Downtown in Albany in Albany County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Albany
Photographed by Trudi Jacobson, December 21, 2025
1. Albany Marker
Called Fort Nassau 1614,
Fort Orange 1624,
Beverwyck 1652, Albany
1664: chartered 1686
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 42° 38.922′ N, 73° 45.02′ W. Marker is in Albany, New York, in Albany County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of Broadway and State Street, on the right when traveling north on Broadway. Located in SUNY Administration Plaza Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 353 Broadway, Albany NY 12204, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York and in the Capital District. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: General Burgoyne (here, next to this marker); Clermont (a few steps from this marker); Birthplace of American Union (a few steps from this marker); Fort Orange (a few steps from this marker); Henry Hudson (a few steps from this marker); This is Broadway (within shouting distance of this marker); Old Dutch Church (within shouting distance of this marker); On the North-East Corner of (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Albany.
Also see . . . New Netherland Institute's A Tour of America's Dutch Heritage. There are sections on this site that provide information about Fort Nassau, Fort Orange, and Rensselaerswijck.
Excerpts for Fort Nassau:(Submitted on December 28, 2025, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York.)
In 1614 or1615, only a few years after Henry Hudson's exploration of the area, Dutch traders constructed a fort at what they knew to be the crucial fur-trading nexus on the North (i.e., Hudson) River. They built it on an island, just a stone's throw from the western shore, within easy reach of the Indians who, as an early report put it, "come to this river to trade from the interior." They named it Fort Nassau, after the leading noble family of the Netherlands, the house of Orange-Nassau.... But in their desire to be right among the river traffic, the traders were too eager: the island (later called Castle Island, which has long since been attached to the mainland) flooded every spring, and the traders were forced to abandon it in 1618....While Fort Nassau was shortlived, it has an important role in history. By erecting it on the site of the future city of Albany six years before the Pilgrims founded the Plymouth Colony to the north, the Dutch signaled their claim to the area and their intention to establish a presence. While a footnote to history, then, Fort Nassau would also be the harbinger of all that was to come in the Dutch colony.
Click or scan to see
this page online
Photographed by Trudi Jacobson, December 21, 2025
2. Albany Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 21, 2025, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York. This page has been viewed 73 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 21, 2025, by Trudi Jacobson of Slingerlands, New York. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
