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By Mike Myers
Vanderheyden is a single-family-home community located
in East Troy. Construction began back in 1995 by Pace
Communities. Since I moved here, I have seen the neighborhood
grow from two families to 80 families and eight more
houses are either under construction or finished and
awaiting occupancy.
Geographically we are bordered by Campbell Avenue on
the north and the Wynantskill to the west. To the east
are the Vanderheyden Estates Town homes and some side
streets from Pawling Avenue including Blakely Court
and eventually Munro Court and Parkview Court. To the
south we are still growing as Pace Communities continues
to build new houses stretching out towards but not connecting
to Winter Street.
Our neighborhood has the look and feel of any other
suburban neighborhood. The neighborhood is connected
to the Burden Environmental Park by the Wynantskill
Creek which then feeds into the Burden Pond.
This land/water connection has brought a lot of wildlife
into our community. It is not uncommon to see deer or
a turkey in our backyards.
While we enjoy all of the benefits of a suburban community,
we are within 10 minutes of downtown Albany and Troy.
We are close to major highways and can get anywhere
in the Capital District very quickly and easily.
The Vanderheyden development is located on what was
the back part of the old Vanderheyden Hall estate. Originally
called the Troy Orphan Asylum, Vanderheyden Hall has
provided housing to many orphaned and troubled youth.
Over the years it has been located in different areas
of Troy including what is now known as Samaritan Hospital.
Back in 1889, the 184-acre Saxton farm on Pawling Avenue
was donated to Troy Orphan Asylum. A large brick English
manor style building was built facing Spring Avenue,
along with another building that became known as Baby
House.
The hall itself, its gymnasium and chapel were located
in the current location of the Vanderheyden Estates
Town Homes. Many of the supporting buildings were located
in what is now known as Vanderheyden. The area which
now consists of Wynantskill Way, Granite Lane and Cobble
Stone Lane was the site of the laundry facilities, the
infirmary and the Power House which burned coal to provide
all of the heat and electricity for the orphanage.
Land at the very end of Wynantskill Way, which is designated
for future development, was the location of the baseball
and soccer fields for the orphanage. The backstop was
still standing as of a few years ago. Every once in
a while a resident will dig up an artifact from the
orphanage grounds while doing some yard work or landscaping.
During the summer the residents of the Hall would dam
up the Wynantskill Creek with bags of coal from the
power house and go swimming there. During the late 60s
to early 70s a swimming pool was donated to the orphanage
by actor John Paine ("Miracle on 34th Street").
Vanderheyden also once contained farm land and a horse
stable for the horses that worked the land. The Hall's
4H Club encouraged their children to work the land and
the harvested food would then be cooked and shared amongst
the residents.
During times of hardship local town residents were
permitted to work a plot of the land to provide food
for their families. GI's returning from WWII were housed
in what was referred to as "Field City." Field
City was a temporary tent city that provided shelter
to veterans and their families. The temporary housing
lasted about five years.
In 1980, Vanderheyden Hall moved from Spring Avenue
to the Wynantskill Residential Treatment Center. Within
two years fire destroyed a large portion of the Spring
Avenue site. The remaining buildings were demolished,
except for the Baby House, now known as the Bessey Home,
which is now a group home for dually diagnosed youth.
The (red brick) Bessey Home is still located on Spring
Avenue next to the Heyden Road entrance to the Vanderheyden
Estates Town Homes.
Current Vanderheyden resident Carole Waddington has
life-long ties with Vanderheyden Hall. As a 12- year-old
girl, she would occasionally take a bus from Lansingburgh
with her mother to come and read to the children at
Vanderheyden Hall.
Today, Carole and her husband Chuck are actively involved
in the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army used to conduct
meetings at the Tillinghast chapel on the Vanderheyden
Hall grounds. They would also provide Sunday school
for many of the children at the "Army."
When Carole and her husband Chuck were young Salvation
Army Officers serving in Poughkeepsie, they had a young
woman from Vanderheyden Hall come to live with them
for a brief period of time. Today, Carole has a friend
living in Lansingburgh who was raised in Vanderheyden
Hall.
When Carole's brother heard that she and her husband
were looking for a retirement home, he recommended that
they look into the newly formed Vanderheyden neighborhood.
He had a friend who owned one of the homes. He also
knew her love of history and thought she might enjoy
living in this area since she had long had ties to it.
Our fledgling neighborhood association is called Vanderheyden
Civic Association (VCA). It is the goal of the association
to improve the quality of life for the residents of
the Vanderheyden neighborhood.
We have created a Web-site that helps the neighbors
stay up to date with local happenings as well as facilitating
constructive communication on topics that affect us
all. We are looking forward to providing even more services
and hosting social activities as more of our neighbors
get involved with the association. With more volunteers
we will be able to do more for our neighborhood.
To get involved, contact Mike Myers, founder, Vanderheyden
Civic Association.
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