Rensselaer

Rensselaer

Rensselaer, city, Rensselaer county, eastern New York, U.S. It is situated along the east bank of the Hudson River, opposite Albany. Settled by the Dutch in the 17th century, it was the site of the most successful of the patroonships (estates) under Kiliaen van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam diamond merchant. The city was formed through the amalgamation of the villages of East Albany, Greenbush, and Bath-on-the-Hudson and was incorporated in 1897. Crailo, an early 18th-century brick house, is allegedly where the British surgeon Dr. Richard Shuckburgh composed “Yankee Doodle,” adopted as a popular song during the American Revolution. The house has been restored as a museum of early Dutch life in the Hudson River valley.

Part of the Port of Albany, Rensselaer has light industries producing textiles, chemicals and dyes, and electronic power supplies. Pop. (2000) 7,761; (2010) 9,392.