Rensselaerville Historic District

Rensselaerville is a hamlet tucked into the narrow, forested valley of Ten Mile Creek at the edge of the Helderberg Hills, about twenty-seven miles southwest of Albany. The historic district takes in roughly ninety buildings and outbuildings along Main Street and the roads that meet it. Most were built in the first half of the nineteenth century, and Greek Revival style dominates, with massive columns, pilasters, heavy cornices and recessed doorways, mixed with Federal and Georgian features such as Palladian windows. Some facades use flush siding to imitate stonework. Ephraim Russ, a resident architect-builder, designed all of the village churches and several of its best houses, including the Jenkins, Stevens and Rider houses. The hamlet once served farmers as a commercial center with a grist mill, creamery and shops. After a late nineteenth-century decline, many houses became summer residences. Only four intrusions detract from the district's character.