"Put a Thorne ON your side" 

Lorraine Thorne
(518)640-4728
LThorne@CBPP.com 

About the Schenectady County, New York Area 

Schenectady County is a region of approximately 157,208 people, rich in history, culture and arts, and offering a quality of life and cost of living that are among the best in the country. Not only does it have strong community involvement, and a robust business environment, but Schenectady County also has beautiful, scenic mountains, lakes and rivers providing recreational fun all year round. The diversity of the area is one of its main charms, from the hustle and bustle of the many urban settings to the peace and quiet of the suburbs and rural countryside.
You can find your ideal lifestyle here. 

Location
Schenectady County is located north of Albany, in east central New York State. It is bordered by Saratoga County on the northeast, Albany County on the south, Montgomery County on the northwest, and Schoharie County on the southwest. It is the second smallest county in the state.  

Schenectady County is centrally located, just a short drive from Saratoga, Cooperstown and Albany, and less than one hour from Lake George in the Adirondacks, the Berkshires and the Catskills. 

Schenectady County is 143 miles from New York City; 243 miles from Boston, MA; and 186 miles from Montreal, in Canada. 

Geography
The county has a total area of 210 square miles, and 206 square miles of it is land and 4 square miles, or 1.68% of it is water. It sits at an altitude of 211 to 275 feet above sea level.  

Two major waterways in the area are the Hudson and the Mohawk Rivers. The Hudson River is about 315 miles long. It begins on the northwest slope of Mount Marcy, and flows south past Glens Falls, Albany, Kingston and Newburgh before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Mohawk River flows about 143 miles southeast from central New York past Amsterdam and Schenectady and connects with the Hudson River in Troy. 

Jobs
Schenectady County is an integral part of New York’s “Tech Valley”, and as such, is a smart choice for a business or a career locale. The five main “Tech Valley industries” are: nanotechnology, biotechnology, advanced materials, energy and information technology. 

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy area has been rated by Inc. Magazine as the 25th best place in the country for doing business. Entrepeneur Magazine placed the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region in 4th place in the Eastern U.S. for entrepreneurs, and Expansion Management Magazine rated it 15th out of 331 areas for "High-Value" labor, a "Five-Star Knowledge Worker Metro", the highest possible rating.  

Schenectady County has an average wage of $33,639 and a median household income of $43,321. The city of Schenectady was the original home base for the Edison Electric Company (now known as General Electric), and GE has retained its administrative core there.  

The average time to travel to work in Schenectady is 21.3 minutes and the unemployment rate is 4.2%.

Housing
Housing prices in Schenectady County are very affordable with the typical cost of a house in the region being $168,600.  

Schenectady County encompasses everything from high-tech industries to rural open spaces, and so the county offers a rich and diverse range of housing options, from country estates and farms to city neighborhoods with urban brownstones to suburban colonial homes. 

Recreation
Schenectady has dozens of parks and 9 nature preserves, all with a variety of recreational offerings. There is boat watching on the Mohawk River, hiking in the nature preserves, swimming, tennis, bocce ball and, often, an evening’s entertainment. 

Central Park is the jewel of Schenectady's numerous parks, and the highest elevation point in the city. It features a renowned rose garden, Iroquois Lake, and a stadium tennis court that is home to the New York Buzz of the World Team Tennis league. 

The Schenectady County Forest Preserve is located in the Town of Duanesburg on Lake Road. This 102-acre forest is a multi-recreational property which provides hiking, hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. It is also a historically significant area; one of James Duane's original Great Lots with the remains of stonewalls, a farm house foundation and a small family cemetery. 

The Gateway Landing-Rotary Park is located in Rotterdam along the Mohawk River. It provides dock space for small boats, boat access to the river, fishing, a link to the river front and a connection to the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail. 

The Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail is a long, off the road, paved bicycle path. It begins in Rotterdam and travels eastward to the Erastus Corning Riverfront Preserve in downtown Albany. At approximately 35 miles in length, the Trail is one of the longest paved rail-trails in the nation, and permits all non-motorized uses, such as walking, running, bicycling, and in-line skating. It also provides some spectacular views of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. 

The Indian Kill Nature Preserve, located in Glenville, is a 100-acre preserve comprised of hardwood forests, conifer plantations, wetlands and a stream stocked with rainbow trout. It is a great spot for hiking, fishing, and nature study. 

For avid golfers, 6 courses are available in Schenectady County. The city of Schenectady is home to Hillcrest Golf Course, Mohawk Golf Course, and Briar Creek Golf Course. MaRia Mountain Golf Course is a 9-hole course located in Delanson, and Rotterdam has Whispering Pines Golf Course.  

