Located in the eastern portion of the state and known originally as Fort Orange, Albany was settled first in 1624 by the Dutch West Indies Company. The English took over the region in 1664 and the county of Albany was established in 1683. It is the parent county for many counties and once covered most of the state. See the Albany County Formation page for a complete list. Neighboring Albany County are the counties of Schoharie (to the west), Schenectady (to the northwest), Saratoga (to the northeast), Rensselaer (to the east, across the Hudson River), and Greene (to the south).