Rensselaerville

From Rensselaerville, NY - a Helderberg Hilltown
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Description

Maps

Numerous maps have been found, some dating back 250 years. Click here for more information.

History

Rensselaerville's History appears in many publications. Click here for more information.

Military History

From the beginning residents of Rensselaerville have served in the military. Click here for

Family Histories and Genealogy

Farms and Lots

Historic Homes

Churches

Hilltown churches formed and often merged, divided, and disbanded, so tracking churches can be a challenge. Click here for more information.

Cemeteries

Hilltown cemeteries range from tiny, hidden family plots to huge cemeteries. Click here for more information.

Schools

Hilltowns had numerous one-room schools scattered to be near population centers. school. In 1932 Berne and Knox joined the form the Berne-Knox Central School District. Westerlo joined later the make the Berne-Knox-Westerlo or BKW. Click here for more information.

Organizations

Hilltown organizations united residents and provided services the made life in the Hilltowns more enjoyable. Click here for more information.

Businesses

Rensselaerville businesses thrived for generations. Click here for more information.

Hamlets and Communities

Each of the four Hilltowns covers a large area. Early settlers joined together to create small hamlets, villages, communities, and just groups of houses. Click here for more information.

Photo Gallery

External Links

External Links to other web sites can bring you to valuable sources of information. Click here for more information.

The Village of Rensselaerville, photo from People Made It Happen Here

Rensselaerville, the earliest of the four Albany County, NY Hilltowns is on the south border of Albany County. The other Hilltowns are Berne, Knox, and Westerlo.

GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHICS

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 61.9 square miles.

The south town line is the border of Greene County, and the west town line is the border of Schoharie County. The north line is the border of Berne. The east line is the border of Westerlo. The population was 1,915 at the 2000 census.

Maps

VISITOR ATTRACTIONS AND FACILITIES

The Albany hill towns are known for their natural beauty: pastoral rural countryside, rolling hills, meandering creeks, waterfalls, forest land.

UPCOMING EVENTS

upcoming events are listed on the following pages:

HISTORY

Rensselaerville was once part of the Rensselaerwyck estate and is named after Kiliaen Van Rensselaer. The town was settled around 1785.

Rensselaerville was created from part of the Town of Watervliet in 1790. At that time it included all of what are now the Towns of Berne, Knox, and Westerlo. In 1795 the northern part of the town was lost to create the new Town of Berne. Additional territory was lost from the eastern part of the town upon the formation of the Town of Westerlo in 1815.

Early Settlement - The Dutch Colony of Rensselaerwyck was founded in 1629. The land became English in 1664 but was still controlled by a single person, the Lord of the Manor. As late as 1767 no one was recorded as having settled in the future village of Rensselaerville.

Settlers first came to Rensselaerville during the Revolution. The first settler was Henry Van Dyke. Settlers followed from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Dutchess County in New York about 1788 including Samuel Jenkins, Melatiah Hatch, Nathanial Hatch, Joseph Woodford, Thomas Brown, Joel Culver, Jonathan Crocker, Ashbel Culver and others. They built log cabins and remained in warm weather and in the winter returned east. These settlers were very poor. For the first year or two there was no horses owned within a mile of the village, and they had to carry their sugar 20 or 30 miles on their backs, exchange it for corn and return the same way.[1].

A survey in 1787 found 67 settlers in the region. A description of that time referred to ‘‘the terrific forests [of] overshadowing hemlock [that] had not then (1793) been felled’’ and to ‘‘mountain sides . . . covered with dense thickets of somber-looking hemlocks’’ (People Made It Happen Here, 1977, p.45).

In the late 1700s the land throughout the region was rapidly cleared for farming. Sawmills and tanneries proliferated.

GENEALOGY

- RHS Genealogy Files


FARMS

  • Historic Farms - The historic farms are in order by Van Rensselaer Great Lot number which tells approximately (and often precisely) which grid on Beers 1866 map the farm is located. Click here an explanation of the 1866 Beers map.

The Rensselaerville Lot Numbers were assigned by Wm. Cockburn when he made his 1787 survey map of the Hilltowns. It is based on a grid a half mile across. This made the typical lot 1/4 square mile (160 acres). The number of the grid is the same as the number of the lot for vacant land. The lots of the squatters who were already there at the time of the survey are irregular in shape and cross grid boundaries.

The purpose of this site is to tell the story of each farm from the first homesteader to the present. Pictures may be used provided you have authority to post them.

HISTORIC HOMES

Tell the story of each historic home, when it was built, who lived there, additions, remodeling. Organized by Lot number. Pictures may be used provided you have authority to post them.


CHURCHES

  • Churches of the Past
- Baptist Church of Rensselaerville
- Friend's Meeting House at Potter Hollow
- Rensselaerville Presbyterian Church
  • Current Churches
- Baptist Church of Preston Hollow
- Methodist Church of Preston Hollow
- Potter Hollow Union Church
- Trinity Episcopal Church
- United Church of Christ


Rensselaerville District Schools - A listing of the 24 district schools in the town, their location and history if known.

ORGANIZATIONS

  • Current Organizations:
- Rensselaerville Historical Society. - Information on their research collection.
- Rensselaerville Farmland Protection Facebook Group mission is to advocate for the preservation of agricultural soils and farmlands in the Helderberg hill towns with initial focus on the Town of Rensselaerville, to protect the rural character of the area, to offer educational programs to the public, and to actively support regional agricultural enterprises…”
  • Past Organizations:


PHOTO GALLERY

This section is for scenic photos and post cards of the Town. Photos of people and families should be posted on biography or family pages. Photos of the hamlets should be posted under the hamlets.

Sources

  1. People Made It Happen Here, History of the Town of Rensselaerville ca. 1788-1950, Published 1977