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Rensselaer County Cities, Towns and Villages This page was last updated 17 July 2014 |
In the tables below, we show both of our cities, all 14 of our towns and all six of our present-day incorporated villages. Click on a town or city name in the left column for its history as of 1880, including the names of early settlers, the details of early churches and the names of men who participated in the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the US Civil War. The exception is the City of Rensselaer, which didn't exist in 1880; we link you instead to the city government page that explains about the city's charter. On our Place Names page, we also list as many of our unincorporated hamlets as we can find.
City
Date Chartered
Website
City of TROY* (see footnote)
Created as Town of Troy from Manor of Rensselaerwyck March 18,1791;
Incorporated as Village of Troy April 2, 1801;
Chartered as City of Troy April 12, 1816City of Troy
City of RENSSELAER
Chartered as City of Rensselaer from Town of Greenbush April 23, 1897;
there never had been a town named Rensselaer; see Town of Greenbush in
link below to table of Localities Whose Names Have ChangedCity of Rensselaer
*WEST TROY
West Troy was always in Albany County, NY.
It lay across the Hudson River from Troy.
It was not a part of the City of Troy.
It was a village in the town of Watervliet,
and its name was later changed to Watervliet.
*NORTH TROY
North Troy is not an incorporated entity;
the term is used informally to refer to the
northern part of the City of Troy.
*EAST TROY
Although I've never found
an "East Troy" in any written records,
one of our guests kindly emailed to say,
"I lived in South Troy, and we always called
the Albia area `the East side'." If any of you can
shed any further light, please do let us know!
*SOUTH TROY
South Troy is not an incorporated entity;
the term is used informally to refer to the
southern part of the City of Troy.
Town
Date Founded or Incorporated
Created From
Website/Notes
Berlin
Created as Town of Berlin March 21, 1806
Towns of Petersburgh, Schodack
and StephentownBerlin website;
pronounced "BURR-lin"
Brunswick
Created as Town of Brunswick March 20, 1807
Town of Troy
Brunswick website
East Greenbush
Created as Town of Clinton February 23, 1855;
renamed Town of East Greenbush April 14, 1858Town of Greenbush;
Town of ClintonEast Greenbush website
Grafton
Created as Town of Grafton March 20, 1807
Towns of Troy and Petersburgh
Grafton website
Hoosick
Hoosick Patent granted June 3, 1688;
designated District of Hoosick March 24, 1772;
created as Town of Hoosick March 7, 1788Original
Hoosick website
Nassau
Created as Town of Philipstown March 31, 1806;
Name changed to Town of Nassau April 6, 1808Towns of Petersburgh, Schodack
and Stephentown;
Town of PhilipstownNassau website
Village Green Newsletter
North Greenbush
Created as Town of North Greenbush February 23, 1855
Town of Greenbush
North Greenbush website
Petersburgh
Created as Town of Petersburgh March 18, 1791; not
sure when (or even whether) the final h
was dropped;
modern sources and maps use both spellings.Town of Stephentown
Petersburgh website
Pittstown
Designated a "township by patent" July 23, 1761;
created Town of Pittstown March 7, 1788Original
Pittstown website
Poestenkill
Created as Town of Poestenkill March 2, 1848
Town of Sand Lake
Poestenkill website;
pronounced "POOSE-ten-kill"
Sand Lake
Created as Town of Sand Lake June 19, 1812
Towns of Greenbush and Berlin
Sand Lake website
Schaghticoke
Designated a district March 24, 1772;
created Town of Schaghticoke March 7, 1788Original
Schaghticoke website;
pronounced "SCAT-uh-cook"
Schodack
Created as Town of Schodack March 17, 1795
Manor of Rensselaerwyck
Schodack website;
pronounced "SKOH-dack"
Stephentown
Created as Town of Stephentown March 29, 1784
Manor of Rensselaerwyck
Stephentown website
Village
Town in Which It Lies
Notes
Castleton-on-Hudson
Schodack
incorporated in 1827;
has its own Castleton-on-Hudson website
East Nassau
Nassau
incorporated after 1996;
had previously been incorporated as a village prior to 1880;
original name had been Schermerhorn's Village;
has its own East Nassau website
Hoosick Falls
Hoosick
incorporated April 14, 1827
Nassau
Nassau
chartered as Village of Nassau on 12 March 1819;
charter revised 17 April 1866;
original name had been Union Village;
has its own Nassau village website
Schaghticoke
Schaghticoke
formerly Village of Hart's Falls
Valley Falls
Pittstown
formerly Pittstown Station
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Debby Masterson