Niskayuna was formed on March 7, 1809 .The name of Niskayuna was originally derived from the term “Nis-ti-go-wo-ne” or “Co-nis-ti-glo-no” meaning: extensive corn flats. The Town of Niskayuna is located in the southeast part of the county, north and east of the City of Schenectady, and is the easternmost town in the county
Early settlers included the Abates, Clutes, Van Vrankens, Vedders, Groots, Tymersons, Consauls, Pearses, Van Brookhovens, Claas, Jansen and Kriegers.
The first settlers of this town were an independent class of Hollanders who located outside the manor line to avoid the conflicting exactions of the patrons and the trading government of the New Netherlands. It was settled at about the same time as Schenectady.
Captain Martin Kriegier, who was the first burgomaster of New Amsterdam, finally settled in Niskayuna, on the banks of the Mohawk.
Niskayuna is one of the five towns and one city of Schenectady County and lies in the Northeastern section of the County, separated by the Mohawk River. The Town is about 15 miles northwest of Albany, its principal points of entry being from Route 7, the Troy-Schenectady Road, and Route 5, the Albany-Schenectady Road, continuing north along Route 146, Balltown Road, at Mohawk Commons.
The town is primarily upper middle class families and has many lavish developments. Niskayuna is a quiet and classy town and is the home to many prominent buildings including the television station of WRGB Channel 6 (local news). It is also the home of one of the areas major shopping centers, Mohawk Commons which was converted to a large shopping plaza from an old defunct mall, known as Mohawk Mall. At it’s peak, Mohawk Mall was one of the area’s top mall and housed many popular national stores including Montgomery Ward’s. It declined in the mid to late 1990’s and was later demolished for the first store of a brand new shopping center, Price Chopper.
