Uncle Sam Atrium

The Uncle Sam Atrium is a covered shopping arcade on Broadway named for Troy's most famous claim to national mythology. Samuel Wilson (1766–1854) was a Troy meat packer who supplied barrels of beef to the US Army during the War of 1812, stamping them "US" for United States. His workers took to calling the supplier "Uncle Sam," and the nickname eventually attached to the national personification of America itself. Wilson is buried in Oakwood Cemetery north of downtown, where his grave is marked with an explanatory plaque.

The atrium itself is a modest retail space, but it anchors the Uncle Sam block on Broadway — a reasonable starting point for a walk through the historic district.

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A story
Samuel Wilson himself was reportedly baffled by the legend that grew up around his name. When asked about it in old age, he said he had no memory of the particular incident that sparked it and suspected the whole story had been embellished. The US Congress formally recognised Troy's Samuel Wilson as the progenitor of the Uncle Sam symbol in 1961 — more than a century after his death.

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