Nassau, NY

Nassau is a Rensselaer County village with a name that came after several chapters of settlement. The area around the Valatie Kill was first associated with the Native name Ontekekomack; New England settlers followed, and Jonathan Hoag and Moses Vail helped build the village's early mills and commercial center. Many original structures date from 1780 to 1820, while a later burst of growth brought factories, the railroad linking Hudson and Albany, and the Rensselaer County Fair. Nassau's western edge meets the Valatie Kill, and Albany is about 15 miles west. The local read is old mill village, railroad-era growth, and buildings that kept their first shape.