Rensselaer dates to 1839, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #115 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 32 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rensselaer’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rensselaer is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #115 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rensselaer’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rensselaer’s 70.0 sits above most of its state (78% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 39 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1839.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Rensselaer’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
This settlement, first platted on June 12, 1839, was originally named "Newton" and was established at the rapids of the Iroquois River. By 1844, it had been renamed "Rensselaer", after James Van Rensselaer, a merchant from Utica, New York, who came to the area after his business failed in the Panic of 1837. He took over the land from Joseph D. Yeoman, who had established a farm some years earlier and had begun to plan the village.
St. Joseph Indian Normal School was established in 1888 by St. Katherine Drexel, an heiress from Philadelphia, who donated $50,000 for the education of Catholic American Indian boys. The school trained 60 boys annually until 1896. The school was operated by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions.
Passages that mention Rensselaer, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the seventeen towns of Rensselaer County1880Read the page →
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The town of East Greenbush was first known by the name of Clinton. The board of supervisors of Rensselaer county, in answer to a petition of more than 12 freeholders of the town of Greenbush, granted the erection of the town of Clinton, on the 23d of February, 1855. Following the description of the boundaries of the town of North Greenbush, which was erctcd at
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rensselaer Co., New York1880 · page 190Read the page →
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of a committee appointed to prepare a remonstrance to the Legislature, stating the objections of Troy to the erection of the proposed bridge. He was one of the original directors of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Insurance Company, incorporated in April, 1814; was the first treasurer of the Bible Society of the county of Rensselaer, organized July 11, 1815 ; and was second on the list in the board designated by the Legislature, in the act of incorporation passed April
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History of Rensselaer Co., New York1880 · page 57Read the page →
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all that part of the territory of the State of New York north of the counties of Ulster and Dutchess, except Washington County, which was taken from Albany County, March 12, 1772. Rensselaer County was named in honor of the Van Rensselaer family, and was set off from Albany County, Feb. 17, 1791.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Troy and Rensselaer county, New York1925 · page 584Read the page →
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the New York Central lines. Other prominent railroad men have been associated with the development of Rensselaer County railroads. One of Jay Gould’s first railroad ventures was with the Rutland & Washing¬ ton Railroad. Daniel Robinson was for years president of the old Troy & Boston road, and C. M. Burt was president of the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western Railroad, and it’s successor.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Rensselaer, 1839 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Rensselaer had its own post office from 1870 to 1912.
Rensselaer
1870–1912
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Babcock Quarrymine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rensselaer
Memory GardensSayler MakeeverWeston
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Rensselaer’s history
What year was Rensselaer founded?
In 1839, according to Wikidata. Rensselaer’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1850 counted 241 people here.
How does Rensselaer rank for history?
Rensselaer is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #115 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Rensselaer?
8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the St. Joseph Indian Normal School (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Rensselaer Courthouse Square Historic District, with 32 contributing buildings. 39 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Rensselaer?
31% of Rensselaer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1956.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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