Editing Troy, New York (section)

====Politics, commerce and growth abound====

In 1892, poll watcher Robert Ross was shot dead and his brother was wounded by operatives of Mayor Edward Murphy, later a U.S. senator, after uncovering a man committing voter fraud. The convicted murderer, Bartholomew "Bat" Shea, was executed in 1896, although another man, John McGough, later admitted he had been the shooter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rittner |first1=Don |title=Legendary Locals of Troy |date=2012 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4671-0007-6 |page=78}}</ref>

The initial emphasis on heavier industry later spawned a wide variety of highly engineered mechanical and scientific equipment. Troy was the home of [[Gurley Precision Instruments|W. & L. E. Gurley, Co.]], makers of precision instruments. Gurley's [[theodolite]]s were used to survey much of the American West after the Civil War and were highly regarded until laser and digital technology eclipsed the telescope and compass technology in the 1970s. Bells manufactured by Troy's [[Meneely Bell Foundry|Meneely Bell Company]] ring all over the world.  Troy also was home to a manufacturer of racing shells that used impregnated paper in a process that presaged the later use of fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon-fiber composites.

In 1900, Troy annexed Lansingburgh, a former town and village whose standing dates back prior to the War of Independence, in Rensselaer County. Lansingburgh is thus often referred to as "North Troy." However, prior to the annexation that portion of Troy north of Division Street was called North Troy and the neighborhood south of Washington Park was referred to as South Troy. To avoid confusion with streets in Troy following the annexation, Lansingburgh's numbered streets were renamed: its 1st Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street, etc., became North Troy's 101st Street, 102nd Street, 103rd Street, etc. Lansingburgh was home to the [[Lansingburgh Academy]].

In the early 1900s, the [[New York Central Railroad]] was formed from earlier railroads and established its "Water Level Route" from New York City to Chicago, via Albany. A [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] [[Union Station (Troy, New York)|station]] was constructed {{Circa|1903}}. A short New York Central branch from Rensselaer connected at Troy. Also serving the station was the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]] to/from Boston and the [[Delaware and Hudson Railroad]] to/from Canada. The railroads quickly made obsolete the 1800s-constructed canals along the Mohawk. The former NYC operates today as [[CSX]] for freight service and [[Amtrak]] for passenger service, the latter operating from [[Albany–Rensselaer station]], directly opposite downtown Albany on the east side of the Hudson River. The end of rail passenger service to Troy occurred when the Boston and Maine dropped its Boston–Troy run in January 1958. The Troy Union Station was demolished in 1958.

[[File:Troy NY Union Depot pre1911img024.jpg|thumb|[[Union Station (Troy, New York)|Troy's Union Depot]] {{Circa|1900}}]]

In addition to the strong presence of the early American steel industry, Troy also was a manufacturing center for shirts, shirtwaists, detachable collars and cuffs. In 1825, local resident Hannah Lord Montague was tired of cleaning her blacksmith-husband's shirts. She cut off the collars of his shirts since only the collar was soiled, bound the edges and attached strings to hold the [[false collar]]s in place. This also allowed the collars and cuffs to be starched separately. Montague's idea caught on and changed the fashion for American men's dress for a century. Her patented collars and cuffs first were manufactured by Maullin & Blanchard, which eventually was absorbed by [[Cluett, Peabody & Company]]. Cluett's [[The Arrow Collar Man|Arrow brand]] shirts still are worn by men across the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arrowshirt.com/heritage.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325032714/http://www.arrowshirt.com/heritage.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 25, 2009 |title=Arrow Shirt|date=March 25, 2009|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> The large labor force required by the shirt manufacturing industry also produced in 1864 the nation's first female [[labor union]], the [[Collar Laundry Union]], founded in Troy by [[Kate Mullany]]. On February 23, 1864, 300 members of the union went on strike. After six days, the laundry owners gave in to their demands and raised wages 25%. Further developments arose in the industry when, in 1933, Sanford Cluett invented a process he called [[Sanforization]], a process that shrinks [[cotton]] [[textile|fabrics]] thoroughly and permanently. Cluett, Peabody's last main plant in Troy, was closed in the 1980s, but the industrial output of the plant had long been transferred to facilities in the South.

In 1906, the city supplied itself with water from a 33-inch riveted-steel main from the [[Tomhannock Reservoir]]. A 30-inch cast-iron main was added in 1914.<ref name="Crowe">{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troy-starts-40-million-water-main-project-to-16166397.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-CP-Spotlight |title=Troy starts $40M project to replace lines to Tomhannock Reservoir |author=Kenneth C. Crowe II |work=Albany Times-Union |date=May 10, 2021|access-date=May 10, 2021}}</ref> In 2023, the city completed the first phase of installation of two 36-inch pipes totaling approximately 8 miles between the reservoir and the city's Water Treatment Plant as part of a multi-year project to fully replace the existing century-old transmission line.[https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/troy-water-project-supply-customers-250-years-17757466.php] The project began in 2021. [https://www.troyny.gov/257/Tomhannock-Water-Transmission-Line-Repla] [https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Troy-starts-40-million-water-main-project-to-16166397.php][https://www.wamc.org/capital-region-news/2021-05-13/troy-begins-40m-project-to-replace-tomhannock-reservoir-water-main-lines]

When the iron and steel industry moved westward to Pennsylvania around Pittsburgh to be closer to iron ore from Lake Erie and nearby coal and coke needed for the Bessemer process, and with a similar downturn in the collar industry, Troy's prosperity began to fade. After the passage of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]], and given the strict control of [[Albany, New York|Albany]] by the O'Connell political machine, Troy became a way station for an [[Rum-running|illegal alcohol trade]] from Canada to New York City. Likewise, the stricter control of morality laws in the neighboring [[New England]] states encouraged the development of openly operating speakeasies and brothels in Troy. Gangsters such as "[[Legs Diamond]]" conducted their business in Troy, giving the city a somewhat colorful reputation through World War II. A few of the buildings from that era have since been converted into restaurants, such as the former Old Daly Inn.

[[Kurt Vonnegut]] lived in Troy and the area,{{Citation needed|date=May 2021|reason=Records generally indicate that Vonnegut lived in Alpaus, NY while working for General Electric before moving to Cape Cod in 1951}} and many of his novels include mentions of "Ilium" (an alternate name for Troy) or surrounding locations. Vonnegut wrote [[Player Piano (novel)|''Player Piano'']] in 1952, based on his experiences working as a [[public relations]] writer at nearby [[General Electric]]. His 1963 novel, ''[[Cat's Cradle (novel)|Cat's Cradle]]'', was written in the city and is set in Ilium. His recurring main character, Kilgore Trout, is a resident of [[Cohoes, New York|Cohoes]], just across the Hudson River from Troy.