ALBANY

southernmost town and seaport of Western Australia. It lies on the northern shore of Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound. The naturally broad, deep, sheltered harbour was visited and charted by George Vancouver in 1791. In 1826 the first European settlement in the state, a penal colony called Frederickstown (after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany), was established there by the British. Known as Albany by 1832, it became an important whaling base during the 1840s and, until its closure in 1978, was the last surviving shore-based whaling enterprise in the Southern Hemisphere. Beginning in 1852, it served as a coaling depot for ships sailing the Indian Ocean. Albany declined temporarily when the newly improved harbour at Fremantle opened in 1900; but with the more recent development of its hinterland, it has revived to become the leading port of the south coastal area. Albany lies along the Great Southern Railway and the South Western and Albany highways to Perth-Fremantle, 240 miles (386 km) northwest. The town serves an area of dairy, beef, lamb, fruit, and potato farming. Its industries include woolen mills, fish and meat canneries, and brick, tile, and superphosphate plants. Albany has a mild summer climate and serves as a resort for Perth and the Wheat Belt (a region traversed by the Perth-Albany Railway). Pop. (1989 est.) 14,958. city, capital (1797) of the state of New York, U.S., and seat (1683) of Albany county. It lies along the Hudson River, 143 miles (230 km) north of New York City. The heart of a metropolitan area that includes Troy and Schenectady, it is a port city, the northern terminus of the deepwater Hudson River Channel, and a natural transshipment point between oceangoing vessels and the New York State Canal System routes to the Great Lakes. In 1609 the English explorer Henry Hudson anchored the Half-Moon in the shallows near the site while searching for the Northwest Passage. Fort Nassau, built in 1614 on Castle Island (now part of the Port of Albany), became a trading post for the New Netherland Company. A group of Walloon families built Fort Orange near the site in 1624 and began the first permanent settlement, known as Beverwyck. In 1629 the Dutch West India Company granted tracts along both sides of the river (including Beverwyck) to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam merchant. Renamed Rensselaerswyck, the area attracted a sizable number of colonists, and in 1652 Peter Stuyvesant, colonial governor for the Dutch West India Company, obtained independent status for the village of Beverwyck from the van Rensselaer family. When Fort Orange surrendered to the British (September 24, 1664), the village was renamed to honour James, duke of York and Albany (later King James II). It was granted a city charter by the British governor Thomas Dongan on July 22, 1686. Albany's strategic location and the construction of Fort Frederick made it a leading colonial city. Its population of 2,273 in 1703 increased to 3,498 in 1790 (the year of the first U.S. census) and to 50,763 by 1850. The Dutch heritage is reflected in many street names and in the annual Tulip Festival held in May in Washington Park. In 1689 one of the first intercolonial conventions was held at Albany to discuss a system of mutual defense. A more significant historical gathering was the Albany Congress, which took place in 1754. This meeting paved the way for the Congress of 1765 and the Continental Congress of 1774. Migrating pioneers began to appear in Albany as early as 1783, and the city, a thriving fur-trading centre, became a major outfitting point for wagon trains going west. The opening of the Erie Canal (1825) and the advent of the railroad (1831) increased the flow of traffic through the city, which became the hub of transportation to Michigan Territory (the upper Great Lakes). Politics remains a prevailing aspect of Albany. Its moderate industrial development includes the manufacture of paper, machine tools, clothing, industrial equipment, chemicals, electronics, and dental products. The city was one of the first in the country to establish a commercial airport (1919), and in 1932 the opening of the Port of Albany to oceangoing shipping made it a maritime centre. The city has notable examples of Dutch Colonial, Georgian, and French-Gothic Revival architecture, including the Schuyler Mansion (1761), Historic Cherry Hill (home of the van Rensselaer family; 1787), the State Bank of Albany (1803), the First Church in Albany (Old Dutch Church; 179799), City Hall (188183), the state capitol (186799) in French Chateau style, St. Peter's Episcopal Church (1859), and the Joseph Henry Memorial (originally Albany Academy; completed 1817). The focal point of the city is the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza (completed 1978), facing Capitol Park and embracing a building complex of government, cultural, and convention facilities, including the New York State Museum. Institutions of higher learning include the State University of New York at Albany (1844); the professional schools of Union University, which include Albany Medical College (1839), Albany Law School (1851), and Albany College of Pharmacy (1881), as well as Dudley Observatory; and the Roman Catholic colleges of St. Rose (1920) and Maria (1958). Pop. (1990) city, 100,031; Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA, 861,623; (1998 est.) city, 94,305; (1996 est.) Albany-Schenectady-Troy MSA, 878,527. city, seat (1853) of Dougherty county, southwestern Georgia, U.S. It lies along the Flint River at the head of navigation. Founded in 1836 by Colonel Nelson Tift, it was named for Albany, N.Y., and was early established as a leading cotton market. In 1857 a railroad connected it with Macon. Later six other rail lines converged on the point to make it a transportation hub. Cotton growing declined in the Albany area after the boll weevil infestation of 1915. Diversified agriculture followed, with emphasis on papershell pecans, Spanish peanuts (groundnuts), and livestock. The city's manufactures include aircraft and farm implements. Albany State College was founded in 1903. Chehaw Indian Monument is located just north of the city. A Marine Corps supply depot is nearby. Radium Springs resort is 4 miles (6 km) south. Inc. 1838. Pop. (1990) city, 78,122; Albany MSA, 112,561. county, east-central New York state, U.S., bordered by the Mohawk River to the northeast and the Hudson River to the east. The terrain rises from the Hudson valley lowlands in the east to the Helderberg Mountains in the centre of the county; Alcove Reservoir is in the south. Parklands include Thompson's Lake and John Boyd Thacher state parks. Timber in the western half of the county mainly comprises maple, birch, and beech, while oak and hickory dominate the eastern half. Algonquian-speaking Mahican (Mohican) Indians inhabited the region when European explorers first arrived. The city of Albany is the county seat and the state capital of New York; the first European to visit the site was the English navigator Henry Hudson in 1609, and by 1624 the area was permanently settled by the Dutch. The Albany Institute of History and Art features 19th-century artwork by the Hudson River school, the first native school of painting in the United States. The New York State Museum is the nation's oldest and largest state museum. The State University of New York at Albany was founded in 1844. Siena College was established in Loudonville in 1937. Other communities include Guilderland, Delmar, Cohoes, and Watervliet. One of New York's original counties, Albany was created in 1683 and named for James, duke of York and Albany (later King James II). The county became a major transportation centre with the advent of canal shipping (1825), rail travel (1831), commercial air travel (1919), and oceangoing shipping (1932). In addition to governmental activities, the economy is based on services (health and business), finance, transportation, and trade (retail and wholesale). Area 524 square miles (1,357 square km). Pop. (1990) 292,793; (1996 est.) 296,087. city, seat of Linn county, western Oregon, U.S., in the Willamette Valley, at the juncture of the Willamette and Calapooya rivers, 26 mi (42 km) south of Salem. Established in 1848 by Walter and Thomas Monteith and named for the New York state capital, it became a shipping point for wool, grain, and cascara bark. The Oregon and California (now Southern Pacific) Railroad arrived in 1870. Wood, leather, metal, and food-processing industries were developed. The U.S. Bureau of Mines maintains the Albany Metallurgy Research Center there. The city is host to the daredevilish World Championship Timber Carnival (July 4). Inc. 1864. Pop. (1990) 29,462.