Rensselaerville () is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,826 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer.

History

Rensselaerville was once part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck; as such, the people who farmed the land were technically leaseholders of the patroon under a feudal system, first as part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, then under the English colony, and then U.S. state, of New York. Some of the earliest settlement in Rensselaerville was along the five Native American paths that crossed the town in the early 18th century. The southwestern corner along one of these, that connected the Hudson River to the Schoharie Valley, was the first section of the town to be settled, this would be circa 1712. This path was also the one used during wars between the Stockbridge Indians and those at Schoharie.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.63%) is water.

The southern town line is the border of Greene County, and the western town boundary is the border of Schoharie County. The town is located in the northern Catskill Mountains.

Catskill Creek and its tributaries, Lake Creek, Fox Creek, Tenmile Creek, Greene Kill and Eightmile Creek, flow through the town.

Demographics

At the 2000 census,

  • Mortimer M. Jackson, jurist and diplomat
  • Rufus Lumry, abolitionist circuit preacher and early organizer of the Wesleyan Methodist Church
  • Molly O'Neill, food writer and cookbook author, had a home in Rensselaerville where she hosted summer writing workshops
  • William Patterson, former US Congressman
  • Richard Prince, American artist
  • Andy Rooney had a summer home in Rensselaerville
  • Henry Chester Waite, Minnesota lawyer, banker, and politician

References

  • [http://www.rensselaerville.com/newsminutes.php]
  • Rensselaerville official website