Waterford is a village in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The population was 2,204 at the 2000 census. The name derives from the ford between the mainland and Peebles Island.

The Village of Waterford is located in the southeast part of the Town of Waterford, northwest of the City of Troy.

History

The site of the village was occupied as "Half Moon Point" in the 17th Century. It was then in the territory of Mahican natives. This early village was at the ford between Peebles Island and the mainland. The approximate location of this ford is in the area of the Second Avenue Bridge. Though the construction of the Erie Canal destroyed much of the ford for which the village is named, remnants of an unnamed and often submerged island can still be seen southwest of the entrance to the canal.

The village claims to be the oldest continuously incorporated village in the USA. It was the first village incorporated by the state legislature in 1794, while in the Town of Halfmoon and was an established political entity before the formation of the Town of Waterford. Waterford village is one of only twelve villages in New York still incorporated under a charter, the other villages having incorporated or re-incorporated under the provisions of Village Law.

Geography

Waterford is located at (42.791127, -73.679758).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²), of which, 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (22.22%) is water.

Waterford is on the west bank of the Hudson River and north of Peebles Island State Park. The village was at the northern extreme of navigation on the Hudson River and was later the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal by way of the Champlain Canal. Locks 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the Waterford flight of locks for the Erie Canal, are located here, along with former locks of the Champlain Canal. While much of the surrounding town has a high elevation, the village of Waterford is very low. Its position at the convergence of both the Erie and Champlain Canals as well as the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers and it's relatively low elevation have contributed to many floods. While major floods have been rare through the last half of the 20th century to the present, the most recent flood of significance was in late June and early July 2006. The flood forced the closing of the Erie Canal, stranding several boats in the locks.

Conjoined US Route 4 and New York State Route 32 diverge in Waterford village with US-4, as Broad Street, crossing the Hudson River into Rensselaer County and NY-32 crossing the Mohawk River. County Roads 96, 6th Street, and 97, Washington Avenue, lead into the village from the northwest.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,204 people, 951 households, and 543 families residing in the village. The population density was 7,731.2 people per square mile (2,934.4/km²). There were 1,062 housing units at an average density of 3,725.3/sq mi (1,413.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.05% White, 0.77% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.45% of the population.

There were 951 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.3% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,135, and the median income for a family was $45,375. Males had a median income of $35,543 versus $25,912 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,141. About 11.4% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.