Men and Things in Albany Two Centuries Ago. 41 



planted his colony farther north, and his tenants stretched 

 along the territory extending from Stuyvesant's city line 

 northward, known as the Colonic, the nucleus of E-ens- 

 selaerswyck. Speaking of the city line gives occasion to 

 mention that when Gov. Stuyvesant took possession of the 

 territory which afterwards comprised the city of Albany, 

 he planted a cannon at Fort Orange and tiring a ball north 

 it struck the ground at Quackenbush street, and the ball 

 sent south spent its force at Gansevoort street; and the 

 territory within that space, about one mile in distance, 

 was made the bounds of the future city, and the lines run 

 at right angles with the shore of the river at this point, gave 

 a northwesterly direction to the tract so taken for public 

 use; and the English governor, Dongan, in 1685, exacted 

 this concession from the patroon before granting him a 

 patent for the manor. 



These different villages or settlements led to misunder 

 standing, the whole region being often designated as Fort 

 Orange, whereas the fort was the government seat, located 

 on the exact ground now occupied by the Susquehanna rail 

 road office. Beverwyck was a distinct hamlet or village, 

 and so called until the English took possession of the 

 country in 1664, when its name was changed to Albany. 

 But the Dutch recovered their territory in 1673, when for 

 about a year it was known as Willemstadt. 



After the church was removed from Fort Orange, the 

 foot of State street was chosen for its location, where it 

 was built and occupied in 1656. It was a small wooden 

 structure, which remained in use about sixty years. The 

 circumstances leading to its successor in 1715 are some- 

 what curious and interesting. The occupancy of the 

 country by the English, according to the usual course of 

 things, attracted the immigration of another nationality, 

 officers of the government and adventurers of all pursuits, 

 who in course of time proceeded to organize a church dif- 

 ferent from the established one of the Dutch Reformed, 



Trans. ix.'\ 6 



