Watervliet (town), New York

Watervliet (/wɔːtərˈvliːt/ waw-tər-VLEET or /wɔːtərvəˈliːt/ waw-tər-və-LEET) was a town that at its height encompassed most of present-day Albany County and most of the current town of Niskayuna in neighboring Schenectady County, in the state of New York, United States.

Fort Nassau on Castle Island was built by Dutch colonists in 1614 within the original boundaries of the town.

It passed to the town of Bethlehem upon its creation in 1793, later to be annexed to the city of Albany in the 20th century.

Early settlers were Dutch farmers owning land north and south of Fort Orange along the Hudson River.

[9] In 1870 the portion of the former town of Colonie that Watervliet received in 1815 was annexed by the city of Albany.

When talk began of the creation of a city of Watervliet, they petitioned the state to be set apart as a separate town.

Chapter 905 of the laws of 1896 creating the city of Watervliet stated that any land in the town of Watervliet not incorporated into the new city would form a "distinct and separate town" and, after a boundary survey, uninhabited strips of land totaling less than 3 acres (12,000 m2) were found.

The Supreme Court of Albany County, Appellate Division, 3rd Department on March 2, 1898 ruled that the town of Watervliet ceased to exist on August 1, 1896 with the formation of the city; it said that the legislature could not have intended to have a town consisting of uninhabited shreds of discontinuous territory.