Kenwood, Albany, New York

Kenwood was a hamlet in the Town of Bethlehem, New York. The hamlet spanned both sides of the Normans Kill near the area where the Normans Kill flows into the Hudson River.[1] In 1870, and again in 1910, northern portions of Kenwood were annexed by the City of Albany, New York.

Kenwood
Hamlet
Kenwood is located in New York
Kenwood
Kenwood
Location of Kenwood within the state of New York
Coordinates: 42°37′35″N 73°46′08″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
RegionCapital District
CountyAlbany
Settled1618
Elevation
32.8 ft (10.0 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
12209
Area code518

History

Kenwood, formerly known as Lower Hollow or Rensselaer's Mills, dates to the earliest Dutch settlement in the area now known as New York's Capital District.[1][2] In 1618, the Dutch built a fort along a creek that the native inhabitants called Tawasentha.[1] This fort replaced a 1614 fort on Castle Island that had been lost due to an annual freshet that occurred along the Hudson River.[3] In 1637, Albert Bradt built a mill there.[1][4] From Norway, Bradt was nicknamed "the Norman", and the Tawasentha was renamed Normans Kill after him.[5]

Bridge over Normans Kill along the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike; 1908

The area known as the Lower Hollow, which later became the hamlet of Kenwood, was part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck. The Patroon Van Rensselaer had various mills built here after the US Revolutionary War.[1] In 1804, the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike Company was organized by the state of New York to construct a turnpike road from Albany at South Pearl Street through Lower Hollow, after which the turnpike split with an upper fork to Babcocks Corners (later Bethlehem Center) and a lower fork to The Abbey (later Glenmont). Robert Van Rensselaer lived in a house on the turnpike near the bridge that carried the road over the Normans Kill.[1] (The Upper Hollow, later known as Normansville, was located upstream along the Normans Kill.)

Businessman Joel Rathbone bought a 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) densely wooded area and built a grand Gothic mansion in 1841 for his retirement.[4] He named his estate "Kenwood" in honor of a place in his native Scotland,[6] and the surrounding area also became known as Kenwood.[7]

In 1863, the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad opened from Albany through Kenwood on its way to Adams Station (Delmar), Slingerlands and New Scotland,[8] and eventually to Binghamton.[9] At Kenwood was the Kenwood Junction, the meeting place of the West Shore Railroad and the Albany and Susquehanna.[10] The latter would be leased and then purchased by the Delaware and Hudson Railway. It was bought out by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) in 1990.[9] In 2000, CP had concerns about the safety of the bridge at Kenwood; soon after that, it abandoned the entire line from Kenwood to Voorheesville.[11]

In 1870, the city of Albany annexed a portion of Kenwood (including the first mile of the turnpike, the toll-gate, and the Rathbone estate). The city was sued (Harriet M. Elmendorf v. The City of Albany) over its right to lay sidewalks along the turnpike (technically private property and not a city road). One issue of the lawsuit was whether the city had authority to levy an assessment upon property in order to cover the cost of the sidewalk, considered an improvement to the private property of the turnpike.[12]

Map of Kenwood in 1891.

In 1886, the hamlet (which included land on both sides of the Normans Kill) included 16 residences, a schoolhouse, a store, a blacksmith, a Baptist church, and 36 families, with a total of 150 persons.[1]

In 1910, the City of Albany annexed the portion of the hamlet of Kenwood lying to the north of the Normans Kill that it had not previously annexed in 1870. Albany annexed much of the land in Bethlehem north of the Normans Kill, thereby making that creek a natural border between the two municipalities.[13] The Bethlehem School District Number 12 school house was on the north bank, and therefore was annexed to Albany; the land south of the creek became part of Bethlehem School District Number 7.[14]

In 1916, Southern Boulevard (US Route 9W), to the northwest of Kenwood, was constructed as a highway to connect Delaware Avenue in Albany to the turnpike at Corning Hill Road in Bethlehem, thereby bypassing Kenwood.[15]

In the early 1930s, South Pearl Street was built along a new path; it was designated as New York State Route 32. Because of the new road, much of the original turnpike route through Kenwood was abandoned. Roads on the Bethlehem side ended at the Normans Kill.

As of February 2020, Kenwood is no longer recognized as a hamlet within the Town of Bethlehem.[16]

Kenwood Academy

In 1859, the Female Academy of the Sacred Heart (a Catholic institution) bought the Rathbone estate and related structures, along with 53 acres (210,000 m2) of land. In 1867, it tore down the mansion, but reused its materials in the construction of a new church on the property. School buildings were also constructed. President-elect Grover Cleveland visited the campus in 1884.[4] The school changed its name to the Kenwood Academy.

