Picture this ground in 1624, when Fort Orange (Dutch: Fort Oranje) rose here as New Netherland's first permanent Dutch settlement. In 1624, under Dutch direction, a ship carrying 30 Protestant Walloons landed and 18 of those men were sent to this location, where they built Fort Orange roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Fort Nassau on nearby Castle Island. Fort Nassau had served as a trading post until it was abandoned in 1617 or 1618 because of frequent flooding, and Fort Orange was raised as its replacement.
Both forts were named in honor of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau. Tension over control between the Director-General of New Netherland and the patroonship of Rensselaerswyck meant the fort and its surrounding community became an independent municipality, a crucial step toward the future city here. After the English reconquered the region they soon abandoned Fort Orange—renamed Fort Albany—in favor of a new fort, Fort Frederick, constructed in 1676.
Picture those early walls and barges giving way, over centuries, to the streets and skyline of Albany, city and state capital, that grew near this very site.