Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area.
Berlin is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,880 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Berlin in Germany, although natives pronounce the name differently, with the accent on the first syllable.
Brunswick is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, in the United States. The municipality was originally settled in the early 18th century. During its history, it had been part of Albany County, Rensselaerswyck, and Troy, before its incorporation in 1807. It is bordered on the west by the city of Troy; on the north by Schaghticoke and Pittstown; on the east by Grafton; and on the south by Poestenkill and North Greenbush. The population was 11,941 at the 2010 census. The source of the town's name is not certain, though some claim it comes from the source of its first inhabitants from the province of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Germany.
The Rensselaer Plateau is a small plateau located in the central portion of Rensselaer County, New York; it generally encompasses significant parts of the towns of Berlin, Stephentown, Sand Lake, Poestenkill, and Grafton, along with small sections of several other nearby towns. Many glacial lakes, including Big Bowman Pond, Little Bowman Pond, Round Pond and Spring Lake are located on the plateau. Elevations on the plateau range from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above sea level. Vegetation on the plateau is more similar to that found in the Adirondack Mountains to the northwest, with abundant Eastern White Pine, Eastern Hemlock, Red Spruce, and Balsam Fir, along with more limited occurrences of Red Pine and Tamarack. While most to all of the plateau was logged late in the 19th Century and early in the 20th Century, little farming was undertaken afterwards due to extremely poor and rocky soils, allowing much of the forest to regenerate.
New York State Route 66 (NY 66) is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. The route begins at an intersection with NY 23B in the Columbia County city of Hudson and ends at a junction with NY 2 in the Rensselaer County city of Troy. While both Hudson and Troy are located on the Hudson River, NY 66 follows a more inland routing between the two locations to serve several rural villages and hamlets, including Chatham and Sand Lake. NY 66 overlaps with U.S. Route 20 (US 20) and NY 43, two regionally important east–west highways, in Nassau and Sand Lake, respectively.
New York State Route 154 (NY 154) was a state highway in Rensselaer County, New York, in the United States. It began at an intersection with U.S. Route 4 (US 4) in the city of Troy and ended at then-County Route 77 in the hamlet of Poestenkill. Along the way, it intersected NY 66 and NY 355. The route was assigned in the early 1930s and eliminated in 1980 as part of a highway maintenance swap between the state of New York and Rensselaer County. The portion of the highway between the Troy city line and NY 355 became County Route 130 while the part connecting NY 355 to Poestenkill became an extension of NY 355.
New York State Route 351 (NY 351) is a north–south state highway in central Rensselaer County, New York, in the United States. It extends for 8.16 miles (13.13 km) from an intersection with NY 43 in the Sand Lake hamlet of West Sand Lake to a junction with NY 2 in the Brunswick hamlet of Cropseyville. The portion of NY 351 north of the hamlet of Poestenkill was originally designated as New York State Route 153 in the 1930s. This designation was removed in the 1940s, and the West Sand Lake–Cropseyville roadway became County Route 77 (CR 77) sometime afterward. On April 1, 1980, all of CR 77 was transferred to the state of New York, at which time it was redesignated as NY 351 by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).
New York State Route 355 (NY 355) is an east–west state highway in Rensselaer County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 66 in the town of North Greenbush. Its eastern terminus is at a junction with NY 351 in the hamlet of Poestenkill within the town of the same name. NY 355 originally consisted only of the section of the route between NY 66 and Spring Avenue; however, it was extended east to Postenkill hamlet in 1980, partially replacing NY 154.
New York State Route 150 (NY 150) is a north–south state highway in Rensselaer County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at NY 9J in Castleton-on-Hudson. Its northern terminus is at a junction with NY 66 in the hamlet of Wynantskill, located within the town of North Greenbush.
Averill Park Central School District (APCSD) is a suburban and rural fringe public school district located east of the city of Rensselaer in south central Rensselaer County, New York. The district has five operating school buildings: three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The district is a member of the Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), known as Questar III.
Berlin Central School District (BCSD) is a rural public school district located in the eastern part of Rensselaer County, New York and borders the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The district has two operating school buildings: one elementary school and one middle school/high school building. The district is a member of the Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), known as Questar III.
The history of Troy, New York extends back to the Mohican Indians. Troy is a city on the east bank of the Hudson River about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Albany in the US State of New York.
Poesten Kill Gorge Historic District, also known as Poesten Kill Gorge Conservation Area, is a national historic district located at Troy in Rensselaer County, New York. It consists of two contributing buildings, eight contributing sites, and two contributing structures. The district encompasses extant structures, ruins, power sources, and archaeological sites associated with industrial development in this area from the 17th to mid-20th centuries.
Dyken Pond is a 134-acre (54 ha) lake in the towns of Grafton and Berlin in Rensselaer County, New York. The pond gets water primarily from precipitation and outflows westward into the Poesten Kill, a tributary of the Hudson River. It is located in northwest Berlin, south of Grafton Lakes State Park.
The Barberville Falls is a waterfall and nature preserve located in Poestenkill, New York. The fall flows into the Poesten Kill, which is a large creek that flows through Rensselaer County.
