Troy from Mount Ida (No. 11 of The Hudson River Portfolio)

This city was first laid out in 1787. The amazing change which has been subsequently wrought is almost as much to be attributed to the industry and enterprise of its inhabitants as to the inimitable advantages of its situation. From this place a number of sloops and smaller vessels are continually employed in the conveyance of articles of merchandise up and down the Hudson. It is no unusual thing to see the river almost entirely covered with immense rafts which are brought down in order to find a market for lumber at Albany. The vista seen here, "embraces a most extensive and enchanting view; bounded on the south by the towering mountains of Katskill...The road, in the foreground...runs northward to Sandy-Hill, and Lakes George and Champlain.