Schenectady Municipal Golf Course is an 18 hole championship facility, with stately oaks and towering pines, featuring fast, undulating greens and tight fairways blanketed within grasses and native vegetation. It was ranked by Golf Digest "Best Places to Play in 2004" earning an impressive three-star rating.  

The Schenectady County Recreational Facility has a state of the art ice rink, which offers a wide range of recreational skating, ice hockey and figure skating programs for all ages. 

Schenectady also is home to World Team Tennis, and the Coors Lite U.S. Water Ski Show Team. 

Special Attractions/Events
In Schenectady County there are many cultural events to enjoy. You can listen to the sounds of jazz, a symphony, or blues band at a free concert. You can enjoy a spectacular Broadway production at Proctor's Theater, one of the primary arts venues in the County and one of the finest restored vaudeville theaters in the country. Proctor’s is home to "Goldie," a Wurlitzer theater pipe organ, and was also the site of one of the first public demonstrations of television.  

The County also boasts such renowned cultural attractions as the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, the Northeast Ballet, the Schenectady Civic Players, the Yulman Center and the art gallery at Union College. 

Schenectady has fantastic shopping; there are the quaint boutique shops on the Jay Street Pedestrian Mall in Downtown Schenectady, the Upper Union Street stores, or the Rotterdam Square Mall. Niskayuna is home to the new Mohawk Commons with its host of stores. 

Interesting Facts
The name "Schenectady" is derived from a Mohawk Indian word for "on that side of the pinery" or "near the pines," or "place beyond the pine plains." 

Schenectady’s Stockade District is New York State's first Historic District. It was originally named for the wooden stockades that enclosed it. It was burned to the ground in 1690 in one of the earliest battles for control of the new world, but was later rebuilt with the help of the Mohawk Indians. The Stockade Historic District was home to all of Schenectady's most important 17th, 18th and 19th century figures and it offers examples of nearly every architectural type, period and style of residential and religious buildings dating from around 1690 to 1930.  

In 1886, Thomas Edison established his company, Edison Machine Works, in Schenectady. The company was later known as the General Electric Company and Schenectady remained the world wide corporate headquarters for it until 1974. Thus came the nickname, “Electric City”. 

The GE Realty Plot is another historic neighborhood, which was built by the General Electric Company executives in the early 20th century. It is renowned for its eclectic collection of grand homes. 

Union College, located next to the GE Realty Plot, is the oldest planned college campus in the United States. The campus boasts Jackson's Garden, with eight acres of formal gardens and woodlands, and the 16-sided Nott Memorial building, which was built in 1875. 

The 1901, Schenectady Locomotive Works merged with seven other locomotive manufacturers in the northeast, creating the American Locomotive Company, one of the largest locomotive manufacturers in the world.

Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail there are aqueducts, towpaths and locks, all remnants of the Erie Canal, which are among the oldest canal features in North America. 

Schenectady is mentioned in Dr. Seuss' book: "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut".

Schenectady is featured in a poem by Eve Merriam called, "Schenectady", and in a poem by Medora Addison, called, "Names".  

Schenectady is the hometown of Grace Adler on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace.

There is a collection of science fiction short stories by Barry Longyear entitled "It came from Schenectady." The title is derived from Harlan Ellison's reply when people ask him, "Where do you get your ideas?"  

Schenectady is the former home of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2005 the Hall moved to Amsterdam. 

In the fictional Star Trek universe, Captain Jonathan Archer of the starship Enterprise was born in Schenectady.

The fictional “Spider-Man” comic book character, Dr.Octopus, is from Schenectady.  

Schenectady was home to the first commercial television station, WRGB, in 1940. It was also home to WGY-AM, one of the first commercial radio stations in the United States.

Schenectady was the location for the movies, "The Horse Whisperer" and "The Way We Were". 

Sir Charles Mackerras, the famous British conductor, was born in Schenectady while his father was taking an electrical-engineering course.  

Schenectady is the birthplace of actor Mickey Rourke; Joseph C. Yates, politician; Telford Taylor, lawyer and legal scholar; Andy Robinson, college basketball player for the Buffalo Bulls; Jason McKrieth, college basketball player for the Rice Owls, Kenny Dagostino, college basketball player for the Iona Gaels; Rashaun Freeman, college basketball player for the Massachusetts Minutemen; Ann B. Davis, actress; and Pat Cadigan, science fiction author. 

"Put a Thorne ON your side" 

Lorraine Thorne
LThorne@CBPP.com
(518)640-4728 

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