Rensselaerville, New York
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Rensselaerville () is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in Albany County,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, United States. The population was 1,826 at the 2020 census.2020 Census, US Census Bureau, Rensselaerville, New York The town is named after Stephen Van Rensselaer.


History

Rensselaerville was once part of the
Manor of Rensselaerswyck Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch colonial patroonship and later an England, English Proprietary colony, manor owned by the Van Rensselaer (family), van Rensselaer family located in the present-day Capital District, New York, Capital District of New Yor ...
; as such, the people who farmed the land were technically leaseholders of the
patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th-century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Free ...
under a
feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring socie ...
, first as part of the
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
colony of
New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
, then under the English colony, and then
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
, 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 The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
to the
Schoharie Valley The Schoharie Valley is a corridor that runs through Schoharie County from Schoharie, New York to Gilboa, New York. Geography The Schoharie Valley is made up of plains surrounding the Schoharie Creek. Within the Schoharie Valley are the towns o ...
, 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 Stockbridge may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Stockbridge, Edinburgh, a district of Edinburgh, Scotland * Stockbridge, Hampshire * Stockbridge, West Sussex * Stockbridge Anticline, one of a series of parallel east–west trending folds in ...
and those at Schoharie. In 1787, the patroon had a survey and census taken in order to enroll squatters and collect the
quitrent Quit rent, quit-rent, or quitrent is a tax or land tax imposed on occupants of freehold or leased land in lieu of services to a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns. Under English feudal law, the payment of quit rent ...
required of settlers on his lands. Rensselaerville was created from part of the town of Watervliet in 1790. In 1795, the northern part of the town was lost to create the new town of
Berne Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the " federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental i ...
. Additional territory was lost from the eastern part of the town upon the formation of the town of
Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...
in 1815. In 1795, after
Shays' Rebellion Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...
,
Daniel Shays Daniel Shays (August 1747 – September 29, 1825) was an American soldier, revolutionary and farmer famous for allegedly leading Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies that took place in Mass ...
moved from
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
to Preston Hollow, a hamlet in Rensselaerville. His son became one of the leading citizens of the town. The Conkling–Boardman–Eldridge Farm and Rensselaerville Historic District are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, 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 The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
.
Catskill Creek Catskill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River that drains the northeastern Catskill Mountains of the U.S. State of N ...
and its tributaries, Lake Creek, Fox Creek, Tenmile Creek, Greene Kill and Eightmile Creek, flow through the town.


Demographics

At the 2000
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, there were 1,915 people, 779 households, and 527 families residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 31.2 per square mile (12.0/km2). There were 1,187 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.98%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.98%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.05% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population. There were 779 households, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. 24.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males. The
median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...
was $42,391, and the median income for a family was $51,607. Males had a median income of $34,563 and females $30,298. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $20,921. About 2.8% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.


Communities and locations in Rensselaerville

*Cooksburg – A
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
in the southwestern part of Rensselaerville near the town line. *
Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...
– A hamlet near the town line, located east of Cooksburg. * Potter Hollow – A hamlet near the southern town line, west of Cooksburg. * Preston Hollow – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town, north of Cooksburg. *Rensselaerville – A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town. *Shufelt Corners – A location north of Rensselaerville hamlet. *Smiths Corner – A hamlet at the eastern town line.


Notable people

* Smith A. Boughton, leader of the
Anti-Rent War The Anti-Rent War (also known as the Helderberg War) was a tenants' revolt in upstate New York between 1839 and 1845. The Anti-Renters declared their independence from the manor system run by patroons, resisting tax collectors and successfully d ...
* 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 Richard Prince (born August 6, 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a photographic reproduction of a photograph ...
, American artist *
Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program ''60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...
had a summer home in Rensselaerville * Henry Chester Waite, Minnesota lawyer, banker, and politicianMinnesota Legislators: Past & Present-Henry Chester Waite
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References




External links


Rensselaerville official website
{{authority control Towns in Albany County, New York Towns in New York (state)