Fort Crailo, Rensselaer County, Rensselaer. A fortified
house, loopholed and surrounded by a Palisade.
The Crailo State Historic Site (Ft. Crailo) is the home of the Hendrick
Van Rensselaer family. By the early 18th century it was the seat of Hendrick's
manor which included a 1500 acre estate in what is now the city of Rensselaer
called Crailo in the 17th century and Greenbush in the 18th century. As early
as 1663, the estate had a little fort for the protection of the local inhabitants
from maurauding Indians and in 1675 during King Philip's War the local militia
captain was instructed to install a palisades around this fort.
There is strong
evidence to suggest that the existing building was fortified with eleven gunports
and surrounded with a stockade after an attack by a French
and Indian war party in May of 1746. Two of the original gunports can be seen
by today's visitor to the site.
Also,the fields and farm buildings at Crailo
were used to quarter colonial troops as early as 1694 and at intervals during
each of the French and Indian
wars. During the Revolution, militia troops were encamped on the grounds of
the estate in 1775 and 1776. Any time an expedition to attack Canada was organized
in the Albany area, these Van Rensselaer lands were used as encampments for
the troops involved including British regulars. On numerous occasions, John
Van Rensselaer, Hendrick's son, entertained the various officers at meals and
it was said by the family that British Army surgeon Richard Shuckburgh in 1758
composed "Yankee Doodle" on the well at Crailo to make fun of the
During the American Revolution, several of the male members of this family
served as officers of the militia and continental forces fighting the British.
Also, Major General Philip Schuyler's wife, Catherine, the daughter of John
Van Rensselaer was born and raised at Crailo.
Today the Crailo State Historic Site is located at 9 1/2 Riverside Avenue
in Rensselaer, New York and is operated by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation
and Historic Preservation as a museum of colonial Dutch Culture of the upper
Hudson Valley.Displays include artifacts from the archeological excavations
at Fort Orange(later Albany). Please call 518-463-8738 for information on hours,
admission, directions and accessibility."
Contributed by Paul Stambach and Heidi Hill, Office
of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation [link opens new window]
See also Honored Through the
Ordeal: Crailo and the Colonial Wars by Paul
For more information see www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/explorers/sitec44.htm [link
opens new window]
Back to Forts A-D Index
New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military
July 19, 2006