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Rensselaer, New York

32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Rensselaer City. It lies in ZIP code area 12144. It lies near Olcott Hill. The Survey maps it on the Troy South quadrangle. 9,210 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 16 feet above sea level.

Rensselaer within Rensselaer County

Then and now

1893 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rensselaer, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Rensselaer, surveyed 1893

On record in Rensselaer

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 9 records

Population over time

2 figures

Rensselaer fell from 9,392 to 9,210 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20109,392
20209,210-182 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 32 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

1,025 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,025 fires within 5 miles of Rensselaer between 1993 and 2020, burning about 804 acres in total. 51 started naturally. 184 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined627
Arson/incendiarism184
Debris and open burning53
Natural51
Smoking39
Equipment and vehicle use30
Railroad operations and maintenance21
Power generation/transmission/distribution8
Recreation and ceremony7
Misuse of fire by a minor5

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.2 acresFire Department of New YorkNA
9 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2016Arson/incendiarism6.3 acresFire Department of New YorkN/A
8 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2003Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rensselaer County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Rensselaer: 4 producers, 4 past producers, 1 occurrence. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Quartz. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Crystal Hill DepositQuartzOccurrence
Albany Gravel PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Valente Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Albany Clay PitClayProducer
Albany Clay PitClayPast Producer
East Greenbush Clay PitClayProducer
East Greenbush Clay PitClayPast Producer
Rensselaer Clay PitClayPast Producer
Rensselear Clay PitClayProducer

Every working recorded in Rensselaer County

Storms near this place

16 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rensselaer in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 11 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRensselaer1 hurtA National Weather Service storm survey team investigated thunderstorm wind damage in the City of Rensselaer. The team determined that straight line winds (microburst) impacted the area. Based on the damage assessment, mainly trees, the team estimated the maximum wind speeds at 90 to 100 MPH. Several trees fell on homes, causing minor structural damage. One of trees fell on a porch resulting in minor injuries to a man.
August 2008Flash FloodRensselaer$4,000,000Very heavy rainfall from training thunderstorms led to significant urban and small stream flash flooding in and near the City of Rensselaer. A State of Emergency was declared in the City of Rensselaer as numerous roads were closed, with 6 or more feet of standing water reported on city streets. Evacuations of 50 to 75 homes occurred due to the flooding. Flooding was mainly concentrated along and near the banks of Quackenberry Creek, as well as near Mill Creek.||The Amtrak Station in Rensselaer was also closed due to the flooding.||Flash flooding also closed Routes 9 and 20, a portion of Route 151, and Luther Road, in East Greenbush.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindRensselaer$35,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindRensselaer$29,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindRensselaer$10,000no account filed
July 1999LightningRensselaer$10,000no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindRensselaer$4,000no account filed
June 1996HailRensselaer$2,000no account filed
March 2008FloodRensselaer$1,000South Street at Aiken Avenue was closed due to flooding from heavy rainfall.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindRensselaer-A tree was downed on Seventh Street.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindRensselaer-Trees were reported down.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRensselaer-Trees were reported down via Facebook due to thunderstorm winds in Rensselaer.
June 2011HailRensselaer-Golf ball size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in Rensselaer.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindRensselaer-A tree was reported down on wires in Rensselaer due to strong thunderstorm winds.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindRensselaer-Law enforcement personnel reported numerous small trees blown down in Rensselaer.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindRensselaer-Trees were blown down.

Every storm recorded in Rensselaer County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Clinton Park1.5 miles31
Hampton Manor1.7 miles31
Clinton Heights1.7 miles31
Prospect Heights1.8 miles31
Rosemont Park1.9 miles32
Van Allen Park2.0 miles32
Hampton Park2.2 miles31
Defreestville2.6 miles32

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RensselaerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1380769The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 962384. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.