About

The Town of Coeymans was named after Barent Pieteres Koijemans who arrived here from Holland in 1639 and was an apprentice in a grist mill owned by the Patron Van Rensselaer. It was on April 7, 1673, that Barent Coeymans took possession of the land that he had purchased from the Indians in 1672, land which became known as the Coeymans Patent. About the year 1800, perhaps 300 or 400 families lived in the Town of Coeymans, which was formed from part of the original patent and also from part of the Town of Watervliet. The first recorded Town meeting was held in April, 1811 and the first Supervisor was elected in 1818. The Ariaantje Coeymans stone house was built about 1720 near the mills on the Coeymans Creek. The house still stands and is in very good condition. The first dwelling, called Coeymans Castle, was a stone house that was subsequently torn down in 1833. It stood on the corner of Westerlo and First Streets.
Much of the earliest life was of Dutch ancestry and centered around the junction of the Coeymans and Onesquethaw Creeks and the Hudson River. Several mills were constructed for grinding grain, sawing lumber and water power. The earliest settlement was Coeymans Landing, a port on the Hudson River, where most of the early industry began. Coeymans Landing is now the Hamlet of Coeymans. Commerce grew, especially with the close of the War of 1812, and continued to grow until the turn of the century. Ship building was a major industry along the Hudson River along with the harvesting of ice. In the late 1700s, there were many brick companies and mills along the Hannacroix Creek including Dean's Mill, Aquetuck (Peacock's Corners), Coeymans Hollow, Alcove (Stephensville), and Indian Fields (inundated in 1930 to make way for Albany's water supply, the Alcove Reservoir). Alcove was known for its mills and Mossy Hill Stone Quarry, which is still in operation today.

Service Hours

Monday-Friday: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm