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C+History
History · Colonie

Colonie was first counted by the census in 1810

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #713 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Colonie was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1810.

1810first census
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Colonie’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Colonie began

When was Colonie founded?

1810

Colonie first appears in the census in 1810.

First census: 1,406 in 18102020 census: 7,781216 years

How historic is Colonie?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Colonie’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colonie is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #713 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colonie’s overall grade.
Founding era1810, from the first census: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±2.5) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NY town 12.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 6%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Colonie’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (10% of New York towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Colonie’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18937 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1994. Watch Colonie change.Deep rootsIn the census since 1810: 216 years of Colonie.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colonie’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Colonie’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTownofwatervliet1866: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Colonie on the map, 1893 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Colonie. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Colonie on the 1893 USGS mapColonie on the 1927 USGS mapColonie on the 1947 USGS mapColonie on the 1953 USGS mapColonie on the 1978 USGS mapColonie on the 1980 USGS mapColonie on the 1994 USGS map1893Albany sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Colonie.

Timeline

Colonie, 1866 to 1981

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866In the archiveTownofwatervliet1866
  3. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1923In the archiveSeal of town of
  6. 1968In the archiveDETAIL VIEW, LOOKING EAST, OF SOUTHERLY WING WALL ON WASTE WEIR -3 - Erie Canal (Enlarged…
  7. 1981Born hereJulia DeVillers is born here
The story

How Colonie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colonie.

Read it all →

This area was once part of the Rensselaerwyck manor. The town of Colonie was formed in 1895 after the rural residents of the town of Watervliet opposed the state's proposal to transform the entire town into the city of Watervliet. The town and village of Green Island was also split off as a town from the town of Watervliet a year later and the village of West Troy that remained became the current city of Watervliet. All debts from the original town were divided proportionally between Green Island, Watervliet, and Colonie. Several lawsuits worked their way through the court system from the results of division. The original town of Watervliet was the "mother of towns" in Albany County, having once been all the land outside of the city of Albany within the county. All current towns either were formed directly or indirectly from a town formed from Watervliet. The central part of the town wa…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Colonie, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Townofwatervliet18661866Townofwatervliet1866
1920s1 item
Seal of town of1923Seal of town of
1930s–1950snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1960s2 items
DETAIL VIEW, LOOKING EAST, OF SOUTHERLY WING WALL ON WASTE WEIR -3 - Erie Canal (Enlarged), Oothout Culvert and Waste W…1968DETAIL VIEW, LOOKING EAST, OF SOUTHERLY WING WALL ON …DETAIL VIEW, LOOKING EAST, SHOWING STONE LINING OF CANAL TROUGH - Erie Canal (Enlarged), Oothout Culvert and Waste Weir…1968DETAIL VIEW, LOOKING EAST, SHOWING STONE LINING OF CA…
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today13 recent
Vly Road2008Vly RoadNYSDOT headquarters2008NYSDOT headquartersWolf Road2007Wolf RoadWolf Road2007Wolf RoadWolf Road2007Wolf RoadWolf Road2007Wolf RoadWolf Road2007Wolf RoadWolf Road2007Wolf RoadUntitled photo2007Untitled photoColonie, New York2007Colonie, New YorkWolf Road2004Wolf RoadWolf Road2004Wolf RoadWolf Road2004Wolf Road
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Townofwatervliet1866
Retake this viewTownofwatervliet1866, 1866

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Colonie’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Colonie, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000185019001950200085,590

Grew from 1,406 people in 1810 to 85,590 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1810–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Colonie’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Roessleville1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGuilderland41 historic placesA−

Questions about Colonie’s history

What year was Colonie founded?

The Colonie post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.

How does Colonie rank for history?

Colonie is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #713 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Colonie?

5% of Colonie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1965.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.