New York's Capital Region in 50 Objects

New York's Capital Region in 50 Objects

Introduction

Each region of the nation has its own distinctive history and identity. The New York’s Capital Region—consisting of Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga Counties—is no different. But what best identifies the region? What events, objects, people, and ideas have contributed to its character and uniqueness?

To learn the answers, we presented these questions to the numerous museums, historical organizations, libraries, and residents of the Capital Region. The fifty objects that were ultimately selected present an exciting history of the Capital Region, including well-known favorites but also unexpected surprises. Some of the fifty objects characterize very broad topics like the textile industry and the Hudson River School of art, while others embody large populations of people who shaped the character of the region, such as the Dutch and the Iroquois. Many objects represent specific people or events, such as writer William Kennedy and the Battle of Saratoga. In some instances, the objects represent themselves, like the GE Monitor Top refrigerator and Albany’s beloved Nipper statue. A complementary image accompanies each of the fifty objects, providing context and additional information.

Overall, the fifty objects clearly demonstrate that this narrowly circumscribed part of New York State has played an astonishing role in shaping the history of the nation and, in several instances, the world beyond the confines of our national borders.

Van Rensselaer Patroonship

In 1629, the Dutch West India Company (WIC), a chartered trading company, instituted a system for establishing permanent colonies in the New World Dutch holdings of New Netherland. The system granted large tracts of land to investors, or patroons as they were called, who agreed to settle fifty colonists on their land in four years time at their own expense.

The Dutch diamond merchant, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, who was also a director of the WIC, selected a large tract of land that bordered both east and west banks of the Hudson River (then known as the North River) around the site of Fort Orange, the present location of Albany. Even though Van Rensselaer received the land from the WIC, he was also obliged to purchase it from the Native inhabitants. By 1631, Van Rensselaer’s agent, Bastiaen Jansz Krol, concluded negotiations with the Mohican Indians to purchase the land that became known as Rensselaerswyck.

The WIC granted several other patroonships throughout the Hudson River valley, but Van Rensselaer’s was the only one to survive beyond the takeover of the colony by the English in 1664. English Governor Thomas Dongan ensured the survival of the patroonship by granting patents for the Van Rensselaer land and simultaneously creating the manor of Rensselaerswyck. All land in the manor belonged to the Van Rensselaer family, while those who lived and farmed the land were merely tenants who owed annual rent to the Van Rensselaers. This feudal system led to conflict known as the Anti-Rent Wars years later following Stephen Van Rensselaer III’s death in 1839.

The ornate bronze cannon that descended through the Van Rensselaer family was cast in 1630 for Kiliaen Van Rensselaer by the famous Dutch gun and bell founder Assuerus Koster. It may have come to New Netherland with the first group of Van Rensselaer colonists who arrived in the area in 1630.

Van Rensselaer Cannon

Cast by Assuerus Koster, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1630

Bronze, with wood and iron carriage

Courtesy of New York State Museum, H-1937.4.1

Renselaerswyck Map

Gillis Van Scheyndel

1631 or 1632

Ink on vellum

Courtesy of New York State Library

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Vicarious Visions

In 1991, brothers Karthik and Guha Bala started creating a small game, Synnergist, as a hobby. Their hobby transformed into a corporation namedVicarious Visions in 1994, and two years later, in 1996, Synnergist was published.

Their next game, Terminus, won awards for Best Programming and Best Audio at the Games Festival at Game Development Conference in 1999. Subsequently, the recognition launched Vicarious Vision’s next chapter, developing games on the Game Boy Color (GBA). Spider-Man for the GBA, led to unique hardware developments, which gained the attention of major publishers such as Activision, Inc., and Nintendo.

Vicarious Vision’s next big game was Tony Hawk for the GBA in 2001; it was the first 3D game produced on handheld hardware. The game won numerous awards, including a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). Vicarious Visions then went on to produce the Crash Bandicoot series on GBA, Crash Nitro Kart for PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox, and Doom 3 for the Xbox.

In 2005, Vicarious Visions became a part of Activision, Inc., and the following year the company moved to new space in Menands, New York. This new arrangement with Activision led to huge titles such as Guitar Hero on Wii, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and then the Skylanders series. Recently, Vicarious Visions has created multi million dollar games such as Skylanders Swap Force, and their newest game Skylanders Supercharges.

Wash Buckler Statue

Vicarious Visions/Activision Blizzard

c. 2013

Painted composition

Courtesy of Vicarious Visions

Barrens: Style Study

Vicarious Visions/Activision Blizzard

2013

Digital image

Courtesy of Vicarious Visions

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Uncle Sam

It was the meat packing business and the War of 1812 that transformed Troy resident Samuel Wilson into the iconic figure known as Uncle Sam. Wilson was born in Menotomy (now Arlington), Massachusetts, in 1766, and at the age of twenty-three he and his brother Ebenezer relocated to the village of Troy, New York. In the late eighteenth century Troy was just a small community but was beginning to attract significant numbers of New Englanders because of its abundant waterpower, rich agricultural land, and growing commercial opportunities.

During the war of 1812, Samuel Wilson oversaw provisions from Troy that were being sent to soldiers. Once ready for shipment, the casks were marked with the abbreviation “U.S.” Due to the novelty of the abbreviation, receivers of the casks did not know that U.S. meant United States. Instead, they joked the provisions came from Uncle Sam, referring to Samuel Wilson. This story became nationally recognized in 1961 when the U.S. Congress approved the resolution declaring Samuel Wilson the “real” Uncle Sam.

Today, the site most associated with Uncle Sam Wilson is 144 Ferry Street, Troy, the lot where he lived from the 1820s to his death in 1854. In 1989, Hartgen Archeological Associates conducted a site survey of the property and excavated this handsome chamber pot, certainly one owned by Samuel Wilson and his family.

Uncle Sam’s Chamber Pot

Unidentified maker, England

c.1820

Slip-decorated earthenware

Courtesy of the Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy, New York

“I Want You” U.S. Army Recruiting Poster

Designed by James Montgomery Flagg | c. 1940

Designer: Designed by James Montgomery Flagg

Printer: Printed by Leslie Judge Co., New York City

Medium: Photomechanical print on paper

Credit: Albany Institute of History & Art

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