Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 152,538. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The county was a part of Rensselaerswyck, an immense land holding purchased by Kiliaen van Rensselaer from the Mohawk and Mohica...
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Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 152,538. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The county was a part of Rensselaerswyck, an immense land holding purchased by Kiliaen van Rensselaer from the Mohawk and Mohican Indians, starting in 1630.
For the history of Rensselaer County prior to 1791, see Albany County, New York
In 1791, Rensselaer County (as well as Saratoga County) was split off from Albany County.
In 1807, in a county re-organization, the rural sections of Troy were set off as towns, and the city itself was incorporated. The two towns created were Brunswick and Grafton, both named after British dukes, (the Duke of Brunswick and Duke of Grafton). A third town, Philipstown, was set off in 1806, but renamed in 1808 to Nassau after the Duke of...
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