Troy is a city in New York, U.S. , and the county seat of Rensselaer County. At the 2000 census, the population was 49,170. Troy's motto is Ilium fuit, Troja est, which means "Ilium was, Troy is". Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties with the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital District. The city is one of the three major centers for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the metro area has a population of 850,957. Troy is home to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Russell Sage College, Hudson Valley Community College and the Emma Willard School, and was the hometown of Uncle Sam.