# Timeline of town creation in New York's Capital District

The towns and cities of New York's Capital District were created by the U.S. state of New York as municipalities in order to give residents more direct say over local government. The Capital District is an 11 county area, which consists of the counties of Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie, Warren, Washington, Columbia, Montgomery, Fulton, and Greene. New York experimented with different types of municipalities before settling upon the current format of towns and cities occupying all the land in a county. Districts were created for Albany and Tryon counties in 1772; all were transformed into towns (or divided into multiple towns) in 1788 when all of the state of New York was divided into towns. Two years before that, in 1786, all of what Washington County encompassed at that time was divided into townships with the same legal status, abilities, and responsibilities as districts with their status as towns confirmed in 1788. Some other forms of government in earlier years included land patents with some municipal rights and boroughs. The following timelines show the creation of the current towns from their predecessors stretching back to the earliest municipal entity over the area. The timelines only represent from which town(s) a particular town was created from and does not represent annexations of territory to and from towns that already existed. All municipalities are towns unless otherwise noted as patent, township, borough, district, or city. Unless otherwise sourced with a footnote all dates of incorporation represent those stated in the 1860 Gazetteer of the State of New York by John H. French.

## Albany and Rensselaer counties, with Niskayuna (Schenectady County)

| Beverwyck village 1652[0] (Albany in 1664) | Beverwyck village 1652[0] (Albany in 1664) | Beverwyck village 1652[0] (Albany in 1664) | Beverwyck village 1652[0] (Albany in 1664) | Beverwyck village 1652[0] (Albany in 1664) | Beverwyck village 1652[0] (Albany in 1664) | Albany city 1686[A] | Albany city 1686[A] | Albany city 1686[A] | Albany city 1686[A] | Albany city 1686[A] | Albany city 1686[A] |
| | | | | | | | West Manor district 1779- 1788[A] | West Manor district 1779- 1788[A] | Watervliet 1788 -1896[A] | Watervliet 1788 -1896[A] | Watervliet 1788 -1896[A] | Watervliet 1788 -1896[A] | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rensselaer- ville 1790[A] | Rensselaer- ville 1790[A] | Rensselaer- ville 1790[A] | Rensselaer- ville 1790[A] | Rensselaer- ville 1790[A] | Rensselaer- ville 1790[A] | Berne 1795[A] | Berne 1795[A] | Berne 1795[A] | Berne 1795[A] | Berne 1795[A] | Berne 1795[A] | | | Knox 1822[A] | Knox 1822[A] | Knox 1822[A] | Knox 1822[A] | Knox 1822[A] | Knox 1822[A] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Westerlo 1815[A] | Westerlo 1815[A] | Westerlo 1815[A] | Westerlo 1815[A] | Westerlo 1815[A] | Westerlo 1815[A] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Coeymans 1791[A] | Coeymans 1791[A] | Coeymans 1791[A] | Coeymans 1791[A] | Coeymans 1791[A] | Coeymans 1791[A] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bethlehem 1793[A] | Bethlehem 1793[A] | Bethlehem 1793[A] | Bethlehem 1793[A] | Bethlehem 1793[A] | Bethlehem 1793[A] | New Scotland 1832[A] | New Scotland 1832[A] | New Scotland 1832[A] | New Scotland 1832[A] | New Scotland 1832[A] | New Scotland 1832[A] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Guilderland 1803[A] | Guilderland 1803[A] | Guilderland 1803[A] | Guilderland 1803[A] | Guilderland 1803[A] | Guilderland 1803[A] |
