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New York's Capital District was ideally situated to become one of the nation's earliest and most important transportation crossroads. The Mohawk River was the only water level gap in the Appalachian range to the west, which led to the construction of the Erie Canal. Soon after its completion, the state's first railroad began operating between Albany and Schenectady in 1831. Other pioneer railroads followed, heading north to Canada, south to New York City, west to Chicago, and east to Boston. Over the next century, railroads like the New York Central, Boston & Albany, Boston & Maine, and Delaware & Hudson built extensive passenger stations, freight and classification yards, and repair shops in the tri-city region. Passenger operations continue today at the Schenectady and Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak stations, while the Selkirk Yard is still an important classification point for CSX Transportation.
The early Dutch settlers in Albany called the hills to the west "Hellebergh," or "Clear Mountain." Little did they know of the rugged terrain that lay above the Helderberg Escarpment or of the hardy men and women who would one day tame that wilderness. Faced with thin soil and a harsh climate, the resourceful people of the Helderbergs established four towns: Berne, Knox, Rensselaerville, and Westerlo. The Hilltown farmers declared their independence from the feudal landlord system during the renowned anti-rent wars of the mid-1800s. As the agrarian economy faded, the enterprising Hilltowners used local resources in new ways to earn their livelihood. Landowners capitalized on the natural beauty of the region to attract tourists. Knox's cottage industry of wooden pillbox production brought it fame as the "Pillbox Capital of the World." Rensselaerville's Huyck Preserve created opportunities for the long-term study of biological systems. Helderberg Hilltowns takes the reader back to 1880 through 1950, a time of one-room schoolhouses, church socials, barn raisings, haying with draft horses, bobsledding parties, family reunions, and rocking chairs on the veranda.