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.
History
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 YorkIn 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 Nassau.
Geography
thumb|left|A farm in BrunswickRensselaer 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, 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.
Demographics
thumb|left|200px|Age distribution (2000 census)thumb|right|200px|Population (2000-2008)thumb|left|200px|Median income (2000 census)As of the
census of 2000, there were 152,538 people, 59,894 households, and 39,050 families residing in the county. The
population density was 233 people per square mile (90/km²). There were 66,120 housing units at an average density of 101 per square mile (39/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.13%
White, 4.69%
Black or
African American, 0.23%
Native American, 1.71%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.89% from
other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 2.11% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 22.3% were of
Irish, 14.7%
Italian, 12.8%
German, 7.5%
English, 6.2%
French and 5.3%
American ancestry according to
Census 2000. 93.4% spoke
English and 2.0%
Spanish as their first language.
There were 59,894 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.80% were
married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,905, and the median income for a family was $52,864. Males had a median income of $36,666 versus $28,153 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $21,095. About 6.70% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.90% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.
Government and Politics
Rensselaer County Office building, which houses county offices, including that of the County Executive
Rensselaer County
Courthouse located on the corner of Congress and 2nd Streets in Troy
Beginning in 1791 Rensselaer County was governed by a Board of Supervisors, which acted as the
Legislature, with the chairman of the board serving as a de-facto Executive.
In 1970, the Rensselaer County Legislature was created, which elected Edward J. "Ned" Quinn as Chairman. The Chairman served as the equivalent to an executive until the office of
County Executive was created in 1972. Since its creation, Democrats have never won the office, although they controlled the Legislature until 1994. One notable candidate for Executive was
Edward Pattison who was later elected to Congress, and whose son Mark served two terms as Mayor of
Troy. The current county executive is
Kathleen M. Jimino. She is one of only four female county executives in
New York State. Legislative authority is vested in the County Legislature, which consists of 19 members representing 16 different communities, separated into six districts. The current composition of the Legislature is as follows (13 Republicans and 6 Democrats):
District 1,
Troy:
Neil J. Kelleher, Chairman (R)
Robert Mirch, Majority Leader (C)
Laura Bauer (R)
James Brearton (R)
Peter Grimm (D)
Nancy McHugh (R)
District 2,
North Greenbush,
East Greenbush, and
Poestenkill:
Ginny O'Brien, Minority Leader (D)
Keith Hammond, Deputy Minority Leader (D)
W. Kenneth Harrington (D)
Brian Zweig (D)
District 3,
Brunswick,
Schaghticoke, and
Pittstown:
Thomas Walsh, Vice Chairman (R)
Ken Salisbury, Vice Chairman/Finance (R)
Kenneth Harrington (R)
District 4,
Schodack,
Sand Lake, and
Nassau:
Flora Fasoldt (D)
Martin Reid (R)
Alex Shannon (R)
District 5,
Hoosick,
Berlin,
Stephentown, &
Petersburgh:
Stanley Brownell (R)
Lester Goodermote (R)
District 6,
Rensselaer:
Mike Stammel (R)
Cities, towns, villages, and other locations
School districts
The county is serviced by 16 school districts. Some are completely contained in the county while some cross county lines into other counties. No school districts cross either the
Vermont or
Massachusetts state borders. Below is a table that shows the districts within the county, which
BOCES they belong to, and which other counties they may serve.
Adjacent counties
See also
