Map of Rensselaer County, NY 1861
To find your town, click on the name in the list below
BERLIN
BRUNSWICK
EAST GREENBUSH
GRAFTON
GREENBUSH (CITY)
HOOSICK
LANSINGBURGH (CITY)
LANSINGBURGH (TOWN)
NASSAU
NORTH GREENBUSH
PETERSBURGH
PITTSTOWN
POSTENKILL
SAND LAKE
SCHAGHTICOKE
SCHODACK
STEPHENTOWN
TROY
A complete copy of the 1861 county wall map showing the names and
locations of 1000s of houses, businesses, churches and schools.
Edition of September 2009
© Old Maps PO Box 54 West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
Modern Town Outline Map
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
1861 Map of Rensselaer County
The original map is a large wall map measuring 66.5” x 64”.
The wall map has been “taken apart” for this edition by dividing it into separate images, thus making it easy to use this map for the first time.
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
An Historical Sketch of The Map
The 1861 Map of Rensselaer County is an
important historical document. The map pinpoints the names and locations of every residence, workplace, church and school in the
rural areas, and depicts every road in Troy,
then known as Troy and Lansingburgh.
This map is one of several New York county
maps created in the mid 1800s - a period of
extraordinary map-making in America. The
authors of this map, D. Jackson Lake and Silas N. Beers, were accomplished mapmakers,
having worked on other map projects including the 1859 Map of the State of New York.
The maps listed publisher, “Smith, Gallup and
Company” of Philadelphia, is probably a partnership whose principal was Robert Pearsall
Smith - the most prolific mapmaker of the
period. Smith was involved with most of the
New York county maps of this era, and with
those of several other states as well.
Few details of this map’s origins are known,
but we do know the general methods used for
these projects. Roads were measured with a
wheel odometer, similar to the wheelbarrowlike device pictured here, or one drawn by
horse and buggy. The surveyor would ask the
names of farmstead owners as he passed by,
and would surely add a brief sales pitch for
the new map... after all, the map would carry
the name of the resident, engraved upon it.
The original road surveys for this privately-produced map were the most comprehensive yet
made. This map served as the basis of mapping
for decades afterwards.
Publication was announced in local newspapers,
and local offices were set up where advance
orders for the new map could be taken. A typical mid-1850s price was five dollars per copy.
Prominent citizens allowed their names to be
used in the map’s advertisements, testifying to
the merits of the map, and no doubt assuring it
of financial success. Pictures of the homes of
prominent citizens were added for a fee.
The map was printed on four separate sheets
which were assembled and glued together onto a
cloth backing. Each copy was then hand-colored
in several different hues, varnished, and mounted on wooden rollers. Note on Map Size
This publication was prepared for use as a computer-based PDF file, formatted as an 14” x 17” booklet. The formatting and
sizes of some maps have been adjusted to make the town and village maps easily readable, and on one page if possible. For
this reason some maps are presented at different scales. All town maps and pictures are at the original size unless otherwise
noted. In these cases a % number indicates the change (e.g. 75% means the printed map will be 25% smaller than the original). All village inset maps are presented at 120% of the original, unless otherwise noted. This scaling does not effect the
map resolution or quality, but comes into play when attempting to print to scale.
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Table of Contents
BERLIN
Berlin P.O.
BRUNSWICK
Eagle Mills
EAST GREENBUSH
GRAFTON
GREENBUSH
Greenbush
HOOSICK
Buskirk’s Bridge P.O.
Hoosick P.O.
North Hoosick P.O.
HOOSICK FALLS
Hoosick Falls
LANSINGBURGH (CITY)
Lansingburgh
LANSINGBURGH (TOWN)
NASSAU
East Nassau P.O.
Hoag’s Corners
Nassau P.O.
NORTH GREENBUSH
Bath
Defreestville
Wynants Kill P.O.
PETERSBURGH
Petersburgh P.O.
PITTSTOWN
Johnsonville
Pittstown P.O.
Raymartown P.O.
Tomhannock P.O.
POSTENKILL
Postenkill P.O.
SAND LAKE
Glasshouse P.O.
Sand Lake P.O.
Slithers Corners
West Sand Lake P.O.
SCHAGHTICOKE
Schaghticoke Hill
Schaghticoke Point
Valley Falls
SCHODACK
East Schodack P.O.
Schodack Landing P.O.
STEPHENTOWN
Mechanicsville
TROY
Troy
G.V.S Quackenbush Dry Goods, Carpet & Oil
Cloth Warehouse
Troy Female Seminary, Troy NY
Table of Distances
Town names listed in all capital letters.
Village names listed in upper and lower case letters.
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
BERLIN
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
BRUNSWICK
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Eagle Mills
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
EAST GREENBUSH
10
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
GRAFTON
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
11
GREENBUSH
150%
12
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Greenbush and Business Directory
100%
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
13
HOOSICK and HOOSICK FALLS
80%
14
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Buskirks Bridge PO
Hoosick PO
North Hoosick PO
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
15
ALLS
Hoosick Falls
16
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
LANSINGBURGH
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
17
Lansingburgh
75%
18
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
NASSAU
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
19
East Nassau PO
Hoag’s Corners PO
Nassau PO
20
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
NORTH GREENBUSH
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
21
Bath
WynantsKill PO
Defreestville PO
22
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
PETERSBURGH
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
23
Petersburgh PO
24
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
PITTSTOWN
80%
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
25
Johnsonville
Pittstown Corners
Raymartown PO
26
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
Tomhannock PO
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
POESTENKILL
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
27
Poesten Kill PO
28
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
SAND LAKE
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
29
Glasshouse Kill PO
Sliters Corners PO
30
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
Sand Lake PO
West Sand Lake PO
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
SCHAGHTICOKE
80%
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
31
Schaghticoke Hill PO
Schaghticoke Point
Valley Falls PO
32
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
SCHODACK
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
33
East Schodack
Schodack Landing PO
34
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
STEPHENTOWN
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
35
Mechanicsville
36
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
TROY
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
37
City of Troy
50%
38
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Table of Distances
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
39
G.V.S. Quackenbush, Dry Goods,
Carpet & Oil Cloth Warehouse
Troy Female Seminary
40
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
©2009 Old Maps
West Chesterfield, NH 03466
www.old-maps.com
Map of Rensselaer County, N.Y. 1861
41