $797,486. There were 364 manufacturing establishments, employing 9,292 hands, 130 churches, 18 newspapers and periodicals, and 7 savings banks. The Erie and Champlain canals and several railroads terminate in this county. The assessed value of real estate in 1870 was $38,557,176, and of personal property $7,535,171. Besides Albany, the capital, Cohoes and West Troy are important maufacturing places. Albany county was organized in 1683, and originally extended E. of the Hudson, and included the whole colony N. and W. of its present limits. II. An E. county of Wyoming, occupying the whole width of the territory, about 265 m.; area, about 12,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,021. The Union Pacific railroad passes through the S. part of the county. Capital, Laramie.