The town of Niskayuna was created on March 7, 1809, from the town of
Watervliet, with an initial population of 681. The town's name was derived from early patents to Dutch settlers:
Nis-ti-go-wo-ne or
Co-nis-tig-i-one, both derived from the
Mohawk language. The 19th-century historians Howell and Munsell mistakenly identified Conistigione as an Indian tribe, but they were a band of
Mohawk people known by the term for this location. The original meaning of the words translate roughly as "extensive corn flats", as the Mohawk for centuries cultivated maize fields in the fertile bottomlands along today's
Mohawk River. They were the easternmost of the Five Nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy. Among the Mohawk chiefs who lived in the area were
Ron-warrigh-woh-go-wa (meaning in English the great fault finder or grumbler),
Ka-na-da-rokh-go-wa (a great eater),
Ro-ya-na (a chief),
As-sa-ve-go (big knife), and
A-voon-ta-go-wa (big tree). Of these, Ron-warrigh-woh-go-wa strongly objected to selling communal lands to the whites. He ensured that the Mohawk retained the rights of hunting and fishing on lands they deeded to the Dutch and other whites. He was reported to have said that "after the whites had taken possession of our lands, they will make
Kaut-sore [literally spoon-food or soup] of our bodies." He generally aided the settlers during the mid-18th century against the Canadians in the
French and Indian War, the North American front of the
Seven Years' War. in Niskayuna with town Supervisor Landry and Senator
Chuck Schumer at microphone, The first European settlers of the town were Dutch colonists who chose to locate outside the manor of
Rensselaerwyck to avoid the oversight of the
patroons and the trading government of
New Netherland. Harmon Vedder obtained a patent for some land in 1664, soon after the founders in 1661 gained land in what developed as the village and city of Schenectady. Following the Revolutionary War, Yankee settlers entered New York, settling in the Mohawk Valley and to the west. The
Erie Canal of 1825 and later enlargements brought increased traffic and trade through the valley. During the 19th and 20th centuries, industries developed along the Mohawk River, especially concentrated in Schenectady in this county. Farming continued in outlying areas. The headquarters of
General Electric and
Westinghouse Electric developed in the city of Schenectady, which became a center of broad-reaching innovation in uses of electricity and a variety of consumer products. After
World War II, the
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory was opened in 1946 in Niskayuna, under a contract between General Electric and the US government. In 1973, the
General Electric Engineering Development Center moved from downtown
Schenectady to River Road in Niskayuna. Today, it is one of the two world headquarters of
GE Global Research with the other in Bangalore, India. Due to high-level scientific and technological jobs associated with these businesses, Niskayuna has a high level of education among its residents and a high per capita income of towns in the capital area. The following sites in the town are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places:
George Westinghouse Jones House,
Niskayuna Railroad Station,
Niskayuna Reformed Church, and
Rosendale Common School. == Geography ==