Upstate New York

The Fulton Chain of Lakes, a chain of eight lakes in Adirondack Park
Part of a series on
Regions of New York
Downstate New York
Upstate New York
Administrative divisions
Timelines of town creation

Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York.[1][2] Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, the Capital District, the Mohawk Valley region, Central New York, the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes region, Western New York, and the North Country.[3][4] Major cities across upstate New York from east to west include the state capital of Albany, Utica, Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo.[4][5]

Before the European colonization of the United States, upstate New York was populated by several Native American tribes. It was home to the Iroquois Confederacy, an indigenous confederation of six tribes, known as the Six Nations.[6] Henry Hudson made the first recorded European exploration of the region in 1609,[7] and the Dutch erected Fort Orange (present-day Albany) in 1624, which was the first permanent European settlement in New York.[8][9][10] The region saw many battles during the American Revolutionary War, with the Iroquois split between supporters of the loyalists and supporters of the revolutionaries. After the war ended, the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix kicked off a series of treaties and purchases that saw the Iroquois cede the vast majority of their land in upstate New York to the newly formed United States.[11]

The 1825 opening of the Erie Canal across upstate New York transformed the economy of the region and the state. The canal greatly eased the movement of goods from across the upper Midwest and the cities along the Great Lakes through upstate New York and to the port of New York City. As a result, upstate New York became a hotbed for manufacturing during the Second Industrial Revolution, giving birth to such firms as General Electric, IBM, Kodak, and Xerox. The rapid industrialization led to a large influx of immigrants seeking jobs at factories across the region. Since the mid-20th century, American deindustrialization has contributed to economic and population decline,[12][13] and the region is largely considered part of the Rust Belt.

There are a wide variety of land uses in the region, including urban, suburban, forested preserve, and rural landscapes. Due to its vast areas of rural land, upstate also supports a strong agricultural industry, and is notable for its dairy, maple syrup, and fruit production (especially apples), as well as winemaking.[14] Upstate New York includes a number of notable waterways, with the Susquehanna, Delaware, and Hudson Rivers all originating in the region, and is bordered on its northern and western edges by the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. As a result, the region is a significant source of hydroelectric power (going back to the creation of the world's first hydroelectric dam by Nikola Tesla at Niagara Falls) and drinking water (with multiple reservoirs serving New York City). Upstate New York is home to numerous popular tourist and recreational destinations, including Niagara Falls, the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, the Thousand Islands, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Finger Lakes.

  1. ^ "Average Annual Population of Counties, New York State, 2014-2018". New York State Department of Health. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  2. ^ Horrigan, Jeremiah (January 13, 2014). "Upstate, downstate distinction raises questions". Recordonline.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Regions". Empire State Development. September 25, 2016. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Pollak, Michael (February 14, 2014). "What Area Is Considered Upstate New York?". F.Y.I. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  5. ^ "NYS Geography". How the Other Third Lives: A Focus on Upstate New York. Lewis Mumford Center, University at Albany. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  6. ^ Taub, Julian (August 17, 2013). "The Iroquois Are Not Giving Up". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Twin Mysteries of Henry Hudson - His 1609 Voyage". Hudson River Valley Institute. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  8. ^ "Fort Orange - A Tour of New Netherland". New Netherland Institute. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  9. ^ ""a small fort, which our people call Fort Orange"". New York State Museum. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  10. ^ "One of America's First Cities: Colonial Albany – Oldest US Museums - Upper Hudson River Valley Life & Culture - Albany Historic Heritage - Albany Institute of History and Art". www.albanyinstitute.org. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "The Six Nations Confederacy During the American Revolution - Fort Stanwix National Monument". U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Technology and Steel Industry Competitiveness: Chapter 4. The Domestic Steel Industries Competitiveness Problems. Archived April 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Washington, D.C.: Congress of the United States, Office of Technology Assessment, 1980, pp. 115–151. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  13. ^ Leeman, Mark A. From Good Works to a Good Job: An Exploration of Poverty and Work in Appalachian Ohio PhD dissertation, Ohio University, 2007.
  14. ^ "The Role of Agriculture in the New York State Economy" (PDF). Osc.state.ny.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 17, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2016.