Natural Cultural History

Human History of the Pine Bush

Origins of the Albany Pine Bush

A Natural History of Fire and Ice

“The origins of the Albany Pine Bush are rooted in the glacial history of New York’s Capital District Region. Many of the geographic features seen in the Albany Pine Bush today are the work of great masses of ice that existed thousands of years ago.”

Almost 20,000 years ago during the Wisconsinan Period of the Pleistocene Age, the last major glacier to cover this area reached its maximum extent, extending as far south as Long Island. At this time, ice thickness in the Capital District may have exceeded one mile. As the glacier moved across the land, it scraped and eroded the underlying bedrock grinding the rock into a mixture of boulders, stones, sand and clay.

Over a period of approximately 5,000 years the great ice mass began to melt, and the glacier retreated northward to present-day Albany.

Blocked by the receding mass of ice, the meltwater from the glacier accumulated in the Hudson River Valley forming a massive “glacial lake” spanning from present-day Glens Falls southward to Newburgh. This lake was later named Lake Albany.

Several rivers emptied into Lake Albany, among them the Mohawk River, carrying sediment ground by the glacier. At the point where the Mohawk River joined Lake Albany, large amounts of sand and gravel were deposited close to the lakeshore forming a large delta. This sandy delta underlies what today is known as the Albany Pine Bush, centered on the western edge of Albany where Colonie and Guilderland now come together.

Free from the immense weight of the glacier, the land under Lake Albany rebounded and the lake drained, exposing the sandy delta. Winds further eroded and sculpted the sand into dunes that today characterize the Albany Pine Bush.

A succession of plant communities colonized and later stabilized the sand dunes culminating in a vast pitch pine-scrub oak barrens that covered most of the upper Hudson River Valley. This unique assemblage of species was shaped not only by the underlying well-drained sandy soils deposited by the glacier but also by a long history of periodic fires. Most of the Pine Bush plant species depend on periodic fire for their survival, and therefore flourish following such a disturbance. In the absence of fire, the unique character of this landscape changes drastically.

Surviving perhaps thousands of years since the last glaciation, the Pine Bush today faces its greatest threats: unplanned urban development and the exclusion of natural fires. In an area that once covered over 25,000 acres, less than 6,000 acres remain intact today. Targeted as a site of outstanding biological significance, the Pine Bush is one of the most endangered landscapes in the northeastern United States.

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Human History of the Pine Bush:
The road to conservation.

Who Lived in the PineBush?

Native Americans:

• Native Americans settled in the areas of the Pine Bush as early as 10,000 years ago.
• By the time the Europeans arrived, two main groups of Native Americans had territories that were separated by the Pine Bush. The Mahicans occupied land to the east and south along the Hudson River, while the Mohawk Iroquois lived west along the Mohawk River.
• The two groups competed with each other for trade with the settlers.

Europeans:

• The Dutch, and English were the first to establish the settlements known today as Albany and Schenectady.
• As Albany and Schenectady became settled, the Pine Bush developed a dangerous reputation. It was notorious as a refuge for smugglers, thieves, and during the American Revolution, English Loyalists.
• In addition to its bad reputation, the Pine Bush was prone to fires, making colonists hesitant to live there. The few that did usually lived along the King’s Highway and ran taverns for passersby.
• By the 19th century, some settlers attempted to farm the land of the Pine Bush. The most successful farmer was Theophillus Roessle who grew about 5,000 fruit trees on his plot of land. He said the sandy soil that is characteristic of the Pine Bush, was, “the best land for fruits in the world.”

Today:

• Less than 6,000 acres of Pine Bush land remains undeveloped. It is home to many businesses, schools, and homes.
• It is used as an important ecological, recreational, and educational resource for residents and tourists of the Capital District Region.
• Hundreds of species of plants and animals, 20 of which are considered rare, are found in the Pine Bush. It is recognized as a globally unique ecosystem.

What was the King’s Highway?

• In 1799, the Albany-Schenectady turnpike (Rt 5) and the Great Western turnpike (Rt 20) were built, making westward travel from Albany much easier. After this, the majority of travelers used the new roads, and use of the King’s Highway declined.

What resources did the Pine Bush provide?

Water: Halfway through the 19th century, the Patroon Creek was dammed to create Rensselaer Lake. It could hold 1.5 million gallons of fresh drinking water and supplied Albany residents for 25 years.

Animal pelts: The Mohawks and Mahicans sold the furs they harvested from the Pine Bush to Europeans at Fort Orange, present day Albany. Both settlers and Native Americans used the “Mohawk Path” later named the Kings Highway, as a travel corridor through the Pine Bush.

Berries: Local families used to go berry picking in the Pine Bush. They could enjoy huckleberries, blueberries, and elderberries.

Trees: Trees of the Pine Bush were used for a wide variety of things, including firewood, engine fuel, roof shingles, fences and stockades, and canoes.

PINE BUSH TIMELINE

8000 B.C.E. - Paleo-Indian groups left evidence of their presence in the Pine Bush
1624 – Settlement of Fort Orange by the Dutch
1640 – Native Americans had difficulty finding enough animals in the Pine Bush to meet the European demand for furs
1686 – The English gained control of Fort Orange and changed the name to Albany
1699 – Albany residents were required to collect firewood from the Pine Bush for military troops
1707 – The privilege of cutting firewood from the Pine Bush by Albany residents ended in 1707 but some still did so unofficially.
1710 – The governor of Albany arranged for German refugees to come to the United States and work in the Pine Bush to make rosin and pitch for navy vessels. Thousands of pitch pines were destroyed.
1799 – Rt 5 and Rt 20 were constructed, lessening the travel on the King’s Highway
1850 – Patroon Creek was dammed to create Rensselaer Lake
1858 – The Great Land Swindle occurred
1914 – Plans to create a park in the Pine Bush were developed by two architects commissioned to design a beautification plan for the city of Albany
1973 – The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation set aside more than 450 acres of the Pine Bush for protection, calling it the Pine Bush Unique Area
1978 - The grass roots organization Save the Pine Bush was formed to stop development in the Pine Bush
1988 – The NYS Legislature developed the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission
2005 – The Pine Bush Preserve Commission has obtained 3,010 acres of land to manage and preserve