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Rensselaer County
USINFO | 2013-12-05 16:20
The area that is now Rensselaer County was inhabited by the Algonquian-speaking Mohican Indian tribe at the time of European encounter. Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch jeweler and merchant, purchased the area in 1630 and incorporated it in his patroonship Rensselaerswyck. (It was part of the Dutch colony New Netherland).
The land passed into English rule in 1664; the Dutch regained control in 1673, but the English took it back in 1674. Until 1776, the year of American independence, the county was under English or British control.[3] The county was not organized as a legal entity until 1791, when it was created from land that was originally part of Albany County.
In 1807, in a county re-organization, the rural sections of Troy were set off as towns, and the city was incorporated. The two towns created were Brunswick and Grafton, both named after British dukes, (the Duke of Brunswick and Duke of Grafton). A third town, Philipstown, was set off in 1806, but renamed in 1808 to Nassau after the Duke of Nassau.
Geography
A farm in Brunswick
Rensselaer County is in the eastern part of New York State. The eastern boundary of Rensselaer County runs along the New York–Vermont and New York–Massachusetts borders.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 665 square miles (1,720 km2), of which 654 square miles (1,690 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.72%) is water.
The terrain runs from level and flat near the Hudson and then rises into the Rensselaer Plateau around Poestenkill and Sand Lake, then to the Taconic Mountains along the Massachusetts state line.
The highest point is Berlin Mountain, 2,818 feet (859 m) above sea level, in the town of Berlin. The lowest point is sea level at the Hudson.
The Hoosic River, a tributary of the Hudson River, is in the north part of the county.
The land passed into English rule in 1664; the Dutch regained control in 1673, but the English took it back in 1674. Until 1776, the year of American independence, the county was under English or British control.[3] The county was not organized as a legal entity until 1791, when it was created from land that was originally part of Albany County.
In 1807, in a county re-organization, the rural sections of Troy were set off as towns, and the city was incorporated. The two towns created were Brunswick and Grafton, both named after British dukes, (the Duke of Brunswick and Duke of Grafton). A third town, Philipstown, was set off in 1806, but renamed in 1808 to Nassau after the Duke of Nassau.
Geography
A farm in Brunswick
Rensselaer County is in the eastern part of New York State. The eastern boundary of Rensselaer County runs along the New York–Vermont and New York–Massachusetts borders.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 665 square miles (1,720 km2), of which 654 square miles (1,690 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.72%) is water.
The terrain runs from level and flat near the Hudson and then rises into the Rensselaer Plateau around Poestenkill and Sand Lake, then to the Taconic Mountains along the Massachusetts state line.
The highest point is Berlin Mountain, 2,818 feet (859 m) above sea level, in the town of Berlin. The lowest point is sea level at the Hudson.
The Hoosic River, a tributary of the Hudson River, is in the north part of the county.
