The condition of Albany in 200 years

In 1815 John Cook and Charles Holt established the American Magazine in Albany, under the editorship of Horatio Gates Spafford. In the second number, Spafford wondered,

“What will be the condition of Albany in 200 years more? If we may reason from the extraordinary rapidity of the improvements of late years, and if indeed we may count upon the resources which surround us, and the intrinsic ones of an active population singularly alive to improve every advantage, it may be confidently predicted that Albany ere that period has elapsed, will have attained a condition both for extent and population at least equal to what the city of New-York has done in a similar period.”

Okay, well, maybe not, but one has to remember that New-York was only Manhattan at the time (though still about 9 times larger in population than Albany), and with the coming of the canal Albany did experience an astonishing boom.

The American Magazine, by the way, was filled with just about anything that came the editor’s way. There are weather observations from Onondaga County. There is a request from the Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York for statistical information on the localities of the state. There is advice on how to make the best vinegar, and there is an attempt at literature.