In 1975, the Kenwood Academy merged with the Episcopal St Agnes School; the new institution—which continued to operate on the Kenwood campus for several decades—was named the Doane Stuart School.[17] The Doane Stuart School moved away from the Kenwood campus to a new campus in Rensselaer, New York in 2009.[18]

Following the departure of The Doane Stuart School, the former Kenwood Academy campus, consisting of 74 acres (300,000 m2), was listed for sale in 2009.[19] In 2010, the Preservation League of New York State declared the campus to be one of its "Seven to Save" endangered historic sites for that year.[20] The property was sold on August 21, 2017 for the sum of $3 million.[21] The purchaser of the property stated that he intended to turn the property into a condominium complex.[22] The project was not completed, and the property was later foreclosed upon.[23] On March 28, 2022, the owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[24]

On March 23, 2023 the building caught fire and burned almost completely to the ground.[25] The building was later demolished completely and the bankruptcy case was converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation on July 11.[26]

Famous residents

See also

References
  1. George Howell and Jonathan Tenney (1886). Bi-Centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany from 1609-1886. W.W. Munsell and Company. p. 782. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  2. Horatio Gates Spafford (1824). Gazetteer of the State of New York. B.D. Packard, 1824. p. 51. Retrieved 2010-03-07. bethlehem.
  3. George Howell and Jonathan Tenney (1886). Bi-Centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany from 1609-1886. W.W. Munsell and Company. p. 458. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  4. "A Brief History of Doane Stuart School". Albany Historic Foundation. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  5. William Barnes (1851). The Settlement and Early History of Albany. Gould, Banks and Gould. p. 7. Retrieved 2010-03-03. history of albany.
  6. Museum Bulletin Issues 171-176. The University of the State of New York. 1914. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  7. "Bethlehem Historical Association - Newsletter Articles". Archived from the original on 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  8. George Howell and Jonathan Tenney (1886). Bi-Centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany from 1609-1886. W.W. Munsell and Company. pp. 790–791. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
  9. "DL&W, Erie, and D&H Early Binghamton History". Susquehanna Valley Railway Historical Society. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  10. Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, One Hundredth and Thirtieth Session, 1890. Vol. V, - Nos. 22 to 28, Vol. I., Inclusive. James B. Lyon/ State of New York. 1890. p. 146. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  11. "Steve's Railroad Pages, Local Information". Steve Sconfienza, Ph.D. July 23, 2004. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  12. Marcus T. Hun, court reporter (1879). Reports of Cases Heard and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of New York; Volume XXIV. Banks & Brothers. p. 81. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  13. Leath, Susan (2016). Historic Tales of Bethlehem, New York. The History Press. p. 144. ISBN 9781467118552.
  14. William V.R. Erving (1920). Department Reports of the State of New York Containing the Messages of the Governor and the Decisions, Opinions and Rulings of the State Officers, Departments, Boards and Commissions; Volume 22. J.B. Lyon Company. pp. 300–301. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  15. John D. Whish (1917). Albany Guide Book. J.B. Lyon Company. pp. 38–39. albany southern boulevard.
  16. "Community Profile | Bethlehem, NY - Official Website". www.townofbethlehem.org.
  17. "Heart magazine". December 2008. p. 14. Archived from the original (pdf document) on 2008-11-21.
  18. Scott Waldman (September 17, 2009). "Doane Stuart moves across Hudson River". Albany Times Union. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  19. DeMasi, Michael (October 22, 2013). "Price slashed to $3.9M on former religious convent". Albany Business Review. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24.
  20. Lauren Lynn Fischer (January 20, 2010). "Local sites make "Seven to Save list"". Albany Times Union. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  21. Robin Cooper (August 21, 2017). "Investors buy Kenwood Convent property in Albany". Albany Business Review. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  22. Brian Nearing (August 22, 2017). "New owner tells plans for Kenwood Academy site". Albany Times Union. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  23. "Update on Kenwood / Sacred Heart Convent / Former Doane Stuart School". Historic-Albany.org. December 4, 2020.
  24. "Kenwood Commons bankruptcy". March 28, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  25. Hughes, Steve; Goodwin, Mike (2023-03-24). "Fire at Doane Stuart school widespread when firefighters arrived". Times Union. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  26. "Bankruptcy judge converts Kenwood campus case to Chapter 7". Albany Business Review. July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  27. Linda Hernick. "Women's History in the Collections". New York State Education Department/New York State Museum. Archived from the original on 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
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