Schenectady was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy.

When Dutch settlers developed Fort Orange (present-day Albany, New York) in the Hudson Valley beginning in 1614, the Mohawk called their settlement skahnéhtati,, also transiliterated to ‘’Sche-negh-ta-da”, meaning "beyond the pines", referring to a large area of pine barrens between the Mohawk settlements and the Hudson River.

The Colonial government gave other colonists grants of land in this portion of the flat fertile river valley, as part of New Netherland.

Beginning from the first decades of European colonization, Dutch colonists formed relationships with Mohawk women, though these did not usually result in marriage.

Their children were raised within Mohawk communities, as the tribe had a matrilineal kinship system, and these multiracial offspring were considered to be born into the mother's clan.

[20] On February 8, 1690, during King William's War, French forces and their Indian allies, mostly Ojibwe and Algonquin warriors, attacked Schenectady by surprise, leaving 62 dead, 11 of them enslaved Africans.

Because of their close business and other relationships with the British, some settlers from the city were Loyalists and moved to Canada in the late stages of the Revolution.

It was not until after the Revolutionary War that the village residents reduced the power of the descendants of the early trustees and gained representative government.

Many traveled west along the Mohawk River, settling in the western part of the state, where they developed more agriculture on former Iroquois lands.

[23] New York had passed a law for gradual abolition of slavery in 1799,[24] however, in 1824, there were still a total of 102 slaves in Schenectady County with nearly half residing in the city.

Schenectady benefited by increased traffic connecting the Hudson River to the Mohawk Valley and the Great Lakes to the west and New York City to the south.

The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad started operations in 1831 as one of the first railway lines in the United States, connecting the city and Albany by a route through the pine barrens between them.

[26] Commodities from the Great Lakes areas and commercial products were shipped to the East and New York City through the Mohawk Valley and Schenectady.

Freedom seekers were supported via the Underground Railroad route that ran through the area, passing to the west and north to Canada, which had abolished slavery.

The abolitionist Theodore S. Wright, an African-American minister based in New York City, spoke at the church's dedication and praised the school.

This business became a major industrial and economic force and helped establish the city and region as a national manufacturing center.

[30] General Electric and American Locomotive Company (ALCO) were industrial powerhouses, influencing innovation in a variety of fields across the country.

Schenectady is home to WGY, the second commercial radio station in the United States, (after WBZ in Springfield, Massachusetts, named for Westinghouse).

In the postwar period after World War II, some residents moved to newer housing in suburban locations outside the city.

In addition, General Electric established some high-tech facilities in the neighboring town of Niskayuna, which contributed to continuing population growth in the county.

But corporate restructuring to cope with the changing locomotive procurement environment led to ALCO's slow downward spiral.

The project would redevelop an ALCO brownfield site in the city along the waterfront, with hotels, housing and a marina in addition to the casino.

[37] In February 2017, the Rivers Casino & Resort opened with 66 table games and 1,150 slot machines on a 50,000-square-foot gambling floor with a steakhouse and a restaurant lounge.

The top ancestries self-identified by people on the census are Italian (13.6%), Guyanese (12.3%), Irish (12.1%), Puerto Rican (10.1%), German (8.7%), English (6.0%), Polish (5.4%), French (4.4%).

Trains include the Ethan Allen, Adirondack, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, and Empire Service.

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) provides bus service throughout Schenectady along with connections to the surrounding cities of Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Troy.

The bright orange FJ&G interurbans were scheduled to meet every daylight New York Central train that stopped at Schenectady.

FJ&G bought the cars believing that there would be continuing strong passenger business from a prosperous glove and leather industry, as well as legacy tourism traffic to Lake Sacandaga north of Gloversville.

Instead, roads were improved, automobiles became cheaper and were purchased more widely, tourists traveled greater distances by car, and the Great Depression decreased business overall.

FJ&G ridership continued to decline and in 1938 the state of New York condemned the line's bridge over the Mohawk River at Schenectady.