Rensselaer County, New York | |||
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County | |||
County of Rensselaer | |||
Rensselaer County Courthouse
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Location in the U.S. state of New York |
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New York's location in the U.S. |
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Founded | 1791 | ||
Named for | Kiliaen van Rensselaer | ||
Seat | Troy | ||
Largest city | Troy | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 665 sq mi (1,722 km2) | ||
• Land | 652 sq mi (1,689 km2) | ||
• Water | 13 sq mi (34 km2), 1.9% | ||
Population | |||
• (2010) | 159,429 | ||
• Density | 244/sq mi (94/km²) | ||
Congressional districts | 19th, 20th | ||
Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | ||
Website | www |
Coordinates: 42°41′N 73°17′W / 42.683°N 73.283°W
Rensselaer County /rɛnsəˈlɪər/ is a county in the state of New York, in the United States of America. 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.
Rensselaer County is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The area that is now Rensselaer County was inhabited by the Algonquian-speaking Mohican Indian tribe at the time of European encounter. Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch jeweler and merchant, purchased the area in 1630 and incorporated it in his patroonship Rensselaerswyck. (It was part of the Dutch colony New Netherland).