Duanesburg Map
Duanesburg is a town in Schenectady County, New York, USA. The population was 5,808 at the 2000 census. Duanesburg is named for James Duane, who held most of it as an original land grant. The town is in the western part of the county.
Originally known as Duanes's Bush, Duanesburg was established as a township by patent on March 13, 1765. It was combined with Schoharie, New York as the United Districts of Schoharie and Duanesburgh on March 24, 1772, which became the town of Schoharie in 1788. Duanesburg became its own town once-again in 1789. James Duane, for whom the town was named, envisioned Duanesburg as the capital of New York and ultimately the capital selected was located only 20 miles away in Albany. The town's earliest settlers chiefly comprised English Quakers from Dutchess County, New York in the 1780s as well as a group of settlers who were originally from the town of Kent, Connecticut.
The Village of Delanson located in the Town of Duanesburg was an important stop for the Delaware and Hudson railroad. Major freight traffic carried Pennsylvania coal northeast through Duanesburg and onto Albany, Boston and other major eastern cities. In the flat bottomed valley east of the village of Delanson were huge coal storage piles over 100 feet high. The village of Delanson had a rough reputation at the time, catering to "rowdy" railroad men. Many densely packed wooden shops lined the village street on the north and south sides of the tracks. Most of the rest of the town of Duanesburg was dairy farms. Pine Hill Farms was the most notable dairy farm.
Nearby cities include Schenectady, Central Bridge, Schoharie, Niskayuna, Amsterdam.