Troy's Community Newsletter

The Troy Development Corporation

by Mike Esposito

An interesting footnote in Troy history was initiated eighty years ago when J. Horace McFarland, President of the American Civic Association, addressed the annual meeting of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. His topic was an issue which area newspapers wrote about extensively during the early weeks of 1918: "It was sometime during the latter part of the summer (1917) that the news came from Washington telling of an appropriation to swell the activity of the Watervliet arsenal so that the number of men to be employed in the place would be enlarged from 7,000 to 8,000" in anticipation of the arsenal's part in the war effort against Germany. McFarland, according to news coverage in the Troy Record, told the Chamber "there is no reason the city could not accommodate them; no reason why plans cannot be made with speed for this purpose; no reason why the city should wait for the government to provide the means. To care for the employees is part of the city's patriotic duty as well as one of local growth."

A history of the Watervliet Arsenal mentions that "the area housing shortage complicated the labor situation. Troy, Watervliet and Albany were surveyed to find what quarters were available for arsenal employees. Arsenal Commandant, Colonel Charles E. Mettler wrote letters which were read in all the churches asking that patriotic households throw open their homes to arsenal workers, particularly men with wives and children." The Record reported of appeals made to South Troy property owners to "hunt up their spare rooms, fix them up, and to repair houses. If residents showed a disposition to help the government, some aid would be available to assist property owners."

The Troy Times reported that the city could not act on an initiative because "the tax budget was already too large and the city was not permitted by charter to engage in the housing business, although Troy mayor Cornelius Burns had the police make a census of every vacant flat and room in the city in order to gain an idea of how many men could be accommodated." The information was turned over to the Chamber.

A neighborhood organization, the South End Improvement League, was formed and worked with the Chamber and city officials. The League's interest was to attract new employees to settle in South Troy. It found support for two of its initiatives which attracted much attention. The first was a ferry service, originally provided from a dock at the foot of Madison Street, later from Monroe Street, which eventually carried hundreds of employees across the Hudson to a dock at the Watervliet Arsenal, reducing the regular commute time by 40 to 50 minutes. The second was its successful lobbying for the opening of Madison Street from 5^th Avenue to the river to provide for hundreds of building lots.

Shortly after McFarland addressed the Chamber, John J. Ryan was appointed president of a newly incorporated realty company, named the Troy Development Corporation, which would work to provide suitable housing for arsenal employees. "Every man with business or civic interests will be asked to buy shares in the corporation. The cost of $25 per share places the stock within the reach of practically all Troy residents" according to an article in the Troy Times. In a matter of weeks a substantial portion of the $200,000 start up capital was raised from 485 subscribers. Part of the Corporation's plan was to purchase and renovate two former Troy hospitals, the old Troy Hospital building on 8^th Street at the head of Fulton and the old Samaritan Hospital on 8^th Street between Hutton and Hoosick to provide housing for 700-800 men. The weekly rental rate would be set at $2.00.

Area Newspaper reports indicated that a Chamber delegation to Washington received assurances that "no government housing activities will be allowed to compete with those provided by the new Troy Development Corporation. In fact, a proposed hotel for workmen on the grounds of the arsenal will not be erected unless the sum of all facilities provided by Troy prove inadequate."

Unfortunately within a matter of months the government abandoned its original plan to encourage private sector initiatives and decided to pay the entire cost of housing. The United States Housing Corporation of New York State was formed in July, 1918 to plan and develop civilian employee housing units but concluded that, at least in the case of the Troy Development corporation, it might properly remain "a potential, rather than an active asset."

The reason that government housing was not given a priority locally was traced to the fact that "enthusiastic landlords claimed anything in the line of a flat could be used and was immediately available." When government analyzed the results of their own extensive housing survey they realized that exaggerated claims in an earlier housing census worked against the city. "Washington officials believed from earlier reports that Troy, Albany, and other local communities had so many idle houses they could take care of several thousand people and there was no need for new housing" reported the Troy Record. "Scarcity of material, the high cost of building materials and the almost impossibility of obtaining them without priority orders from the government resulted in the decision by the Troy Development Corporation to return the funds it raised to the hundreds of Troy businesses and residents who invested" according to another Troy Record article. The corporation's plan to develop housing units was abandoned.

The renovated old Troy Hospital was eventually used to house 450 soldiers who attended training classes at the Troy Army Vocational School but the old Samaritan Hospital was not used because all plumbing had been removed from the building and it would take too long to reinstall new plumbing and complete a renovation. The government never built housing units for civilian employees at the arsenal during this period and it does not appear that any large scale construction of homes for incoming arsenal employees were built privately either. An armistice was signed several months later, on November 11, 1918, between our government and Germany and the hostilities ceased.

Sources used in preparing this article, all available at the Troy Public Library, include accounts in 1918 Troy newspapers (the Troy Record, The Times Record, and the Troy Sunday Budget), as well as the history, "Watervliet Arsenal:A Chronology Of The Nations Oldest Arsenal," edited and compiled over several editions by, Francis Kyle, James V. Murray and John Swantek.

In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation
Items published herein do not necessarily represent the opinions of Troy United Ink Corp., its officers or it's Board of Directors.

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