As students at Rensselaer in the mid-1950s, we did not give much thought to the city in which we lived. The Troy we saw had lost much of its glamor, but earlier in its history it was a vibrant, modern industrial metropolis. The first patent for the horseshoe was awarded to Henry Burden in 1835. Troy became a leader in the iron industry with the founding of Troy's Iron and Nail Company in 1809. Many textile mills operated in Troy including Cluett-Peabody, maker of Arrow shirts and inventor of the sanforizing process. Troy was the center of the collar and cuff business. In 1942, Cluett-Peabody was the largest manufacturer of shirts in the U.S.

Washington Park was the place to live in Troy in the 1840 - 1916 time period. Everyone who was someone lived in this area. With Troy strategically located at the head of navigation on the Hudson River, near the point where the Erie Canal joined the river, Troy profited by moving finished goods and commodities produced elsewhere. The wealthy merchants who profited from canal traffic and railroad speculation, were the people who built and lived in the homes around Washington Park. Troy was a booming city.

The story of Troy can be learned from the graves in Oakwood Cemetery . The rich and the famous are buried in this mid-1800 cemetary.

The RPI Model Railraoad Club has posted 100s of photos of old Troy on their site, along with photos of their recreation of these buildings/streets in their model railroad system.