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Schenectady| Industrial city in New York State, USA, on the Mohawk River, 20 km/13 mi northwest of Albany; population (2000) 61,800. With Troy and Albany it forms the Tri-City area. Schenectady has long been a producer of electrical goods; Thomas Edison, pioneer of electrical engineering, established his workshops here in 1886, and these became the General Electric Company in 1892. Chemicals are also manufactured. Founded by the Dutch in about 1660, it was destroyed by American Indian Iroquois and French in 1690, and re-established by the British. |
| Schenectady grew rapidly with the development of the Erie Canal and arrival of the railroad in the early 19th century. It was a centre for the repair and manufacture of locomotives and rolling stock until the middle of the 20th century. |
| Features include the Historic Stockade Area of Dutchtown, and the Nott Memorial (1875), an unusual 16-sided structure. The city is the seat of Union College (1795). |
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