| Manor[A] district 1772- 1779 | Manor[A] district 1772- 1779 | Manor[A] district 1772- 1779 | Manor[A] district 1772- 1779 | Manor[A] district 1772- 1779 | Manor[A] district 1772- 1779 | | | | | | | | Colonie[A] 1808-1815 | Colonie[A] 1808-1815 | Colonie[A] 1808-1815 | Colonie[A] 1808-1815 | Colonie[A] 1808-1815 | Colonie[A] 1808-1815 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Niskayuna 1809[B] | Niskayuna 1809[B] | Niskayuna 1809[B] | Niskayuna 1809[B] | Niskayuna 1809[B] | Niskayuna 1809[B] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cohoes[A] city 1869 | Cohoes[A] city 1869 | Cohoes[A] city 1869 | Cohoes[A] city 1869 | Cohoes[A] city 1869 | Cohoes[A] city 1869 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Colonie 1895[A] | Colonie 1895[A] | Colonie 1895[A] | Colonie 1895[A] | Colonie 1895[A] | Colonie 1895[A] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Green Island 1896[A] | Green Island 1896[A] | Green Island 1896[A] | Green Island 1896[A] | Green Island 1896[A] | | | | | | | | | North Greenbush 1855[D] | North Greenbush 1855[D] | North Greenbush 1855[D] | North Greenbush 1855[D] | North Greenbush 1855[D] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Watervliet city 1896[A] | Watervliet city 1896[A] | Watervliet city 1896[A] | Watervliet city 1896[A] | | | | | | | | | Clinton 1855[D] (East Greenbush in 1858) | Clinton 1855[D] (East Greenbush in 1858) | Clinton 1855[D] (East Greenbush in 1858) | Clinton 1855[D] (East Greenbush in 1858) | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Greenbush 1795- 1897[D] | Greenbush 1795- 1897[D] | Greenbush 1795- 1897[D] | Greenbush 1795- 1897[D] | Greenbush 1795- 1897[D] | | | Rensselaer city 1897[D] | Rensselaer city 1897[D] | Rensselaer city 1897[D] | Rensselaer city 1897[D] | Rensselaer city 1897[D] |
| | | | | | East Manor district 1779- 1784[A] | Rensselaer- wyck district[A] 1784-1788 | Rensselaer- wyck[C] 1788- 1795 | Schodack 1795[D] | | | | | | Sand Lake[D] 1812 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brunswick 1807[D] | Brunswick 1807[D] | Brunswick 1807[D] | Brunswick 1807[D] | Brunswick 1807[D] | Brunswick 1807[D] | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Troy 1791- 1816[D] | Troy 1791- 1816[D] | Troy 1791- 1816[D] | Troy 1791- 1816[D] | Troy 1791- 1816[D] | Troy 1791- 1816[D] | | | Troy city 1816[D] | Troy city 1816[D] | Troy city 1816[D] | Troy city 1816[D] | Troy city 1816[D] | Troy city 1816[D] | | | | | | | | Poesten- kill 1848[D] | Poesten- kill 1848[D] | Poesten- kill 1848[D] | Poesten- kill 1848[D] | Poesten- kill 1848[D] | Poesten- kill 1848[D] |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Lansing- burgh 1807-1901[D] | Lansing- burgh 1807-1901[D] | Lansing- burgh 1807-1901[D] | Lansing- burgh 1807-1901[D] | Lansing- burgh 1807-1901[D] | Lansing- burgh 1807-1901[D] | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Stephentown district 1784-1788[A] | Stephentown district 1784-1788[A] | Stephentown 1788[C] | Stephentown 1788[C] | Petersburgh 1791[D] | Petersburgh 1791[D] | | | Grafton 1807[D] | Grafton 1807[D] | | | Berlin 1806[D] | Berlin 1806[D] | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Philips- town 1806[D] (Nassau in 1808) | Philips- town 1806[D] (Nassau in 1808) | Philips- town 1806[D] (Nassau in 1808) | Philips- town 1806[D] (Nassau in 1808) | Philips- town 1806[D] (Nassau in 1808) | Philips- town 1806[D] (Nassau in 1808) |
| Schagh- ticoke district 1772- 1788[A] | Schagh- ticoke district 1772- 1788[A] | Schagh- ticoke district 1772- 1788[A] | Schagh- ticoke district 1772- 1788[A] | Schagh- ticoke district 1772- 1788[A] | Schagh- ticoke district 1772- 1788[A] | Schagh- ticoke 1788[C] | Schagh- ticoke 1788[C] | Schagh- ticoke 1788[C] | Schagh- ticoke 1788[C] | Schagh- ticoke 1788[C] | Schagh- ticoke 1788[C] |
| | | | | | | Pittstown 1788[C] | Pittstown 1788[C] | Pittstown 1788[C] | Pittstown 1788[C] | Pittstown 1788[C] | Pittstown 1788[C] |
| Hoosick district 1772- 1788[A] | Hoosick district 1772- 1788[A] | Hoosick district 1772- 1788[A] | Hoosick district 1772- 1788[A] | Hoosick district 1772- 1788[A] | Hoosick district 1772- 1788[A] | Hoosick 1788[C] | Hoosick 1788[C] | Hoosick 1788[C] | Hoosick 1788[C] | Hoosick 1788[C] | Hoosick 1788[C] |