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New York Counties

There are 62 counties in the State of New York. The first twelve counties in New York were created immediately after the British annexation of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, although two of these counties have since been abolished. The most recent county formation in New York was in 1912, when Bronx County was created from the portions of New York City that had been annexed from Westchester County. New York's counties are named for a variety of Native American words, British provinces, cities, and royalty, early American statesmen and generals, and state politicians.

Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Troy
Year Organized: 1791
Square Miles: 654

Court House:

1600 Seventh Avenue
County Courthouse
Troy, NY 12180-3409

Etymology - Origin of County Name

in honor of the family of Killiaen Van Rensselaer, the original Dutch patroon

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

RENSSELAER COUNTY was taken from Albany in 1791. Greatest length 30, greatest breadth 22 miles; centrally distant from New York N. 156, and from Albany E. 10 miles. The eastern portion of the country is broken and hilly, and in some places rather mountainous and interspersed with fertile valleys. The central and western part is diversified with hills, and a gently undulating surface. It has extensive valleys and flats of alluvion, with a warm rich soil; and the uplands have an easy soil, well adapted to the various purposes of agriculture. There are an abundance of mill sites, and the numerous streams irrigate every portion of the county. This county had partial settlements at a very early period of our history, and has long sustained a very considerable population. The whole of the county, except the towns of Schaghticoke, Pittstown, Hoosick and north part of Lansingburg and part of Troy, is comprised within the Rensselaerwyck patent, leased under the ordinary rent, in farms, at ten bushels of wheat the hundred acres. The county contains 13 towns and the city of Troy. Pop. 60,303. (Rensselaer County, New York; Excerpt From: Historical Collections of the State of New York, by John W. Barber and Henry Howe, 1844)

Seventeenth-century Dutch fur traders were the first Europeans to settle in Rensselaer County. Most of Rensselaer County was then under the patroonship of the Van Rensselaer family, for which the County was named. Due to its strategic location at juncture of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, the area continued to develop as a major center of trade, playing an important role during the Revolutionary War. During that war, Rensselaer County saw action in the Battle of Bennington, which was fought in the county hamlet of Walloomsac. Full History at NYSAC

Geography

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 (1,723 km²), of which, 654 square miles (1,694 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (30 km²) of it (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.

Neighboring Counties:

Washington County, New York - north
Bennington County, Vermont - northeast
Berkshire County, Massachusetts - southeast
Columbia County, New York - south
Greene County, New York - southwest
Albany County, New York - west
Saratoga County, New York - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Berlin	town
- Brunswick	town
- Castleton-on-Hudson	village	Incorporated Area
- East Greenbush	town
- East Nassau	village	Incorporated Area
- Easton	town
- Grafton	town
- Hoosick	town
- Hoosick Falls	village	Incorporated Area
- Nassau	village	Incorporated Area
- North Greenbush	town
- Petersburgh	town
- Pittstown	town
- Poestenkill	town
- Rensselaer	city	Incorporated Area
- Sand Lake	town
- Schaghticoke	village	Incorporated Area
- Schodack	town
- Stephentown	town
- Troy (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Valley Falls	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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