Rensselaerville, New York

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Rensselaerville is a town in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 1,915 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Kiliaen Van Rensselaer.

The Town of Rensselaerville is on the south border of the county. The "official" hamlets are Cooksburg, Medusa, Potter Hollow, Preston Hollow, and Rensselaerville.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Residents of note 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Communities and locations in Rensselaerville 4.1 See also 5 External links

[edit] History

Rensselaerville was once part of the Rensselaerwyck estate. The town was settled around 1785.

Rensselaerville was created from part of the Town of Watervliet in 1790. 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.

[edit] Residents of note

• W.P. Carey, Ceo of W.P. Carey Co. LLC and Multi Billionaire
• Andy Rooney, television journalist.
• Daniel Shays, leader of Shays Rebellion lived here.
• Joanna Bull, founder of Gilda's Club
• Molly O'Neill, food critic for New York Times

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 160.2 km² (61.9 mi²). 159.2 km² (61.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (0.63%) is water.

The south town line is the border of Schoharie County, and the west town line is the border of Schoharie County.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 1,915 people, 779 households, and 527 families residing in the town. The population density was 12.0/km² (31.2/mi²). There were 1,187 housing units at an average density of 7.5/km² (19.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.98% White, 1.98% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 779 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,391, and the median income for a family was $51,607. Males had a median income of $34,563 versus $30,298 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,921. About 2.8% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Communities and locations in Rensselaerville

• Cooksburg -- A hamlet near the south town line in the southwest part of Rensselaerville.
• Medusa -- A hamlet near the town line, located east of Cooksburg.
• Potter Hollow -- A hamlet near the south town line, west of Cooksburg.
• Preston Hollow -- A hamlet in the southwest part of the town, north of Cooksburg.
• Rensselaerville -- The hamlet of Rensselaerville is in the northeast part of the town.
• Shufelt Corners -- A location north of Rensselaerville village.
• Smiths Corner -- A hamlet at the east town line.

[edit] See also

• Preston-Potter Hollow, New York, a census-designated place.

[edit] External links

• Rensselaerville official website
• The Rensselaerville Institute
• The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station

Coordinates: 42°30′58″N, 74°08′16″W